This Detox Soup Uses Science-Backed Ingredients To Heal Your Gut, Stat

This New Year's, we're all about adding things to your diet rather than taking them away. With that in mind, we asked Aussie celebrity chef Danielle Shine to create a detox soup that would fill you up and pack your diet with nutrients. It's designed to be supplementary, so you can eat it in addition to whatever else you planned to have on your plate.

"For optimal results, enjoy it most days before main meals to promote feelings of satiation or fullness, thanks to its high dietary fiber content," Shine explains.

The soup contains a number of key ingredients that support your body's critical functions. The garlic and dandelion root have antimicrobial properties, which support the eradication of candida, or yeast overgrowth1 (Wondering if you have that? Check out this article). Dandelion also helps fight inflammation2 and offers support for the liver, one of your body's key detox organs.3

The carotenoids, phytoestrogens, and other beneficial plant chemicals in the vegetables support rapid cellular repair4, while the heady dose of fiber that they contain helps get things moving through even the most sluggish digestive tract. 

Finally, there are two perhaps less familiar ingredients that take the detoxification properties of the soup to the next level—astragalus and burdock. "Astragalus root contains astragalosides, flavonoids, and polysaccharides that prevent internal tissue injury and promote the protection of oxidative-stress on the heart, brain, kidneys, liver, gastrointestinal tract, and microbiome," explains Shine, while, "burdock root not only supports detoxification pathways in the body but also inhibits adhesion and growth of Helicobacter pylori within the stomach wall tissue." In layman's terms? These roots, common in traditional Chinese medicine, help heal the gut and support digestion while strengthening your body's ability to detoxify itself. While they're widely available online or in Asian markets, feel free to omit if you can't find them—the soup will still have most of its healing power intact. 

Makes 4 to 5 servings

Makes 1 cup