Happy January!
I’ve been getting a lot of questions this time of year about detoxing, people reaching out to me asking “Lisa, should I be doing a detox? It’s the beginning of the year. And I’m just out of the holidays.” And I’ve seen lots of influencers right now, recommending detoxes too.
I want to set the record straight when it comes to detoxing; there are two ways of going about a detox. First, where you do a complete diet and you go all out with supplements. In these types of detoxes or cleanses, you change everything for a certain amount of time. And then you finish it. That’s one kind of detox. The other kind of detox is simply through lifestyle changes.
Now, when it comes to the kind of detox that you go buy a bunch of supplements, and you cut things out of your diet and add unusual things into your diet, I don’t recommend you do that on your own. If you want to do that kind of detox, work with a qualified functional medicine practitioner. And here’s why — because those types of detoxes can be harmful if you don’t get the right products, or if your body isn’t in the right state of health when you start them, or if they’re not right the right type of detox for your body.
In this case, I absolutely recommend you work with someone and personalize what you’re doing. For example, why you’re doing the detox, what it is supposed to accomplish, how to know that it is working properly for you, and how to know it is getting you on a path to better health.
There are many different detoxes or cleanses on the market, which is another reason I don’t recommend you DIY a full-on detox. There are intestinal detoxes. There are liver detoxes. There are kidney detoxes, brain detoxes, you name it. And they often rely on powerful herbs. For that reason alone, I am not fully comfortable with someone going out and buying those herbal preparations off the shelf and taking them – herbs can be extremely strong or have interactions with other things you’re taking.
Bottom line, if you want to do this type of detox, reach out to a qualified practitioner who will work with you specifically to meet your needs and get you on the right program. But if you want to do a detox on your own at home, there are some sound ways to go about it. Your body is amazing. It’s made to do its own detoxifying very effectively when given the right resources.
Let’s talk about what those resources are. The great thing is, if you want to start a detox like that, you could get that started on it today. Not only would it be healthy and safe, but you would also notice differences that can result in profound improvements. So let’s start with number one. Number one is getting the right amount of filtered water.
You hear about hydration all the time, but do you know why it’s important? It’s important for several reasons. The majority of your blood is made of water, right? And, your kidneys are dependent on the amount and type of water you get. Hydration is super important for your blood, kidneys, liver, and all your detoxification systems.
And what about sweating out toxins? As you sweat out toxins, you need sufficient hydration to be able to produce the sweat, to get those toxins out. To get the right amount of hydration, be sure to drink a minimum of eight, eight ounce glasses of filtered water, which is 64 ounces a day. Ideally, however, drink up to half of your body weight in ounces of filtered water each day. For example, a 140 pound person would have 70 ounces of water per day. Properly filtered water is key, not tap water and not bottled purified water (which is nothing more than municipal tap water that has been filtered to some extent).
You want good, filtered water. If you’re looking to get a water filter for your home, my two very favorite water filters are the Berky water filter and the AquaTru water filtration system. I own each of these and love them. If you want to know more about either of them, I have information on my website about both and offer discounts on them. If you want to check them out, head to https://integrativewc.com/online-store/. Regardless of whether you look there or somewhere else, get yourself a good water filter. That’s the number one step in helping your body to detoxify naturally on its own.
The next thing I’m going to recommend is that you get plenty of vegetables. Vegetables are filled with nutrients, phytochemicals, and compounds that help you detox. You know the big trend several months ago about taking chlorophyll? Do you know where we get chlorophyll from? We get it from green plants.
Green vegetables and leafy greens are the main sources of chlorophyll in your diet, and they are really impactful for alkalizing your body and for helping your body to detox. A great thing to do if you just through the holidays and had lots of processed food and lots of junk as most of us did, no big deal, just start upping your green foods and start upping your leafy greens. Leafy greens will dramatically reduce your acidity level and alkalize your body. Believe it or not, even one salad a day will make a big improvement.
Another important way to support your own detoxification systems is to ditch processed foods. Think of the foods you buy that come in boxes and bags — like chips, cookies, and crackers. You want to start eliminating them and replacing them with foods found in their natural state like hummus and veggies, guacamole and veggies, hard boiled eggs, sliced organic cheeses. Whole foods are a great replacement for processed snacks.
Next, in addition to increasing your vegetables and reducing your processed foods, you want to make sure you’re getting the right amounts of protein at breakfast, lunch, and dinner. That will keep your blood sugar stable and will eliminate your cravings, which means you won’t be as likely to go back to reaching for those things out of the boxes and the bags. So these are some simple, very effective practices you can put into place to help you start to detox.
I have a few more detox hacks that I love as well. One is to get blood moving, get your body moving. That does two things. First, it helps to get your lymph moving. And your lymph is very active in the detoxification process. Consider this, your blood vessels have a strong pump that pumps blood through them – your heart. But your lymph (that runs alongside your blood vessels) doesn’t have a pump. Your lymph system relies on your physical activity to pump the lymph fluid through and to get the toxins out, which means that movement is very important. The other thing physical activity does is it gets you to sweat. Sweat is a major way that your body eliminates toxins.
A couple of other things I absolutely love for at home detoxes. One is deep breathing. I’m a huge fan of deep breathing. And the method I like the best (because I remember it the easiest) is Box Breathing. I’ve mentioned it a blog on stress management, and I’ve posted about it, but in a nutshell here’s how it works: you inhale for a count of 5 – 8, hold it for a count of 5 – 8, and exhale for a count of 5 – 8. Deep breathing is amazing for alkalizing your body and for getting toxins out through your lungs. So go ahead and get started on some deep breathing, too.
The last thing (and one of my very favorites) is incorporating Epsom salts baths. Why are they so important? For starters, they’re super relaxing, which is an important self-care component while detoxing. Another thing is that hot baths raise your body temperature, which helps you to eliminate toxins through your sweat glands. And finally, Epsom Salts allow you to absorb magnesium through your skin. It’s called transdermal absorption. Magnesium is a very important cofactor in helping your body to detoxify itself properly.
So these are some of my favorite at home methods for safely and easily assisting your body and its ability to detoxify. They have significant effects on your body’s ability to better eliminate toxins and are very effective. If you give any or all of these recommendations a try, drop me a line and let me know how they’re working for you. And I wish you the best health and wholeness as you start this new year.