Detoxifying your body may seem like all the rage these days! But what does it mean to detox and why is it so necessary? And how do you detox at home?
The liver is the organ that processes the body’s hormonal and metabolic waste as well as toxins. A toxin is anything that stresses the body and decreases health. Examples of toxins are pesticides and sugar in our food, phthalates in skin products, and sodium laurel sulfate in hair products. Then, there’s chlorine & fluoride added to our city water, pollutants in the air, plastics, metals, pharmaceutical medications, etc.
The liver is aided by our excretory system and toxins are expelled through our sweat, urine, and bowel movements. This is an awesomely efficient system, except when the liver gets overwhelmed and sluggish. Typically, our bowels slow down and we experience constipation, weight gain, and inflammation. Subsequently, skin rashes and acne may result from this GI tract congestion.
What are other signs that your body needs to cleanse? Take this questionnaire to find out.
We are more challenged than ever with environmental toxins. Therefore, it’s nice to give the liver some extra support a few times a year with a thorough cleanse.
There are several whole food diet programs that help reduce the load on the liver and clear out all the excretory organs. However, many of these programs are quite challenging to stick with.
Fortunately, there are many changes you can make at home to help your body detox easily every day. Here’s how…
6 Ways To Detox At Home
1. Avoid Toxins!
Of course, it’s better to avoid toxins as much as you can. Here are the things you want to look out for and change if possible.
- Adopt an organic lifestyle to avoid pesticides, herbicides, and genetically modified organisms (GMOs).
- Stop eating sugary, processed, packaged, and fast food made with trans fat.
- Avoid eating and drinking from plastics, cooking with aluminum foil and teflon, wearing fire retardants in clothes, burning candles and other synthetics substances, etc., whenever possible.
- Switch to natural beauty products that meet the Environmental Working Group (EWG) Skin Deep criteria.
- Avoid pharmaceutical medications and seek out natural alternatives from a holistic health practitioners.
- Get home water and air filters.
2. Drink a few glasses of water first thing in the morning
Encourage peristalsis and get the bowels moving with a nice big flush of room temperature water. If you add lemon and a splash of apple cider vinegar, you’ll stimulate the liver and gall bladder to increase digestive function.
3. Load up on vegetables and fruits
Nature provides the best detoxing program! Just about every fruit and vegetable can support the liver and bowels in eliminating toxins. However, some work better than others:
Just make sure that they you’re eating organic produce or you’re missing the point!
4. Sweat it out
Saunas, steam showers, and hot baths have numerous therapeutic qualities. Releasing toxins is one of them.
In one study, samples were collected from 20 individuals (10 “healthy” and 10 with known health problems). “BPA (bisphenol-A from plastics) was found to differing degrees in each of blood, urine, and sweat. In 16 of 20 participants, BPA was identified in sweat, even in some individuals with no BPA detected in their serum or urine samples.”
5. Essential oils
Applying essential oils topically is an easy way to support organ detoxification. Place a few drops on the liver area (right side of lower rib cage) and the soles of the feet (where there are numerous reflexology points) .
The oils below have antioxidant effects, support organ cleansing, and make up the dōTERRA Zendocrine Detoxification Blend:
6. Epsom salt baths
Soaking in an epsom salt (magnesium sulfate) bath pulls out heavy metals and other toxins through our porous skin. Dr. Axe suggests adding 2 cups of epsom salt to hot/very warm bath water and soak for 40 minutes. (20 min. to purge toxins + 20 min. to replenish magnesium which helps with sleep & digestion!).
If you’re needing a detox, adopting one or more of these practices at home is a good place to start!
Do you have experience cleansing with one of these techniques? How did it work for you? Anything else to suggest? Let us know in the comments!
