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Spring clean your diet

With spring finally here, it's time to give your diet a thorough cleaning.

Changing the types of foods you eat can help your body rid toxins and absorb new nutrients - giving your cells and systems a much needed recharge.

The first step is getting rid of 'dirty' foods. This list seems to be never-ending but includes most processed foods, fast foods, sugary foods and drinks, foods containing enriched flour, alcohol, and artificial sweeteners.

Nonorganic foods also contain chemicals that can slowly poison the body and put added stress on the liver, kidneys, and other vital organs. These foods make the body dirty by causing inflammation, digestive problems, inadequate detox, weight gain, dehydration, and lack of energy.

Once you throw out the dirty foods, you can bring in the "clean" replacements. Eating more of these foods will actually aid in your body's natural cleansing process.

These clean foods include raw organic vegetables and fresh fruits, omega-3 fats, green tea, and filtered water. Organic foods provide valuable nutrients without all the unwanted chemical disrupters.

By eating more raw vegetables and fresh fruits, you are increasing fiber intake and plant nutrients. Fiber will capture toxic particles in the body and improve bowel movements.

Other foods like lemons, spinach, and olive oil will help to support a neutral pH balance. Maintaining a neutral pH will help minimize many problems that exist in an acidic body, such as fungus and bacterial growth, which could lead to allergies, fatigue, and even obesity.

Increasing your water intake will help flush your system of toxins and accelerate fat loss. A general recommendation is to drink at least half your body weight in ounces of water every day. So a 150-pound person should aim to take in around 75 ounces.

This is much easier when you eliminate or minimize other fluids such as colas and juices and make water your beverage of choice.

All these factors will help your body do its job of absorbing the good and eliminating the bad. So make the effort to improve your body's ability to keep itself clean and healthy. You'll see and feel the difference!

• Joshua Steckler is the owner of Push Fitness, a personal training studio located in Schaumburg specializing in weight loss, muscle toning, and nutrition. Contact him at PushFitnessTraining.com.

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