Spring flowers peek out and the sun shines gently. In spring, we long to clean up. We want to clean at home, declutter things, wash curtains, clean windows, and do other things to clean out winter. We also often get an urge to "cleanse the body" with green smoothies, outdoor exercise, and good nutrition.
In this article, we share how you can do a continuous "cleansing" of your body in a gentle way over a longer period and how we can support children with detox since we often get that question.
What is a gentle detox?
Does a detox program have to be intensive and strenuous? No, you can cleanse the body gently over a longer time. That suits many people better. Eventually, it might even become a lifestyle =).
Habits we build up over a longer period eventually become dependencies. These can be both healthy and less beneficial dependencies. But forcing ourselves doesn't work. We need to be kind to ourselves and create new healthy, strengthening "dependencies" over a longer time.
Can children do a detox program?
This is a question we've received many times. The answer is no. But they can detox gently daily through healthy living.
This is obviously good for all children but perhaps especially important for children who get sick often, are stressed, have trouble sleeping, have stomach problems, are overweight, or have been vaccinated and reacted negatively.
Children detoxify through the liver and digestive system just like us adults by eating healthy food, staying away from junk food, and avoiding constipation.
Remove foods with artificial colors and preservatives and encourage them to eat colorful vegetables, green leafy vegetables, fruits, berries, and fermented foods like kefir, kimchi, and sauerkraut to support their good microbiome. Children respond quickly and very well to the right diet.
Avoid constipation by reminding children to drink plenty of water. If they often become constipated, remove cow's milk. Milk is for calves, period. Give them good fiber in their food.
Most children don't drink enough water during school days, and they often don't want to use school bathrooms either. Talk about how important water is. Make water more fun at home with berries, citrus fruits, and herbs. Avoid concentrated juice, soda, and sports drinks.
Children detoxify through their lungs by spending time outdoors. Just like us adults. So get out into nature, be physically active, and take deep breaths together. Encourage outdoor play and running, and do yoga together.
7 tips for "gentle detox"
Here we share tips for gentle detox for both adults and children. Several of these you can do together and make it a fun event, like a spa evening in the bathroom.
1. Bathtub baths with Epsom salt
Add 5 drops of essential lavender oil to your bath with 4 dl of Epsom salt (bitter salt). You can also do this as a foot bath. Children can also take warm, relaxing baths with Epsom salt. Make this part of their bedtime ritual, as it often leads to relaxed children who sleep well.
2. Body scrub
See the video below on how to make a simple body scrub. You can vary it endlessly and choose different base oils and different essential oils. Sugar can be replaced with natural salt. Even children can gently scrub their skin - make an extra gentle scrub for a child with honey in it.
3. Dry brushing
The lymphatic system is one of the body's most important cleansing systems. It gets support from movement and exercise, massage, and water. But dry brushing yourself every morning before showering is also very good for the lymphatic system. It releases impurities and naturally stimulates the circulatory system while giving smoother, softer, and brighter skin tone. Even children can gently brush their skin with a soft brush.
In this article, you can learn more about the approach.
4. Clean water
When toxins are drawn from the body, they must be flushed out. Full kidney function depends on having sufficient water in the body. Avoid soda, dairy products, and fast juice and drink clean water instead.
5. Algae, juices & smoothies
Raw juice or smoothies every day in addition to regular meals provide loads of nutrition and vitamins. Try to always include foods like colorful vegetables, sprouts, berries, fruits, garlic, onions, and spices in your daily diet. It works for all ages. Who doesn't feel good from vegetables?*
Chlorella and Spirulina support the body in removing toxins, especially heavy metals, while their nutritional content is easily absorbed. Even children can take spirulina. Chlorella is experienced as a bit "tougher" and suits adults better.
*by vegetables we don't mean iceberg lettuce with sliced tomatoes and cucumber. Now we're talking about all kinds of vegetables in all colors that can be prepared in thousands of ways. Nowadays there's so much fun inspiration online and in cookbooks for vegetable recipes.
6. Infrared sauna
An infrared sauna supports cellular energy, reduces inflammation, improves circulation, improves oxygen supply in the blood, and supports detoxification.
Older children can also sit in an infrared sauna for a while, always under adult supervision to avoid overheating. Older children can try the sauna for 10 minutes at 40-43 degrees.
7. Supplements
Lactic acid bacteria are crucial for restoring gut flora and balancing the immune system. It also helps with constipation. It's so important to be able to go to the bathroom every day. For all ages.
Vitamin C has proven to be fantastic in many ways, not least as a powerful antioxidant. Vitamin C helps counteract damage from heavy metals, chemicals, and toxins and supports the immune system. For all ages.
Iodine detoxifies and protects the thyroid gland against harmful halogens like fluoride, chlorine, and bromine. For adults.
Enzymes like protease, catalase, nattokinase, serrapeptase (serrapeptidase), bromelain, and papain are fantastic. They break down unwanted proteins and support recovery when taken between meals. For adults.
