Health & Wellbeing

Lifestyle

The easy way to spring clean your life

Sunshine is not the only welcome change that signals the start of spring. Leaves return to trees, birds sing more loudly and the days become longer and more light-filled.

But the energy associated with spring can also prompt us to want to change things in our life; to renew, discard, rearrange. Not the least is the intuitive feeling our body is probably in need of cleansing, as well. So here are some simple tips that will get you feeling fit, well and ready, to lose your winter coat and those few kilos put on over winter.

A body cleanse can help improve digestion, concentration levels, immunity, energy and hormone function. Start with a lemon squeezed in warm water before breakfast, but always use a straw as lemons ruin your dentine.

Eliminate all artificial foods, including sugar. Look through your pantry and read the labels. If there are more than 3 grams per 100gms of sugar, throw it out, because that is telling you its more than 3 percent sugar.

When you eliminate sugar people say it’s like a cloud lifting. You not only lose weight, you gain clarity of thought and feel better than ever before.

Reduce portion sizes and always start the day with a protein meal. Eat lightly at night. Have green juices, but not too much kale.

Drink 8 to 10 glasses of filtered water away from food daily.

Some useful herbs are milk thistle, chlorella and dandelion. Some useful supplements to include in your diet are vitamin C powder, a broad spectrum pro-biotic for the gut health, and a practitioner quality multivitamin/mineral daily.

Get quality sleep each night and some midday sunshine daily. You can only manufacture vitamin D on the skin between 11am and 2pm.

Move your body daily. Sometimes the hardest thing to do is to find time to bring something new into your life, so start with a 15 minute brisk walk daily, seven days per week. As motivation, buy yourself a new exercise outfit at the beginning of spring and enjoy the exercise you love. Have a skipping rope handy at home as 5 minutes of skipping is equivalent to a 20 minute walk.

Clear your home of clutter and mess. Plant flowers and herbs, make your environment beautiful. By clearing the unwanted you make room for the good to flow.

Detox your friends list as well. Consider who in your life may be causing you pain or trauma and release them. Taking responsibility for your own life decisions puts control back where it belongs.

Lastly, consider how much technology you use daily. Have a break for a few days. Life does go on. Happy spring!

For an extended version of how to body cleanse and detox, contact Kim Piper, local Naturopath on www.kimthenaturopath.com or kim@kimthenaturopath.com. For online appointments ph 0412 496 125.