Post Festival Detox – It’s Vital For Your Health And Well-Being

The time for festivities is over. You’ve had a grand time eating sweets and rich food (or maybe even imbibing alcoholic drinks) more than you should. You’ve spent sleepless nights in a rush of adrenaline, meeting with friends and family. You’ve given all your body care routines a big break − and shaken up the comfort of a regulated lifestyle. In short, you’ve let yourself go. Right?

Now you may start seeing all the signs of overdone festivity. Your hair and skin could look dry, or you may be puffy-eyed with sleepless stress. Your stomach may feel bloated or experience acidity. Your mind may seem tired, dull, inactive, and sluggish. And, your body could be struggling hard to bounce back to the normal routine.

Can just a few ultra-happy days cause such unpleasant after-effects, you wonder? Yes, they can. Post-festival disarray of your health and well-being is the cumulative result of many things you do when you let yourself off healthcare discipline.

It’s time to detox. But that does not mean starving yourself. It means getting back to a well-rounded routine that gently revives your mind and body. Let’s explore some rejuvenating ideas.

What is detoxification?

Kayakalp has a great analogy in one of their articles: “When you apply makeup on the face, at the end of the day the face needs a deep cleaning. Similarly, when the body consumes too many unhealthy foods, the body needs to undergo detoxification.”

Detoxification helps remove the toxins and waste from our blood through our lungs, kidneys, intestine, skin, and lymphatic systems. It also helps speed up metabolism and enhance overall health.

A few important reasons for healthy renewal

There are at least four big benefits to detoxing after festival overindulgence.

• You need to bring your body weight back to what is normal. Overeating even for a few days can cause sudden imbalances that add to body weight. You may not see it all at once, but all that rich, oily food will take its toll unless, post-festival, you actively try to reduce any weight gain.
• You need to remove excess sugar from your system. A vicious cycle starts when you eat more sugar. Your body needs to produce more insulin, which in turn puts a strain on your pancreas. If you leave this unwatched, it can cause chronic fatigue, diabetes, and other related illnesses.
• You need to flush out the toxins that have accumulated in your body. Festival times can also be high-pollution times, affecting your immune system. This, in turn, may cause heart disease, strokes, and more.
• You need to quickly and easily restore your body’s natural and healthy balance. Bad eating and lack of exercise can disturb body balance, leading to symptoms like sleep problems, water retention, bloating and gas, fatigue, sinus, muscle aches, and headaches. You have to reboot your body to a healthful state of balance.

Before you begin a revival regimen

If you have a genetic predisposition to heart disease − or some serious ailments like obesity, cholesterol, diabetes, or hypertension – these factors may combine to damage your heart with a multiplicative effect.

You may wonder if just a few days of leniency in healthcare can affect your heart. But, if you already have diseases that could affect the heart, let your doctor be in the loop to check your weight – and also your levels of cholesterol, blood pressure, and blood sugar. Then, after good advice, start your body refreshing regimen in earnest.

The different levels of healthful re-energizing

There are two levels to restarting good habits to bring back your well-being and health to normal states after festival extravagance.

1. Purifying the body through foods and drinks

Avni Kaul, Nutritionist, writing in NDTV.com, suggests that foods and drinks of the wrong kind, consumed during festive periods, need to be cleaned out by taking in other foods that are system-corrective. Here is a list you can follow.

• Eat a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables: Fruits are packed with vitamins, minerals, nutrients, fiber, and various antioxidants.
• Eat home-cooked meals: You will know exactly what ingredients are going into your every meal – and that is important.
• Avoid heavy or processed foods: Oily foods, meats, and junk foods should be totally off your plate. These foods are not easy to digest and give your system too much to do.
• Increase protein-rich foods: Protein keeps the stomach full, prevents overeating, and cuts down any sugar craving.
• Eat healthy fats: A small amount of fat in your diet is good to make you feel satiated and crave sugary foods less. Choose mono-unsaturated fats rich in HDL cholesterol.
• Eat probiotics: Probiotics are good bacteria essential to maintain good gut health. Foods like curd and yogurt are good probiotics.
• Add more fiber: Fiber-rich foods are naturally detoxifying because they scrub off toxins from the intestines. Include a good assortment of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains in your diet.
• Hydrate well: There’s no better substitute for water to renew and invigorate your body. The more water you drink, the more toxins and undigested food you help flush out of your system.
• Keep a list of good foods to shop for: If you have choices before you that are good for your health, your food shopping will be much easier. Here are the foods to buy more of and consume: Lemon, honey, curd (or yogurt), beetroot, cabbage, turmeric, garlic, cinnamon, spinach, ginger, green veggies, cucumber, tomatoes, carrots, broccoli, celery, green tea, nuts, lentils, and fresh citrus fruits. All these are not just good to eat raw or lightly cooked, or blended into smoothies, but they are all rich in antioxidants and good for immunity building.

2. Revitalizing through lifestyle habits

Food is not the only way to perk up the body and mind. There’s a whole other level of restoration that you can benefit from. Here are some ways.

• Restart a sustainable exercise routine: If you’ve been habituated to an exercise routine that you did before the festival (and that your doctor has allowed) get back to it gradually. If you don’t have a specific exercise routine, see if you can add in some daily walking, and some good yoga stretches or light pilates, as Realbuzz recommends. Exercise makes you sweat out your body’s toxins.
• Have sufficient sleep of 7-8 hours: The body repairs itself when you are asleep. Help it by gradually unwinding your activities for the day and going to bed at regular sleep time. This will energize your body and help remove toxic wastes through the body’s own rejuvenation methods.
• Revive your mood and mind: Most people will say, after a festival season, that they have a hangover or a low mood … caused perhaps by “festival-high-withdrawal symptoms”. You can revive your mood and energy through deep breathing exercises, meditation, and slower and more mindful activities.
• Pamper your skin and hair: Chances are you will look less blooming and your hair may look too dry after an overload of sugary foods. Spend time caring for your body and looks. This will not only bring you back to attractiveness physically but also do great things for your self-confidence and personality.

In summary

Festival time can feel great but also take its toll. De-stress your life. Reinvigorate your mind and body, to also help your heart. Fill your heart with loving care.

References:

1. Kayakalp.in. “Post Festival Detox.” Accessed November 3, 2022.
2. Kaul, Avni. NDTV.com. “Post Diwali Detox Tips: Do’s And Don’ts For Detoxification After Festive Season Binge.” Accessed November 3, 2022. https://www.ndtv.com/health/post-diwali-detox-tips-dos-and-donts-for-detoxification-after-festive-season-binge-2325715
3. Realbuzz.com. “The Essential Post-Festival Detox.” Accessed November 3, 2022. https://www.realbuzz.com/articles-interests/health/article/the-essential-post-festival-detox/