Daily, my body is working to remove toxins and unhealthy substances. One of the things that I have recognized about my body is that it doesn’t matter how healthy my nutritional diet or lifestyle. My body contends with external factors requiring daily rest and rejuvenation.
Removal of toxins and waste products the body can be done in a variety of ways, including choosing the type of food you consume – for instance, choosing organic vegetables and fruits over fast and highly processed foods, exercising, nutritional inclusions of garlic, lemons, broccoli, raw vegetables and freshly made juice (juicing), and drinking lots of water.
To be clear, my context of detox is to abstain from or rid the body of toxic or unhealthy substances. I know it is easier said than done.
The purpose of most of the “good” detox plans is to take the load off the organs that work to detoxify the body – the liver, colon, and kidneys – while at the same time supporting and improving the body’s performance.
Thinking about incorporating detoxing into my lifestyle was simple to understand and made sense to do for myself. Essentially, if I could take my vehicle to have oil changes and maintenance every 3,000-5,000 miles: why would I not clean my body’s internal organs periodically?
So, I have decided to incorporate a regular detox regiment into my lifestyle to help my body work more efficiently in processing food and expelling toxins. When I started researching good detox programs, I found a ton of information having various contextual meanings for “detox” and “detoxing” the body.
The common theme of each detox program I reviewed specifically focused on detoxifying the liver, colon, and liver. A description of the liver, colon, and liver’s function in the body’s detox process, for reference, is as follows:
- The Liver: The first line of defense against toxins in the liver, which acts as a filter to prevent toxic substances in foods from passing into the body’s bloodstream.
- The Colon: This organ has bacteria that produce both healthy and unhealthy chemicals. You want to keep the colon flowing regularly since its main role is to flush out toxic chemicals before they can do any harm to the body.
- The Kidneys: The kidneys are constantly filtering the body’s blood and getting rid of toxins in the form of urine or pee.
Everything that I have read suggests periodically detoxing the body. Regular cleansing of the liver, colon, and kidneys go a long way in preventing illness and has immediate effects in having more energy, clearer skin, better digestion, mental clarity, and much more.
My plan for detoxifying my body is as follows:
- In the morning, Lemon water: To kick start my digestion and start the day by cleansing my system. I will squeeze the juice of half a lemon in a hot water cup and drink this first thing in the morning before breakfast.
- I will target drinking ½ my weight in ounces of high alkaline (pH of 7+) water daily.
- A half an hour before meals, I will drink water to remove waste materials from my body.
- Note Citrus fruits– Particularly things like oranges, lemons, and limes aid the body in flushing out toxins and jump-starting the digestive tract with enzymatic processes. Lemon juice aids the liver in its cleansing processes.
- Exercise consistently: Exercise for one hour daily. Just exercise – basketball, racquetball, bike, or elliptical machine and weight lift. I will focus on exercises that increase the opportunity to sweat out toxins and build lean muscle mass.
- Eat more raw foods: Aim to minimize the cooking process and eat more raw foods. Raw foods contain more nutrients and enzymes, which ultimately is purported to be better for the body. I will plan to incorporate eating 2 times more organic fresh fruits and vegetables daily. I also noticed that a common thread in helping the detox process included garlic as a part of the regiment.
- Note: Fruits– High in liquid-content, fruits help the body wash out toxins. They are also straightforward to digest and full of nutrients.
- Note: Veggies– Green plants will help give a chlorophyll-boost to your digestive tract and are very cleansing to your system. Other foods like Onions, carrots, artichokes, asparagus, broccoli, cabbage, kale, brussels sprouts, cauliflower, beet, turmeric, and oregano are great to help cleanse the body.
These veggies are high in naturally occurring sulfur and glutathione. Sulfur helps the liver detoxify harmful chemicals. Glutathione scours our body for toxins, free radicals, and heavy metals that threaten our health and well-being.
- Note: Garlic– This is one of the best detoxing foods there is. It helps stimulate the liver into producing detoxification enzymes that help filter toxic residues from the digestive system.
- Complete a detox program:
This is a program from bodybuilders.com that I ran across and have heard favorable feedback against. I took the high-level salient points and am incorporating the below as my detox plan.
First Step: Colon Cleansing
Cleansing the colon is the first and the most important step of any detoxification program. If most people had to choose just one detoxing method, colon cleansing would probably be the most beneficial, single choice. However, it is still just a single
Why is cleansing the colon important? Well, the colon is the largest source of elimination in the body. All of the bulk waste and a large percentage of toxic wastes are eliminated through the large intestine. If the colon is not in prime condition, other detoxification methods will be much less effective or useless.
