What Is Detoxing, and Why Would You Want to Try it?

Have you heard of people “detoxing”, but aren’t sure what that really means? Detoxification is a purification cleanse that removes excess toxins and waste from the body. Once you’ve detoxified your body, you’ll feel lighter, cleaner, and healthier.

Why do you need to detox? You come in contact with all kinds of toxins as you go about your regular routine. You probably have to deal with at least some of the following: smoke (first or second-hand), exhaust fumes, pesticides, residual smells and air pollants related to chemicals, alcohol, preservatives, and a host of unhealthy foods. Pollution builds up in our bodies, forcing our systems to deal with more chemicals and waste products than we were designed to handle. Detox programs help you remove excess waste so your body can recover from this stress.

How do you detox? It's best to try to improve your external environment by getting away from smoke, renting or buying an air purifier for your home, drinking purified water,  and limiting alcohol, caffeine, sugar, and fat consumption. Limit your diet to organic produce while detoxing--a diet of fruit and veggies will best facilitate the kind of digestive environment desirable for an effective cleanse. You'll want to drink plenty of water and tea.

What should you do to promote regular bowel movements? Try drinking a lot of water and senna tea, which will help your kidneys filter out waste products and will move your bowels. Try to focus on eating raw fruit and vegetables as much as possible. During your actual detox program, you will want to drink pure juice made from fresh fruit and vegetables, or make your own Master Cleanse tonic of lemon, filtered water, cayenne pepper, and pure maple syrup. Set aside specific time periods for cleanses; this will help you stick with the program since you'll know you don't have to live this way forever.

Once you are done detoxing, gradually reintroduce foods one by one. Detox as often or as infrequently as your body demands, using health symptoms as cues.