Anyone working towards a healthy lifestyle has probably heard of a detox, often in the form of a juice cleanse. It seems like a quick fix, but nothing could be further from the truth. Why should we detox and how can we do it in a healthy way?
Why detox?
If we break down the word detox, we get de (remove) and tox (toxins); we want to rid our body of toxins. Nowadays, many toxins enter our system. Not only do we find toxins in food and personal care products, but air pollution and radiation also play a significant role. No matter how hard we try to live healthily, we will always ingest unwanted toxins. So, there's nothing wrong with ridding ourselves of these toxins every now and then!
However, a commercial trend has emerged around the concept of 'detoxing.' Many health gurus swear by juice cleanses, diets, and restrictions. For days, they only drink juices or eat only certain foods. Probably with the best intentions, but what they don't know is that this is actually an assault on our system.
What detoxing really does to our body
The goal of a detox is to cleanse our body, and people often want to lose weight. The good news? Our body has its own detox system! Our organs, especially the liver, skin, and kidneys, have a strong detoxifying function. For the liver to function properly, it's important that the liver (and all other organs) are supplied with sufficient healthy nutrients.
When we follow a juice cleanse, we only get the juice from vegetables and fruits. This juice mainly contains fruit sugars (carbohydrates), and we miss the healthy fibers our body desperately needs. We are literally depriving our body. The enormous nutritional deficiencies that arise from a juice cleanse create high stress levels in our body, which causes our reserves to be tapped. As a result, we initially lose a lot of fluid. This is how a juice cleanse causes us to temporarily lose weight, which often returns very quickly after the cleanse.
What can we do better?
As I said, our body has its own 'detox system.' This simply means that our organs in a healthy body are capable of detoxifying. However, that doesn't mean that our organs couldn't sometimes use a little boost.
Do you want to support your body to detox responsibly? Then try the following tips;
- Eat enough (especially green) vegetables; the fibers stimulate the intestines and thus contribute to good digestion. All of this is necessary to remove waste products.
- Use fresh herbs, for example, the following;
- Parsley promotes kidney function
- Dandelion has a diuretic effect
- Oregano stimulates metabolism
- Practice Oil Pulling: rinse your mouth in the morning for 10 minutes with cold-pressed coconut or sesame oil. You can find more about this in the Brain Food Smoothies book!
I wish you much success with these tips!
