Detox is vital in the toxic world in which we live.
For so many years I focused on digestion because I do believe that well-functioning digestion leads to a healthy life. But then one day the light went off in my head. I realized that to have proper digestion, you must be detoxing well.
Detox is a natural step toward better digestion. Good digestion leads to less inflammation, and less inflammation leads to less disease. Let me repeat: decrease the inflammation and prevent disease.
Hippocrates said it best: “All disease begins in the gut.”
If this is true and disease begins in the gut, then having a healthy and robust digestion is vital. But let me share a secret with you – when the body is toxic, your digestive system is weak.
Even if you eat “clean” and only buy organic and hormone-free foods, you’re still ingesting toxins through your breath and skin. We live, eat and breathe toxins every day. Look around your home and think of the paint on the walls, the rugs, the pesticides sprayed on your green grass, the exterminator to get rid of the bugs. Even if you are chemical-free in your home, is your makeup chemical-free?
Although you may be doing your best to live a chemical-free life, you still have to leave your clean environment outside the home, and that means eating, breathing, and sometimes sleeping in a toxic environment. Unless you feel that you’re ready to live in a bubble or a hyperbaric chamber, then it’s time to support your body in its daily detox.
Detox is not anything to be scared of. Instead, it is exciting to think about your body and cells functioning like a well-oiled machine – taking in the nutrients and getting rid of the waste. It’s not necessarily living only on juices, or water only, or only smoothies or just salad or soup. Detox is about lessening the toxic load in your body by eating clean and supporting the liver and kidneys, making sure the body is “taking out the trash.”
When we are over-burdened with toxins, our body cannot metabolize properly, process properly, absorb nutrients and minerals, or stay hydrated. It can be a vicious cycle. That’s why detox is so necessary to be healthy, happy and free of disease.
When you’re overly-stressed, you create acid in your body
Your body is then forced to pull minerals out of its bones to buffer the acid waste. The liver, lymph, and kidneys begin to work hard to filter out the toxic load.
What happens when the body is tired and overwhelmed? It’s extra hard to get rid of bloat, fat and skin breakouts and anything else that is a symptom of toxicity. And:
TOXIC OVERWHELM=>WEAK DIGESTION=>WEAK IMMUNE SYSTEM:
- Difficult weight management (an overwhelmed liver instructs the body to create new fat cells to store toxins for processing later – sometimes later never happens if the liver is constantly overwhelmed)
- Constipation/diarrhea (constipation is especially an enemy to detoxification as the waste particles can be re-absorbed into the body)
- Gas/Bloating
- Headaches
- Low energy
- Low sex drive
- Bad skin
- Heartburn/reflux
- Moodiness/depression (90% of serotonin, one of our feel-good neurotransmitters is made in our gut)
Get where I am going with all of this?
By detoxing you will improve digestion and free your body of inflammation and toxins in the process.
The foundation of a detox is to NEVER feel deprived or starved
The goal is to help you do what I have learned to do in my own life: learn how to EAT CLEAN and learn what foods are IRRITATING your body.
Join me for my food-based Summer Detox and cleanse —>>> HERE
Now that you’ve learned a little more about the benefits of detoxing, how can you start bringing it into your daily life?
Here are a few of my favorite ways to stay healthy and detox naturally:
- Upon waking, drink warm or room-temperature water with lemon and one tsp raw apple cider vinegar (if tolerated) and add a dash of cinnamon or cayenne.
- Start your day by being positive – find that daily affirmation that gets you fired up. There are thousands all over the internet.
- Try getting quiet and still within yourself even just for one minute – and breathe. There are great apps to help you relax through breathing properly.
- Drink fresh green juices or make your own, with 1 tbsp. Chlorophyll and lemon and lime and water.
- Aim for one meal that is super easy on your digestion per day like a smoothie, green juice or soup. Give that digestion a rest!
- Get moving and shaking. Yes, exercise is one of the best ways to detox your body. Our lymph system circulates with the aid of our body’s movement – very important
- Drink plenty of water and add lemon, lime or grapefruit to flush toxicity and give it some flavor.
- Skin brushing is my favorite way to support the liver and get rid of those toxins.
- Tongue scraping.
- Be grateful.
To Your Health,
Patti
