6 Simple Ways to Detox Daily

Our bodies need to detox on a daily basis for us to look, feel, and perform at our best. While it can be helpful to choose a time period where you focus more on detoxification, there are simple things that you can do each day to support your body’s natural detoxification pathways.

Why Is It Important To Detox Daily?

If your body is not properly eliminating the toxins it comes in contact with it will negatively impact your weight, hormones, mental clarity, and overall health. This may then lead to chronic disease at some point.

If you have an increased toxic load on your body it can also affect weight loss attempts.

Toxicity in the body can:

Impair two key metabolic organs (liver & thyroid)
Damage the mitochondria (the site of energy metabolism)
Harm brain neurotransmitter and hormone signaling that affects our appetite
Increase inflammation and oxidative stress

Here are 6 simple ways to detox daily:

Hydrate

Water transports waste products through urination, breathing, and sweating. Drinking enough water each day is one of the most important things you can do to create health. Without enough water flowing through our systems to carry out wastes and toxins, we would literally drown in our own poisonous metabolic wastes.

Your kidneys are vital in helping the body remove waste. If the kidneys don’t get the water they need to perform these filtering functions your health will deteriorate rapidly.

It is ideal to drink half your body weight in ounces of water each day. If you weigh 200 pounds, drink 100 ounces. You can add lemon, lime, or cucumber to your water for a little flavor. Herbal tea can also count towards your water intake for the day.

TIP: Start your day with 12-20 ounces of warm water with lemon to improve digestion, boost your immune system, improve your skin, and support weight loss.

Sleep

Sleep is an act of detox, it is when our body can repair and reset.

Poor sleep adds to stress, interferes with productivity, decreases immune function, decreases production of growth hormone (needed for fat loss), decreases leptin and increases ghrelin (hormones that control our appetite), and increases the risk of diabetes.

Sleep contains zero calories but can have more of an impact on our metabolism and health than what we put in our mouths.

Our bodies are meant to go through natural sleep/wake cycles, going to sleep within a few hours of the sun going down and waking up when the sun rises. During the times of year when there is more daylight we may not need as much sleep as when there are more hours of darkness.

Seven to nine hours of sleep is ideal between the hours of 9 pm and 5 am or 10 pm and 6 am. Two hours of sleep before midnight is worth 4 hours of sleep to your adrenal glands (your adrenals are responsible for outputting cortisol which is your stress hormone). If you have trouble falling asleep, create a sleep-inducing bedtime routine.

Exercise

Exercise can kickstart the natural detox process as it flushes out the lungs, and cleanses the skin when we work up a sweat. It also increases blood flow promoting better circulation to pump white blood cells through the body and help organs cleanse themselves effectively.

Moving your body also increases the lymphatic flow in your system helping to filter out poisonous waste products from every cell, tissue, and organ.

Aim for 30 minutes of movement every day.

Eat Cruciferous Vegetables

Cruciferous vegetables are great for metabolic detoxification and liver support. They contain a chemical called sulforaphane which helps the body fight against toxins. These vegetables also contain chlorophyll which boosts detox capacity even more.

Cruciferous vegetables include:

Arugula
Bok choy
Broccoli
Brussel sprouts
Cabbage
Cauliflower
Collard greens
Kale
Rutabaga

Aim to eat 1-3 servings (½ cup is a serving) of cruciferous vegetables per day. If you have a hard time digesting these vegetables raw, you will want to cook them.

Dry Brush

Dry skin brushing promotes lymphatic drainage of toxic waste, which results in many other benefits such as improved immunity, refreshed skin, and reduction of cellulite.

Benefits of dry brushing include:

Reduces the appearance of cellulite by softening and distributing fat deposits more evenly
Gently exfoliates dead skin cells to stimulate skin renewal
Unclogs pores to allow better absorption of nutrients
Relieves stress by reducing muscle tension
Stimulates the lymphatic system to remove toxins
Increases circulation to eliminate metabolic waste
Tightens shin as stronger cell structures form
Brightens skin

Start a habit of dry skin brushing a few minutes before your shower or bathe using a natural bristle brush. You want to brush in long strokes towards your heart. It’s not necessary to apply a lot of pressure since the lymphatic system is close to the skin and it only takes light pressure to release congestion and support detoxification. Click here for the one we like.

Tough Scrape

The ancient Ayurvedic recommendation of tongue scraping is one that is often overlooked. There are many benefits to this daily practice for oral health, as well as overall physical and mental health. This simple practice is a direct way of removing toxicity from your body.

Scraping the tongue daily removes any build-up which if left untreated, can lead to bad breath and may house a significant number of bacteria. This coating can result from improper eating, poor digestion, or a reflection of an imbalance somewhere in the gastrointestinal system.

You will want to use a scraper made from gold, silver, copper, or stainless steel. Click here for the one we like and use.

Scrape your tongue first thing in the morning before brushing your teeth. Gently scrape your tongue from back to front for 7 to 14 strokes. The scraper may be rinsed off between strokes if there is a lot of accumulation.

If you are looking for more education on detoxing your body, losing weight, and creating better health, join our 21 Day Detox Program.

In Health & Happiness,

Janell