Both doctors and the general public are coming to realize this: —> what we’re eating is a cause for some of our major health problems.
Obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, and other ailments are all products of our diet.
It’s definitely a cause for how you could feel. Waking up with no energy, feeling achy, and brain fog can be a result of an unhealthy diet.
If you want to change how you look and feel, then detoxing should be your first step.
Detoxing is crucially important on your road to health. It cleanses your body of toxins so that you can improve your health and start losing weight.
And yet, most people don’t even consider detoxing. A lot of people don’t exactly know what detoxification is, much less how to do it.
First let’s cover what detoxing is by examining what it does. Then let’s move on to a detoxification process that really works.
What Does Detoxing Do?
Your body has natural detoxification pathways. A good detox protocol can support these pathways and cleanse your body of the stubborn toxins we’re all exposed to these days.
In today’s world, we are subject to ingesting heavy toxins. These are toxins that are very hard for your body to clean out. For instance, bisphenol-A. BPA is found in plastics, and most of the BPA you ingest will be cleared out efficiently…but some will seep into fat cells. That’s where a good detox can help.
Other toxins you’re inevitably exposed to include toxic molds and heavy metals.
But the most important toxins to cleanse your body of are what you digest in processed foods. Exogenous toxins in meat and dairy are not going to be cleansed through your body’s natural detoxification processes. And if you’ve gone on a sugar binge, then you’re going to need to kickstart your health by detoxing.
But before you begin, make the right plan.
Because if you’re going to detox, then you need to have the right preparations in place to succeed. Remember: it’s not just about the diet, it’s about the strategy. Only with the right strategy can you stick to these health changes.
If you want to learn more about making lasting changes to your health, check out this other article from FitnessHQ.
Here are some major, evidence-based benefits from detoxing:
– Better sleep
– Clearer skin
– Less food cravings
– Weight loss
– Decreased inflammation
Doing the Detox
Not all detox plans are made equal.
A lot of health gurus promote juicing or water cleanses to detox all the bad out of you. But this can be damaging because you may not take in all the nutrients your body needs.
Instead, consider the suggestions below.
1. Ten Detoxification Foods to be Eating
Your detox success hinges on what you’re eating.
Here are ten detoxification foods to be eating on your plan:
– Other fresh vegetables are important to eat
– Substitute coffee for green tea
– Lots of berries
– At least 2 garlic cloves per day
– Add in Cilantro
– Consistently eat dark leafy greens
– High quality protein foods (ex: eggs)
– Fresh vegetable juices are great (just don’t live off them)!
Focus on real food – plant food, healthy fats, and clean protein. You’re overall going to want to reduce your sugar intake and limit anything in boxes because those foods are processed.
Now let’s move on to sleep.
2. Sleep
Consistent sleep is crucial to your detoxification plan because it aids in your body’s natural detoxification pathways.
When you are sleep deprived, your body does not have the energy to get rid of toxins. For example, sleep aids in the process of removing the toxin beta-amyloid, which has been linked to Alzheimer’s disease.
It’s recommended that you sleep seven to eight hours a night. Since many people don’t sleep that much, make sure you implement the right strategy for getting to bed on time and waking up at a consistent hour each morning.
Eating healthy and exercising often (talked about below) both aid in sleep.
Also, make sure to cut off your exposure to blue light after seven p.m. Blue light, emitted from all electronics, decreases your production of melatonin, which may be a reason you could sleep light.
Get into your sleep cycle when you plan to detox!
3. Exercise
Being active is medically associated with a longer and healthier life. Specific to detoxing, increasing your physical activity will flush out toxins through sweating and through lipolysis, the breakdown of fat tissue.
Why is lipolysis important? Well, many toxins are stored in fat tissue, so if you break down that tissue by exercising, you mobilize them and then the liver and kidneys flush them out of your body.
Of course this is going to promote weight loss, and you’ll feel great, that is, unless you’re losing a lot of body fat really fast, which could result in a headache or some digestive problems. If that’s the case, take some vitamin C and perhaps a charcoal supplement (talked about below in more detail).
I recommend either doing some light exercise around 30-60 minutes per day, five days per week. Or do some harder exercise 20-30 minutes per day, again, five days per week. Listen to your body and do what you judge is best.
4. Sauna
Using a sauna is another way to flush out toxins from your body. These days, many gyms are equipped with a sauna, or at least a steam room, and although it’s costly you could also install a sauna in your house.
Saunas mostly do what exercise does for you. You sweat, and therefore you flush out toxins such as heavy metals and compounds found in food wrappings. Also, sweating in a sauna can flush out the BPA (from plastic, gets stuck in fat cells) we mentioned earlier.
Although there’s some debate about it, most people agree that infrared saunas are the best kind of sauna for you because (1) they don’t get as hot, (2) it penetrates tissue directly, and (3) they’re less expensive. I’ll let you do your own research and decide if an infrared sauna is right for you.
A final note on saunas: when you sweat a lot, you need to be extra sure to stay hydrated, and you’ll also want to monitor your salt intake, which could get too low, actually.
5. The Benefits of Ketosis
There’s a neat state known as ketosis, and if you fall into it, you could potentially boost your detox.
So, before I list out some supplements to consider, read this:
When you’re in ketosis, you start breaking down fat tissue into fatty acids, which your body converts to ketones for fuel; in other words you’re burning fat instead of carbs. This means your detox should be enhanced.
In order to get into nutritional ketosis you have to really cut your carbs, and you’ll also want to intermittently fast. In ketosis, your hunger will not be as pronounced and you’ll feel intellectually sharpened.
To seize the real benefits of being in ketosis, exercise and get in a sauna. Why? Because, although ketosis mobilizes your toxins, you won’t release all of them from your body unless you sweat!
6. Suggested Supplements
Here is a list of supplements. Consider adding them to your detox plan, because they’ll advance the release of toxins from your body.
Side note: the recommended intake of these supplements is from Dave Asprey’s site, which you can go to here.
– 3-4 activated charcoal pills per day
– 2-3 grams of Vitamin C, preferably an hour before exercise
– 500-1500 Calcium D-Glucarate per day
– Glutathione supplement
After the Detox
Congratulate yourself after you’ve finished the detox! But recognize that the detoxification process is just the beginning.
Now you want to transition to a diet that’s less focused on the detoxification process, yet just as centered around real foods.
You want to prioritize plants, particularly dark leafy greens, and berries, and also unprocessed meats. Maybe add in some nuts for extra protein, and some ancient grains.
Now, go out and implement your own detoxification process to kickstart your health! I wish you best of health, and I bet you’ll be happy with whatever results you receive.