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Medical Detox Veggie Soup

With the weather getting colder, I thought I'd finally share my immune boosting and overall full body detox soup. This is my favorite soup for every reason- it's delicious, savory, comforting, healing and nourishing. When it’s colder, eating hot foods can facilitate digestion and support the system. A diet rich in these vegetables and herbs is linked to reducing inflammation, minimizing cancer risk, improving heart health and optimizing overall health.

For some people, the word detox can inspire them to live an overall healthier lifestyle, which I am all for! However, most “detoxes” do not follow actual science, can be restrictive and are hard to follow. The foods or powders on these plans often do not provide enough nutrition for your body to efficiently mobilize toxins from your tissues and eliminate them effectively. We need protein, various vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals (beneficial plant chemicals) and antioxidants (plant chemicals that inhibit oxidation) to support our liver to detoxify in 2 phases. We also need these nutrients to support our system in functioning optimally. The recipe below contains most of the nutrients needed to support your liver in detoxifying effectively. It's also a great way to ADD in a healthy recipe into your lifestyle to make realistic, lasting change. Be sure to also check out my Superpowered Green Drink and Medicinal Bone Broth for more ideas to add to your detox lifestyle!

DETOX VEGGIE SOUP

Prep time: 10-20 min Cook time: 1-2hrs Servings: Makes about 6-8 servings

INGREDIENTS

1 tbsp avocado oil

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp coriander seeds

10 cups filtered water (10 stage carbon filter is ideal, now's your excuse to buy one!) ½ cup onion or scallion tops (for Low FODMAP diet) 1 cup zucchini, chopped 1 cup celery root or fennel bulb (whatever is easier to find) 2 celery stalks, chopped 2 carrots, chopped 2 parsnips, chopped 2 leeks, rinsed well, chopped 2 cups broccoli or red cabbage, chopped 1 tsp fresh ginger, peeled w/ the back of a spoon, chopped 2 tsp fresh turmeric, peeled w/ the back of a spoon, chopped (or dried/powdered) 1 piece burdock root, chopped finely 2 sprigs fresh rosemary 2 sprigs fresh sage 2-3 fresh thyme 1 sprig fresh oregano 1 cup fresh parsley, chopped

1 cup fresh dill, chopped

lemon juice to taste Salt to taste[endif]

DIRECTIONS

  1. Add oil, cumin and coriander seeds to large stockpot, stirring until fragrant

  2. Stir in leeks, carrots and celery for 2-3 min

  3. Fill stockpot with the filtered water.

  4. Add remaining chopped veggies and herbs to the stockpot, except parsley tops, dill, and lemon juice

  5. Bring to a boil.

  6. Lower the heat and simmer for 1-2 hours until all veggies are fairly soft

  7. In the last 5 minutes of cooking, add half of parsley and dill

  8. Serve with remaining fresh herbs and lemon juice

  9. Store in a tightly sealed glass container in the fridge for 3 to 5 days or freeze pre-portioned in pyrex containers. Label with the date and name of the recipe.

TIPS

  • To maximize your body’s detox process, serve this soup with a protein of your choice (a grain with a legume or for animal protein, go for wild caught seafood, pasture raised poultry, or 100% grass fed meats). Feel free to cook in any of these proteins midway through to make it a one pot dish

  • Use a crockpot like VitaClay (lead and cadmium free) or pressure cooker to speed up the cooking process.

  • Use a Veggie Wash to wash away excess dirt, pesticide residue (even with organic produce) and harmful microbes.

REFERENCES

Baillie-Hamilton, P, 2005, Stop the 21st century killing you, London: Vermilion

Ballentine, R, 1978, Diet & nutrition, Pennsylvania: Himalayan Institute

Bland, J, 2006, “Managing Biotransformation: Introduction and Overview”, 13th International Symposium of The Institute for Functional Medicine, pp85-87

Cabot, S, 2004, The liver cleansing diet”, New York: HarperCollins

Colbert D, 2005, “Nutrients for the liver: your body’s natural detox system” in Share Guide, Jan/Feb 2005, available at http://web.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.library.wales.ac.uk:2048/ehost/pdf?vid=10&hid=114&sid=de d6ad49-4241-4d92-98fe-4382dee5328c%40sessionmgr109 [accessed 18 April, 2007]

Dobson, T, 2012, Supporting the Liver’s Detoxification Process through Diet and Nutrition

Hobbs, C, 2002, Natural therapy for your liver, 2nd ed., New York: Avery

Jeffrey, EH, 2006, “Detoxification Basics” and “Diet and Detoxification Enzymes”, 13th International Symposium of The Institute for Functional Medicine, pp96-99

Liska, DJ.& Bland, JS, 2006, “Emerging clinical science of bifunctional support for detoxification” in Townsend Letter for Doctors & Patients, Jul2006 Issue 276, p96-101, 6p; available at http://web.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.library.wales.ac.uk:2048/ehost/pdf?vid=9&hid=114&sid=ded 6ad49-4241-4d92-98fe-4382dee5328c%40sessionmgr109 [accessed 18 April, 2007]

Murray M & Pizzorno J, 1998, Encyclopedia of natural medicine, 2nd ed, New York: Three Rivers Press

Waugh A & Grant A, 1998, Anatomy and physiology, 9th ed., Edinburgh: Elsevier

Williams, X, 1998, Liver detox plan, London: Vermilion

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