Its the new year, there is lots of talk of resolutions. Many people will make a resolution to concentrate on their health and many of my clients ask me, is it important to detox? In a word, Yes. Our bodies detoxify naturally with about 10% of that process occurring through the skin in conjunction with organs such as the liver, and kidneys. If one of those organs is stressed, you’ll get even less. We live in an environment with many chemicals in our homes, and in the air we breathe, we eat processed foods, and use microwave ovens, not to mention daily use of cell phones, TV's, radio’s and computers, we don't exercise as much as we should and we have increased levels of stress... This increased toxic load on our bodies means we absorb more than we can naturally get rid of, which may lead to increased rates of diseases like cancer or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.
On our summer vacations, we typically eat well, drink more water, sit in sauna-like heat of 30 or 40 degrees, swim in ocean water heat to bath-like temperatures, and take cold showers that couldn’t be cold enough just to cool down. These are all really good ways to detoxify naturally – but we can’t be on vacation all the time!
Here are six ways to detoxify at home:
On our summer vacations, we typically eat well, drink more water, sit in sauna-like heat of 30 or 40 degrees, swim in ocean water heat to bath-like temperatures, and take cold showers that couldn’t be cold enough just to cool down. These are all really good ways to detoxify naturally – but we can’t be on vacation all the time!
Here are six ways to detoxify at home:
- Drink warm or hot water with lemon first thing in the morning, before anything else. This will wake up your body and the lemon gently flushes toxins out of your body. As an added bonus this helps keep your blood at an alkaline PH; an acidic body is more likely to get sick.
- Foot Pads - these pads have an adhesive backing that you stick to your feet. They encourage self-healing by promoting improved circulation of the blood and lymphatic system and absorb the excess toxins the body throws off. You can also stick these pads on any area of the body where you have pain or a rash, e.g. on the back, at the lungs for a cough, on the legs for itchiness.
- Hydrotherapy - Contrasting showers promotes detoxification and strengthens the immune system by increasing the white blood cells. Start with 3-5 minutes of hot water followed by less than a minute of cold water. Repeat at least once, finishing with cold.
- Salt Baths - soak in a tub to which you’ve added sea salt. Add one cup of sea salt to your bath and grab a book to read. Salts contain minerals and trace elements that are beneficial to our health
- Skin Brushing - stimulates the lymphatic system and white blood cells migrate to the skin, as well as increasing blood circulation. Use gloves or natural bristle brushes, start with the feet and work your way up the body, always brushing towards the heart.
- Exercise with yoga, jumping rope or qi gong.
Here are three more ways to help your body detoxify outside the home.
- Lymphatic Drainage Massage – the lymphatic system is responsible for cleansing soft tissue just under the skin. It’s a network of vessels that carry toxins to your lymph nodes which then break down and purify waste. Some signs that it is overworked are cellulite, puffiness and, mostly, dark circles under the eyes. This type of massage stimulates the lymphatic system to allow it to more effectively do its job.
- Foot Baths - An ionizer sits in a footbath with your feet; acting as a conductor it pulls neutralized particles (toxins, heavy metals, etc) out of your body.
- Infrared Sauna - Also called Heat Stress Detoxifaction - there are many powerful reasons to have an infrared sauna. When you sweat, your body eliminates toxins; this is a profound method of eliminating environmental chemicals that are stored in fat cells. Start out for only 15 minutes at 150 degrees. Regular use contributes to as much as a 75% reduction of harmful toxins.
