Many of us are in poor health and don’t even realize it. We often accept having low energy, unwanted body fat, constipation, a weakened immune system, and an unhealthy physical appearance as just part of life.
The good news is you can detoxify your body and actually get healthy starting today.
Detoxification can help you feel more energetic, lose weight, improve your health, and increase longevity.
What Is Detoxification?
Detoxification is the process by which our bodies filter and remove harmful toxins. Toxins can be either internal—those our bodies create as byproducts of processes like digestion, energy production, and hormone making; or external toxins, which come from our environment.
Our bodies are continually eliminating toxins through our skin, urine, feces, and lungs.
Two important detox organs are the liver and the kidneys. The liver produces bile, which helps carry away waste and clears the blood of drugs, bacteria, and other harmful substances.
The bean-shaped kidneys filter about 120–150 quarts of blood per day and send toxins out of the body through the urine.
7 Ways to Detox
1. Buy a Water Filter. Tap water can be loaded with compounds like chlorine and fluoride, which damage our intestinal flora and disrupt our endocrine system.
Drinking clean water allows our bodies to hydrate and eliminate waste more effectively because they don’t have to do more work to filter out chemicals from our water.
Add a filter both to your drinking water and your shower because bathing in hot chlorinated water can allow chlorine to be absorbed through the skin, which is our largest detox organ.
Avoid drinking from plastic bottles, as they often contain BPA (bisphenol A, a toxic chemical that research has shown to be linked to cancer, reproductive disorders, and other serious health problems). Instead, drink from a glass or stainless steel water bottle.
2. Choose Chemical-Free Foods. Unless we take care, we can be exposed to lots of pesticides; chemicals; preservatives; processed oils; additives; and artificial colors, sweeteners, and flavors every day in the food we eat.
To avoid these toxins, eat whole, organic foods that are as close to their natural state as possible.
Also, increase your consumption of fiber and foods that improve liver health, like artichokes, avocados, dandelion greens, garlic, beets, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, lemons, limes, apples, and mushrooms.
You may also consider nutritional supplements such as milk thistle, which can help support liver function.
3. Try Skin Brushing. Brushing your dry skin helps slough off dead skin cells, allowing your skin to breathe better.
The best time to skin brush is right before you shower so you can wash away any dirt or dead skin that comes loose while brushing.
4. Have Regular Bowel Movements. Most of our bodily waste is eliminated by our bowels, so it’s important to ensure that you’re having regular bowel movements. That means at least daily, if not twice daily.
To be regular, consume plenty of water, get enough fiber, mainly from fruits and veggies, and exercise daily.
5. Practice Deep Breathing. Learn how to deep breathe, which helps cleanse and detoxify our lungs, reduces stress, and brings energizing oxygen to our tissues.
Start off your day by taking 10 deep, long, slow breaths. Once you get the hang of it, increase your number of breaths, and stop for “breathing breaks” throughout your day.
6. Clean Up Your Personal Care Products. From shampoo, shower gel, moisturizer, and makeup, many of us are slathering toxic chemicals onto our skin every day.
Women are at a much higher risk than men since they use more beauty care products—an average of 12 per day.
While you’re at it, replace toxic household products such as cleaners and insecticides with non-toxic alternatives, and be sure to eradicate any mold you find because this can also be toxic.
7. Laugh More. Laughing helps detox our minds. Other health benefits to laughter include reducing stress and lowering blood pressure.
Dr. David Samadi is the chairman of the urology department and chief of robotic surgery at Lenox Hill Hospital. He is a medical correspondent for the Fox News Channel’s Medical A-Team. Learn more at RoboticOncology.com and visit Dr. Samadi’s blog: SamadiMD.com. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook.
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