How to Cleanse the Colon:
As most people have excess feces stuck in their large intestine, the first step is to clear all of that out. The second, ongoing step is to prevent it from getting clogged again. The first is best accomplished with the use of herbal laxatives. The second is accomplished by drinking plenty of water and eating plenty of fruits & vegetables.
Herbal Laxatives:
Many herbs are effective for this purpose and are easily available online or from some health food stores. Almost all cultures in history have used laxative herbs. They are safe when used with a bit of common sense.
If you have digestive tract problems or are using medications, you must speak to your doctor before using laxatives. It is also a general recommendation that one should not use laxatives continually for more than 1 week.
Second Step: Cleansing the Liver & Kidneys:
Once you have your colon clear and running smoothly, it is time to start introducing the cleansing products. Most cleansing products are made from various herbs, but it isn’t necessary to purchase any special formulas or concoctions.
Simple teas you make yourself from straight herbs are usually the easiest, cheapest, and most effective way to go.
Consume 1-2 cups of each type of each category of tea per day. One method is to detox for 5-7 days, take a 2-3 week break, and detox again for 5-7 days, with higher amounts of tea.
Liver Cleansers:
- Dandelion root (not from your front yard), yarrow plant, and yellow dock.
Kidney Cleansers:
- Parsley leaf, dandelion root, yarrow plant, corn silk, and uva-ursi leaf. Important: When drinking these teas, it is important to consume many extra fluids, as you will, and should be urinating a lot.
How to Make Teas:
Making herbal tea is very simple. If you purchase tea bags, it is as simple as steeping them for several minutes or more. If you have raw herb, it is still just as easy to make teas. For leaves, flowers, and any other above-ground parts of the herbs, use a mesh tea ball.
While on a detox program, it is important to use filtered water. Reverse osmosis or distilled water is best. There are two reasons for this. First off, reverse osmosis and distilled water are free of nearly all contaminants. Second of all, pure water will be able to absorb more of the herbal compounds. Water that has a high mineral content will not be able to absorb nearly as much.
For Leaves, Flowers, or Stems:
- Bring a pot of water to a boil.
- Pack a mesh ball full of herbs. You can even use two mesh balls for greater strength.
- Put the mesh balls into the hot water.
- Let it steep for at least 2 minutes. You can steep it as long as you want but taste it occasionally to test whether or not you can handle the strength. Swish the ball around occasionally.
- Pour into a cup and drink.
In addition to detoxing my body, the following activities supplement my desire for improving my overall health:
- Detox the mind: Maybe good to clear the clutter from the mind. Mind clutter can lead to fatigue, stress, and health issues through regular meditation.
- Incorporate being active in my social life; catch up with friends for a walk, run, or gym session instead of a coffee or cocktails.
- Sleep 7 hours per night helps with my cells’ rejuvenation and helps with the healing and repair of my heart, muscles, and blood vessels.
- Get outside more and breathe fresh air into my lungs (most of the time I spend indoors) and receive my daily vitamin D dose (Sunlight). Breathing fresh air and feeling the Sun’s warmth on my skin always make me feel good!
Wish me luck and good luck to you on the journey!
References:
- Blum, Susan, M.D., MPH, “Detox 101: Know The Basics Before You Begin”, mindbodygreen, September 4, 2013, mindbodygreen.com/0-10839/detox-101-know-the-basics-before-you-begin.html.
- Fiske, Rachel. “7 Incredible Health Benefits of Detoxing Your Body”, detoxify, February 24, 2016, detoxdiy.com/benefits-of-detoxing.
- Gereau, Sezelle, M.D., ” How to Help Your Immune System Perform at its Best”, May 12, 2018, Blum Health MD, blumhealthmd.com/author/drgereaublumcenterforhealth-com/.
- Harvard Medical School, “The dubious practice of detox”, Harvard Health Publishing, May 2008, health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/the-dubious-practice-of-detox
- Holistic Med, “Detoxification Techniques”, Holistic Healing Web Page holisticmed.com/detox/detox.html
- Bodybuilding.com, “What is the best Detox Plan?”, The topic of the week, 2007, www.bodybuilding.com/fun/topicoftheweek121.htm
- “70+ Detox Waters That Don’t Suck – Vegetable and Fruit-Infused Waters”, detoxify, http://detoxdiy.com/detox-water-recipe