The body’s detoxification process begins with cleaning and restoring the function of the gastrointestinal tract, primarily using dietary changes and detox practices. To make these changes permanent and effective (as we are aiming for a detox life), it’s essential to start with your pantry.
Similar to alcohol and tobacco, processed foods (saturated fats, fried foods, sugars—especially refined ones) contain artificial preservatives and other additives that enhance their flavor, color, or consistency. There are also contaminants generated at some stage of the production, packaging, or storage of the products we buy. It’s worth mentioning five foods considered by many integrative health specialists as metabolic poisons: sugar, refined flours and salt, white rice, and milk. These are major physical triggers of many degenerative and inflammatory diseases such as arthritis, diabetes, cancer, heart problems, colitis, vascular insufficiencies, and premature aging, among others.
One way to start with what you can control is to remove from your pantry foods with artificial colorings, sugars, sodas, canned goods, fried foods, artificial condiments (packaged sauces, flavoring cubes, or seasonings), reused oils, added sugars, artificial sweeteners, fast food, processed foods, and junk food. Also, reduce the consumption of salt, juices, cheeses, saturated fats (custards, margarines, sweet cream, pâtés), processed meats, refined flours (white bread, cookies, pasta, wheat tortillas), ice cream, pastries, sweets, excessive caffeine, alcohol, and tobacco. By doing this, you start stimulating internal biological processes and fostering a more vitalistic diet.
What to Remove:
Preservatives, Refined Foods, Trans Fats, Sugar, and Chemicals. I’ll group them as shared in the spring detox challenge. Of course, you can start at any time you decide to improve your health.
- Refined oils
- Commercial dressings
- Artificial sweeteners and “natural” sweeteners with high fructose content
- Sodas, juices, sugary and colored beverages
- Refined flour products: white bread, cookies
- Snack bags: chips, pork rinds, Doritos, plantains
- Sauces: condiments, tomato paste, ketchup, industrial soy sauce, BBQ sauce
- Instant soups, bouillon cubes for chicken, meat, vegetables
- Spices, old and rancid nuts and seeds that have been in the pantry for a long time
General List:
- White flours
- White bread
- Processed hot dogs, sausages
- Canned meat
- Margarine
- Refined oils: canola, corn, soybean, peanut, vegetable shortening
- White sugar, cane sugar, high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, fruit syrups
- Soda, diet soda
- Sweet chocolate
- Fruit juices
- Cow’s milk
- Poultry and dairy products treated with hormones, factory-farmed, full of antibiotics
I also invite you to read my article Detox del Hogar on this same blog, under the Health section. You can use it to continue the cleaning process at another level in your home.
