11 Tips to Naturally Detox Your Body
💡 This article is evidence-based. It contains scientific references. The numbers in the parentheses (1, 2, 3) are clickable links to peer-reviewed scientific papers.
The following tips are a general guide to enhancing your body’s natural detoxification system.
If you feel the need for a serious detox, you will get better results if you visit a qualified professional who can evaluate individual factors such as toxic load, food sensitivities and proper functioning of your digestive system. In particular, people with a serious medical condition should not attempt unsupervised detoxification.
Avoid Toxins
Minimizing your exposure to toxic chemicals is a key part of any detoxification program. Try to research labels and be on the lookout for the most natural types of all the products you use in your home, garden or workplace. Switching to an organic diet can also help. Less Toxic Living from Alexx Stuart is valuable source of information on this subject.
Sauna Baths
Sauna baths increase sweating and thus encourage the elimination of all kinds of toxic chemicals, from heavy metals to pesticides and medicines (1).
The sauna in health centers and vapor rooms may work, but detox specialist Dr. Shideh Pouria, medical director of the Burghwood Clinic in Surrey, Britain, recommends infrared saunas that emit infrared thermal radiation that is directly absorbed by the human body.
About 3-5 minutes every other day could benefit most people, but be sure to drink enough water to replace the lost fluids, and always after the session take a shower.
Eat More Cruciferous Vegetables
Broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower and cardamom, all members of this family of vegetables, are rich sources of compounds that activate phase II enzymes in detoxification and stimulate antioxidant action.
Maybe that’s why eating vegetables seems to protect against cancer (2). Try to include a mixture of organic cruciferous vegetables (at least five servings) in your daily diet.
In studies of smokers, taking cardamom at each meal for three days significantly increased detoxification from carcinogens and nicotine (3).
RELATED: 40+ Foods To Eat To Live Longer
Exercise
Physical activity can help you detoxify and not just make you sweat. Even a single session on a fitness bike can double the levels of detoxification enzymes (4). And just a month of prolonged aerobic exercise can lead to improved rejection of caffeine by the body (5).
Try to do 20-30 minutes of aerobic exercise (the kind that leaves you slightly breath-cut) three to five times a week, and then shower to prevent any reabsorption of the chemicals that were excoriated.
Consume More Fibers
As they bind toxins and help remove them, fiber is believed to be beneficial in detoxification. Animal studies and laboratory studies show that fiber such as rice bran, seaweed, and spinach can enhance the excretion of various environmental carcinogens (6).
Drink Green Tea
A liquid extract from this type of tea – in quantities that tea fans usually drink – can affect a significant reaction to phase II in the liver, in studies conducted in animals (7).
Although these effects may not apply to humans, another study links the consumption of green tea – usually about 3 cups a day – to the reduced risk for cancer in men and women. This may be partly due to the ability of green tea to enhance the elimination from the body of carcinogens (8).
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Increase Your Glutathione Levels
Milk thistle, vitamin C, selenium, alpha-lipoic acid and N-acetylcysteine (NAC) have all been shown to increase the body’s glutathione levels, which is essential for stage 2 in detoxification.
Recommended dosages:
- 70-210mg/day milk thistle,
- 1-3g vitamin C,
- up to 200mcg/day selenium,
- up to 600mg/day alpha-lipoic acid and
- 600mg NAC.
RELATED: N-AcetylCysteine (NAC) Benefits, Side Effects & Supplementation
Consume Chlorella
Chlorophyll in this algae binds and removes cadmium, lead, and mercury. It also contains glutathione, a key ingredient in your body’s detoxification system (9). If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, supplements with Chlorella can reduce the transfer of harmful chemicals from you to your baby, according to data from preliminary studies (10).
Make sure to buy Chlorella from trusted sources that are not contaminated with heavy metals. Always, choose quality products and supplements ( eg. Fermented Chlorella – 450 Tablets)
Consume Spirulina
Spirulina is a blue-green type of microalgae, can help your body be liberated from heavy metals, especially from lead (11). But again, make sure that you are buying a product from a reputable manufacturer (eg. Spirulina Manna™ Powder – 453.5 Grams)
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Eat More Corriander (Cilantro)
Researcher Dr. Yoshiaki Omura found that patients with various viral and bacterial infections expelled more toxic metals after eating a Vietnamese soup containing this herb. And when mercury patients received cilantro tablets for a few weeks, the mercury reserves disappeared (12). Try to eat daily 2 tablespoons of coriander pesto for about three weeks and you will notice some remarkable effects.
Consume foods rich in Selenium
Selenium can help to deal with the effects of exposure to mercury, cadmium, thallium, and silver (13). Foods that are rich in selenium are Brazil Nuts, Fish, Eggs, Brown Rice, Sunflower Seeds, Baked Beans, Mushrooms, Oatmeal, Spinach, Lentils, Bananas. You can always boost your selenium intake by supplementing yourself with it.
By starting to systematically detox your body, you will start to feel more energized, happier and better. It is not necessary to try and add all the above tips to your lifestyle. We don’t want you to start feeling stressed for trying to do everything we suggest. Start by adding a couple of our recommendations to your lifestyle and when you feel like, start adding more.
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