Spring Cleaning Tips For Your Mind And Body

Have you started Spring cleaning yet? We’re not talking about the dusting and mopping you do around the house. We’re talking about the toxin removal you should do internally to give your organ systems a refresh.

Detoxing your body in the Spring after a long, cold winter is a great way to welcome the warm weather. Many Americans are stuck indoors where we are prone to eating comfort foods and not exercising much. This can lead to unwanted weight gain, fatigue, skin and digestive issues, and more.

Here are some Spring cleaning tips you can do for your body, starting immediately, to help you prepare for warmer weather.

What Does Spring Cleaning Your Body Mean?

Just like a home needs spring cleaning or a car needs an oil change, our bodies also need time to cleanse and renew. In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), the idea of Spring as a time of cleansing and renewal is built into its framework and philosophy.

Visceral manifestation theory in TCM centers on the functioning of the five organ systems relating to time and seasonality. This includes the day-night cycle (circadian) as well as the annual cycle (the four major seasons of spring, summer, autumn, and winter).

Specifically, spring (or lunar months one and two) is believed to be the season of the Liver – a time of cleansing, detoxification, and renewal. This fits well with modern medicine’s understanding of the Liver as a toxin-removing organ.

In TCM, the Liver is also associated with the emotion of anger. It’s why skipping this “Spring cleaning” can also wreak havoc on emotional health. 

Translating this into today’s medical observation, Eu Yan Sang’s Senior Nutritionist Salome Tham notes that as we age, our detoxification and repair function deteriorates. This won’t be an issue if we maintain a self-aware style of living that gives our body the time it needs to regroup. 

According to Miss Tham, these toxins cause damage to the body’s cells and tissues, resulting in organ dysfunction, and even severe diseases or mental health problems. Giving our bodies a ‘Spring cleaning’ regularly is essential for maintaining physical and mental health.

Spring Cleaning vs. Detoxing: What’s The Difference?

Far from recommending trend-based juice detoxes or food fasts, Miss Tham emphasizes that the body already has a detoxification system built in. She details four important key aspects of a simple yet comprehensive approach to Spring cleaning. 

Sleep 

It is no secret that sleep is critical to good health. It is also the most crucial and straightforward way to allow your body to detox regularly. This Spring, get into the good habit of sleeping on time.

In TCM, the sleep-and-awake cycle is regulated by the continuous circulation of wei qi (protective qi). While wei qi circulates the body, it goes through the meridians (the channels where your qi, blood and body fluids move). 

Wei qi does this 25 times along yang meridians during daytime and then 25 more times throughout yin meridians at night-time. Using the meridian clock as a basis, the best time to sleep, according to TCM, is by 11 pm. Staying up past 11 pm prevents the regeneration of Liver yin and blood. 

Recent brain research funded by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) in the United States revealed that the brain flushes out toxins as it sleeps. While scientists have known for some time that sleep helps us store memories, this new research shows that sleep is also a time for the brain to detox.

From a digestion point of view, once we’re asleep, bowel movement starts to slow down. The digestive organs enter a resting state followed by activation of metabolic detoxification.

Eat a cleansing diet

“Selecting the right foods replenishes the nutrients needed to detoxify your body as well as keep external toxins at bay,” Miss Tham states. She recommends eating a rainbow of fiber-rich food as one of the most helpful ways to detox.

While fiber promotes bowel movement, rich antioxidants eliminate free radicals. Miss Tham also suggests consuming good fatty acids so your body can metabolize and remove fat-soluble toxins in fat tissues.

A review of the science behind “eating the rainbow” highlighted research demonstrating that phytonutrients are essential to holistic health.

For example, one Australian study revealed that increasing fruit and vegetable intake was positively associated with happiness, life satisfaction, and well-being.

As for intermittent fasting (IF), Miss Tham notes it’s necessary to recognize that intermittent fasting is not about deprivation. It’s more about timing your eating to allow the body to rest from the exhausting work of digestion.

You should consult your physician before assuming IF is for you. For developing children, diabetics and those with chronic conditions, or women who are pregnant or breastfeeding, detoxes, and fasting may not be suitable for you.

Exercise 

We know that sweating while exercising is one of the best ways our body removes excess sodium. Recent research has also shown that exercise among people with fatty liver disease significantly improves their health markers.

This underscores the necessity of physical movement in pumping our natural detoxification engine. For example, preliminary research published in the Journal of Liver Research indicates that exercise increases insulin sensitivity. This relieves the burden on the liver to metabolize and remove excess “unused” insulin in our system.

You can also support Liver detox by taking Antrodia Cinnamomea (AC) Mycelium. AC is a highly valued herb found only in Taiwan and is a trusted remedy for promoting liver health and alleviating liver conditions. It can also be used to promote vitality, enhance body functions, and improve immunity.

Drink lots of water

An extensive 2019 review on hydration and associated health outcomes confirms that sufficient water is vital for renal health, weight management, and cognition. The review also found that dehydration is frequently associated with increased negative emotions.

Start Spring Cleaning Today

These four fundamental principles to spring cleaning your body and soul should happen year-round. Caring for our body based on seasonality can help us understand our biology as part of the natural world. The best kind of spring cleaning is one that helps your body heal itself.