Detox Food

These ten detox foods have been shown to provide the best all-round nutrients that will work hard to get rid of the toxins in your body.

  • Apple
    Scientists in the Ukraine have used apples to purify the area around Chernobyl after the nuclear leak. Contains Vitamin C and quercetin, antioxidant nutrients that lower fat and cholesterol levels.

    Pectin a fibre also found in citrus fruits, beets and berries, that binds heavy metals (such as lead and mercury) in the colon and encourages their excretion. Also helps the body excrete food additives, including tartrazine, which is linked to hyperactivity, migraine and asthma in children.

  • Avocado
    Contains Glutathione, an antioxidant that fights free radicals. This combines with fat-soluble toxins, particularly alcohol, to make them water-soluble. Levels of glutathione decrease as we age (that's why hangovers worsen as we get older): researchers at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, USA, found that elderly people, whose levels of glutathione were higher, were healthier. They were also less likely to suffer from arthritis, which many experts believe is a disease aggravated by excess toxicity.

  • Artichoke
    Increases bile production. One of the jobs of bile is to carry toxins to the bowel where they can be excreted; according to research, artichoke can increase bile flow by 127 per cent 30 minutes after being eaten. Contains Antioxidant chemicals. Studies from the University of Tubingen in Germany show that damage to the liver caused by free radicals is dramatically lessened when artichoke extracts are present.

  • Beetroot
    Beetroot has been used for many years by Roman civilizations as a blood-purifying tonic. Ingredients in it may also absorb toxic metals. At Leadville, a polluted mine site in Colorado, USA, beets and other crops such as carrot and banana are being used to filter 70 per cent of pollutants from water. Contains Methionine, which helps to reduce cholesterol levels and purify natural waste products from the body.

    Betanin, which helps the rate at which the liver can break down fatty acids. This takes pressure off the organ, allowing it to fight more dangerous toxins.

  • Cruciferous Vegetables
    Cabbage, kale, brussels sprouts, spinach and cauliflower are all cruciferous vegetables, and are very powerful detoxers. A study at Cornell University in the USA found that brussels sprouts inhibited aflatoxin, a toxic mould linked to liver cancer. Cruciferous vegetables have also neutralized nitrosamines in cigarette smoke. Contains Glucosinolates, which prompt the liver to produce vital enzymes.

  • Garlic
    Contains Allicin is created when garlic is crushed, and it converts into a sulphur-based compound when it enters the body. Toxins such as mercury, certain food additives and chemical versions of the hormone oestrogen bind with sulphur, enabling the body to excrete the whole package. Sulphur also helps keep the body alkaline, which can help fight cravings caused by nicotine addiction.

  • Kiwi Fruit
    Contains Vitamin C, a powerful antioxidant, which also helps the body manufacture the vital detoxer glutathione. A study published in the American Journal of Nutrition found that when people were given 500mg of vitamin C i day levels of glutathione increased by 50 per cent in just two weeks.

  • Prunes
    These are the ultimate antioxidant food and provide twice as many antioxidants as blueberries, their nearest competitor.

    Contains: Tartaric acid, a natural laxative. Dihydropheyl isatin, which triggers the intestine to contract. This and tartaric acid combined reduce the time faeces stays in the system, thereby reducing the risk of toxic reabsorption.

  • Seaweed
    Studies at McGill University in Montreal, Canada, have shown that seaweeds will bind in the body with radioactive waste. These wastes can reach us via food that has been grown where water or soil has been contaminated. Contains: Minerals in high doses, such as iron, iodine, calcium and magnesium. Alginates: if your body doesn't get minerals from your diet, it will try to extract them from any heavy metals it takes in. Fortunately seaweed alginates have been shown to bind with heavy metals, which facilitates their excretion.

  • Watercress
    Watercress increases detox enzymes in the body, and may act directly on particular toxins. When smokers were given 170g (6oz) of watercress a day at the Norwich Food Research Centre in the UK, they excreted higher than average levels of known carcinogens in their urine. Contains: Chlorophyll, which helps build healthy red blood cells, boosting circulation.

    Some other imporatnt detox foods.