• It’s a Cookbook
    It’s a Philosophy
    It’s a Resource
logologologologo
  • FoodTrients 101
  • News
      • Age Gracefully with Grace O
      • Ginger Hultin, Nutrition
      • Mark Rosenberg, MD
      • Robert Tostado, MD
      • Anti-Aging
      • Beauty
      • Food
      • Health
      • Exercise
      • Celiac
      • Life Extension
      • Books We Love
      • FoodTrients Guides
      • Newsletter
      • woman doing yogaSecrets of the Lymphatic System
      • Fresh-RosemaryRosemary Improves Memory and Cognition
      • fish on slateAnti-Inflammatory Foods: the Top 10
      • capsule full of good foodAre Supplements Safe for You?
  • Recipes
    • SEARCH BY:

      • Category:

      • Starters
      • Soups
      • Salads
      • Main Dishes
      • Sides
      • Desserts
      • Drinks
      • Extras
      • Spice Mixes
      • All Recipes
      • Or Search By:

      • Anti-inflammatory
      • Antioxidant
      • Beauty
      • Detox
      • Disease Prevention
      • Gut Health
      • Immunity Booster
      • Mind
      • Strength
      • exotic fruit and granolaExotic Fruit Salad with Granola
      • buffalo meat slidersTry Buffalo Sliders with Sweetened Cranberries
      • chocolate mousseIt’s a Melt-in-Your-Mouth Chocolate Mousse 
      • Green Tea NoodlesHeart-Healthy Green Tea Noodles Ramp Up the Flavor
  • Resources
  • About
  • Shop
  • Media
  • Home Page
  • News
    • Age Gracefully
    • Anti-Aging
    • Beauty
    • Food
    • Ginger Hultin, MS RDN CSO
    • Health
    • Newsletter
  • Recipes
    • Starters
    • Soups
    • Salads
    • Main Dishes
    • Sides
    • Desserts
    • Drinks
    • Extras
    • Spice Mixes
  • Resources
    • Anti-Aging Resources
    • Health
    • Eating Well
    • Books We Love
  • About
    • About Grace O
    • Experts and Advisors
    • Contact Us
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • YouTube
    • Pinterest
  • Shop
  • Media
    • In the Media
    • Press Releases
    • Videos
            No results See all results
            ✕
                      No results See all results

                      Which Foods Are Best To Help You Detox?

                      Published by Ginger Hultin, MS RDN CSO

                      Detox icon(Are there foods that can help you detox? Yes! Detoxing naturally is the focus for the fourth part in our series on the nine benefits at the core of FoodTrients® and all of our recipes. What you eat matters when it comes to keeping your liver healthy. Each month we’ll explore one of these incredible anti-aging benefits and show you how they help fight the diseases of aging.)

                      Are you interested in removing toxins from your body? Do you need to follow a diet or take supplements to do it? If you’ve been wondering about doing a cleanse or detox, this post is for you because we’ll be highlighting the exact foods that you need to support your body’s natural detoxification systems.

                      Detoxification is the processing and removal of compounds in the body that cause damage to tissues. We often associate detoxing with expensive specialty products, vitamins/minerals, herbal extracts/teas, or other ‘diets’. These detox plans are often restrictive and unsustainable for the purpose of a “quick fix” cleanse of your body. The truth is: in order to truly detox, you need a variety of vitamins and minerals to support powerful systems already in place. Humans have the necessary systems in place for optimal function and survival. Research has shown that there are certain vitamins, minerals, and other bioactive substances found in food that can support detox — naturally.

                      Let’s dive further into the natural detoxification systems in the body and discuss which Foodtrients® are essential in the process.

                      The Liver

                      The liver functions as one of the body’s main detoxification organs. By increasing your intake of foods rich with certain nutrients that promote liver function and detox pathways, you can support this vital organ and promote its best performance in detoxifying your body. In order to eliminate toxins quickly, some fat-soluble toxins must be modified to be water-soluble so that they can be excreted in our waste removal systems that utilize water like the kidneys. The liver performs detoxification in two phases to achieve this.

