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What is Detox and How to Detox Naturally
What is Detox?
Detox (or detoxification) is essential if you want to live a long and healthy life. It is the removal of harmful toxins or substances from the body. Despite the current detoxification trend it is not something new. Detoxification methods of healing go back thousands of years to the time of Hippocrates, who is known as the Father of Western Medicine.
Detoxification Programs
The term detox has recently taken on a new meaning and there are now several detox products on the market. Detoxification programs may involve a single process or a combination of approaches. These include:
- Fasting
- Drinking only juices or similar beverages
- Eating only certain foods
- Using dietary supplements or other commercial products
- Using herbs
- Cleansing the colon (lower intestinal tract) with enemas, laxatives, or colon hydrotherapy (also called ‘colonic irrigation.’
- Reducing environmental exposures
- Using a sauna.
These programs may be advertised commercially, offered at health centres, or part of naturopathic treatment. Some detoxification programs can be unsafe and falsely advertised.
Rather than focusing on detox programs and products, detox is more about having a better body feeling by temporarily avoiding things such as caffeine, sugar, and processed foods. Avoiding these substances is regarded as a body cleanse by many people rather than a detox. Detoxing goes deeper than a cleanse. The goal of detoxing is to help your body remove heavy metals, pesticides and other toxins that have accumulated in your body over time. As a result, the health benefits can be long-lasting.
What are we detoxing from?
Every day we are constantly exposed to countless toxins. Toxins come from the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat, the products we put on our bodies, and even from our homes. In fact, the CDC (Centre for Disease Control) estimates that 80% of all illnesses have environmental and lifestyle causes.
The term ‘toxin’ usually includes pollutants, synthetic chemicals, heavy metals, pesticides, GMOs, food additives, processed foods and many other chemicals we come into contact with daily. All of these toxins can negatively affect health.
The Body Detoxifies Itself
Unfortunately, many detox products on the market are largely misleading as the body is self-healing. The human body is amazing as a healthy body can detox itself from toxins.
Detoxification is the removal of toxic substances from within your body. Your lymphatic and circulatory systems detoxify individual cells, while detoxification is carried out on a broader scale by your liver, kidneys, and intestines. Other organs such as your bowels, lungs, and skin also play a role in how your body detoxifies itself.
The following organs are involved in the self-detoxification system of the body:
- Liver: the liver is the body’s largest detoxification system and neutralises and removes toxins that are ingested. These toxins vary from food additives and heavy metals to excess hormones.
- Kidneys: the kidneys filter the blood and remove unwanted substances such as by-products of medication and harmful chemicals.
- Lymphatic system: this produces white blood cells which protect against harmful toxins
- Digestive tract: this helps to remove toxins via bowel movements
- Respiratory system: the lungs help convert toxins into carbon dioxide for exhalation
- Skin: the skin acts as the first line of defence by preventing toxins from getting in to the body.
The human body is therefore constantly working to cleanse itself of toxins that can negatively affect health. The body can only efficiently remove unwanted substances when it is healthy.
How to Easily Detox Naturally
Even though the body is constantly detoxifying on its own you can always lend a helping hand. Sometimes your body’s natural detoxification system may be overwhelmed by excessive exposure to toxins, poor diet, stress, and infections, and so may need help to continue its efficient detoxification. Special diets or expensive supplements are not necessarily always required.
In fact, the following natural methods, using a combination of cleansing and detoxification techniques, can enhance your body’s natural detoxifying system:
1. Drink Plenty of Water
When we think of ways to detox, drinking water is often high on the list. Water does not simply flush out toxins but instead helps to remove harmful cell by-products such as urea and carbon dioxide from the bloodstream. Once filtered from the blood, water helps toxin removal via urination, breathing, and sweating.1
It is important to drink enough water to ensure your body is adequately hydrated. This ensures that your body’s cells are continuously repaired enabling them to function efficiently, breaking down nutrients for your body to use as energy and helping with the removal of waste products. Being properly hydrated is therefore very important for detoxification.2
You should try to sip on at least eight cups of water daily. Your aim is to promote regular bathroom visits, as this is one of the main ways the body detoxes itself. You may need more or less depending on your diet, where you live, and your activity level.3
Whether it’s the water you are drinking or bathing in, you should always ensure that your water is clean. You can remove the toxins in your water by installing filters in your home on the taps and shower heads, or by having a full-house filtration system installed.
