Three Detoxifiers for Your Post St. Paddy’s Day Hangover

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Top o’ the mornin’ to you! This little gem right here is from St. Paddy’s Day circa 2007… and that is me in the middle with my old roomies. And yes, I have a leprechaun hat on my head. I’d just like to point out this was pre Dallas Greenville parade and block party, so mind you I am sober. OK, maybe a little tipsy, I was 24 after all. Either way, as you can tell I really really love St. Paddy’s Day.

So, naturally, I wanted to post something here to mark the day, but notice that I am not posting green juice or some other healthy green thing you obviously will not be making or consuming later because, hello, it’s St. Patrick’s Day… and on St. Patrick’s Day you drink beer. I get it. It’s a day that’s about celebrating life, friendship and debauchery. And it’s amazing.

What I thought you maybe could use though are a few recipes and tips for tomorrow…. when the green keg is tapped and you wake up no where near the top of the morning. So I’ve put together three somewhat easy and quick ways to help you detox, clear your system and not look like a leprechaun on Tuesday. So before you head to the bar or pick up that six pack, read this. Or at least print it out so you’ll have it later. Because those green beer hangovers are the worst…

Three Cures for Your St. Paddy’s Day Hangover

Sip warm water with lemon – Fast forward from my Greenville block party start-the-day-with-a-mimosa days and seven years later this is what I sip every morning – a cup of hot water with lemon.

Instead of going straight to the coffee pot when you get up in the morning, try this first. Squeeze a quarter of a lemon in a cup of warm or hot water and sip away. The water and lemon work to alkalize and (literally) flush toxins out that your body stirred up overnight.

While we sleep our bodies go into self-cleansing mode. So to help carry out the trash, so to speak, we need water to get things moving along. I like to imagine little maid cells with brooms and dust pans that come out when the lights go out and things get still…

Adding lemon also helps get your body’s pH back in balance. After a good night’s sleep we wake up on the more acidic end of the spectrum so to help get back in the middle you want to start the day with something alkalizing, like lemon. I know the taste is acidic, but its reaction in the body is alkalizing. And you know what else puts you on the more acidic side? Alcohol. So the more alkalizing foods like lemon, greens and other vegetables you can eat the better to get you back in balance. And more water too.

Swish some coconut oil – Oil pulling seems to be quite the hot topic on the Internet these days and I’ve been getting a lot of questions about it lately so let’s discuss… What is it? Oil pulling is an ancient Ayurvedic (Indian medicine) practice where oil is used sort of like mouthwash to pull toxins and bacteria out of the tissues in your mouth. You want to use a high quality, unrefined oil like coconut, olive or sesame (I recommend coconut). Put about 1/2 a tablespoon in your mouth and swish, moving the oil around and through your teeth for 20 minutes.

20 minutes!? yes, I know it sounds like an eternity but you’ll be surprised how fast the time can pass. Do it while you’re in the shower, drying your hair, putting on make up, checking email, etc. When time’s up, spit the oil into the trash (not down the sink! it will clog the pipes.) then rinse with salt water. Also, do not swallow – the oil is full of toxins that you want out of your body. For best results, do it daily, right when you wake up.

Aside from hangovers, oil pulling has been known to relieve a incredibly wide-ranging list of ailments including allergies, chronic pain, skin issues, hormone imbalances, the list goes on… What’s more, it whitens teeth and can make them stronger and healthier too by getting rid of the bacteria that can lead to decay.

Get your sweat on – Toxins leave the body through sweat so if you can start your morning by sweating out most of what you put in the day before, you’ll be feeling better a heck of a lot faster. It will probably be the hardest thing you do all day, but make yourself go for a run, bike ride or to a hot yoga class…whatever you can muster to get yourself sweaty for a bit. If that’s just not happening, then OK. Perhaps a sauna is more your speed.

I’ve recently discovered the far infrared sauna for detoxification. Infrared saunas use a different type of heat than the traditional saunas you typically see in spas. They work by heating your core gradually from in the inside out rather than from the outside in. The result is more toxins released from your tissues. When it comes to sweating out the alcohol though, any sauna will do the trick.

Now, go celebrate like green is going out of style. And tuck these tips away for the mornin’. Cheers! Happy St. Paddy’s!