Every January health and medical professionals gear up to fight something exciting:
a long line of New Year’s resolutionists who thought that they knew what the word ‘detox’ meant. This line has become so long that ‘detox’ now comes with a negative connotation.
But that’s not because detoxing is bad for you. It’s because mainstream media has painted a faulty picture for us all. Instead of correctly defining it, they tell us what you shouldn’t do, rather than what you should do.
And because of these incorrect definitions, you get people like this:
Original source: here
(Not a person, but an accurate portrayal of what some think is ‘detoxification’.)
Or you get people who think that Detox = Diet. Ugh. No.
THIS is what ‘detox’ means:
Detoxification: Getting rid of toxins from your body. THAT’S IT.
When people talk about the right diet or the right exercise, it isn’t a form of detoxification. It’s a way to aid the detoxification process. And a lot of people get even this stuff wrong too.
How do you detoxify then?
Let’s look at 5 natural ways in which the body goes through detoxification:
- Perspiration
- Vomiting
- Urination
- Excretion
- Nasal Discharge
Yup, you probably didn’t think it was that easy.
But you may be wondering, “what can I do about it? What can I do to help my body speed up the process?”
Let’s talk about it.
Perspiration
Who likes to sweat?! Sweating is a great way to get rid of toxins and if you didn’t think that was true, just think about how much better you feel after you’ve gone to the gym.
…AND EVEN better after showering. The sweet glory of a high-pressure shower-head is all I can think about after deadlifting my body weight.
So how does this relate to detoxification?
When you sweat, toxins come out of your pores (and that’s why showering after a long day is always a good idea). You can sweat without even trying.
You do it every day without even noticing, especially if you’re one of those people who apply deodorant vigorously (which impedes the release of toxins but you like to smell nice so you think it’s a good thing to wear deodorant).
Here are some things that make us sweat:
#1 Not wearing deodorant. A lot of people may think that it’s gross, and sure it is in an office setting. But it’s unnecessary to wear to the gym. What’s the point of exercising if you’re going to keep all those toxins in your body? Sure, you may be primarily going just to lose fat or build muscle, but if you goal is to “detox” and you think that exercising is the way to do that, you should do it right. Don’t wear deodorant when you don’t need to!
#2 Wearing deodorant has the impact on your body as wearing skin-tight clothes in fabrics such as polyester or spandex. A lot of active wear is made from this, but if you don’t want those toxins sticking to your body, opt for fabrics such as cotton, silk, wool, linen, or hemp (okay maybe not silk or wool for active wear, but it’s natural, so it’s better to wear daily than a lot of other things in your closet). Make sure you’re working out in the least amount of clothes as possible so that you can get the most sweat out. For example, choose a tank top and shorts over sweatpants and a long-sleeved shirt. Closely examine what kind of clothes you’re buying. The difference is incredible over the long-term.
#3 Is it a hot day? (Well, not for another few months for all of us here in Canada) Chances are, you’re sweating. Here’s a better one: are you burning up near the fireplace? Chances are, you’re sweating.
#4 Go to a steam sauna or a dry sauna. Either one will do the trick. And it’ll feel great! So many different cultures have had baths for thousands of years. It wasn’t just to look lazy. Detoxification was relaxation. The temperature rises. Your body sweats. Ahh, the sweet release of toxins.
#5 Stressed out? When this happens, your brain thinks that you are in danger. The part of the brain called the hypothalamus gives a command to the sympathetic nervous system. It then activates your “fight or flight” response, sending a signal to your adrenal glands. In turn, the hormone ‘epinephrine’—adrenaline—gets pumped into your bloodstream, causing your heart to beat faster, your breathing to be more rapid, and your strength to increase.
…and it causes you to sweat more!
When the perceived threat is gone, you go back to less sweating!
#6 Exercise! When you start to exercise, your body feels as if it is going through the same danger as what happens when you are stressed out. To fight this response, your body releases two elements: endorphins (the one most people are familiar with), the chemical that gets released in your brain which causes you to feel a sense of euphoria AND—the one people are less familiar with—BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor), which is a protein that protects and repairs neurons. Together they create this great feeling, especially in the first 20 minutes of your work out. In fact, this effect is addictive and can be compared to that of heroin or nicotine. So if you want to feel addicted to a great habit, we suggest starting with this 5 min video:
Get my groove on now
Vomiting
This method of detoxification is probably the one you’ve done least in your lifetime. It can happen naturally and unnaturally.
It happens naturally after you’ve been poisoned via food or alcohol (or anything else that your body deems to be a threat). It can also happen when you pick up a virus. Just because it’s unpleasant, doesn’t mean it’s not natural detoxification.
Vomiting can also happen unnaturally. This is when you induce it yourself.
#1 TIP: Don’t induce it unless your body asks for it.
Urination
We can all agree that we do this every day. It’s an easy way to get rid of toxins. You can help speed the process up by drinking lots of different liquids, especially water, coffee, and teas—the best kind for this would be green tea and Ivan Tea. Lots of fruits have a high percentage of water in them. Have you ever noticed after eating certain fruits you almost instantly have to go to the washroom? This happens a lot with fruits such as strawberries, watermelon, peaches, nectarines, and grapes.
Excretion
This SHOULD be happening every day, even multiple times. Coffee helps a lot with this process. There are also plenty of foods that help to naturally move the process along.
These include:
Prunes
Flaxseeds
Oatmeal
Chia Seeds
Brown Rice
Avocadoes
Spinach
Blackberries
Nasal Discharge (Mucus)
This happens naturally when you’re sick! And yes, you can get a common cold after overeating during the holidays. Maybe you got a cold from stress. This is your body’s natural way of telling you to take it easy with all the toxins you’re eating and drinking…because they’ll just come out of your nose anyway! And that’s why you’re not that hungry when you’re sick. You don’t need the food. You won’t be able to taste it anyway.
If you don’t have a common cold, the easiest way to get a runny nose is to go outside right now. It’s the perfect month to do that.
And if you’re determined, exercising at a high intensity will get that nose running (no pun intended).
The Last Secret Way to Get Rid of Toxins:
Crying
Now let’s all get back to work and shed some tears because it’s way too cold outside.
But before you do: