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For a much-needed detox after Holi, Preety Tyagi suggests a nourishing home treatment for skin, use of organic cosmetics and oils for body and hair and makeup-free approach for some days

Detoxification or detoxication is a process of removal of toxins from our body. This function is usually carried out by our liver. So, basically when we are talking about it, we are talking about eating a diet that supports and improves the functioning of our liver. It is an organ responsible for many vital functions in our body such as detoxication of various metabolites, synthesises proteins, and produces biochemicals  which are necessary for digestion.

It is a process through which your body gets rid of waste. If waste builds up, people get sick. The key is in figuring out how to enhance our body’s capacity to detoxify and get rid of waste while minimising our exposure to toxins. So, it is to prevent the building up of waste in our bodies and to prevent ourselves from any possible sickness.

Detoxification is not about weight loss alone. It’s mainly about helping and supporting your body to get free of all the waste through proper dietary choices. It is beneficial for one and all. The process is extremely important for us in order to have a healthy glowing skin too. When the toxins flush out of the body, the first impact can be seen on the skin quality. Hence, if you are looking for healing your skin in a natural way, go for a healthy diet free of toxins and drink a lot of detox water to flush the already existent toxins out, and work out of course.

It becomes necessary to detox the body especially after the festive season, and now that Holi is around the corner take note of that as festive time calls for a lot of unhealthy eating — fried food, sweets and eatables rich in trans fat. Since, holi calls for a lot of laddoo, samosas, namak pare and not to forget bhang, a detox later on becomes a must. Detoxification is an excellent way to recover your body from the ill effects of such eating at the right time.

Tips:

• Start your day with a full glass of a luke warm detox water. The ones that are naturally healing to one’s health issues are the best ones to begin with. For example, a glass of lemon detox water, cinnamon water, ginger water etc. Keep yourself hydrated and nourished.
• Resort to clean and simple eating. Eating meals that are simple and not complex. Foods that are not immensely flavored or seasoned. Dishes cooked with least number of ingredients and which are less oily are the best ones to go for.
• Avoid outside eatables and packaged food completely. Packaged drinks, long shelf life food products etc.
• Go for freshly squeezed vegetable juices over fruit juices.
• Eat small and frequent meals. This helps in the metabolism working faster, letting the body get rid of many toxins in the process.
• Eat foods that are good for the functioning of our liver, such as citrus fruits, berries, beetroot juice, cruciferous vegetables.
• Avoid alcohol completely. Also, caffeine should be restricted to some amount. Not more than a cup a day.
• Work out. Follow a regular workout regime. Exercising doesn’t only help in removal of the toxins but also releases certain hormones in the body that promote a healthy body.
• Also, since Holi is the festival of colours, and a lot of synthetic ones are also used that damages our skin. Go for a nourishing skin home treatments as well. Use organic cosmetics, and oils for body and hair. Give your skin a makeup detox too, which is go makeup free for some days, or resort completely to organic cosmetics.
• Consume juices like fresh green vegetables juice by mixing green spinach leaves, apple, lemon, and coriander leaves.

(The writer is a nutritionist and founder at a health and fitness website.)