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How To Detox Effectively And Safely

Expertly reviewed by Chris Icamen · Dietetics and Nutrition


Written by Hello Doctor Medical Panel · Updated Oct 05, 2022

    How To Detox Effectively And Safely

    How to detox body? Detox diets are said to eliminate toxins, which supports improving health and promoting weight loss. While these diets are popular, they are not necessary. Your body has its own highly efficient detoxification system. That said, you can enhance your body’s natural detoxification system and improve your overall health by staying hydrated, consuming less salt, staying active, and following an antioxidant-rich diet.

    How to detox body: Common misconceptions

    According to claims, detox diets help you get rid of toxins from your body, boost your health, and encourage weight loss.

    In the context of detox diets, the term “toxin” is ill-defined. It frequently refers to pollutants, synthetic chemicals, heavy metals, and processed foods that may be harmful to health. Popular detox diets, however, rarely specify the precise toxins they intend to eliminate or the method by which they supposedly do so. Furthermore, there is no evidence to support the use of these diets for long-term weight loss or toxins removal.

    Your body has a complex system for getting rid of pollutants, which includes your liver, kidneys, digestive system, skin, and lungs. However, these organs can only properly clear harmful substances when they are in good health. Detox diets, therefore, don’t do anything that your body couldn’t already do naturally on its own. But you can enhance it.

    How to Detox Body tips

    1. Limit alcohol consumption

    Start by cutting back on your drinking by 10% every day. For instance, if you typically consume 20 units per day, try cutting this down to 18 units per day. After four days, try cutting back by another 10%. Your liver metabolizes more than 90% of the alcohol you ingest, so if you start to experience any withdrawal symptoms, you’re cutting down too quickly.

    Alcohol is metabolized by liver enzymes to acetaldehyde, a substance known to cause cancer. Your liver recognizes acetaldehyde as a toxin and changes it into the innocuous compound acetate, which it then removes from your body. 

    Excessive drinking can result in a variety of health issues, despite observational research showing that low to moderate alcohol use is beneficial for heart health. 

    However, drinking too much can seriously harm your liver’s ability to operate by accumulating fat, inflaming it, and leaving scar tissue behind. When this occurs, your liver is unable to efficiently operate and carry out its essential functions, such as filtering toxins and other waste from your body.

    How to detox body tip: Minimize or completely avoid alcohol.

    2. Sleep well

    The “glymphatic system,” which regulates the flow of cerebrospinal fluid, “opens” while we sleep, allowing for more rapid flow of fluid throughout the brain. Thus the detox. So making sure you get enough quality sleep each night is essential to supporting your body’s health and natural detoxification system.

    Your brain can organize and recharge when you sleep, and it may also flush out hazardous waste byproducts that build up throughout the day. One of those waste products is a protein known as beta-amyloid, which helps Alzheimer’s disease

    Your body needs to conduct those processes when you get enough sleep. But when you don’t, toxins can accumulate and negatively impact a number of health factors. Short-term and long-term health effects of insufficient sleep include stress, anxiety, high blood pressure, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and obesity. 

    How to detox body tip: To help maintain optimum health, you should typically get 7 to 9 hours of sleep each night.

    3. Consume more water

    When you provide your body with enough mineral-dense water, you don’t need complicated and expensive detox plans to support the process. Water does so much more than just quench your thirst. It regulates your body temperature, lubricates joints, aids digestion and nutrient absorption, and detoxifies your body by removing waste products.

    The standard recommendation is to drink half your weight in ounces per day. For an average 150-lb woman, 75 ounces per day maintains proper hydration.

    For your body to function efficiently and break down nutrients for your body to use as energy, your cells must constantly repair themselves. But urea and carbon dioxide, which are released during these activities, might be harmful if they accumulate in your blood.  Water efficiently removes these waste items through urination, breathing, or sweating. Therefore, maintaining a healthy level of hydration is crucial for detoxification. 

    How to detox body tip: Men need 125 ounces (3,7 liters) of water per day and women need 91 ounces (2,7 liters). However, depending on your diet, where you live, and how active you are, you can need more or less. 

    4. Consume less sugar and processed food

    Eggs, peanut butter, beans, lentils, protein smoothies, fatty fish, and almonds are all high in protein. Increasing your consumption of healthy fats also aids in the process of detoxifying your body from sugar. Many of today’s public health concerns are generally attributed to sugar and processed foods

    High intake of sugary and highly processed meals has been linked to obesity and other chronic conditions like diabetes, cancer, and heart disease. These illnesses damage vital organs like your liver and kidneys, which are necessary for detoxification. Thus, when these are affected, it makes it harder for your body to do it naturally.

    For instance, fatty liver, a condition that has a negative impact on liver function, can be brought on by consuming large amounts of sugary beverages. 

