How to Detox: Nourish Your Body Inside and Out
Let’s first define a ‘cleanse’ vs ‘detox’. A ‘cleanse’ or ‘detox’ is not the same thing as everyday detoxification.
A cleanse is a few days to a few weeks of following a strict protocol under physician guidance. It’s like a reset.
Everyday detoxification are the action steps that you can do at home to help reduce the buildup to toxins in your body by supporting safe and effective detox habits.
Why discuss detox?
We went deeper into this question in the previous blog, you can check it out HERE, but we are constantly exposed to toxins in our environment, food, and water. These toxins can accumulate in our bodies over time, leading to various health issues like . .
❌ weight gain
❌ fatigue
❌ bloating
❌ constipation
❌ weakened immune system
❌ acne
❌ melasma
❌ rosacea
❌ estrogen dominance
❌ hormonal swings
❌ anxiety
❌ depression
Understanding how the buildup of toxins affects our body, genetics, and orchestra of the systems is the first step. The next step is to learn how to safely and effectively employ daily detox habits to help improve elimination of our day to day exposure.
Detoxification is a natural process that helps eliminate these harmful substances, and supporting this process is crucial for maintaining optimal health.
Foods that Promote Detoxification
LIVER
Your liver is working around the clock to process chemicals and toxins for elimination. If it doesn’t have the nutrients it needs, detox will slow down and you’ll start to feel the effects on your health.
Here are some top foods that will give your liver some love!
Cruciferous vegetables (foods like broccoli, cauliflower, kale, and collard greens support both phases of liver detoxification)
Garlic & Onions (these provide sulfur compounds, vitamin B6, and antioxidants)
Blueberries (contain polyphenols to support antioxidant status)
Turmeric (a powerful health-promoting spice!)
Green Tea (rich is EGCG & antioxidants - one of my top favorites)
KIDNEY
Your kidneys are working constantly to filter out toxins, excess water, and water soluble toxins.
Here are some top foods that will support your kidney!
Watermelon
Cucumber
Celery
Parsley
Berries
And of course, stay hydrated with clean water
GALL BLADDER
Your gall bladder is consolidating the bile acids, and helping to detox those fat soluble toxins.
Eat these bitter foods to promote bile flow!
Beets
Artichokes
Dandelion Greens
Lemons
Diverse and Fiber rich diet
POOP
You can be improving your liver, but if you can’t get the poop out on a regular basis (I mean daily folks, and good quality - not that rabbit pellet poop!), your detox is going to be significantly impeded.
Eat these bowel motility foods to get the poop moving!
Fiber-rich foods: chia seeds ,flaxseeds, legumes
Variety of leafy greens
Prunes
Fermented foods: Kefir, sauerkraut
Lifestyle Habits that Support Detoxification
There are loads of ways to naturally support your body’s everyday detoxification that have absolutely nothing to do with what you eat, like:
✅ Dry Skin Brushing
✅ Castor Oil Packs
✅ Epsom Salt Baths
✅ Rebound Trampoline
✅ Deep Breathing
✅ Go to Bed On Time
✅ Sweating: Exercise, sauna, hot yoga
✅ Lymphatic Massage
The thing about detoxification is that your body is doing it every day without you even thinking about it.
These things work because they support one or more of your detoxification pathways - your liver, gut, kidneys, lymphatics, lungs & skin.
The Importance of Clean Drinking Water
Our drinking water unfortunately, is jut not as clean as we would hope it to be. It can contain medications, medication residues/byproducts (think antibiotic drinking water), chlorine, fluoride, and heavy metals that negatively impact our health and increase our body toxin burden.
The first step is to know what is in your water. You can request a water quality report from your local municipality or use at-home testing kits to assess your water's purity. Also check out the water reports on EWG.org.
The next step is to get the right filter for your local water.
And finally, choose the right container to drink your water: glass! Switching to glass containers for drinking water can help reduce exposure to harmful chemicals leached from plastic containers, such as BPA and phthalates.
While detoxification is a continuous process, there are so many habits that you can employ to support detoxification and get to the root cause. Even simple shifts like drinking more water, eating colorful plant foods, and sweating regularly can make a big difference in your body's ability to eliminate harmful compounds. By lightening your toxic load, you're ultimately supporting everything from clear skin to DNA health to metabolic wellness.
Want to know how best to support your unique detoxification to improve your hormonal health, energy, and mood balance?
Join my upcoming FREE online workshop on how to balance hormones naturally.
