Are You Toxic? 8 Ways to Detox Daily
Detoxification is not something we do once a year on a juice cleanse, it’s a lifestyle and needs to become a daily practice. Our bodies are overburdened with toxicity and detoxification is not an option, but a necessity for living a long, healthy life!
Symptoms of Toxicity:
Brain fog, memory or concentration problems
Headaches
Digestive problems, constipation, gas or bloating
Allergies
Frequent colds/flus or infection
Fatigue
Joint or muscle pain
Diabetes or hypoglycemia
Autoimmunity
Cancer
Depression, anxiety or moodiness
Skin problems like acne
Weight gain & hormonal imbalances
PMS or menopause symptoms
Trouble sleeping
Ways To Detox Daily
Water
Proper hydration is necessary for every single function in the human body, but unfortunately most people are chronically dehydrated. Adequate water intake helps support your detoxification organs, cognitive function (brain fog anyone?), digestion, energy, joints, heart, skin and metabolism. Try adding lemon juice or apple cider vinegar and raw honey for an additional detox!
Diet
What you eat predominately affects your body’s ability to detox. Consuming processed, chemically-altered foods, sugary drinks and a diet low in nutrients eventually overloads our digestive and detoxification organs, increasing toxicity and creating symptoms of dis-ease.
Exercise
Staying active and moving our bodies regularly will help support our ability to release toxins. Exercise promotes blood and lymphatic circulation, mobilizing toxins and microbes so they can be eliminated. It also gets things moving in our digestive tract, supports brain function, energy, immunity, cardiovascular health and healthy blood sugar levels.
Regular Bowel Movements
Having regular bowel movements 1-3x a day are essential for health. The colon is the body’s main route of detoxification and constipation creates a backlog of toxins, affecting other detox pathways and organs, such as the liver and lymphatics. Constipation also leads to overgrowth of harmful bacteria and microorganisms in the gut, creating an acidic environment for disease to take root. Eating high fibre foods, including leafy greens, avocados, flax, chia and hemp seeds, drinking warm liquids and avoiding processed foods can help alleviate constipation. Supplements such as magnesium, probiotics, psyllium husks and aloe vera juice may also help.
Sweat
Sweating has been used in traditional cultures as a healing tool, but somewhere down the road we’ve lost this practice. We wear antiperspirants, take medications to lower healthy fevers and avoid uncomfortable temperatures. Sweating is another major way we detox and something we must do daily. Some ways we can do this are through exercise, detox baths and infrared saunas. Additionally, contrast (hot/cold) therapy provides even more benefits such as increasing immunity, circulation and helping with stress.
Support Your Liver
Your liver is your body’s primary detoxification organ and has over 500 functions. Everything we put in, on and around our bodies gets filtered through our liver, therefore, supporting this organ is key to great health! We can do this by eating a diet high in leafy greens and cruciferous vegetables, including broccoli and broccoli sprouts, cabbage, garlic, onions, kale and cauliflower. Dandelion, turmeric and milk thistle teas or supplements are also wonderful for the liver! Lastly, while it may seem odd, coffee enemas are incredible for cleansing the liver and increasing the body’s major antioxidant, glutathione.
Sleep
Our detoxification organs are most active between the hours of 10pm-5am, so it is best to get 7-8 hours of uninterrupted sleep during this time. Sleep also supports brain detoxification via the glymphatic system.
Clean Up Your Environment
Indoor air is 2-5x more polluted than outdoor air. You can clean up your environment by using natural cleaning products, water and air purifiers, salt lamps, house plants and avoiding synthetic fragrances and other common harmful chemicals.
Asher Kleiber
Registered Holistic Nutritionist™
Sources:
Staying Healthy With Nutrition by Dr. Elson Haas, MD
Eat Dirt by Dr. Josh Axe, DNM