Why do I need to detox?

Why do I need to detox?

You’ve done the preparation work, and now you’re finally ready to make some actionable changes to your diet and lifestyle. Great! Be sure to congratulate yourself on making it this far on your journey to a healthier life. It’s not always easy to take a step forward, regardless of how small that step might be. You are probably excited to get started because you are ready to feel better. Maybe it’s more energy you’re seeking, or healthier bowel movements, or more sustained focus at work. Whatever your motivation, you will absolutely succeed.

But words from the wise: you may not feel/see results right away. In fact, there is a very real chance that you will feel worse, before you feel better. I tell you this so that you are prepared and ready, and so that you decide to persevere anyway! You will absolutely begin to feel better if you stay committed to your journey. 

We all have a certain amount of toxic build-up in our body. But depending on our current diet, lifestyle and even the location of where we live, some of us might be more internally “toxic” than others. We can accumulate toxins from polluted air, from heavy metals in seafood or the water we’re drinking, from highly processed foods or a diet that doesn’t suit your body chemistry. You can be exposed to toxins in chemically synthesized make-up and cleaning products. And you can even create toxins from negative thoughts, a hectic lifestyle or emotional stress.

We are inundating our body with toxins, some of which we have direct control over (like food, make-up and cleaning products), and some that are harder to control (like the air we’re breathing or certain life stressors). Regardless of the state of your body as you embark on your health journey, it’s imperative that you understand that these toxins don’t magically go away because you start to eat healthy foods or implement a new exercise regime into your routine. Taking a wholistic approach to your health and lifestyle innately means that you are not choosing to take the short cut to feeling good. This will very likely mean that you will start to feel worse before you feel better.

As an example, have you ever gotten a deep tissue massage and then felt tired or achy or even a little sick the next day? This is because we have toxins living and hiding in our muscles and our tissues and our cells. Until they are released, we may not notice them every day (at least not as these symptoms). The same is true when we make diet changes. We finally are giving our body time to start cleaning up the sludge and toxins that are in our body, and that process may actually make us feel tired, achy and moody.

But don’t worry! This is normal and a natural progression of your journey and it will go away if you stick with it. And the best news of all: by choosing to get to the root of your health problems (of which food is a big component), you are setting yourself up for a lifetime of health and healing rather than just a fleeting moment of it. This is the real magic.

As you are embarking on your health journey, here are some non-food-related tools that you can utilize to help support the detoxification process and alleviate some of the uncomfortable symptoms associated with toxin removal: 

1. Removing added sugar and processed foods. Added sugar is the sugar that is ADDED to a food during processing. This is not to be confused with a naturally occurring sugar like those found in fruit or whole grains. Most Americans are eating 3x the amount of added sugar each day than is recommended for optimal health. One of the biggest components to detoxification is to remove the burden of added sugar on your body. Focus on whole foods, fruits, vegetables, whole grains and lean meats.

2. Drink plenty of fluids. This one might seem obvious, but it’s easy to forget when we aren’t feeling well. We need water for nearly every cellular process in our body, and we also need a lot of water to help move and flush toxins out. Drink an ounce of water for every ounce of body weight. Stick to filtered or purified water or herbal, decaffeinated teas. Some sparkling water is OK, but should not be filled with added sugar, and should not substitute regular water most of the time. To give your kidneys a boost, you can even add a few tablespoons of natural, unsweetened, condensed cranberry juice to a few glasses of your water.

3. Take a sea-salt bath. We can draw toxins out of our body through our skin. Our skin is our largest organ and is incredibly porous. This is also why it’s so important to pay attention to what products and make-up we use on our skin because it gets absorbed easily! Taking a hot salt bath will not only help relax achy muscles and joints, but it will help to draw any free floating toxins out through your skin. Be sure to soak for at least 10 minutes at as warm of temperature as you can.

4. Spend time in the sauna. Once again, we remove toxins readily through our skin. And sweating is a big component of that. You can opt to get into a heated sauna to promote a good sweat. Once again, stay in for at least 15 minutes. You might even be able to smell the toxins leaving your body!

5. Consider taking a binder. Binders are products you can take such Bentonite Clay or Charcoal that help to internally bind to free floating toxins for more effective removal from the body. A word of caution: if you decide to take Charcoal, take it away from food because it will bind with everything, even your good nutrients. That’s what makes it really effective in instances like food poisoning. If you don’t want to worry about your good nutrients being accidentally removed, opt for a Bentonite clay instead which is less likely to remove your good nutrients. Whenever you are taking a bath or exercising or using the sauna, consider pairing it with a binder for more effective toxin removal.

6. Use essential oils or specialty teas. There are some essential oils that can be used on the skin and/or taken internally that will help support your detoxification pathways. Some of them include rosemary, lemon, fennel, cypress, juniper berry or grapefruit. You can either purchase these in dropper bottles or use them in the form of teas to drink throughout the day to help you feel better.

7. Breathwork classes or breathing exercises. Our breath is a powerful healing tool. Consider signing up for a breathwork class to move energetic toxins out, and/or practicing breathing meditations in the morning to cleanse your cells naturally.

8. Use an infrared heating pad. As you could probably tell, heat is a helpful tool for removing toxins. Sleeping with or using an infrared heating pad ups the ante by using natural healing stones in addition to heat for even more physical relief.

9. Practice positive self-talk. Negative thoughts are toxic to our body and they prohibit us for reaching our full potential and persevering through tough times. Spend time each morning giving gratitudes and encouragement to yourself for doing your best. Perfection is not the goal, so don’t worry if you falter here and there. The more important thing is that you internalize the fac that you are worthy of health and that you are allowed and capable of keeping that commitment to yourself to try your best every day.

If you have any questions about your healing journey and how to maintain your physical and mental balance through the more challenging parts of the process, don’t hesitate to reach out! I’m here for you and can help you keep fighting for yourself and the health you deserve.