At the end of the year we all have a disposition to enjoy the Christmas and New Year indulgences: the extreme eating, toasting and sleep deprivation brought on by all those holiday office parties, dinners and gatherings. Though the merriment may be stupendous, it also results in stomach upset, gas, bloating, headaches and puffy, swollen eyes.

Here are some tips for battling your holiday indulgences:

Get Rid of Bloating by Restoring Hydration

If you've been partying on alcohol and sweets, chances are you're dehydrated. Alcohol, caffeine and excessive sugar cause dehydration. In addition, salty foods will cause fluid retention and swollen tissues and organs. Although your body is holding excess water, it is not clean nourishing water. Rather, it holds toxins, some of which inflame organ tissue and cause further bloating. The normal amount of eight glasses of water a day isn't sufficient to detoxify. In order to detox your system while likewise restoring essential vitamins and minerals, we propose a four-day regimen of fruit juices in the morning and vegetable juices in the afternoon in addition to your normal diet.

For the first two days, before you consume or drink anything else, have 1 cup hot water mixed with the juice of one small or half a large lemon, 1/16 teaspoon cayenne pepper and one tablespoon maple syrup. Lemons are packed with bioflavonoids, which are excellent detoxifiers. Cayenne pepper is an anti-inflammatory. Maple syrup adds sweetness.

About half an hour after drinking the hot water and lemon, blend up a morning smoothy of fruit and ground flax seeds. Acceptable choices are apples, berries, peaches, pears, kiwis, pineapple and oranges. Add a tablespoonful of ground seeds and half a teaspoon of fresh or ground ginger. Do not put protein powder or yogurt in your smoothy.

Prepare a very light and simple breakfast if you are hungry. Great choices are yogurt, a protein powder shake, oatmeal or eggs. At lunchtime have a light meat like fish or chicken and a large raw salad splash of olive oil and lemon.

In the afternoon, make vegetable juices made with carrots, beets, celery, cucumber, parsley and spinach. If it's an option, wheat grass juice is a fantastic cleanser. At dinner, stew a detoxifying soup with a moderate amount of meat or tofu, and noodles or rice. Make the soup broth from real vegetables, not from a mix or can.

For the next few days, give yourself an Epsom Salt bath, once a day if possible. Here's how:

Get Rid of Bloating with Supplements

You can try any of these natural remedies:

• Activated charcoal
  
  
• Chamomile, fennel or peppermint tea
  
  
• Lactobacillus Acidophilus and Bifidobacteria
  
  
• Astragalus
  
  
• Evening Primrose Oil
  
  
• Digestive enzymes
  
  
• Diuretic herbs such as uva ursi and cornsilk
  
  
• Drink some cranberry juice
  
  
• Eat some asparagus