This is something I am often asked at the beginning of a new year. There are plenty of commercial detox programmes like green juices only for a few days, or various supplements ‘to assist your body get rid of toxins’, but do they work and do you need them?
Our bodies come across toxins all the time — contained in our food, from pollutants in the air, in medications etc. but we have very sophisticated detoxification processes to deal with these.
Our liver is #1 when it comes to detoxification. It breaks down toxins such as alcohol, medications, ‘bad’ bacteria and nasties in our food, turning them into harmless by-products.
The kidneys also play an important part, ‘sieving’ out waste that’s then removed from the body in urine. Why drink plenty of water? Because it helps these organs do their critical jobs of detoxification.
Our digestive system has its own part to play too. In the colon a community of microbes stop toxins moving beyond our guts and entering our bloodstream.
In our lungs hair-like structures brush away physical particles, while other systems help remove any airborne toxins.
Then we have our lymph network helping to drain waste.
All this is happening 24/7 every day of the year. Our bodies really are amazing.
Instead of going on some kind of special detox regime a better plan would instead be to ease off the toxins, to give our bodies a chance to carry out their various detoxification functions.
Here are some simple suggestions to help your body's detoxification processes.
Try taking a week off alcohol and then looking at your regular intake and considering cutting back, if it is an issue.
Increase the amount of fresh veggies (especially dark greens) in your diet. Two good handfuls of fibrous veggies at lunch and dinner are great for your gut health, immune health and that then flows onto helping with mental health. Most people don‘t eat enough veggies, especially at lunchtime.
Increase the amount of water you are drinking each day. Herbal and green teas can help bump up your daily water intake.
Aim to reduce the amount of ultra-processed foods in your life and at the same time increase more foods in their natural state. Veggies, fruit, grains, legumes, nuts, seeds and other good fats like olive oil and avocado should form the major part of a healthy diet.
If you are eating food that comes in a package of some kind, read the ingredients on the nutrition label. The less ingredients and the less numbers the better.
Are you finding it hard to dredge up the motivation to get back on track again?
With the disappointing weather over the holidays and lack of routine from not knowing what day it is over the past couple of weeks, it can be challenging to make good decisions around nutrition and exercise.
If you don’t feel ready to commit to the whole shebang, just choose one or two habits from the list below. Small, incremental changes are just fine and often lead to ongoing, sustainable habits that stick.
Eat more slowly! I am guilty of eating too fast and I have to concentrate hard to remember to slow down. The longer it takes to eat your meal or snack, the more satisfied you will feel. Hoovering food down super fast often leads to overeating.
Part of eating more slowly means chewing your food well, not biting and swallowing! As we chew, we release digestive enzymes and the longer we have the food in our mouth, the more we appreciate the taste.
Reduce picking between meals. How easy is it when you are on holiday (and it is raining, again!) to mindlessly traipse back and forth to the fridge/pantry/secret stash. Try having a glass of water or hot drink and then removing yourself from the kitchen until it is time to eat.
Employ the three D’s when you ‘just want to eat something’. Delay. Distract. Do something else.
If you don’t want to eat it, don't bring it into the house.
Remember: There is no magic. You have to be prepared to make some changes in order to get a different result.
Are you ready to make some changes?
Would you like support and advice to do so?
Contact me now and let’s make a fresh start for 2023.
