When you say detoxification, people usually think about juice cleanses and fasting. However, contrary to what many believe, detoxification comes in many forms. It’s also about resting and proper nourishment of your whole body.
It basically removes toxins and replaces them with nutrients in return. It’s an optimal way of protecting your body from diseases using different techniques, from yoga to meditation and more. Learn more about the best natural way to detoxify your body inside out and know the benefits of this century-old concept.
What is Detoxification?
When impurities accumulate in your body, you can feel them affecting your whole system. This is what detoxification prevents. It cleanses your blood by eliminating toxins from different areas of your body. It cleanses your liver primarily, but it also helps purify your kidneys, bladder, lungs, intestines, and skin.
Here’s how it works:
- Revitalizes your kidney by removing toxins
- Improves your circulatory system
- Resets your organs by fasting
- Flushes impurities from your intestines and kidneys
- Re-energizes your body through nourishment
Do I Need a Detox Today?
With the amount of pollutants and toxins around us, detoxification should be one of the cornerstones of your health. It’s highly suggested to detox once a year. The amount of time you’ll have to spare compared to the implications if you don’t is definitely worth it.
Pregnant women and individuals with cancer, tuberculosis or any chronic diseases should try it with caution. It’s best to consult a medical professional if you’re unsure. However, if you feel any symptoms below, you might want to consider detoxification:
- Irritated skin
- Unknown allergies
- Unexplained fatigue
- Bloating
- Sluggish
- Mental log
Preparing Your Body
To make yourself ready, you have to start eliminating your bad habits first. Work on your diet and lighten up your toxin load. Remove cigarettes, refined sugars, processed fats, and especially alcohol. Doing this will fast-track your body’s healing process.
Also, refrain from using chemical-based cleaners, soaps, shampoos, toothpaste, and other highly toxic personal care items. Many natural alternatives are widely available now, and most are affordable.
Next is your mental health. How your brain processes things affects your entire body. If your stress levels are always high, your body produces toxins, which can lead to a slow detox—especially the enzymes in your kidney.
With that said, your next step is to choose the right detox program. Some of the most popular detox diets are:
- Fruit and veggie detox
- Smoothie cleanse
- Juice cleanse
Many programs include a seven-day cleanse, which starts with 1-2 days of fasting.
10 Natural Ways to Detox
Our body is engineered to detoxify itself. However, we can support it in several ways.
1. Hydration
Dehydration severely affects our body’s ability to fight harmful substances through sweat, urine, and breathing. Staying hydrated is crucial to remove toxins such as carbon dioxide and urea.
Not that keeping hydrated doesn’t only mean you have to drink water. You can also consume sugar-free drinks and unsweetened and decaffeinated teas.
2. Fruits and vegitables
Consume fruits and vegetables known for their detoxifying properties, such as leafy greens, beets, broccoli, artichokes, and grapefruit. These foods contain essential nutrients such as antioxidants and fibre that can help flush out toxins from the body.
3. Garlic
Include garlic in your daily diet. It contains allicin, which helps activate liver enzymes that are responsible for flushing out toxins from the body.
4. Whole foods
Limit or avoid processed foods and stick to whole, unprocessed foods to minimize exposure to harmful chemicals and additives.
5. Probiotics
Increase your intake of probiotic-rich foods like yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut, kimchi, and kombucha, which promote a healthy gut microbiome that plays a crucial role in detoxification.
6. Tea
Drink herbal teas like dandelion root tea or ginger tea, which can help boost liver function and eliminate waste products from the body.
7. Sobriety
Cut back on alcohol consumption as it puts undue strain on the liver, which is responsible for filtering toxins from the blood.
8. Sleep
Get adequate sleep every night. It’s during this time when our bodies repair itself and eliminate toxins accumulated throughout the day.
9. Physical activity
Engage in regular physical activity as sweating promotes toxin elimination through our skin pores while also increasing circulation, aiding in removing waste products from the body.
10. Breathing
Practice deep breathing exercises or meditation to stimulate the lymphatic system, remove toxins and promote relaxation as a way of reducing stress levels, which can negatively impact our body’s natural detoxification processes.
These are just some methods you can do at home during your detoxification week. Again, we highly suggest to seek medical consultation if you’re unsure. You can also contact us at Calgary Integrative Medicine so we can help you with your first detoxification journey.
