It's Time You Rethink Your Detox Strategy.

At the beginning of every new year, there are copious amounts of scary 'new year, new you' dietary trends. From Dry January and restrictive diet plans to juice cleanses and bone broth replacements, everyone seems to be hopping on some sort of bandwagon to detox their gut, stomach, and liver. Sure your body appreciates the break, but one month of detoxing isn't going to help in the long run of your life. And let's face it, by the time February or March comes along, you have already bailed. It's alright, there's no reason to be mad at yourself. Most of these plans and detoxes are set up to make you fail—it's how a majority of them make their profits.

Instead, focus on long-term, reachable, and reasonable goals. Take a second to do some research and gain knowledgeable insight on properly helping your gut, stomach, and liver. Not sure where to start? Here are four straightforward habits you can begin doing now and for the rest of your life.

1. Limit Your Saturated Fats And Simple Carbs

Limit or avoid your consumption of foods that are high in saturated fat and simple carbohydrates. After you eat that slice of pizza your liver converts the sugar in the sauce and dough into glucose. The glucose is then stored in the liver for energy, anything that exceeds will be turned and stored into fat cells, long term effects slowly cause the development of liver-based NAFLD (Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease) and obesity. Don't quit all fats and carbs! Unsaturated fats, especially omega-3's may help keep NAFLD at bay, whereas fiber sedates hunger and keeps you full longer.

2. Power Up On Polyphenols

A nutritionally balanced diet has been proven to help reduce a significant amount of gut discomfort and liver fat. The latest research also suggests that foods rich in polyphenols may help prevent an overflow of fat storage. Polyphenols, which are micronutrients that naturally occur in plants, prevent and reverse damage in your cells caused by aging, the environment, and your lifestyle. Over time, this damage has been linked to an increased risk of many chronic diseases. More than 8,000 types of polyphenols have been identified. They can be further categorized into four main groups

• Flavonoids. These account for around 60% of all polyphenols. Examples include apples, onions, dark chocolate, and red cabbage.

• Phenolic acids. This group accounts for around 30% of all polyphenols, which are mostly found in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and seeds.

• Polyphenolic amides. This category includes capsaicinoids in chili peppers and avenanthramides in oats.

• Other polyphenols. This group includes resveratrol in red wine, ellagic acid in berries, curcumin in turmeric, and lignans in flax seeds, sesame seeds, and whole grains.

3. Limit Eating Before Bed.

Eating before bed is a hot topic amongst nutritionists and health advisors alike. Traditional medicine notes that eating before bed could cause weight gain because your metabolism usually slows down when you fall asleep; causing the calories to automatically be stored as fat. However, recent studies have shown that eating before bed is perfectly fine and may improve sleep or weight loss. The key theme differentiating these two topics are (1) the forming of habits and (2) your body's reaction to food.

Let's get one thing straight, there is absolutely nothing wrong with having a late-night or after-dinner snack from time to time. It's when you start developing that necessity and need to have an additional snack before bed becomes an issue. “People aren’t eating tofu salads after 9 p.m.,” Bethany Doerfler, a clinical research dietitian at Northwestern Medicine, notes. Most likely, it’s sugary, salty foods that are comforting and rewarding to the psyche; a worthy, relaxing, treat to end the day. This is how habits are formed. Next time you feel that need, take a sip of water and ask yourself: Am I really hungry? Am I bored? Do I need this [food item] to feel better?

For some, going to bed after you eat could cause additional digestive issues, including indigestion and acid reflux. If you are part of the twenty-eight percent of Americans who suffer from Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) eating before bed will cause additional gastric contents such as stomach acid to splash back into your throat and irritate your esophagus even more. Listen to your body, if you experience any of the following symptoms, avoid eating anything for at least 4 hours before lying down in bed:

• heartburn/indigestion

• difficulty swallowing

• a lump in the throat

• chronic cough

• acid reflux/stomach bloat

• lack of sleep/nightmares

4. Come On Let's Sweat, Baby

Movement of any type can help eliminate existing NAFLD and prevent new fat from being produced and stored. Just 10 minutes a day could be lifesaving, according to a new CNN article. "An increase of 20 or 30 minutes per day could lead to even more lives saved," the article noted. For the liver, any amount of exercise will instantly increase fat oxidation and prevent long-term damage through a reduction of damaging cells and fatty tissue.

Take a moment to consider how fast ten minutes go by when your scrolling through TikTok or watching an ASMR video on Youtube. For those who watch live tv or ad-related programming (like Hulu), do some bodyweight exercises while the commercials are playing; squats, pushups, situps are your standard basics.

The key is finding a sequence of movements that will moderately work your full body, balancing upper body strength, lower body strength, and cardiovascular exercise.

And when in doubt, for some extra boost you can always dance out your workout in real life (listening to C+C Music Factory) or within virtual reality by using games such as Beat Saber. Just bumping up your routine by just a little bit can significantly make a huge impact on your body.

February Is Here, It's Time You Rethink Your Detox Strategy.

Leave the latest trend diets behind and use the month of February to focus on long-term, reachable, and reasonable goals. Take the time to listen to your body and enable it by adopting new, healthy, and holistic, habits.

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Contributors, WebMD Editorial. “8 Foods High in Polyphenols and Why You Need Them.” WebMD, WebMD, https://www.webmd.com/diet/foods-high-in-polyphenols#:~:text=Polyphenols%20are%20micronutrients%20that%20naturally,quercetin%20and%20catechins%20in%20fruits.

Cory, Hannah, et al. “The Role of Polyphenols in Human Health and Food Systems: A Mini-Review.” Frontiers in Nutrition, Frontiers Media S.A., 21 Sept. 2018, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6160559/.

Petre, Alina. “What Are Polyphenols? Types, Benefits, and Food Sources.” Healthline, Healthline Media, 8 July 2019, https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/polyphenols.

Jones, T. (2021, February 10). Is eating before bed good for you, or bad? Healthline. Retrieved January 28, 2022, from https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/eating-before-bed#1

“Here’s When to Stop Eating before Bed, according to Experts.” HuffPost, 19 Mar. 2021, www.huffpost.com/entry/best-time-eating-well-healthy-habits_l_60520e56c5b6ce101643a632. Accessed 28 Jan. 2022.

“Study Reveals Impact 10 Minutes of Exercise Can Have on Adults over 40.” CNN, www.cnn.com/2022/01/24/health/exercise-10-minutes-deaths-prevented-wellness/index.html.

van der Windt, Dirk J., et al. “The Effects of Physical Exercise on Fatty Liver Disease.” Gene Expression, vol. 18, no. 2, 18 May 2018, pp. 89–101, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5954622/, 10.3727/105221617X15124844266408.