By Amanda Wilks

Sometimes your body needs a little boost. Sure, you can spend most of your time watching your caloric intake and trying to eat only the best of the best, but chances are you’re human and have to slip up every now and again. Over time your body might choose to hold on to elements of what you’ve eaten in the worst possible arrangements, leaving you feeling not quite your best. If you’re not feeling yourself it just might be time for a detox.

The good news is that eating for detoxification reasons isn’t that much different than simply eating well. If anything, it just shifts your focus from certain foods to things that are better for you in the long run or help boost your body’s natural balancing powers. While your options are many, here are half a dozen options to really spice up your next cleansing rotation without burning out your palette too quickly.

Natural Body Detox

1.Beets

The good news: Beets are great for you! In fact, listing all of their many and varied health benefits in one article is just short of impossible. For example, did you know they happen to be one of the few foods that naturally produce betalains? These powerful antioxidants, detoxifiers, and anti-inflammatory nutrients are produced in the bright reddish-purple pigments that give beets the striking colors that draw children in with tasty promises, only to leave them scarred for life.

If you happen to be one of those unlucky children who has suffered through the slightly dirt-esque flavor of a poorly cooked beet, rest assured that they are wonderful for your body and can be prepared in more ways than you might realize. For instance, beet kvass is a great detox drink that you can easily prepare with only a few ingredients and it has numerous health benefits.

2.Garlic

Garlic’s detoxification powers come from allicin, which just so happens to be one of its healthiest active ingredients.

With its natural antimicrobial powers and its long and storied history of working nicely with a plethora of dishes, it’s hard not to come into contact with garlic. Stuffing it into your diet is surprisingly simple!

3.Avocados

Avocados had a very poor reputation for the longest time and most of it turns out to be underserved. Sure, they’re high in fat, but it’s the kind of fat that is actually good for you. Their commonplacing on detoxification lists is well-deserved considering how stuffed with nutrients and fiber they are, all without requiring too much doctoring up.

If that’s not enough to convince you, avocados may actually help you absorb nutrients from other leafy greens and healthy foods even better than you were before. Their fat content means they pair well with any food full of fat-soluble nutrients.

4.Sauerkraut/Kimchi

Unfortunately, sauerkraut is another food that may have accidentally traumatized you as a child. It’s a very strong food without any sweetness that children tend to enjoy and many of you may have been introduced to it after it was unceremoniously dumped out of a metal can, which often doesn’t help matters!

That’s a real shame, as sauerkraut and other fermented foods often contain probiotics, which are essentially a form of bacteria that help your body break down foods more efficiently.

In fact, probiotics might just be the key to treating more health maladies than a multivitamin, considering they can even help you battle stress and anxiety. Add that in with its natural toxin-fighting powers and you’ve got a real superfood on your hands that’s just about as hard to make as it sounds: Pack some cabbage into a jar with salt and leave it be, essentially!

5.Lemon Juice

Regardless of how you get it, lemon juice can jump-start your digestion and help you face the day the right way.

Breakfast is an all-too-essential meal that many of us skip for the sake of saving time or effort, but there aren’t many things worse than skipping breakfast when it comes to proper health and body balance.

Whatever you eat can easily be paired with a quick teaspoon of lemon juice and it’s often suggested as the base of any detox routine.

6.Blueberries

The list may have started off scary, but ending it sweet is an easy choice when it comes to the power of blueberries. Much like other entries in the list, they’re packed full of nutrients and work as a natural anti-inflammatory agent, meaning they’re great when paired up with a garlic-heavy diet. You probably won’t want to mix the two together, though. Just a word to the wise.

Conclusion

Start your new year off with a proper cleansing of your system if you’re not quite feeling like you’ve gotten off on the right foot.

Spending a little time to figure out how best to detox your body and sort your diet could save you a lot of minor aches and pains in the long run and there’s never any harm in gussying up your diet for your future’s sake.

Author Bio: Amanda Wilks is a writer, contributing author for TheKitchenAdvisor and cooking enthusiast. She strongly believes that our health is highly influenced by the foods we consume, and she hopes that her writings will inspire others to make smart choices regarding their own diet. Learn more about Amanda on Twitter.