9 Ways to Naturally Detox and Cleanse Your Body
The concept of a cleanse or detox can be a scary one for someone who's never done it before. Though most people think of stringent exercise routines and bland, boring soup diets, this is no longer the case. There are many ways to detoxify the body naturally and easily, bringing revitalization and healing. In this guide, you'll learn 9 ways to perform a natural body detox.
9 Ways to Naturally Detox and Cleanse Your Body
The concept of a cleanse or detox can be a scary one for someone who's never done it before. Though most people think of stringent exercise routines and bland, boring soup diets, this is no longer the case. There are many ways to detoxify the body naturally and easily, bringing revitalization and healing. In this guide, you'll learn 9 ways to perform a natural body detox.
Eat More Organic Fruits and Vegetables
Getting enough veggies and fruits is one of the biggest steps toward a natural detox, and if you go organic, you'll be much better off. Part of cleaning up your diet is selecting the right foods and avoiding harmful toxins.
Pesticides are just one of several food-borne toxins that can build up in the body and cause serious harm. Eating organic vegetables and fruits may involve prepping meals in advance to minimize waste, visiting the nearest farmer's market, or signing up with a delivery service. These options not only improve health, but they also stimulate the local economy and help to decrease your carbon footprint.
Get a Thorough Massage
Professional massages feel so wonderful that most of us see them as an occasional treat. While many people think that way, including frequent massages in your healthy lifestyle has numerous benefits, including the release of toxins that are built up in the body.
Deep massages release tensions and toxins, soothing any discomfort you may feel and boosting the body's natural healing systems. Schedule a massage today for a decadent and healthy treat!
Visit an Acupuncturist
Though acupuncture may seem scary or foreign, this ancient practice is an excellent way to detox and cleanse the body. Most natural treatments take a rather holistic approach, which means that practitioners seek to heal the body from the inside out rather than simply treating the symptoms.
Acupuncture is a traditional Chinese medical treatment that uses painless, tiny needles to trigger certain points that are linked to meridians running throughout the body. Blocked meridians are thought to be the cause of numerous health issues. Clearing such blockages allows the qi (life force or energy) to flow freely, stimulating the body's natural healing response.
Drink Plenty of Water
There are many reasons to keep your body well hydrated. Chronic dehydration is quite common, and in most cases, it leads to muscle cramps, headache, fatigue, and other forms of discomfort. Water is an essential part of every bodily function, particularly those involving the digestive system.
When a person significantly increases their water intake, they may need to go to the restroom more often at first, but eventually, they will notice a big difference in their natural detoxification processes. Eight glasses of water per day is a great place to start, and adding a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar to the glass will accelerate the detoxification process.
Swap Your Morning Cup of Joe for a Mug of Green Tea
There's nothing wrong with the occasional cup of coffee but chugging a whole pot before work can have serious effects on your body. Caffeine is a stimulant, and when you enjoy it to excess, you may feel weak, shaky, or sick-which is no fun at all.
Green tea is more hydrating and detoxifying than a comparable amount of coffee. Green tea-based detox drinks have the antioxidants your body needs as well as a caffeine boost to start your morning right.
Sweat it Out
Another good way to detox your body naturally is with daily exercise. The more often you sweat and replenish those lost fluids, the more built-up toxins you'll release. Whether you're walking, taking a kickboxing class, or lifting weights, it's important to incorporate exercise into your daily life. Consider following each sweat session with a trip to a sauna, which will help you get rid of even more toxins.
Get Enough Sleep
If you've ever heard anyone say, "I'll sleep when I'm dead," you don't know just how true that statement is. Chronically insufficient sleep has severe effects on the body and everything it needs to detox and heal itself. Without enough sleep, you may encounter health issues that wouldn't have appeared otherwise.
The body's cells do much of their regeneration during sleep, and this also holds for body detoxification. If you're taking additional steps, it's crucial to get seven to eight hours of sleep per night.
Learn Stress Management Techniques
While some people believe a little stress is beneficial, too much stress can, over time, cause mental and physical breakdowns. When the body is put into a stressful situation, the "fight or flight" response kicks in. We become focused, alert, and energetic-but only for a short time.
Enduring stress, however, can have the opposite effect. When you disregard the signs and fail to take time to relax, you'll put yourself at greater risk of depression, lack of energy, weight gain, and other serious conditions.
The easiest way to detox from stress is to take things slow and let go of the daily grind. Whether that means visiting a therapist, taking a yoga class, or simply taking a nap, managing your stress will help to keep your body detoxified and healthy.
Eliminate Toxins From Your Environment and Your Diet
To help your body detox naturally, it's important to remove toxins wherever possible. This means limiting your intake of alcohol, tobacco, processed foods, and caffeine. Though some toxin buildup will inevitably occur, it's not necessary to add to that buildup with harmful substances.
Whether you turn to such bad habits for relaxation or relief at the end of a stressful day, the toxins build up until the body can't process them. When these toxins can't be eliminated naturally, you'll end up with serious health issues.
Conclusion
For many people, the most overwhelming part of a detox is the concept of going 'cold turkey'. However, it's not necessary to do it all at once. Real detox is about listening to your body, giving it the fuel it requires, and gradually adding in good habits that will help your body heal and cleanse itself.
1. "Apple Cider Vinegar Water Benefits." Snap Fitness, 2014
2. "Exercise for Detox." Danielle O'Connell, year unknown.
Jay Todtenbier is one of the founders of SupplementRelief.com in 2010 and has operated the business ever since. He is also a tennis instructor and gospel musician. Formerly, he spent 25 years in business development, technology, and marketing with startups and major corporations, having gone through the tech boom in Silicon Valley in the 90s. He became passionate about and began studying and practicing Wellness as a Lifestyle after experiencing chronic, personal health challenges, including depression, auto-immune disorders, and being overweight, which impacted his ability to live a healthy, vibrant life. Since then, he has advocated for healthier living, encouraging others to live better by making small, gradual changes to lifestyle behaviors relating to whole-food nutrition, stress management, reasonable exercise, proper sleep, and targeted high-quality supplements.
Learn more about Jay Todtenbier.