If you’re looking for foods to detoxify your body, good news — you have plenty of options. Contrary to popular belief, you don’t have to stick with bland foods or gross-tasting drinks to get the bad toxins out of your body. There are dozens of natural foods that naturally detoxify your body, and they’re all available at the grocery store or your local farmers’ market.

1. Ginger

Ginger’s medicinal properties have been known for thousands of years. Ginger helps cleanse the liver of nasty toxins. Additionally, it can help boost your metabolism and possibly curb your appetite. It’s a great choice to complement tea or soups. You can also let the root soak in hot water or chew on it. Whatever way you get ginger into your body will be beneficial.

2. Avocados

Avocados used to get a bad reputation because they’re a high-fat food. However, recent research has shown that avocados have the good kind of fat — not the transfat that we’ve been warned about for years. Avocados are high in fiber and antioxidants that cleanse the colon. Avocados can also lower cholesterol. While you can certainly enjoy the avocado’s benefits by eating guacamole, you’ll get the best results from eating it without other ingredients.

3. Garlic

Garlic is a great choice to include in any detox diet. In addition to adding nice flavor to your meals, garlic can also boost your immune system and cleanse your liver. It can also be used to lower blood pressure and help kill bacterial infections. If you don’t like garlic’s taste, you can get garlic tablets that give you the same benefits as eating it.

4. Broccoli

While most of us dreaded eating broccoli when we were children, as adults we can appreciate the benefits the vegetable has to offer. Broccoli works with the enzymes in your liver to detoxify it. These toxins are changed into a form that the body can easily break down and get rid of, leaving your liver in good shape. Steaming broccoli can help if you can’t overcome your childhood hate for its flavor, or you can add sauces with other power foods — such as this garlic-ginger sauce — to enjoy broccoli.

5. Apples

We’ve all heard the saying “an apple a day keeps the doctor away.” Apples contain pectin, which is a type of fiber that can remove additives and metals from your system. If you’re a fan of juicing or are looking to start it, apples are a great choice for many healthy juicing methods, such as the green apple-ade recipe.Of course, you can’t go wrong with eating apples raw, especially since there are such a wide variety of apples available.

6. Carrots

Eating carrots is a great way to guarantee getting plenty of nutrients. They contain vitamins C, K and A and are also a great source of potassium — all of this in addition to the nutrients that help cleanse the liver. Carrots go great with tons of healthy foods such as hummus, guacamole and peanut butter, so you can consume multiple power foods at once. Carrots contain the most nutrients when they’re uncooked, so eat them in their raw form for the best results.

7. Asparagus

Asparagus can do wonders for your body. It’s known to help with liver drainage, so this is a good food to eat at the start of your detox diet — it helps get rid of anything that may be backing up your liver. Asparagus also keeps your heart healthy, acts as an anti-inflammatory and can even help with the anti-aging process. Raw or cooked, asparagus is a great option for anyone who wants to be healthier.

8. Water

Water is the best thing you can give to your body — and also one of the most overlooked. Water has many benefits, including keeping your brain healthy and making you feel better. Because water doesn’t have any additives, it is the best thing you can drink to flush toxins from your body. It’s especially important to drink water if you’re doing activities that cause you to sweat, such as exercising or going to the sauna. Just be sure you don’t overwhelm your body with too much water at once, especially if you’re not in the habit of drinking it regularly — slowly increase your intake to get your body used to it.

The most important thing to remember when you’re starting a detox diet is balance. Eating just one of the items on this list will help a little bit, but you’ll see and feel the results more when you take the benefits of all of these food items into account.

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