Detoxing your body can help protect you from disease as well as renew and revitalise your health. Typically, a detox makes your skin glow, your bowels regular and gives you a new vitality that makes you want to jump for joy!
Detoxification has been practiced for centuries by many cultures around the world. It involves nourishing the body from the inside out by removal and elimination of built up toxins.
WHAT IS DETOX AND WHY SHOULD YOU DO IT?
Cleansing the blood via detoxification is mostly done by removing impurities by the liver via the bowel. However, the body also eliminates these impurities via the kidneys, lungs, lymphatics and the skin. Problems arise when these eliminatory organs are compromised and cannot filter toxins adequately thereby adversely affecting the body.
This is precisely the reason that a good detox program can help the body’s natural cleansing process. This can be encouraged by the following:
minimizing organ load through a gentle fast, stimulating the liver, skin, intestines and kidneys to eliminate toxins from the bodystimulating circulation refueling with healthy nutrition.
HOW DOES THE BODY REMOVE TOXINS?
One of the body’s defense mechanisms when faced with toxicity is to store the harmful chemicals in our fat tissue. These toxins can be stored for many years in our tissues contributing largely to our health issues. When these fat cells breakdown they release toxins back into the bloodstream. This can cause side effects, especially if the body cannot eliminate as quickly as the toxins are being released.
For this reason, it is critical that you do not rush any detox and you support your body with the appropriate ways.
WHAT IS THE SAFEST WAY TO REMOVE TOXINS?
Most people with toxicity develop a problem called ‘leaky-gut syndrome’ (intestinal permeability). In a healthy digestive system, the lining of the digestive system is a very good filter, allowing beneficial nutrients - like vitamins and amino acids - to pass into the bloodstream, whilst keeping toxic bacteria and waste products of digestion within the bowel. This filter is easily damaged by infection, medication, ongoing stress and toxic bacteria. This leads to the unregulated transport of large quantities of molecular debris, such as partially digested food as well as fragments from bacteria, which pollute the blood and lymph around the intestinal tract. Eventually, over time, this can raise an over exaggerated immune response that can lead to auto-immune issues among other serious health concerns.
Some of this debris is transported to the liver where it then has to be processed and removed. This places a tremendous stress on the liver, and eventually a percentage of this material escapes and enters the general circulation. As a result, ‘leaky gut syndrome’ or gut dysbiosis can cause inflammatory conditions that impact the immune system, liver and virtually every other organ. In these instances, the repair of the lining of the gut is preferential prior to any detox.
UNDERSTANDING LIVER DETOXIFICATION
Detoxification of the body is the primary function of the liver. There are two main pathways of liver detoxification. The first phase of liver detoxification converts toxic chemicals into less harmful ones. In this process free radicals are released. Excessive amounts of free radicals can damage liver cells. Therefore, you can assist the liver through this process by taking an antioxidant complex or herbal in order to decrease free radical damage.
Green Barley, spirulina and chlorella are powerful detoxifiers as they contains flavonoids that detoxify at a cellular level and polypeptides to assist with neutralisation of heavy metals. They helps to strengthen the purgative organs and thereby remove toxins from the system.
The second phase of detoxification in the liver is known as the conjugation pathway. Through this process the liver joins specific substances along with toxic chemicals such as drugs or hormones and eliminates them via the bowel or the kidneys. This conjugation can break down when the processes of elimination are impaired. So it is imperative to ensure that the bowel is functioning and eliminating well. Again, a fibre supplement can help here.
Sulfur-containing amino acids such as taurine and cysteine are important in the second part of liver detoxification. Products such as the MSM Biological Sulfur will assist to provide much-needed sulfur for the catabolism of these amino acids, assisting with liver detoxification. Glycine, glutamine, choline and inositol are also required to take you through phase two detoxification of the liver.
DO I NEED TO DETOXIFY?
Today, with the environment becoming more toxic than ever, it is crucial to detox regularly. Symptoms that indicate it’s time for a detox include:
FatigueConstipationSkin conditionsAllergiesLow-grade infectionPuffy eyes or bags under the eyesBloatingMenstrual problemsPoor memory and concentrationBrain Fog
By reducing the toxic load and giving the body proper nutritional support, in most cases these symptoms will improve dramatically or disappear. Even more importantly, by addressing these warning signs and enhancing detoxification mechanisms, you can avoid serious health conditions in the future.
WHAT TO DO FIRST?
The first thing that will help to lighten your toxic load is to eliminate alcohol, coffee, cigarettes, refined sugars, saturated fats and processed foods. These foods are major obstacles to any healing process. The next step is to minimize stress levels thereby reducing the amounts of cortisol (stress hormone) released into your body. Although cortisol is a useful hormone in the right setting, it slows the detoxification process down in the liver.
Yoga, meditation and gentle walks in a natural setting all help to relieve stress by resetting physical and mental business and lowering cortisol.
Finally, minimize the use of chemical household cleaners and health care products (shampoos, deodorants and toothpastes) and substitute with natural alternatives.
10 WAYS TO HELP YOU DETOX
Fiber
Eat plenty of high fiber containing foods, including brown rice, hummus and seeds. Taking psyllium husk or a herbal fiber supplement that contains some additional detox herbs will greatly assist to speed up the transit time in the bowel. This will also help to massage the gut wall, act like a broom to sweep the intestines clean and encourage peristaltic movement in the colon.
Parasites
A parasitic herbal will also help to remove unwanted inhabitants of the gut and body allowing the body to receive nutrition that may otherwise be consumed by these parasites.
