Healthy Skin Cleanse!

Wanna do a Healthy Skin Cleanse?We talk about a body detox or cleanse all the time for weight loss and energy , but what about one for your skin? The largest organ in your body!The RulesCut out all refined sugar. Refined sugar spikes your insulin levels, causing a burst of inflammation in the body (and on your skin). In case you didn’t know, inflammation is responsible for breaking down collagen and elastin, which keep your skin tight and wrinkle-free. In short, cut out all candy, sweets and sodas.Add leafy greens to each meal. There’s no denying that the vitamins and minerals in leafy greens like kale, spinach, parsley and cilantro are essential during any kind of detox. Kelly recommended boosting my smoothies and salads with extra kale because the beta-carotene delivers a youthful glow and neutralizes free radicals. Load up on spinach too. It’s a good source of omega-3s, potassium, calcium, iron, magnesium, and vitamins B, C, and E.Drink a glass of lemon water each morning. This boosts your metabolism right when you wake up, and gets your body detoxing first thing in the morning. It’s also alkaline, so it helps balance the pH levels in your body, reducing skin inflammation and flare-ups. Rich in vitamin C, this citrus fruit will help your body purge excess water weight and balance the sodium and potassium levels in your cells. Add a slice of lemon to a mug of warm water in the morning to encourage digestion or squeeze onto your salad when dining out.Make your midday snack a healthy one. This means no more popcorn or granola between lunch and dinner… Have sliced cucumbers, carrots and celery on hand to eat with healthy dips like hummus and almond butter. Cucumbers are especially good for your skin: they contain hydrating, nourishing and astringent properties that are very good for skin both from the inside and topically. The enzymes in them help digest damaged skin cells, removing dead skin cells safely and adding a fresh glow.Amp up your parsley and cilantro.Parsley, known for supporting liver and kidney functions, acts as a metabolism booster while removing toxins. Kelly told me to add it to my daily green juice or sprinkle the milder flat-leaf version on a salad to keep those toxins from showing up on my skin.Cilantro is rich in antioxidants that prevent damage from free radicals and it helps the body purge “heavy metals” consumed in non-organic foods. Grow your own easily at home and add to rice, salads, salsas and dips.Stay off soy. Soy is full of phytoestrogens that can make your face breakout. These hormonal blemishes occur around the mouth and jaw line.Cut the coffee. Caffeine is a diuretic, which means too much of it will leave you feeling dehydrated (and probably with a headache and under eye circles, too). Try switching to green tea if you really need a little boost in the morning—it only has a fraction of the caffeine found in coffee, and it has wrinkle-fighting antioxidants.Use only natural, chemical-free skin products. If you’re not going to eat toxins, why would you lather them on your face or body? Make the switch from your favorite scented drugstore body lotion to good old coconut oil. It’s antibacterialand antifungal, which is beneficial for maintaining clear skin. Luckily, I already use the most natural skincare products on my face, so this one wasn’t too much of an adjustment. Sweet Earth Soap Works is my own line of all natural products!Use a face oil three times a week. Oiling may be a best-kept secret for clearing up skin. My go to is calendula oil but you could easily use an organic coconut oil too. Oiling a few nights a week keeps my skin dewy and hydrated. This is not the thick night crème you are used to but a thin veil of simple oils to calm, hydrate and help heal the skin. Contrary to popular belief, bacteria doesn’t grow in these oils.Drink half your body weight in water per day. Water increases your metabolism so much that if you’re chronically dehydrated, it can mean up to an 8-pound weight gain or more per year. No wonder weight creeps on! Your challenge is to drink at least half your body weight in ounces of water per day.For example, someone who weights 150 pounds should be drinking 75 ounces of water a day. This doesn’t mean all at once, it means throughout the whole day.Don’t skimp on your healthy fats. Avocados will be your best friends on this diet. Avocados, full of moisturizing monounsaturated fats, are a great source of antioxidant carotenoids like alpha-carotene, beta carotene, beta-cryptoxanthin, zeaxanthin and lutein that provide significant protection for your skin from the environmental damage that leads to fine lines and wrinkles. Put them in your smoothies and adding them to your salads.Try to incorporate these changes for a two week period and see the difference it makes! Don't forget to take before & after photos!