    How to detox body tip: Eat less junk food. You can replace junk food with healthier options like fruits and vegetables to cut back on intake.

    5. Eat food high in antioxidants

    Antioxidants protect your cells from harm caused by molecules known as free radicals. Oxidative stress is a condition that occurs from the excessive generation of free radicals. Eating a diet high in antioxidants may lessen your risk of developing diseases that can affect detoxification.

    Your body normally creates these molecules for cellular functions like digestion, but substances like alcohol, tobacco, a poor diet, and exposure to pollution can increase the number of free radicals produced. Research indicates that these molecules harm a variety of cells, and that free radical damage contributes to diseases like dementia, heart disease, liver disease, asthma, and some types of cancer. 

    A diet high in antioxidants can assist your body fight against oxidative stress brought on by too many free radicals and other pollutants, which raises your chance of disease.

    Concentrate on obtaining antioxidants through food rather than supplements, which, when taken in big numbers, may actually raise your chance of developing certain diseases. Vitamins A, C, E, Selenium, Lycopene, Lutein, and Zeaxanthin are examples of antioxidants.

    How to detox body tip: Load up on antioxidants. The highest concentrations of antioxidants can be found in berries, fruits, nuts, chocolate, vegetables, spices, and beverages like coffee and green tea.

    6. Consumer prebiotic-rich meals

    Your intestinal cells contain a detoxification and excretion mechanism that safeguards your stomach and body from hazardous toxins, such as chemicals. Maintaining good gut health is crucial.

    Prebiotics, a form of fiber that feeds the beneficial bacteria in your gut known as probiotics, are the foundation of excellent gut health. With prebiotics, your good bacteria may make short-chain fatty acids, nutrients that are good for your health. 

    Antibiotic use, poor dental hygiene, and diet quality can all alter the bacterial balance in your gut. Therefore, this unfavorable change in bacteria might impair your immune and detoxification systems and raise your risk of inflammation and disease. 

    Healthy food sources of prebiotics include tomatoes, artichokes, bananas, asparagus, onions, garlic, and oats. Eating foods high in prebiotics can maintain the health of your immune and detoxification systems. 

    7. Cut back on salt

    You may need to drink additional water to get rid of the extra sodium in your system because adults typically need 8 to 12 cups of water per day to replace regular losses. For some people, detoxifying is a way to get rid of excess water.

    If you don’t drink enough water or have a condition that affects your kidneys or liver, eating too much salt might make your body retain extra fluid.

    If you eat too much salt, you can cleanse yourself of the excess water weight. This excess fluid buildup can create bloating and make clothing uncomfortable.

    Increasing your water consumption is one of the best strategies to get rid of extra water weight that results from eating too much salt, even though it may seem paradoxical. That’s because an antidiuretic hormone released by your body when you consume too much salt and not enough water inhibits you from peeing and, thus, from detoxing. By consuming more water, your body releases less antidiuretic hormone, which causes you to urinate more frequently and eliminate more water and waste. 

    Increasing your consumption of foods high in potassium, which assists to offset some of the effects of salt, is also beneficial. Potassium-rich foods include bananas, spinach, potatoes, squash, kidney beans, and squash. 

    8. Be active

    Exercise can be beneficial and safe to undertake while going through withdrawal. If you feel up to it, try gentle workouts like walking, jogging, stretching, yoga, riding, or swimming. Regular exercise is linked to a longer lifespan and a lower risk of several disorders and diseases, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, and some malignancies, regardless of body weight.

    While there are a number of mechanisms underlying the health advantages of exercise, reduced inflammation is a crucial factor. While some inflammation is required for the healing of wounds and recovery from infections, excessive inflammation weakens your body’s defenses and encourages disease.

    Exercise can help your body’s systems, including its detoxification system, function properly and protect against disease by reducing inflammation. You should aim to do at least 150-300 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise each week, such as brisk walking, or 75-150 minutes of vigorous-intensity exercise, such as running.

    Conclusion

    Water transports toxins through your system via your bloodstream, ensuring that they are eliminated from your body. Detox diets are said to eliminate toxins, which supports improving health and promoting weight loss. Drinking water is one of the best and fastest ways to flush out toxins from your system.

    Despite their popularity, these detox diets are not necessary because your body already has a highly effective detoxification system. Nevertheless, you can support your body’s natural detoxification process and improve your general health by staying hydrated, consuming less salt, remaining active, and eating a diet high in antioxidants.

    Learn Other Healthy Eating Tips here

    Disclaimer

    Hello Health Group does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.

    Expertly reviewed by

    Chris Icamen

    Dietetics and Nutrition


    Written by Hello Doctor Medical Panel · Updated Oct 05, 2022

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