How to Detoxify Your Body and Why is it important?
Restore
Vitality - more Mental Clarity - Clear Skin - ber
Immune System - Looking and feeling healthy in every aspect
of your being. By detoxifying your body, you can enjoy
these benefits -- and more.
What is Body Detoxification?
Detoxification is the process of clearing
toxins from the body or neutralizing
or transforming them, and clearing
excess mucus and congestion. Many
of these toxins come from our diet,
drug use, and environmental exposure,
both acute and chronic. Internally,
fats, especially oxidized fats and
cholesterol, free radicals, and other
irritating molecules act as toxins.
Functionally, poor digestion, colon sluggishness and dysfunction,
reduced liver function, and poor elimination through the
kidneys, respiratory tract, and skin all add to increased
toxicity.
Detoxification involves dietary and lifestyle changes that
reduce intake of toxins and improve elimination. Avoidance
of chemicals, from food or other sources, refined food,
sugar, caffeine, alcohol, tobacco, and many drugs helps
minimize the toxin load. Drinking extra water (purified)
and increasing fiber by including more fruits and vegetables
in the diet are steps in the detoxification process. Moving
from a more to a less congesting diet, as shown in the accompanying
table, will help us to move along the detoxify road.
Practiced for centuries by many cultures around the world
-- including Ayurvedic and Chinese medicine systems -- detoxification
involves resting, cleaning and nourishing the body from
the inside out. By removing and eliminating toxins, then
feeding your body with healthy nutrients, detoxifying can
help protect you from disease and renew your ability to
maintain optimum health. The body has its own natural healing
system. Detoxification enhances this system
How Does Detoxification Work?
Basically, detoxification
means cleaning the blood. It does this mainly by removing
impurities from the blood in the liver, where toxins are
processed for elimination. The body also eliminates toxins
through the kidneys, intestines, lungs, lymph and skin.
However, when this system is compromised, impurities aren't
properly filtered and every cell in the body is adversely
affected.
A detoxification program can help the body's natural
cleaning process by:
1) Resting the organs through fasting;
2) Stimulating the liver to drive toxins from the body;
3) Promoting elimination through the intestines, kidneys
and skin;
4) Improving circulation of the blood; and
5) Refueling the body with healthy nutrients.
Detoxification works because it addresses the needs of
individual cells, the smallest units of human life.
How Do You Know if You Need to Detoxify?
Everyone should detoxify
at least once a year. A short detoxification program is
generally safe; in fact, scientific studies show that a
detox is beneficial for health. However, do not detoxify
the body of nursing mothers, children, and patients with
chronic degenerative diseases, cancer or tuberculosis. Consult
your health care practitioner if you have questions about
whether detoxing is right for you.
Today, with more toxins
in the environment than ever, "it's critical to detoxify,"
says Linda Page, N.D., Ph.D., the author of Detoxification
(Healthy Healing Publications). Page recommends detoxing
for symptoms such as unexplained fatigue, sluggish elimination,
irritated skin, allergies or low-grade infections; bags
under the eyes; a distended stomach even if the rest of
your body is thin; menstrual difficulties; or mental confusion.
Where Do I Start with Body Detoxification?
First, lighten up your
toxin load. Eliminate alcohol, coffee, cigarettes, refined
sugars and saturated fats, all of which act as toxins in
the body and are obstacles to your healing process. Also,
minimize use of chemical-based household cleaners and personal
health care products (cleansers, shampoos, deodorants and
toothpastes), and substitute natural alternatives.
Another deterrent to good health is stress, which triggers
your body to release stress hormones into your system.
While these hormones can provide the "adrenaline
rush" to win a race or meet a deadline, in large
amounts they create toxins and slow down detoxification
enzymes in the liver. So it's a good idea to detox stressful
life situations along with detoxifying your body. Try
our Infrared Sauna or Portable
Steam Sauna
10 Ways to Help Your Body Detoxify
1. Eat plenty of fiber,
including brown rice and organically-grown fresh fruits
and vegetables. Beets, radishes, artichokes, cabbage, broccoli,
spirulina, chlorella, and seaweed are excellent detoxifying
foods.
2. Cleanse and protect the liver by taking herbs such
as dandelion root, burdock and milk thistle, and drinking
green tea.
3. Take vitamin C, which helps the body produce glutathione,
a liver compound that drives away toxins.
4. Drink at least 2 quarts of water daily.
5. Breathe deeply to allow oxygen to circulate more completely
through your system.
6. Transform stress by emphasizing positive emotions.
7. Practice hydrotherapy by taking a very hot shower
for five minutes, allowing the water to run on your back.
Follow with cold water for 30 seconds. Do this three times,
and then get into bed for 30 minutes.
8. Sweat in a Steam
or FAR
Infrared Sauna so your body can eliminate wastes through
perspiration.
9. Dry-brush your skin to remove toxins through your
pores. Special brushes are available at natural products
stores.
Finally, 10. Most important way to detoxify : Exercises
