How to Detoxify the Body Every Day and Why You Need To

I like to think that I live a fairly healthy life. I eat lots of organic food, drink plenty of water, and use mostly natural products on my skin and body. But, I also live in metro Atlanta which means that I am inhaling a scary cocktail of pollutants in the air I breath every single day. Not to mention the fact that the water I drink comes from some pretty questionable sources, even if I do have a filter system. Lately I have been researching how to detoxify the body and many of these detox programs seem rather extreme. I don’t think I can live for three days on nothing but juice without my husband filing for divorce. I see detox ‘kits’ at the health food store that are supposed to ‘cleanse your colon’. Forgive me for saying this but that really sounds very unpleasant! There has to be an easier way to detoxify the body without giving myself diarrhea or starving to death. So, I decided to put together a list of small steps you can take every single day that will help detoxify the body without making you miserable.

How to Detoxify the Body

Eat plenty of fiber: 

In order for you to detoxify your body, the things you eat must move from one end to the other at a relatively quick rate. Eating plenty of fiber (whole grains like brown rice and organic fruits and vegetables) will help you move things along quickly.

Drink plenty of water: 

This is important not only because it allows you to stay hydrated, but it allows your kidneys to flush more toxins from your body.

Sweat out those toxins:

Sweating is a great way to detoxify the body. A good workout where you really get the sweat dripping off of you will help clear lots of toxins out of the body. And, it has the added benefits of helping you lose weight, improve cardiovascular health, and boosting your mood. You can also hit the sauna or hot tub and sweat out those toxins as well.

Turn to herbal medicine: 

Do some research and learn how to detoxify your body with herbs. Herbal teas will increase your fluid intake as well as allowing the medicinal properties of the herbs help flush your system (some medicinal herbs can be grown right in your own back yard.  Check out my post on how to grow medicinal herbs for more info) (some medicinal herbs can be grown right in your own back yard.  Check out my post on how to grow medicinal herbs for more info). I tend to prefer herbal detox teas that are already blended for me but if you are knowledgeable about herbs you can choose the ones you prefer and make your own blends.

Learn to relax:

This may seem like it has nothing to do with detoxifying the body but many cultures firmly believe that our mental health has a serious effect on our physical health. Taking up meditation or yoga and learning to calm your mind may help your body function more effectively, thus detoxifying the body all by itself. Learn to breath deeply during these moments of calm to help improve oxygen content of the blood and boost circulation as well.

Try a detox bath:

I recently tried a ginger detox bath and it was an interesting experience. A ginger detox bath combines the concepts of ‘sweating it out’ and ‘using herbs’ to detoxify the body. I definitely recommend that you check it out!

The key to detoxifying your body is not only to cleanse it of toxins you have been exposed to but to reduce your exposure to those toxins in the first place. Reduce your consumption of caffeine, alcohol, refined sugar, and overly processed foods. Eat whole foods that are as  natural as possible and put your health first when it comes to your day to day living. Detoxifying the body may help you find a bit more energy and improve your overall physical and emotional health!