4 Nutrition Strategies to Help You Reset Before Summer

As the summer season approaches you may find yourself wanting to hit the nutrition reset button to prepare. With so many detoxification strategies out there it can be hard to judge which ones are evidence based and will actually support your body and which ones can do damage.Supporting the systems your body has in place to help you detoxify can do a great deal to help you feel refreshed. Here are 4 easy ways to help you reboot for the upcoming summer.

1. Clean your diet up, quickly- The quicker you can get back on track, the better. The best way to do this is to cut out highly processed and refined foods, especially sugars and refined carbohydrates. There are many food items that may be promoted as “healthy”, however when you dig deeper you will notice they are full of multiple kinds of sugars and are very high in carbohydrates, which ultimately turn to sugar in the bloodstream. Furthermore, they are lacking most of the key nutrients needed to support the body’s detoxification systems.
2. Be intentional about getting antioxidants- One key to supporting you natural detoxification system is antioxidants, antioxidants, antioxidants! These powerful compounds are important in our daily nutrition regimen, but especially beneficial when we have the intention of hitting the reset button.  They act as a shield from free radicals and in turn, oxidative stress (cellular damage which is strongly associated with many types of disease). The best sources are brightly colored vegetables and fruits (especially berries). Try to incorporate these with every meal.
3. Focus on food quality vs quantity- Although you may feel like you were over-indulgent during the past few months, this is NOT the time to restrict calories. Excessive calorie restriction can actually hurt your metabolism by altering thyroid and adrenal function. Instead of focusing on staying below a certain number of calories, shift your focus to eating plenty of whole, organic foods. Supporting your system with nutrient dense whole foods is what will get your metabolism back on track. Remember this,  if it comes from a plant, eat it. If it was made in a plant, don't eat it.
4. Stay hydrated- The elimination of toxins in the body via urine, sweat and stools is very dependent on remaining hydrated. Drink plenty of water during this time. A good starting place is to consume half of you body weight (in lbs) in fluid ounces. But it is always good to pay attention to your thirst mechanism as well to regulate if you need more or less.

Would you like more support and guidance on how to improve your bodies detoxification system? Join the Premier Integrative Health team for our 14 day group detoxification program starting May 11th. For more information on this program CLICK HERE. Written by: Abby Stanley, MS RDN LDAbby is a Functional and Integrative Nutritionist at Premier Integrative Health in Kansas City. She is also the owner and CEO of Revive Nutrition Solutions, LLC. She loves helping others improve their health and life through nutrition and is a strong advocate for eating REAL food!