Do you want to do a detoxification?

A lot of us feel motivated to undertake a detox at the beginning of january after the excesses of christmas!  However, the detoxes often include smoothies, juices, raw foods etc.  From a Chinese Medicine point of view, ideally you eat local food in season at any time of year to promote health and well-being.  What grows in the UK in the winter months, are root vegetables mainly and some green leafy veg.  Now root vegetables are generally eaten cooked, which makes them more warming for us during the coldest months.  Cooking soups, stews, roasts and bakes with root vegetables is seen as nourishing, warming and will aid digestion which helps with weight-loss and detoxifying the body.  If you also add in some punchy spices like cayenne pepper – this increases the heat, boosts digestion and nourishes the body even more.  Save the more radical elimination diets/smoothies/juices for the Spring!