Detox is something of a buzzword these days. You’ll find dozens of supplements and programs online and in health stores promoting the benefits of a detox. And while many of these may indeed have plenty of health benefits, they often come with a hefty price tag. Not to mention lots of side effects! Detox doesn’t have to be painful and unpleasant – or even expensive. In fact, you can assist your body’s natural detoxification pathways with a few lifestyle tips. These will keep your metabolism ticking, your energy levels up and your skin glowing. 1. Dry Skin Brushing Did you know that the largest detox organ in your body is your skin? That’s why dry skin brushing can be so effective. Brushing your whole body with a natural bristle brush is a great way to stimulate your lymphatic system. This detox method has been used for hundreds of years to boost detoxification and maintain clear, healthy skin. A build-up of toxic waste in your lymphatic system can cause it to become clogged and sluggish. Over time, this can increase your risk of inflammation and illness. By methodically moving the brush over your dry skin, you’ll be encouraging the flow of lymph that carries toxins out of your body. This helps to remove cell waste, toxins, and even opportunistic pathogens from your lymph. At the same time you’ll be exfoliating your skin by removing dead skin cells. Use a soft, natural-bristle brush to rub your skin in a circular motion, starting from your feet and move upwards, towards your heart. 2. Epsom Salt Baths Most of us love a good soak in the bath at the end of a busy day. So why not turn it into a healthy detox with a handful of Epsom salts? Epsom salts contain magnesium sulphate, a powerful mineral that aids in muscle relaxation and proper nervous system function. It’s also required for healthy sleep and stress management. It’s this relaxation that plays a major part in helping your body to detox more efficiently. When you’re sleeping better and feeling less stressed, your detoxification organs are better able to carry out their roles in flushing out toxins each day. It’s that simple! Taking an Epsom salts bath is easy. Just add two cups of salts to a freshly-run bath and soak for 15-30 minutes. 3. Add A Squeeze of Lemon Lemon is one of the easiest ways to help your body detoxify. The refreshing zing of lemon juice can help to stimulate your body’s digestive function, kick-starting the production of bile. This is all due to the structure of lemon juice, which is similar to our own gastric juices. Lemon juice essentially ‘tricks’ the liver into making bile, which is necessary for the breakdown of food in the gut. (1) Adding lemon to your daily drinking water can help to keep your digestive function moving smoothly, which will allow proper elimination. It’s also been found that the citric acid in lemon water can help to protect the liver and reduce oxidative damage, which is good news for your long-term detoxification! Lemon water also helps to keep you hydrated. It’s a mild diuretic, which means it keeps your kidneys flushing out toxins through your urine. Simply squeeze the juice of half a lemon to one full lemon in a glass of warm, filtered water and drink first thing in the morning. 4. Milk Thistle Extract Milk thistle is one of the most powerful detoxifying plants known to man! Its seeds contain a powerful flavonoid called silymarin. Silymarin is fantastic for supporting and protecting the liver by optimizing its day-to-day function and detoxification. It also helps to repair damage to liver cells from disease, alcohol and drugs. Silymarin acts like a security guard for your liver. It works by binding to the outside of the liver cell and fending off harmful toxins by blocking their entry to the liver cell. It also takes care of toxins that have already entered the liver by seeking them out and neutralizing them, which allows them to be removed more easily from the body. These neutralized toxins can flushed out as harmless waste, either through your bowels, in your urine or in sweat. (2) Silymarin can even help you to recover from Candida albicans overgrowth by clearing out some of the toxins produced by the yeast. This can be really helpful when going through a Candida treatment program as the extra support can reduce your symptoms. Our Liver Support formulation contains Milk Thistle that was harvested in Europe. It has been concentrated and standardized to 80% silymarins. In fact, each dose of Liver Support contains at least 200mg of silymarins, along with 10 other liver-supportive ingredients. You can learn more about Liver Support on our website or on Amazon. Thousands of our customers have used it to improve their liver health. 5. Eat More Greens Leafy greens should be high on your shopping list next time you go to the supermarket! Greens such as kale, spinach and broccoli contain the important antioxidants your body needs to fight off free radicals. The most important ‘detox chemical’ in greens is chlorophyll. Chlorophyll helps to rid your body of all those nasties: environmental toxins, heavy metals, herbicides, and pesticides. It does this by increasing a specific type of enzyme during phase II liver detoxification. These enzymes are needed to support optimal liver health and your natural elimination of potentially harmful toxins. Some studies have even suggested that chlorophyllin may reduce the risk for aflatoxin-induced liver damage and liver cancer. This is all due to the way in which chlorophyllin increase the activity of these phase II enzymes and speeds the removal of toxins. Make sure you’re eating greens with every meal. Greens can include broccoli, cucumbers, celery, sprouts, dandelion teas, chlorella powder – anything! They’re great in smoothies, stir-fries and salads. 6. Learn To Breathe (Deeply!) Did you know that the practise of deep breathing is a powerful detoxifier? Consciously focusing on your breath is somewhat like the breathing techniques you may learn in yoga or meditation. By taking time to breathe deeply for several minutes each day, you can boost the oxygen levels in your bloodstream. This helps your blood cells to function more efficiently in removing toxic waste from your blood (3). Oxygen also acts like a pump for your lymphatic system, enhancing its ability to flush out toxins. If you don’t like the idea of sitting and breathing, try taking up yoga instead. Your instructor will guide you through the process of breathing from your diaphragm (the flap of muscle below your rib cage) in order to draw in as much oxygen as possible.
