Detox Your Life

Many of us start off the year with the best of intentions to kickstart new healthy diets and exercise routines – and let’s be honest, most of those resolutions were left by the wayside months ago. But according to nutritionist Laura, of The Detox Market in Toronto, now might be a better time than ever to get back on track with your health goals, and cleansing might be just the trick to get you there.

“The spring time is always the best time to do a cleanse, mainly because that’s when your body has moved out of hibernation mode and just like your house you’re ready to clean everything out,” she explains.

Cleansing has been around since the times of the Ancient Egyptians who used fasting or the elimination of certain foods to balance the ‘humours’. Now it’s a common practice among natural health advocates who use it as a tool for bringing the body’s digestive and detoxification systems back into harmony.

But before you start sipping on green juices like it’s your job, be sure to consult a healthcare practitioner. “Otherwise you may do more harm than good,” Laura explains. “An expert can help you identify the actual problem and understand what your body really needs.”

The Detox Market is the perfect place to start for anyone looking to kickstart a healthier lifestyle. “Our aim is really to teach people that they can reduce the toxic load on their bodies by switching from conventional products to something more natural and organic,” she says. “Everyone who works here is a naturopathic doctor or a nutritionist so they can offer advice on anything we sell and explain why it’s important.” With products ranging from foods and household cleaners to cosmetics and skincare products, the store stocks all of the products you’d use on a daily basis. They are currently working on formulating their own line of cleanses and juices.

But Torontonians have many options when it comes to detoxification. Try out a juice cleanse with benourished or Total Cleanse. If you think a liquid diet will leave you famished, try a raw food cleanse from Belmonte Raw or Cruda Café, or learn to make your own with Marni Wasserman.

Just don’t start-up expecting to cleanse your way to perfect health and then go back to boozing every night and dining on fast food. If you have a highly toxic lifestyle, cleansing will likely make you feel worse in the short-term, while healthier folks will experience abundant energy, improved digestion, and better sleep. But if you stick with it, your cravings for “dirty” foods will diminish, your palate will grow accustomed to healthy eats, your immune system will soar, and you’ll get just the boost you need to maintain these health benefits for the long haul.