Juicing Book

What vegetables help to best detoxify the body?

This is a question that I am asked — which vegetables help to detoxify the body?

Well, for me, it all depends on the situation, the time of year (winter, spring, summer or autumn — read my notes on Feng Shui Juicing to learn more), how you are currently feeling, your age, your diet, etc.

Many factors determine what is the best way to help detoxify the body. But as a general rule, the more bitter the vegetable, the more it helps to detoxify the body. A good example of this is dandelion leaves. Using a vegetable like dandelion leaves is especially beneficial when you are fill with a little anger. Sometimes, you might notice your tongue is a little yellow. The yellow coating on the tongue indicates your liver is hot, as the Chinese would say.

On the other hand, it is said that vegetables that are sweeter give your body energy. Thus if you are feeling tired, mentally or physically, you often need a more sweet tasting vegetable to help you detoxify. A good example would be carrots. Similar to dandelion leaves, carrots have an action on the liver — although from a different angle or approach. So, if I were feeling tired — mentally or physically — then I would consider using a vegetable like carrots. A good indication that your body is tired is if your tongue has a bluish tint to it.

If you have mucous build up, then one of the best vegetables is garlic — which in this case I would eat whole rather than drink as a juice. Garlic naturally purges the body of mucous. But there are other options too. As an example, if you have mucous in your lungs that you keep coughing up, try eating some raw peanuts. For some reason, raw peanuts (not cooked or salted in anyway) help to flush mucous out. Of course, if you are allergic to peanuts then don't try it!

So you see, no single answer can be given as to which or what way is best to detoxify the body. But one thing I always tell people is that detoxification should never overwhelm the body. When a detox overwhelms the body then you actually put the body under even more stress which defeats the whole purpose. There are times in which the body chooses to have a heavy detox, and that's okay, but we should never force the body into a heavy detox. Health should always feel boringly normal.

This is one reason why I like Chinese herbal medicine. Not only does the herbalist customize the herbs specifically to your needs and your body, but the Chinese herbalist seeks to balance the body with the right amount of yin and yang energy so the body can detoxify itself in a balanced and effective manner. As a result, when we are juicing, we too want to strive for balance.

Overall, all vegetables help to detoxify the body to some degree and in some way. It's for that reason that my overall mantra, when it comes to detoxification and juicing in general, is to juice a variety. Too many people are stagnant juicers and stagnant eaters in general. Most people juice and eat the same foods on a regular basis. But the reality is our body needs and craves variety. We may not like the taste of variety, but it is crucial to our health and sometimes we have to force ourselves to eat and juice a variety of foods and vegetables to get the varied nutrition our bodies need. Remember, nutrition is fuel for the body.

When looking at any health problem, concern or issue that we want to address, we must always look at the whole picture, not just look with a singular point of view. Only then can we help the body not only detoxify efficiently and effectively, but with the greatest of ease.

It's important to remember that the body is in a constant state of detoxification. Every bowel movement, every urination, every breath, every sweat (and that's why antiperspirants are bad for the body as the block toxins from leaving your body). All of these methods help flush toxins out of our body. We can't just think of the liver and kidneys, even though they are important. But instead, we must always think of the whole body — from the blood, tot the lungs, to the colon, the kidneys, liver, the lymphatic system — everything must be considered.

As a side note, one great way to detoxify the lungs, as an example, is to do the Yogic Triple Breath.

Have you been wanting to do hatha yoga (stretching) but have found it either too difficult or you are not that flexible? If yes, and even if no, watch Jesse do some pure hatha yoga routines.

Unlike flow yoga, each pose in pure or traditional hatha yoga is held for a few minutes. While holding the pose, you focus the mind on the stretch. When you focus the mind, that's when you find silence.

Jesse is not flexible — never has been and probably never will be flexible like others. But it doesn't matter. In pure hatha yoga, how flexible you are makes no difference. It's all about loving the pose and focussing the mind on the stretch.

If you want to learn pure hatha yoga, now you can by following Jesse on a series of hatha yoga routines.

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