Avoid drinking out of plastic bottles (use glass or stainless steel) as they are full of toxins.
2. Get Enough Sleep
Getting enough quality sleep each night is necessary to support your body’s health and natural detoxification system. Regularly sleeping for seven to nine hours per night helps to promote good health.4
There is a brain detoxification process called the ‘glymphatic system’ which occurs when you sleep.5 It removes toxic waste byproducts that have accumulated during the day.6,7 These waste products include β-amyloid, which contributes to the development of Alzheimer’s disease. 8,9
Insufficient sleep impairs your glymphatic system causing toxin build-up. Without quality sleep in the right amounts on a consistent basis, your body cannot effectively detoxify.10
Inadequate sleep is linked to many health problems, such as anxiety, stress, heart disease, high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes.11,12,13
If you have difficulty sleeping, you can make various lifestyle changes, such as sticking to a sleep schedule and limiting blue light (emitted from mobile devices and computer screens) before going to bed are useful for improving sleep.14,15,16
Stress and anxiety are usually one of the main causes for poor quality sleep. There are many natural ways to relieve anxiety and stress.
3. Eat a Healthy, Balanced Diet
A healthy diet is the most important way to detoxify and is the perfect way to help fuel your body’s organs and systems. A diet rich in fruits and vegetables, complex carbohydrates, plant-based fats, and lean protein is highly recommended.
The addition of high-fibre foods, such as lentils, seeds, and certain fruits, is important as they promote regular bowel movements which ensure that toxins are quickly removed from the intestines. Studies show that dietary fibre strengthens the protective barriers of detoxification organs, such as the liver and kidneys.
In addition, the intake of high-sugar foods and beverages is associated with poor liver function.
As processed foods contribute to the toxic load, eat foods in their whole form. Eating farm-to-table and organic are the best ways to do so.
Important foods for natural detox include:
Fruits & Vegetables
You should eat five servings of fruit and vegetables every day. They contain several phytonutrients such as betacarotene, lutein, and anthocyanins which have protective antioxidant properties, vitamins and minerals, and fibre which is important for active digestion and an intact intestinal flora. Studies show that a low-fibre diet is very damaging to the intestinal flora which is important in the fight against diseases.
Proteins
Protein is very important for the proper functioning of the detoxification pathways in the liver.
Fats and Oils
Natural fats and oils, such as extra virgin olive oil and organic coconut oil provide energy for the detox system.
Nuts and Seeds
Nuts and seeds are great sources of fibre which help the efficient excretion and elimination of toxins. Almonds, sunflower seeds, walnuts, and flaxseeds can be eaten as a healthy snack.
Legumes
Beans, lentils, and other legumes are a good source of soluble and insoluble fibre as well as a variety of amino acid precursors. Fibre absorbs water in the intestines and expands giving the feeling of fullness. This stimulates gut contractions which results in regular bowel movements.
Vegetables
Non-starchy vegetables contain several phytochemicals and fibre.
A detox diet should include plenty of nutrient-dense, low-sugar, high-fibre plant foods together with great sources of protein and healthy dietary fat. It should exclude most processed foods and instead focus on whole, unprocessed, real foods.
Even though it is expensive, always try to eat organic food, such as organic grass-fed beef or wild-caught salmon. When you eat non-organic meat you are also eating the accumulated toxins that the animals are exposed to, such as the pesticides sprayed on the grass and grains they eat.
4. Nourish the Healthy Gut Bacteria
Gut health is important for keeping your detoxification system healthy. A healthy gut has a diverse microbiome balanced with good and bad bacteria. The microbiome consists of probiotics which are a combination of live beneficial bacteria and/or yeasts that naturally live in your gut.
