If you haven’t heard the word “detox” you are not living in this century. Detoxing is the new big thing!
There’s a juice detox, sugar detox, this detox that detox blah blah blah etc. etc. etc. You name it, there’s probably a detox for it.

All in term do the same, cleanse your body and restart your system. Some are targeted towards weight-loss and some are just for getting healthier, or ending a bad habit. Detoxes are short and not sustainable long-term. Knowing that and keeping that in mind, here are my thoughts on it. Here’s how to do it naturally. Before you try a detoxification program please always consult with your primary care physician who can advise and guide you on the best way to do it for you!

1. You want to cleanse from inside out.

You want to cleanse your liver, kidneys and improve your G.I. function. There are tons of “miracle” supplements that claim to do the same. Some are actually beneficial and other just claims. Firstly, start off by eating more fresh organic fruits and vegetables. Cut out processed and refined foods, sugars, and sodas. Ditch the fried, fatty fast food joints that you run to at lunch. You’ll hear me repeating this mantra over and over, that’s because it actually works! By simply changing your diet and not really calling it a “diet” you’re learning how you eat properly. This will make a huge difference in your life not just short-term but long-term. Remember you want to develop healthy eating habits for a healthier lifestyle long-term. Try avoiding Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) foods, gluten, soy, diary and refined sugars. Those really are the “evils” out there. It’s not a fad. More and more studies are showing their long term complications. The foods we eat are not “natural” or in their “pure” form like our forefathers did thereby affecting our GI system. Don’t substitute gluten free foods with high sugar grain foods because you’re defeating the purpose of avoiding sugars. Also don’t substitute high sugar foods with “zero calories sweeteners” studies have linked these to many cancers and are linked to our obesity and Diabetes epidemic.  The “caveman” diet is extreme as it may be has many benefits and has been shown to reduce a lot of inflammation and help with many chronic conditions. Try fasting one day a week, don’t eat meat that day and notice how you feel. It will give your digestive system time to recoup and reset itself. For more info, check out Dirty Dozen & Clean 15 http://www.ewg.org/foodnews/summary.php

Milk thistle supplement is a good liver detoxifier to add to your regimen if you’re considering detoxing. Make sure you’re also eating 30-35g fiber rich foods a day and having about 1-3 Bowel movements a day for maximum GI detoxification.

2. Hydration is another important factor for the good detox.

Regardless what you’re cutting out or substituting, make sure you’re drinking 9 glasses of water/day for females and 13 glasses of water/day for men. Flushing your kidneys out is a must in any detox!

3. Switcher to Green tea from coffee

Green tea has numerous more anti-oxidant and polyphenols than coffee. Too much coffee can also negatively affect your GI system as well as make you jittery and more anxious. Ditch that cup of joe and opt for a more smoother cup of some tea. Ideally the best “detox” is one that eliminates all caffeinated beverages.

4. Cut out all the bad habits

You know what they are: smoking drinking etc. I can site over 1 million studies right now proving that they’re bad for you.You know it’s time to do it. Stop wasting time, money and making yourself sicker. Your chronic problems don’t get any better, infact get better just by simply quitting. Try it out and notice the difference it makes.

5.  Switch out your products

Use an aluminum free deodorant. It’s a small change, but it helps. Aluminum and other metals all contribute to metal toxicity many are experiencing. Aluminium also blocks sweating so your body’s not purging unnecessary toxins. As gross as it may sound to want to sweat. There are many aluminium free options out there today. Aluminium has also been theorized to be linked to Alzheimer, increased breast cancer and kidney problems. There’s still limited data but i’m not going to wait to find out! The other thing to ditch is sodium laurel sulfate  (SLS) and paraben in many skin and hair products. I have been doing so for the  last 6 years. There has been studies linking SLS and parabens to increased estrogen causing more reproductive and female problems as well as increased risk of breast cancer. Ideally, you want to use organic, sulfate free and paraben free prodcuts. I know sometimes this is hard to find but over the last few years there have been many companies emerging with great skin care products.

6. Sweat it out

Exercise is one of the best things you can do for yourself from simple walking to a strength training workout. Try hitting up a sauna as well. For those pitta ayurvedic constitution, beware as too much heat can exacerbate other things. Sweating detoxifies your insides, flushing your liver and kidneys out removing many impurities. Doing lots of twisting yoga asanas helps as well.

7. Re-evaluate the medications and the things you’re putting into your body.

Do you need to be on certain medications. Why or why not? Could you take an alternative approach or get yourself off medications. Everything we ingest and put into our bodies has consequences including our supplement regimen. Ask yourself do I need this? What can I do to get the same result as this pill? These are all things you want to discuss with your primary care physician and can all help you detoxify your body.

8. Check the metal in your Body

How old are your dental fillings if you have any? You want to re-evaluate the metal in your mouth and get them changed out. Filling overtime it have been linked to mercury toxicity causing you to be more depressed, anxious, have GI problems and increased headache, fatigue and dizziness.What about any other metal elsewhere in your body, do you need them? How long have they been there? Those could contribute to a lot of problems so discuss them with your doctor.

9. Evaluate your surroundings

Is there mold in your house or in your work space? You may be prone to allergies throughout the year and live on antibiotics, steroids nasal spray and otc meds. What is that all doing to your gut flora? If you suspect mold anywhere, get rid of it. Long term complications will be harder to deal with. You can try to eliminate the mold from your body via the candida diet however you won’t reset your body until you avoid the trigger completely. You don’t need to spend 1 million bucks, but you need to re-evaluate your living situation and lifestyle. Every small change helps. What are you using to kill your weeds, etc? Are you wearing a mask? What chemicals are you inhaling at work constantly? Overtime all these things contribute to chronic problems.

You can follow up with an integrative, holistic or functional doctor and get additional testing done to evaluate how your body is metabolizing nutrients as well as what genetic susceptibility you may have. Some people are naturally poor detoxifiers and therefore accumulation will build up causing other problems. Other people are poor methylators and have difficulty converting one from of enzyme to another. Again these are all things that can be evaluated by a specialist who can help target and personalize your detox.