                      In phase 1, specific enzymes function to create a reactive site on toxic compounds which allows phase 2 to begin, and other enzymes bind a water-soluble group to this reactive site. This makes the toxin water-soluble, allowing it to be removed from the body via our natural waste systems. Hydration is critical in phase 2, as more available water increases the rate at which we can remove water-soluble waste products. During both of these phases, free radicals (compounds that can create damage) are created as a natural by-product of modifying compounds, so antioxidant nutrients play an important role in neutralizing the free radicals and preventing oxidative damage to tissues.

                      The best way to optimize the function of your natural detoxification system is to supply it with the nutrients necessary to fuel the process.

                      Foods rich in nutrients for Phase 1:

                      Allium Vegetables

                      Examples: garlic, onions, shallots

                      Nutrients: flavonoids, sulfur

                      Cruciferous Vegetables

                      Examples: broccoli, Brussel sprouts, kale, mustard greens

                      Nutrients: riboflavin, indoles, magnesium, niacin, vitamin C

                      Nuts and Seeds

                      Examples: almonds, peanuts

                      Nutrients: B2, pantothenic acid (B5), essential amino acids, flavonoids, folate, magnesium, niacin, selenium

                      Red/orange/yellow Produce

                      Examples: bell peppers, berries, carrots, citrus, tomatoes

                      Nutrients: magnesium, vitamins A, C, E

                      Seafood

                      Examples: crab, clams, halibut, salmon, shrimp

                      Nutrients: riboflavin, B12, folate, niacin, omega fats, selenium

                      Foods rich in nutrients for Phase 2:

                      Beans and Legumes

                      Examples: baked beans, cashews, lentils, soybeans

                      Nutrients: essential amino acids, folate, flavonoids, magnesium, niacin, selenium

                      Dairy

                      Examples: cheeses, low-fat milk, yogurt,

                      Nutrients:  riboflavin, pantothenic acid (B5), B6, B12, essential amino acids, magnesium, selenium

                      Dark Leafy Greens

                      Examples: arugula, bok choy, cilantro, spinach

                      Nutrients: flavonoids, sulfur, vitamins C, K

                      Eggs

                      Nutrients: riboflavin, pantothenic acid (B5), B12, essential amino acids

                      Mushrooms

                      Examples: maitake, oyster, portabellas, shiitake

                      Nutrients: riboflavin, pantothenic acid (B5), essential amino acids, niacin, selenium

                      Seafood

                      Examples: cod, salmon, tilapia

                      Nutrients: B6, B12, essential amino acids, folate, omega fats, selenium

                      Whole Grains

                      Examples: brown rice, fortified grains/cereals, oats, wheat

                      Nutrients: pantothenic acid (B5), essential amino acids, folate, magnesium

                      In combination with eating a variety of the foods listed above, maintaining good hydration and fiber intake are great ways to help your body remove the toxins after they have been processed in the liver. Proper hydration supports your kidneys to remove waste, and together with increased dietary fiber intake helps maintain regular waste removal via the digestive tract (bile/stool). By consuming these foods, you can supply your liver with the necessary building blocks to function at its best, successfully and quickly processing toxic compounds in your body into waste for removal by other organs.

                       

                       

                      Anti-inflammatory iconAnti-Inflammatory

                      Anti-Inflammatory Foods: the Top 10

                       

                      Antioxidant iconAntioxidants

                       

                      Antioxidants Help Slow Down Premature Aging

                       

                      Beauty iconBeauty

                      Beauty Is So Much More Than Skin Deep

                       

                      Detox iconDetox

                      Which Foods Are Best To Help You Detox?

                       

                      Disease Prevention iconDisease Prevention

                      Meet the Best Foods for Disease Prevention

                       

                      Gut Health IconGut health

                      Good Gut Health Helps Prevent Diseases – FoodTrients

                       

                      Immunity Boosting iconImmunity Booster

                      How To Support Your Immune System Naturally

                       

                      Strength icon

                      Strength

                      Strength-Building Food Is Key to Aging Well

                       

                      Mind iconMind

                      How To Feed Your Brain and Keep Sharp

                       

                       

                      1. Hodges RE, Minich DM. Modulation of Metabolic Detoxification Pathways Using Foods and Food-Derived Components: A Scientific Review with Clinical Application. J Nutr Metab. 2015;2015:760689.
                      2. Sunde RA. Selenium. In: Ross AC, Caballero B, Cousins RJ, Tucker KL, Ziegler TR, eds. Modern Nutrition in Health and Disease. 11th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2012:225-37
                      3. Xu L, Lu Y, Wang N, Feng Y. The Role and Mechanisms of Selenium Supplementation on Fatty Liver-Associated Disorder. Antioxidants (Basel). 2022 May 8;11(5):922.