You can nourish your good bacteria by supplementing with prebiotics, probiotics, and including fermented foods in your daily diet. Probiotics are live bacteria found in certain foods or supplements, such as live yoghurt.
Prebiotics are types of fibre found in vegetables, fruits, and legumes which humans cannot digest. The beneficial bacteria in your gut digest this fibre and so prebiotics are food for the good bacteria.
Foods that are high in prebiotic fibre include legumes, beans, peas, oats, bananas, tomatoes, artichokes, garlic, onions and leeks.
The food you eat is very important in determining the balance of good and bad gut bacteria. For example, a diet high in fat and sugar negatively affects the gut bacteria and may lead to insulin resistance and other health conditions.
If the bad bacteria are regularly fed, they will grow faster than the good bacteria and create an imbalance in the gut flora. In addition, foods treated with pesticides may have negative effects on the good gut bacteria.
In addition to supplements and food sources of prebiotics and probiotics, you can also support gut health by eating polyphenol-rich foods. Dietary polyphenols are found in foods which contain high levels of antioxidants such as berries, vegetables, dark chocolate and nuts.
Super Green Juice is a wonderful detox supplement which contains a blend of probiotics, enzymes and organic antioxidants.
5. Reduce Alcohol Intake
More than 90% of alcohol is metabolized in your liver. It is metabolized by the liver in to acetaldehyde, which is a cancer-causing chemical. Your liver converts this substance in to harmless acetate, which is removed from your body.
It is known that low-to-moderate alcohol consumption can be beneficial for heart health, but excessive drinking can cause several health problems. It can cause fat buildup, inflammation, and scarring of the liver. This can seriously reduce your liver function meaning that it will not efficiently remove toxins from your body.
6. Reduce Sugar Intake
High sugar intake can lead to fatty liver, which is a condition that adversely affects the liver. As the liver will not be working efficiently it will reduce the body’s natural ability to detoxify itself.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends that you should not consume more than 6 teaspoons of sugar daily (25g). This is difficult to achieve as sugar is often hidden in lots of products, usually under names such as glucose-fructose syrup, dextrose, maltodextrin, lactose and natural fruit sweetness.
7. Reduce Intake of Processed Foods
The high intake of processed foods is linked to many chronic diseases such as, heart disease, diabetes, cancer and obesity.17,18,19
These conditions harm the body’s organs, such as the kidneys and liver, which are important for the body’s natural detoxification system. Eating less junk food therefore keeps your body’s detoxification system healthy.
Highly processed foods which should be avoided include sausages, ready meals, margarine, luncheon meat, salami, vegan meat alternatives, granola bars, flavoured nuts and crisps.
8. Eat Antioxidant-Rich Foods
Free-radicals are charged particles which are naturally produced by the body during, for example, digestion. These particles can damage cells in the body by causing oxidative stress. Almost all chronic diseases are caused by oxidative stress, caused by free radicals, damaging a single cell. These chronic diseases include heart disease, dementia, cancer and diabetes, to name a few.20,21 As well as being produced naturally by the body, free radicals are also produced by alcohol, tobacco smoke, a poor diet, and exposure to pollutants.22
Antioxidants are substances which neutralize the harmful free radicals and so prevent oxidative damage to the cells. It is therefore very important to have a diet rich in antioxidants to prevent your risk of chronic disease.
Antioxidants include vitamin A, C and E, selenium, lycopene, lutein, and zeaxanthin. They are found in foods such as fruits, vegetables, berries, nuts, cocoa, spices, and beverages such as green tea and coffee which contain very high levels of antioxidants.23
If you are unable to consume sufficient antioxidant-rich foods in your diet, powerful supplements such as Super Green Juice and Essentials can be taken.
9. Exercise Regularly
Regular exercise reduces the risk of many illnesses, such as heart disease, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes and certain cancers.
Exercise supports healthy cell function and helps your body’s detoxification system to excrete toxins and burn fat more efficiently. In fact, sweating is an excellent way to help the body excrete toxins.
