We live, eat, and breathe toxicity every day. Look around your home and think of the paint on the walls, the rugs, the pesticides sprayed on your green grass, the exterminator to get rid of the bugs, and even if you are chemical-free in your home, is your makeup chemical-free?
Even if you are totally chemical-free and using make up that is free from aluminum, parabens, artificial fragrances etc and you use other non-toxic chemicals in and around your house, we are still living and that means eating, breathing, and sleeping in a toxic environment.
Unless you feel that you are ready to live in a bubble or a hyperbaric chamber, then it is time to wake up to what I call “daily detox”.
Detox is not a curse word or anything to be scared about; instead, it is exciting and enlightening to think about and know how your body & cells actually function.
Daily detox is not about living on juices, water only, smoothies, or just salad or soup as this approach can actually be harmful to the body when it upregulates phase 1 detoxification that makes toxins more reactive intermediates and you don’t support your body with nutrients for phase two and three detoxification (more on this another time,…)
Weaving daily detox practices into your day is about lessening your toxic load or as I like to call it – your toxic bucket. “Daily taking out the trash.” So that your bucket never overflows into nasty symptoms or disease. Think about what will happen if you keep adding rubbish to your kitchen garbage bin and never empty it…stinky, smelly, flies, putrefying arrrgggg!
See, when we are toxic our body cannot perform its job. The body cannot metabolize properly, detox properly, absorb nutrients and minerals, or stay hydrated. It is a vicious cycle. Detox is necessary to be healthy, happy, & free of disease.
We all have some low level of inflammation because we live in a toxic world, but there are major contributors that inhibit optimal detoxification and one of them is chronic STRESS in our busy, fast paste, demanding lives.
Every time we stress, we create acid in our body, and our body is forced to pull mineral to buffer the acid waste, and then our liver, lymph, and kidneys begin to work hard to filter out the toxic load. But what happens when the body is tired and clogged up – when your kitchen is full of garadge and it starts to pile through the door and into the living room…
Your channels of elimination, especially your digestive system is not working well and cannot break down these foods, it cannot focus on getting RID of TOXINS, and that means you cannot get rid of bloat and fat and skin breakouts and all that jazz that keeps you tired.
TOXINS => INFLAMMATION => WEAK DIGESTION =>
- Difficult weight management
- Constipation/Diarrhea
- Gas/Bloating
- Headaches
- Low energy
- Low sex drive
- Bad skin
- Heartburn/Reflux
- Moodiness/Depression
By focusing on daily detox practices and choices, YOU will improve digestion and therefore free your body of inflammation and toxins.
A foundational detox routine is NOT meant to ever make you feel deprived or starved. The goal is to help YOU do what I have learned to do in my own life: Learn how to EAT CLEAN and learn what foods are NOT SERVING you.
Take a deep breath, relax and realise that eating and living clean is a way of life, not a diet. In saying that, there is off cause a time and place for a reset and cleanse from time-to-time, especially when you have a few of the below symptoms
Headaches
- Headaches
- Night sweats
- Fatigue and sluggishness
- Skin eruptions
- Low mood and irritability
- Poor cognition
- Chemical, odor or pollution sensitivities, such as sneezing, wheezing, nasal drip and/or dermatitis
- Adverse reactions to foods and/or food additives, such as sulphites (found in wine, salad bar food, dried fruit, and many processed foods)
- Excessive recovery time required after anesthesia
- Bloating, excess wind and constipation
- Chronic itching
Besides the obvious – eating a whole foods, clean diet that promote detoxification in a safe and natural way (more on this another time) – NO, you do not have to only drink juices, or soups, or smoothies, or go on a grapefruit-eating-only diet; incorporate the below practices into your daily routine and experience the benefits of feeling less flay, foggy and fatigued. I’ll soon write about the best foods and herbs to further support your daily detoxification.
So here are my top tips for daily detoxing in a toxic world…
- After at least a 12hr overnight fast and upon waking, drink 500ml warm or room water with lemon or 1 tsp raw apple cider vinegar (if tolerated) and a pinch of sea salt.
- Start your day by being positive. Find a daily affirmation that gets you fired up. Try getting quiet with yourself, even just for one minute, and repeat your positive mantra for the day. Hold your heart as you say this out loud and scream it if you want. Own that power.
- Drink a fresh, green smoothie, power-packed nutrient-dense berry, and coconut milk smoothie or make your own green juice shot with 1 tbsp chlorophyll and lemon or lime and filtered water
- Aim for at least one meal that is super easy on your digestion per day. Try a smoothie or soup to give that digestion a rest or for the more experienced, you can extend your 12hr fast to 16hrs and have 8hr feeding window.
- Daily offloading waste is so important to get rid of toxins. Be fully in tune with your digestion making sure you address any underlying gut issues. This means healing leaky gut, eliminating gluten and food sensitivities, and anything else that might be preventing your digestive system from functioning optimally.
- Get moving & shaking. Yes, exercise is one of the best ways to detox your body. Plan your exercise like you plan and commit to a meeting. Early mornings are better as it works with your natural sleep/wake (circadian) rhythm.
- Drink plenty of filtered water throughout the day & add lemon, lime, cucumber or grapefruit to help flush the toxicity.
- Skin brushing is one of my favorite ways to support detoxing and help the body get rid of toxins. Cheap, cheerful and effective. It works through stimulating the lymphatic system and it can help remove toxins on the surface and exfoliate dead skin too. Brush upwards towards your heart a few minutes before you shower. Saunas are amazing but not accessible to everyone. Do it if you can
- Tongue Brushing is a great daily practice and oil pulling three times a week is a bonus
- Choose happiness & be truly grateful for the little things in life.
References:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4488002/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3591652/
https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/kidney-disease/kidneys-how-they-work
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3312275/
https://www.jillcarnahan.com/reduce-your-daily-toxin-exposure-free-guide/