                       

                      Share
                      Ginger Hultin, MS RDN CSO
                      Ginger Hultin, MS RDN CSO
                      Ginger Hultin MS RDN CSO is a Seattle-based Registered Dietitian Nutritionist and long time contributor to nutrition content on Foodtrients®. She is the owner of the concierge, virtual nutrition practice Ginger Hultin Nutrition where she helps clients with complex health conditions through an integrative approach. She specializes in anti-inflammatory diets for integrative oncology nutrition, people with gastrointestinal disease, and autoimmune issues. Her 10-year partnership with Foodtrients® has focused on evidence-based anti-aging nutrition, healthy recipes, and "top foods" lists in many categories from blood sugar control to healing your gut. Ginger serves as adjunct clinical faculty at the Bastyr Center for Natural Health in Seattle. She is the director of communications at the Washington State Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, a past Spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, and past-chair of the Vegetarian Nutrition Dietetic Practice Group. She has authored two nutrition books: Anti-Inflammatory Diet Meal Prep and the How to Eat to Beat Disease Cookbook. Ginger is a graduate of the University of Washington and Bastyr University and is currently pursuing her doctorate of clinical nutrition at the University of North Florida.

                      Sign Up to get our
                      NEWSLETTER FREE


                      By submitting this form, you are consenting to receive marketing emails from: . You can revoke your consent to receive emails at any time by using the SafeUnsubscribe® link, found at the bottom of every email. Emails are serviced by Constant Contact

                      Ginger Hultin

                      • 0
                        Beauty Is So Much More Than Skin Deep
                        May 15, 2025
                      • Prebiotics: Why Do We Need Them?
                        May 15, 2025
                      • Lemon Balm Is the ‘Bomb’ for Stress and More
                        May 12, 2025
                      • The Beauty of Essential Oils: Here’s Our Guide to the Top 50
                        May 12, 2025
                      • Rosemary Blooms with Healing Properties
                        April 7, 2025

                      SEE MORE ARTICLES

                      ABOUT

                      • Grace O
                      • Our Experts
                      • FoodTrients
                      • Board of Advisors
                      • FAQs

                      EXPLORE

                      • Age Gracefully by Grace O
                      • News
                      • Recipes
                      • Our Guides
                      • Resources
                      • Shop
                      • Media

                      CONNECT

                      • Contact Us
                      • Subscribe
                      • Facebook
                      • Pinterest
                      • Instagram
                      • Twitter
                      • YouTube

                      SIGN UP for our NEWSLETTER

                      Nourish your week! Get the latest wellness news and delicious recipes to help you age better.


                      By submitting this form, you are consenting to receive marketing emails from: . You can revoke your consent to receive emails at any time by using the SafeUnsubscribe® link, found at the bottom of every email. Emails are serviced by Constant Contact

                      FoodTrients Trademark™ and copyright © 2011-2024 Triple G Enterprises. I Terms and Conditions I Privacy

                      This website is for informational and entertainment purposes only and is not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. FoodTrients – A Recipe for Aging Beautifully Grace O, author and creator of FoodTrients® -- a philosophy, a cookbook and a resource -- has a new cookbook dedicated to age-defying and delicious recipes, The Age Beautifully Cookbook: Easy and Exotic Longevity Secrets from Around the World, which provides one hundred-plus recipes that promote health and well-being. The recipes are built on foundations of modern scientific research and ancient knowledge of medicinal herbs and natural ingredients from around the world. Since the publication of her first anti-aging book, The Age GRACEfully Cookbook, Grace O has identified eight categories of FoodTrients benefits (Anti-inflammatory, Antioxidant, Immune Booster, Disease Prevention, Beauty, Strength, Mind, and Weight Loss) that are essential to fighting aging, which show how specific foods, herbs, and spices in the recipes help keep skin looking younger, prevent the diseases of aging, and increase energy and vitality. Grace O combines more exotic ingredients that add age-fighting benefits to familiar recipe favorites.

                                No results See all results