If you experience fatigue, irritability, problems concentrating or disturbances in your sleep, you may benefit from a Spring cleaning. Spring is looked upon as a season of renewal and rebirth. Likewise, your low energy, mood swings, sleep disturbances and difficulties concentrating may be indications of a buildup of toxins and need to clean-up your diet and detox.
Instead of making a shopping list and buying several vitamins and/or supplements, focus on avoiding environmental toxins that science suggests cause cancer (e.g., GMO foods, Glyphosate, second hand smoke, smoking, chlorine in pools that research shows combines with urine to form dangerous chemicals, fumes) invest in whole, organic foods that are raised without herbicides, pesticides and other synthetic chemicals that damage your health and our planet’s soils and choose to eat animals that are raised humanely and safe to eat. Not only will you keep your exposure to toxins to a minimum, you will help to build your body’s natural defenses and experience an increase in vitality, clear focus, sound sleep and sense of renewal.
You can build up your body’s defenses, support your immune and detoxification systems by ensuring that you eat adequate amounts of the foods that will give you the building blocks to create glutathione. Glutathione is an intracellular antioxidant that supports your body’s immune and detoxification systems. It is made from three amino acids: l-cysteine, l-glutamatic acid, glycine and sulfur. The sulfur in glutathione makes it act like fly trap paper, stick to toxins and safely remove them from your body.
Sulfur containing foods
- Garlic
- Kale
- Onions
- Broccoli
- Water cress
- Cabbage
- Asparagus
- Brussel sprouts
Foods containing the amino acids l-cysteine, l-glutamatic acid, glycine
- Unpasteurized milk (i.e., ideally grass-fed, organic and hormone/antibiotic free)
- Raw eggs (i.e., from chickens that are pasture raised)
- Undenatured, cold processed whey protein
- Tomatoes
- Avocado
- Spinach
- Meats (e.g., beef, lamb, bison, chicken, turkey, wild caught, pasture raised, grass fed, wild caught)
Exercise also helps you build up glutathione. Aim to get moderate levels of exercise (i.e., 30 minutes several times a week). Stress depletes your body of glutathione so it is important that you learn to manage your levels of stress effectively. By taking these simple steps, you will reduce your exposure to environmental toxins, help build your body’s natural defenses and experience a renewed sense of vitality.
To your health and success,
Dr. Sandoval
To learn more about how working with a psychologist, holistic health coach and personal trainer can help you to enhance your health and well-being, call or email Dr. Sandoval to schedule a consultation.
The information, published and/or made available through the www.drjosesandoval.com website, is not intended to replace the services of a physician, nor does it constitute a physician-patient relationship. This blog is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. You should not use the information in this post for diagnosing or treating a medical or health condition. You should consult a physician in all matters relating to your health, particularly in respect to any symptoms that may require diagnosis or medical attention. Any action on the reader’s part in response to the information provided in this blog is at the reader’s discretion.
