This topic continues to come up in the media and social trends, especially with the holidays and New Year approaching - January always gets a lot of hype as THE detox month. There are many diet trends and supplements available that promise to help you detox. While some may actually help to support your body's natural detox system, they are not a replacement. Your body is designed to detoxify itself daily, and usually does not need any help. By understanding your body and creating the right environment, you can learn to naturally support your organs through this process. If anything, this will give you a better detox system and foundation, to make any other supplements or products work better.
Your Body's Detox System
The main organs that are involved in detoxification are the liver, kidneys, lungs, colon and skin. The liver is one of the body's primary filtration systems, and works by converting toxins into waste, cleansing the blood, and metabolizing both nutrients and medication. Your lymphatic system also plays an extremely important role in detoxification. It is made up of nodes, vessels, ducts and glands that help to filter out toxins and waste from cells in your body, and then carries those to the major detox pathways. It acts similar as if you had your own internal plumbing system. The kidneys work to help filter toxins out into the urine, and the colon does the same with stool. All of these organs work in different ways to identify, remove and package toxins for elimination.
How Can I Help?
Knowing the ins and outs of how your body naturally detoxes, and then adding small simple changes to diet, sleep, and lifestyle can make a big change in your natural detox. Pick one to start - maybe adding blueberries to your morning routine or a walk at lunch. And once you are consistent with that, you can add another one or two until you get to a place where you feel you best.
Eat Antioxidant Rich Foods
Antioxidant rich foods help to protect cells from stressors and to keep organs healthy by supporting natural detox systems. There are so many foods rich in antioxidants making it easier to add them to your diet! Some of my favorites are berries, bell peppers, citrus fruit, seeds, grains, beans, vegetables, green tea and spices. Some of these also have other added benefits, and I linked those below with my recipes. Many of these can also be found in supplement form, but try to focus on the natural food version first. The Mediterranean "Diet" ("diet" because it is more of a lifestyle way of eating than traditional dieting) is thought to be one of the best for cardiovascular and overall health, and is also very high in antioxidants.
Asparagus contain glutathione, which is a natural detox. (Grilled Vegetable Salad Recipe)
Avocado are loaded with antioxidants that help fight free radicals. They are also very nutrient dense with around 20 different vitamins and minerals (Loaded Avocado Toast Recipe)
Artichokes have 2 phytonutrients that help the liver produce bile, and are also important for digestion and removal of toxins (Loaded Greek Salad Recipe)
Beets are high in antioxidants, and also contain betaine and a fiber called pectin. These help to clear toxins that have been removed by the liver, and also help to fight inflammation.(Kale & Beet Salad Recipe)
Sulfur Rich Foods
Sulfur rich foods help to remove certain heavy metals and support antioxidant activity, and can also help to fight off infection. They enhance the effectiveness of antioxidant glutathione, which is important for natural detox process.
Seafood, leaks, brussel sprouts, cabbage, onions, garlic, and broccoli are some examples of food high in sulfur.
Drink More Water
Staying hydrated helps to flush out substances, and also support the kidneys, liver, and colon in detox. Not drinking enough can negatively impact the body’s ability to remove harmful substances through sweat, urine, breathing and even stool (hello constipation).
New recommendations vary, but can be as high as 125oz per day for men and 91 oz for women. Start slow, increasing by 1 glass a day until you reach your goal.
Eat This... Not That!
Prioritize Fermented Foods for Gut Health
Fermented foods support healthy gut and the digestive tract; which in return supports the body's natural detox system. Kimchi, kraut, kefir, and yogurt are also high in probiotics that promote a healthy gut microbiome.
Eat and Drink Fewer Processed Products
Candy, soda, cookies, chips, frozen meals, and cold cuts increase inflammation. This causes detox organs to work harder.
Sleep Hygiene
Prioritize Sleep!!!
For healthy living in general, but also to support your detox, good sleep, for 7-9 hours, allows the brain to reorganize and recharge itself. We also remove toxic waste byproducts in our sleep. Chronic sleep deprivation can impair organ systems and limit your body's ability to perform those functions, allowing toxins to build up.
Your Organs at Night Based on Chinese Medicine
Lymphatic Systems (9-11pm): Help to support this by creating a relaxing bedtime routine.
Gall Bladder (11pm-1am): Waking up during this time can be due to much alcohol or fatty foods.
Liver (1-3am): Waking now can mean that your liver is taxed with poor diet, alcohol or drugs.
Lungs (3-5am): This helps activate the vagus nerve, allowing your body to rest and digest.
Large Intestine (5-7am): This helps to eliminate stool, waking now can mean that you need more fiber or water in your diet. Combat this with a large glass of water water upon waking.
Reducing Toxins in Our Life
Decreasing Alcohol Intake
Alcohol is one of most frequently consumed toxins. Drinking requires the body to shift gears to metabolize the alcohol, putting more work on your liver to do both that AND your natural detox. Drinking also leads to dehydration, effecting the body's ability to eliminate through sweat and urine.
Move More!
One of the many benefits of exercise is reduced inflammation. Movement increases heart rate and blood flow, which helps support the liver detox.
It also helps to mechanically stimulate the lymphatic system to improve detox there. Exercise also decreases stress, improves organ function, helps maintain blood sugar levels and increases sweat, all effecting our natural detox.
Avoid Constipation
After all of your body's hard work to filter out toxins, we then need to eliminate them. One of the biggest ways to eliminate them is through our stool. If you are not having regular bowel movements, your body can begin to recycle those toxins that were not eliminated. The good news? Everything that supports detox - diet, water, sleep, exercise - also helps to eliminate constipation.
Toxins in Your House
This can get tricky, time consuming and expensive. Start by switching 1-2 products that you use on your skin (menstrual products, deodorant, moisturizers, skin care) and 1-2 household products (cleaning products, laundry detergent, tupperware). By starting with the ones that you use most frequently, you can make more of an impact immediately. Remember, even small changes will make a big difference over time. And don't beat yourself up - it is nearly impossible to completely eliminate everything. The goal is only to minimize, not to be absolutely perfect.
Final Thoughts...
Your body is truly amazing! And just like people, sometimes it just needs a little support to do incredible things! Start small and don't over complicate things. Since starting this newsletter, I have switched over another house cleaner, and every time I use it I am reminded that little things make a big difference.