What is a fat flush? You can’t literally “flush” fat from your body, but it’s a figure of speech for jump-starting your metabolism to quickly burn a higher amount of fat than normal, for a short period of time. There are safe ways to fat flush — and unsafe ways. In this post, we’ll discuss 9 simple ways to SAFELY practice fat flushing through diet, calorie restriction, fasting, and various forms of detoxing.
This is the 19th post in a 20-part series about how to detox your body, life and spirit. Make sure to check out the first post in the series, which also lists all 20 steps of the detox program. You can also subscribe to be notified of future posts, and sign up to receive my free 67-page detox e-book.
One easy way to mobilize fat from the body is drinking adequate water, our bodies are 75-80% water and when we are well hydrated the body can function properly and move excesses out of the body.
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1. INCREASE YOUR VITAMIN C INTAKE
Some great sources of vitamin C include grapefruit, kiwi, papaya, oranges, and strawberries. There are also really amazing vitamin C supplements when you’re looking to give your immune system a bonus boost and dose up to 3-5 grams of vitamin C depending on bowel tolerance. Increases doses slowly and what for loose stools.
The alternative is to visit your locally naturopathic doctors and receive a high dose vitamin C IV series to give yourself a badass boost of Vitamin C that you couldn’t otherwise ingest. Since Intravenous therapy goes directly into the blood stream, it bypasses the gut avoiding bowels symptoms you may experience when taking high doses of Vitamin C orally.
2. 1 – 7 DAY LOW GLYCEMIC JUICE FAST
The length depends on experience with detoxification and fat flushing. Check out my post on my favorite juice & smoothie recipes for more on liquid fasting, and my 24-hr vs 3-day fasts post as well. Juice fasting can help you clean out the colon and also support bile in removing cholesterol from the body, when done properly.
3. DRINK GREEN TEA
Threonine is an essential amino acid, meaning the body doesn’t synthesize it so we are required to receive it in our food. Threonine has been recently noted to help prevent fatty liver. Threonine is also a precursor to glycine and serine, 2 other amino acids that are used in many biochemical processes within the body. It’s great for muscles, bones and overall body health.
My friends and I love to gather and drink ceremonial matcha which is a high threonine powder green tea! Setting intentions with tea ceremonies has been tradition in many cultures since ancient times. Its a way to gather, share tea and hold space for friendships to grow and the added health benefits are a double bonus!
4. CONSUME GARLIC
Garlic stimulates the satiety hormone which reduces binge eating, sugar cravings, junk food, and oily stuff. Garlic releases norepinephrine, a neurotransmitter which boosts metabolism. The allicin present in garlic lowers blood pressure, cholesterol, and insulin levels. Garlic is a powerful detoxifier and effective diuretic and contains trace minerals (sulfur, selenium, magnesium, zinc, copper and iron), amino acids and vitamins A, C, and E.
Just a little bit of garlic keeps the vampires away! Well by vampires in this case, we are referring to the tiny little parasite, bacteria, and fungi that will steal your nutrients and create havoc in then body if overgrowth occurs.
5. APPLE CIDER VINEGAR
Apple cider vinegar (ACV) is known for its ability to support weight loss, making your skin glow, and lowering glucose levels. Refer to the previous post for more on ACV!
6. CAYENNE PEPPER
The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition conducted a study which found that daily consumption of one of the compounds in cayenne pepper (capsaicin) speeds up abdominal fat loss by boosting the body’s metabolism and hence its ability to convert food into energy. (Source). If you are a spice lover its easy to add cayenne to a variety of dishes and drinks!
7. BERRIES
Polyphenol antioxidants, found in berries, will help burn fat and boost your workouts by improving blood flow to your muscles. One of the best ways to consume berries is in Coconut kefir or coconut yogurt, the added benefit of the fermented coconut can help support healthy digestion and balance good bacteria in the gut!
8. GRAPEFRUIT
The fruit is rich in phytochemicals, bioactive compounds that recent research shows stimulate the production of a hormone called adiponectin, which is involved in the breakdown of body fat. (Source) Grapefruit is particular useful in cleansing the liver and gallbladder reducing gallstones and increasing bile dumping in the intestines. In fact, there is a well known liver/gallbladder flush that uses grapefruit as its many ingredient to flush gallstones.
9. DIGESTIVE ENZYMES
The body makes specific digestive enzymes to help with absorption of different types of foods we eat. In other words, we make carbohydrate-specific, protein-specific and fat-specific enzymes. If the body is not making enough digestive enzymes to help the digestive process unfold smoothly, it’s possible to experience constipation that may improve when you supplement with enzymes. Adding digestive enzymes prior to meals or on an empty stomach can restore the bodies enzyme balance and also assist in breaking down food that we may have difficulty digesting. Having adequate enzymes can assist it processing certain nutrient more efficiently, hence eliminating stagnation and mobilizing fats.
If you enjoyed this 19th step in Dr S’s 20 Step Detox Program, make sure to:
- Check out the first post in the series to read the full list of 20 Ways to Detox
- And download the free 67-page e-book to learn the entire program in full!
Dr. S, ND