Probiotics
The digestive system is the source of most of the toxic material that our body has to deal with. Overgrowth of unfriendly bacteria can lead to damage to the lining of the digestive system, and the absorption of waste products into the bloodstream. A safe and effective method for restoring the bacterial balance is to supplement with friendly bacteria known as a probiotic. There are many different strains for probiotics and each of them has a slightly different function. For example, Lactobacillus plantarum is specifically beneficial for IBS symptoms, while xxx is fab for allergies and food intolerances.
Diet
Food is our greatest source of toxic exposure, and there is no point trying to detoxify unless you reduce the amount of toxins coming into the system.
To reduce toxic exposure, make some basic dietary changes. Consume organically grown fresh fruits and vegetables such as beetroots, spirulina, radishes, artichokes, cabbage, chlorella, broccoli, and seaweed. All of these foods assist with liver detoxification. Significantly reduce your consumption of red meat, processed foods, dairy, flavours, colours and preservatives.
Liver
Assist the liver by taking a liver detoxification herbal that contain herbs such as dandelion root, burdock, milk thistle, globe artichoke and schisandra. These herbs assist by supporting the each of the liver detoxification pathways.
Introduce helpful supplements
Vitamin C helps the body produce glutathione, a compound that is responsible for energy production and assists with toxin elimination via the liver. Take this vitamin in good amounts. Zinc is also crucial to digestive health, as it is essential for normal growth and repair of the lining of the digestive system. Studies have shown 75% of the Australian population to be zinc deficient. Antioxidants are natural nutrients and plant chemicals that may prevent damage to the body from toxin exposure. They may help to minimise any unpleasant symptoms from undergoing a detoxification program.
Liquids
Drink at least two litres of water a day and make up a vegetable broth which will nourish as well as hydrate. Hydrating the body will help flush out and eliminate toxins via the kidneys. Drink herbal teas that contains blood cleansers and other helpful detox herbs which are designed to assist and speed up the process. First thing every morning drink lemon in warm water. This will kick-start your digestion by stimulating stomach acid ready to receive food. It also stimulates your liver at the start of each day to support breakdown of chemicals and toxins.
Stress
Reduce stress by using positive thinking and gratitude exercises.
Try using meditation and yoga to help with relaxation.
Breathe deeply to allow oxygen to circulate more completely through your system. This will invigorate the body and relax the mind.
Exercise
Thirty minutes of exercise each day. A mini trampoline is ideal for encouraging lymphatic circulation and drainage which aids the elimination of toxins via the liver and kidneys.
Skin
Taking a sauna helps detoxification through the skin by sweating.Dry-brush your skin can help to remove toxins by clearing dead skin cells improving appearance, tone and function.Get regular gentle exercise as it helps increase circulation and removal of toxins via the bloodstream as well as the skin.
Herbal Teas
There are many different herbal teas that can help eliminate toxins by stimulating different organs. The liver detox tea for the liver and the Kidney detox tea helps give the kidneys a whole new lease on life. And just remember these vital organs are key eliminators in our body!
WHICH DETOX IS BEST?
Many of us have busy schedules and are unable to fast or follow a program which is too rigorous, in which case following the above tips will be best for you. You can get some fabulous results by making just a few small changes and taking a few extras such as a herbal tonic or liver detox tea to give added benefits.
If you have some time to yourself and your schedule allows you to take some time off - there are numerous options available to you.
It is important to know that if you are feeling overly depleted that a fast may serve you better only after you have first nourished the body by bringing it out of its depleted state. At herbhub we can help you achieve optimal health by addressing any deficiency states prior to detoxing.
6 MOST POPULAR DETOX DIETS
A Colon Cleanse
The key idea is to utilize the basics here. Using water, fiber, supplements or herbs to flush out the built up toxins from your intestines to achieve an upgrade.
Fruit and Vegetable Juice Fasting Cleanse
Juicing has long been used as a way to get lots of vitamins and minerals from fruits and vegetables in a concentrated form. They take advantage of this vitamin mega-dose for meal replacement. This cleanse is often high in sugar from fruits and some vegetables such as carrot, beetroot and corn. It is important to note that this cleanse is lower in fiber and protein than the whole green food smoothie cleanse as the fiber from the fruit and veg is discarded.
Liver Cleansing Detox
Uses herbs and supplements to aid the liver in its detoxification processes. This fast can be intense so it is important to take it slowly. For those with a slow bowel or that suffer from constipation it may be best to do a bowel fiber cleanse first so that the main pathway of elimination is working adequately. Otherwise detox symptoms could be extreme and cause excessive symptoms.
The Master Cleanse
This cleanse was made mainstream by Beyoncé and involves drinking a concoction of lemon water, maple syrup, and cayenne pepper in conjunction with herbal teas for about 10 days.
Green Smoothie Cleanse
One of the more popular detox programs. It incorporates green foods that are low in sugars and provide a good source of fiber as a meal replacement which stimulates elimination via the bowel. The great thing about this is that many of these green foods are brilliant detoxifiers for all organs of the body.
Detox Cleanse
Using the body's own mechanisms for cleansing using the liver, kidneys, and colon are sufficient to rid your body of many toxins. As seen above, there are lots of healthy changes you can make to support your body while it does all the detox work.
Detoxing doesn’t need to be difficult or uncomfortable. It can be easy and enjoyable and a fantastic way to reset eating patterns to a healthier and happier you.