“21 Days to Health”; what a great marketing claim. It’s very tempting! (Been there, done that.) People tend to do best with short term goals. When we tell you that detoxifying happens regularly and should be promoted your entire life, not just in 21 days, it’s not quite as appetizing. No thanks. I only want to eat healthy for 21 days and then go back to the SAD life (Standard American Diet). If you buy into these claims, you just might not fully understand what detoxifying is. But don’t close the article yet…we aren’t always down on detoxing. Keep reading so you understand the why and how if detoxing is on your radar.
The #1 problem we have with detoxes is the short-term mentality behind them. Somewhere along the way we have adopted this “Everything must be fast” idea and it has spilled over even into health. If a weight loss testimonial says it took two years to get your perfect body, people skip to a testimonial that only took two months because long-term is just too long. But the truth of the matter is, detoxing should be a daily thing. Are we ever pro-detox? Yes. We’ll get there. But let’s start with the basics of what detoxing actually is.
What is Detoxification?
Detoxification is crucial for the body. If you do not detoxify, you die. That’s how vital of a process it is. It’s how we eliminate bad things we put in it, on it and breathe. This happens in the liver, lungs, kidneys, skin and colon. When you’re thinking of detoxification, think of elimination; getting things out of the body. That means, sweating, peeing, pooping, breathing and cleaning your blood and cells. These are your detox pathways. You don’t sweat, pee, poop and breathe one time a year and call it good, right? You are supposed to do this all. the. time. All together these organs clean and filter your blood, balance your minerals, store necessary vitamins, kill “sick” cells, break down old cells, and send the dirty stuff packing. In order for these things to happen effectively, your body relies on enzymes. And where do these enzymes come from? The food you eat, of course.
How do I know if I need to Detoxify?
It is not difficult to know if you need a boost in detoxification. Take a look at all of your elimination pathways. Do I pee enough? Do I poop at least once a day? Am I bloated? Is my skin clear? Do I have energy? Do I have headaches? Am I having trouble losing weight? These are just a few things that will happen if your body is having trouble detoxifying.
How to Detoxify Daily?
The key to detoxifying is opening the pathways. Adding in things that will help clear the exits. For example, if you do not find yourself peeing often throughout the day, you need more water. If you do not poop at least once a day, your body has toxins building up in the colon and can actually end up reabsorbing them back into the blood stream. In order to poop more, eat more cruciferous high-fiber vegetables or add in a Magnesium supplement to keep things moving. Fiber is key! Which is why we are often not pro-juice cleansing. Exercising will help your body flush toxins out through the skin and is a very important part of keeping your body healthy.
Do we ever recommend a detox?
As we mentioned above, there are times we recommend a detox. In dire situations, we understand the need for extremes. There are also times when people are very addicted to carbohydrates and are struggling to get healthy and do best with drastic dietary cuts. In these circumstances we highly recommend going into them with a plan to completely change your lifestyle long term when they are finished. Without a plan detoxing can lead to binge eating which completely negates the benefits of the cleanse. Above all, we recommend changing your lifestyle to encourage healthy detoxification daily! That means, clean up your diet first and foremost.
Here’s a quick cheat if you didn’t read the above details and just want to know what to do to detoxify daily. Add these into your routine to keep your body healthy.
- Drink LOTS of water. This will help gets toxins out.
- Eat lots of cruciferous vegetables. This is crucial for your detox pathways, including hormones.
- Eat fermented foods like sauerkraut and miso to increase enzymes.
- Eliminate sugar and dairy as they could be allergens for you.
- Exercise! This will help flush the body.
- Your body heals itself and cleans itself at night. Getting restful sleep will help this process.
- Keep your blood sugar balanced. Sticking to moderate protein, healthy fats and lots of fiber at each meal will help this. This is why its crucial to eliminate sugar (juice cleanses contain too much sugar and will throw your blood sugar out of whack. If you want to add in juice to increase nutrients, keep them green!)
- Near Infrared Sauna is a form of hyperthermic therapy that helps the body detoxify.
- Add in vitamins. Getting the proper nutrients help the body function properly. But remember, you cannot vitamin your way out of a bad diet!
- Be mindful of the products in your home and work. Try to use less toxic products.
- Sun! Sit in the sun daily for Vitamin D3. D3 is crucial for brain detoxification.
