Detoxification is an important step that I focus on when helping my clients reverse their thyroid conditions naturally.
Have you been thinking about trying to detox?
One of the biggest reasons that people look to detox involves toxins.
We’re all exposed to a lot of toxins on a regular basis and your body can find it difficult to deal with them. This can affect lots of aspects of your health and wellbeing.
Toxins can also build up in your body and be stored in tissues and cells. Scary stuff, right?
Detoxing your body is a great way to reduce your toxic burden and help your body to function at its best.
Drink plenty of water
Water helps to flush waste products out of your body so it’s super important from a detox perspective. Starting the day with a glass of warm water and lemon is an easy way to help your body to detox. Sipping water through the rest of the day will support your body’s detox efforts.
Apple cider vinegar is another option if you want to mix things up or don’t enjoy the taste of lemon. It has antiseptic properties and can help to fight germs and other nasties.
Mix things up a bit with herbal teas. These also help you to stay hydrated and flush toxins. Some herbal teas are particularly good for detoxing, especially nettle and dandelion.
One thing you definitely don’t want to be drinking a lot of? Alcohol. It’s a toxin, which makes your body work hard to break it down.
Load up on veggies (and fiber generally)
Vegetables are a great choice for detoxing, especially beets, kale, spinach and cilantro. If you struggle to get plenty in your diet, try making a veggie smoothie or juice. Adding apple, carrot and ginger helps to make it taste delicious – perfect even if you’re not a big fan of greens!
It’ll also aid your digestion and support regular bowel movements to remove waste products from your body. This is super important as toxins can build up in your digestive tract if you’re not eliminating regularly. This can make you feel sluggish, tired and generally not your best. Getting plenty of fiber means that everything moves through your system more quickly. Veggies and fruits aside, good fiber sources include beans, legumes, nuts and whole grains.
A word of caution here when picking veggies (and fruits!): go organic as much as you can. This is particularly true for the “Dirty Dozen”, which are more likely to have pesticides and preservatives build up on them. If you’re not eating organic varieties of these, the toxins are passed onto you. The Dirty Dozen for 2018 included strawberries, spinach, nectarines, apples, grapes, peaches, cherries, pears, tomatoes, celery, potato, hot peppers and sweet bell peppers. If your budget doesn’t stretch to buying organic across the board, make these the priority.
There is also a Clean Fifteen group, which have fewer pesticides on average. Avocado and sweet corn top this group, and other fruits and veggies with low pesticide residue include pineapple, cantaloupe honeydew, papaya, asparagus, onions, cabbages, mangoes, eggplants, kiwi, cauliflower and broccoli.
Cut back on sugar
Sugar is essentially a toxin and as most of us eat far too much of it, it’s having a big effect on health and wellbeing. Making the decision to detox from sugar is a definite must-do when you’re looking to detox. It’s not easy but you’ll likely feel a whole lot better!
Eating plenty of protein at breakfast is a key part of a sugar detox. Non starchy veggies are another great move, along with healthy fats.
Reduce stress
When you’re stressed, your body isn’t working as efficiently as it could do and that’s not great news for detox. Being able to manage stress more effectively helps your body to get rid of toxins more easily.
Meditation, mindfulness and journaling are just a few of the tactics that will help to keep emotional toxins to a minimum.
Exercise regularly
8 Easy Ways To Detox
Exercise helps to boost your circulation and support your lymph system. Working up a sweat helps to release toxins and is also a good move for better digestion.
Yoga can serve a dual purpose in your exercise routine as it aids meditation and relaxation, which is also important for detoxing.
Making time to stretch throughout the day is also a great move. This gets blood moving and gives a quick and easy energy boost. Try to stretch for around 5 minutes out of every hour, where possible.
Get plenty of sleep
A good night’s sleep is super important for helping your body to reset itself and that extends to detoxing too. You’re also more likely to make poor food choices when you’re sleep deprived and that can mean more toxins.
Try deep tissue massage
Because toxins can build up in tissues, deep tissue massages can help to get rid of them. Swedish massage and sports massages both target pressure points, which can release toxins.
Brush Your Skin
Gently brushing the skin helps to bring toxins out so they can be eliminated. It boosts circulation and aids detoxification. Brushing your skin a couple of times per week can really help to accelerate detoxification.
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