Signs You Need A Detox & How To Do It

The general goal to detoxifying the body is to cleanse, refresh, and restore the bowels, tissues, organs and cells of the body. 

All cells have limited lifespan, so tissues and organs are in content flux. Blood cells get replaced every 30 days; other cells can last for years. So as well as consuming food to fuel life processes and replace worn-out cells and tissues we also have to detoxify and eliminate the waste products from these processes.

The healthy human body comes with a healthy capacity to detoxify. But as we age, excess of poor food, alcohol, etc worsened by the lack of exercise can begin to strain and overwhelm the body's elimination and cleansing abilities. The main causes are:

- Poor Diet. Too much: fried foods, sugar, refined carbs, alcohol, smoking, environmental toxins, etc. 

- Sedentary habits (no exercise). Lead to stagnation in the gut, liver, blood, circulation, lymphatics, lungs, kidneys, joints, etc.

WHAT HAPPENS TO WASTE WE DONT ELIMINATE?

It tends to start a decline of health: less resistance to colds and flu, delayed recovery, poor weight control, digestive problem, bloating,allergies, skin rashes, sinuses, headaches and so on...

Lets start with the questionnaire to discover whether you need to improve your detoxification potential!

1. Do you suffer from headaches or migraine?
2. Do you sometimes have watery or itchy eyes, or swollen, red or sticky eyelids?
3. Do you have dark circle under your eyes?
4. Do you sometimes have itchy ears, earache, ear infection, drainage from the ears or ringing in the ears?
5. Do you often suffer from excessive mucus, stuffy nose or sinus problems?
6. Do you suffer from acne, skin rashes or hives? 
7. Do you sweat a lot and have a strong body odour?
8. Do you sometimes have joint to muscle aches or pain?
9. Do you have a sluggish metabolism and find hard to lose weight, or are you underweight and find hard to gain weight?
10. Do you often suffer from frequent or urgent urination?
11. Do you suffer from nausea or vomiting?
12. Do you often have a bitter taste in your mouth or a furry tongue?
13. Do you have a strong reaction to alcohol?
14.Do strong smells like petrol and perfume make you feel unwell?
15. Do you suffer from bloating?
16. Does coffee leave you feeling jittery or unwell?

SCORE

7 or more
If your answer yes to 7 or more questions you need to improve your detox potential

4-7 
If your answer is yes to between 4 and 7 questions you are beginning to show signs os poor detoxification and need to improve your detox potential

Fewer than 4
If you answer yes to fewer than 4 questions you are unlikely to have a problem with detoxification

(Questionarie taken from Patrick Holford Book Nutrition Bible. Excelent nutrition book if anyone is interested I 100%reccomend it)

And no detoxing doesn't mean going and buying a bunch of juices and starving yourselves. You can do your own detox plan following this safe principles:

STOP EATING FOODS THAT MAY CLOG THE SYSTEM. Cut back on these foods: meat, dairy, sugar, refined carbohydrates products (bread, biscuits, cakes) alcohol, colas, black tea, drugs, tobacco

DRINK PLENTY OF FILTERED OR GOOD MINERAL WATER. About 1.5-2.5 ltd of water a day and 2 or 3 cups of decaffeinated herbal teas

EAT LESS FOOD THAN USUAL. 3 small meals and snack on fruit

EAT THE RAINBOW. To provide the liver with the nutrients it needs to function effectively and to provide antioxidants to help repair damage eat plenty of vegetables in your meals. Even better if these are organic

Specific nutrients include:

Cruciferous vegetables: cabbage, broccoli, brussel sprouts, etc.
Sulphur rich foods: garlic, onions, spring onions, leeks
Vitamin B rich foods: Whole grains, nuts, pulses
Folate: leafy greens, legumes, organic eggs, sunflower seeds
Copper rich foods: seeds, cocoa powder, oysters
Zinc: spinach, pumping seeds, cocoa, oatbran, etc.
Food supplements: Spirulina, herbs like dandelion or bette
To keep the bowel functioning: eat plenty of fibre rich foods: brown rice, porridge with flaxseeds, linseeds, etc

Use fermented foods such as kefir and sauerkraut to improve natural beneficial flora, of the gut. Amongst other things, these beneficial bacteria can help regulate peristalsis and bowel movements, support the digestion of carbohydrates and promote health of the intestinal wall.

DONT START A DETOX UNLESS YOU ARE IN A GOOD SPACE TIME AND MENTAL FRAME

DETOX TIPS 

1. Start each morning with a cup of warm water and a few drops of lemon juice
2. Drink plenty of water
3. Drink 1 to 3 cups of fennel or dandelion tea and 1 glass of green smoothie or green juice a day
4. Add spices such as turmeric, dandelion or artichoke as they have liver cleansing properties
5. A good portion of properly cooked brown rice each day is good for cleansing and keeping bowels open
6. If constipated make sure you add flaxseeds to your meals
7. Fresh vegetables should be your primary food intake
8. Raw fresh fruit is excellent for snacking on trough the day (avoid too many bananas)
9. wheat grass, spirullin a and chlorella are very powerful
10. Avoid beau tie products that contain synthetic chemicals that can increase toxic load on the body (specially paragons, sodium lsuryl dulphstes.

And lastly REST & RELAX! Eat only when calm and unhurried, chew slowly, finish well before you feel stuffed. Because detox mechanism are run by the parasympathetic nervous system, stressful, tense behaviour is antagonistic and can cause unpleasant reactions.

Tips to relax:

- Have a bath
- Exercise
- Aromatherapy or some other type of massages
- 10 minutes of peaceful me time daily (no phones, no television)
- Smile! it strengths every cell, organ and function in the body!