It’s hard to believe that spring is here already. In fact, you may have already started some spring cleaning of your house, workspace, or garden. Those nice days in between the snowy or cold ones offer a glimpse of the promise of spring– green grass, sunshine, and being outside in the fresh air.
If it’s cold in the winter where you live, you’ve probably been eating 
soups, stews, nuts, meats, grains, and heavier dishes throughout the last several months. Your body naturally craves these foods in the winter to keep you warm and to store fat and protein for the year ahead.
Spring is a time of transition. According to Ayurveda (ancient Indian system of medicine), spring is the time where the weather and your body transition from being cold and dry, to warm and wet. It is the perfect time to cleanse or detoxify the heaviness and excess of winter and prepare for the spring and summer ahead.
So if spring is a great time to detoxify or cleanse, you may be asking “where should I start?” or “what should I look for in a great spring detox?”
Here are 5 keys to a great spring detox:
1. It supports the liver to detoxify the body. The liver is the body’s major detox organ and it works 24/7. Detoxification programs need to both support the liver AND give the liver a break from incoming toxins (like pesticides, herbicides, and environmental chemicals) to allow it to process and get rid of the toxins already present in the body.
2. It is gentle (not drastic). Detox or cleansing programs are NOT crash diets. They should be gentle and meet you where you’re at. Starting your first detox with a 10 day juice cleanse is not a good idea- you will likely lose weight too rapidly, flood your liver with toxins, and fell awful. A whole food detox, where you eat very healthy cleansing whole foods for a period of time, will be much more beneficial.
3. It includes green foods. Green foods like kale, spinach, wheat grass, 
chlorella, and spirulina all support the liver with vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals to detoxify toxins in your body and allow them to be excreted.
4. It is do-able. If it’s not a plan that you feel is do-able, you won’t do it. Be sure to choose a gentle plan that you can stick to, to have the greatest benefit.
5. You feel good about it. If it’s too drastic or you’re afraid you won’t be able to stick to it, choose an easier/simpler detox plan. You should feel good about doing a detox plan to see the greatest benefits like clearer thinking, fewer skin rashes, clearer skin, etc. Back to key #2 and #4, start with a gentle detox plan that is do-able for you!
Wondering where to start?
Here are the 3 favorite detox plans of my clients and myself from shortest to most complete:
1. Shakeology 3-Day Cleanse – I have done this short cleanse 5+ times and have taken many clients through it– it is short, gentle, and extremely effective especially if you’re new to cleansing.
2. 7-Day Whole Food Detox – Simple whole food plan outlined in the post. Eating clean and supporting the liver is the focus of this 1 week detox.
3. 21-Day Ultimate Reset – This is the comprehensive 3-week whole food detox that I have done 3 times and a client favorite. It includes all of the supplements needed for the detox, meal plan for all meals, and cookbook. It is simple, easy to follow, and the meals are delicious.
Questions or comments? Please leave a comment below.
