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10 Fruits and Vegetables to Help Reset Your Body After the Holidays

The holidays are almost over, and perhaps you’re already regretting all the fudge, sugar cookies, and calorie-packed hor d’oeuvres you’ve eaten. But never fear, there are plenty of healthy, fruits and vegetables that can help your body hit the reset button and replenish your system for the New Year. Try filling your plate with these 10 revitalizing superstars:

1. Apples (especially the peels) contain pectin, a soluble fiber, which has several benefits. It could help clear out your digestive system, and make you feel full, so you might resist mindless snacking. Plus, it helps support healthy cholesterol levels[WG1] .

2. Artichokes could help your liver break down fats and process toxins by stimulating bile flow.[1]

3. Avocadoes contain both soluble and insoluble fiber, as well as heart-healthy monounsaturated fats that leave you feeling satisfied and less likely to indulge in less healthy fats. In addition, avocadoes have high levels of glutathione, an antioxidant that is important to your liver.

4. Beets are a rare plant source of betalains, pigments that give these vegetables their deep reddish-purple color. Initial laboratory research suggests that betanin, a type of betalain, “turns on” antioxidant enzymes in the liver.[2]

5. Broccoli, a cruciferous vegetable, is a powerful cleansing food. It contains sulforaphane, a phyto-nutrient that helps process and eliminate some toxins from the body.[3]

6. Citrus Fruits like oranges, tangerines, lemons, limes, and grapefruit are all rich in vitamin C, an antioxidant vitamin that clears harmful free radicals from the system.

7. Fennel is a crunchy vegetable high in digestion-aiding fiber and low in calories. It’s also high in vitamin C.

8. Kale, another cruciferous vegetable, also contains glutathione. Eaten raw, it’s additionally a good source of insoluble fiber.

9. Onions and Garlic supply sulfur-containing amino acids that support the liver’s natural elimination process.[4],[5] Good news if you like raw onions: they are most powerful that way.

10. Parsley isn’t just for decoration. If you eat it, you will benefit from the antioxidant vitamins A and C, which could help protect your kidney and bladder.

How do you reset after the holidays?


References:

[1] Saénz Rodriguez T, Garcia Giménez D, de la Puerta Vázquez R. Choleretic activity and biliary elimination of lipids and bile acids induced by an artichoke leaf extract in rats. Phytomedicine. 2002 Dec;9(8):687-93. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12587687

[2] Krajka-Kuźniak V, et al. Betanin, a beetroot component, induces nuclear factor erythroid-2-related factor 2-mediated expression of detoxifying/antioxidant enzymes in human liver cell lines. Br J Nutr. 2013 Dec;110(12):2138-49.

[3] Boddupalli S, et al. Induction of phase 2 antioxidant enzymes by broccoli sulforaphane: perspectives in maintaining the antioxidant activity of vitamins a, C, and e. Front Genet. 2012 Jan 24;3:7. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22303412

[4] Wu CC, et al. Differential effects of garlic oil and its three major organosulfur components on the hepatic detoxification system in rats. J Agric Food Chem. 2002 Jan 16:50(2):378-83. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11782211

[5] Munday R, Munday CM. Relative activities of organosulfur compounds derived from onions and garlic in increasing tissue activities of quinone reductase and glutathione transferase in rat tissues. Nutr Cancer. 2001;40(2): 205-10. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11962257