You should aim for at least 30 minutes of moderate intensity exercise daily.24
10. Reduce Salt Intake
Consuming too much salt causes your body to retain excess fluid, especially if you do not drink enough water or if you have kidney problems. The excess fluid may cause bloating and make clothing uncomfortable.
In order to remove excess water build up, which is the result of consuming too much salt, you should increase your water intake. This will prevent your kidneys from releasing the antidiuretic hormone (this is a hormone which prevents urination and is usually released as a result of excessive salt intake or reduced water intake). This will cause urination causing the elimination of excess water and toxins.
11. Detoxifying Greens
Two very powerful detoxifying greens are chlorella and spirulina.
Chlorella is at the top of the list of detoxifying superfoods which supports immune health. It is a nutrient-packed freshwater algae loaded with phytonutrients, amino acids, chlorophyll, betacarotene, potassium, phosphorous, magnesium and B vitamins.
Chlorella is a chelator, which simply means it binds to, and deactivates, heavy metals such as mercury, silver, tin and lead. Studies show that people who supplement with chlorella have lower levels of heavy metals in their bodies compared to those who did not supplement.
Super Green Juice made with organic greens is a great way to incorporate chlorella in your diet.
Spirulina, a cousin of chlorella, is a blue-green algae which is found in both freshwater and saltwater. Studies show that spirulina can help support regular immune function and is one of the most impressive greens you can add to your diet.
Spirulina contains high levels of vitamins, minerals, and protein and is loaded with chlorophyll, vitamin A, betacarotene, vitamin K, and a range of B vitamins. It has a strong detoxifying effect helping to remove toxins from the bloodstream while supporting immune health.
Super Green Juice made with organic greens is a great way to incorporate organic chlorella and spirulina in your diet.
11. Koso
We cannot have a blog about natural detoxing methods without mentioning koso. Even though we are not particular fans of juicing for detox, koso is one of the most powerful detoxing juices with clinical data to prove its effectiveness.
Koso is a century-old traditional fermented drink made from vegetables, fruits, and plants. It’s an essential part of the Japanese style of juice cleanses or intermittent fasting that has proven to keep your gut healthy.
R’s KOSO is the only superfood supplement on the market that provides balanced nutrition, combining probiotics, prebiotics and postbiotics, which have proven to improve gut health and boost immunity. It’s made from over 100 vegetables, fruits, and plants, including seaweeds and mushrooms, and undergoes a 1-year fermentation process. You can enjoy it as a daily supplement but also cleansing and fasting with R’s KOSO is a great way to reset your digestive system, and restore microbiome health.
12. Skin Products Without Chemicals
Whatever you place on your skin will be absorbed and so it is important to know what you are putting on your body. Cosmetics contain toxins and so you should ensure that your body products are natural and toxin-free. These include natural deodorants, makeups, moisturizers and shampoos.
13. Using Natural Cleaning Products
The first step to detoxing is avoiding toxins. Many household cleaning products are chemical dense and so their use should be avoided. There are many natural cleaning products available or, alternatively, you can make your own cleaning products using essential oils.
14. Have a Massage
Massages help to relax the muscles and so ensure that blood flows freely around the body. This is important as it ensures that toxins do not accumulate in the muscles. There are several types of Ayurvedic detoxing massages which are very effective in enhancing your body’s natural detoxification system.
15. Visit a Sauna
When we are in a sauna even though we sweat a lot we only excrete water and salts. More importantly, the sauna invigorates our circulation and metabolism. This is important as the more active our metabolism the better our body can clean itself.
After a sauna our skin is soft and smooth and we have the feeling that we have sweated out lots of bad things. We should therefore give it a try!
In Summary
The human body detoxifies itself when it is healthy. It is therefore very important to ensure that your immune system is functioning efficiently. There are many natural ways to boost your immune system which usually involve changes to your lifestyle.
Your body’s natural detoxification system can be supported by many simple natural methods, including staying hydrated, eating a healthy balanced diet rich in antioxidants, exercising regularly and avoiding exposure to toxins.