10 Natural Ways to Detoxify the Body

In today's polluted environment, everyone is exposed to several chemicals or toxins in the air they breathe and the food they eat. Food, water, cosmetics, and every household contain toxins affecting your body on many levels. These toxins accumulate in your body and produce adverse effects like weight gain. No matter how conscious you are about your wellness, these toxins affect you in one way or another.

Besides the apparent source of toxins, some of the most dangerous toxins are present in the most unexpected things. These toxins are "endocrine disruptors" that disrupt the body's hormonal system, including thyroid function and reproduction. These chemicals are found in typical households like plastic bottles, plastic wrappers, and flame retardants.

Thankfully there is a way you can get rid of toxins and save yourself from their adverse effects called detoxification. Detoxification is a process by which you can enhance the natural detoxification process of the human body. Total body detox is beneficial in eliminating the toxins from your body. Here you will find the best natural ways to detox your body and determine how detoxification benefits your body.

What Is Detoxification?

The process of detoxification takes place in your liver. It is a complicated process, so it takes place in two phases. In the first phase, your liver converts toxins into highly reactive metabolic, while in the second step liver excretes them. Other organs like the stomach, lungs, and kidney also play a crucial role in eliminating toxins from your body. These organs can acutely or chronically be affected by these toxins.¹

The toxins that excrete readily from your body will cause less harm than the persistent ones. The persistent, low-grade toxins are present in the fruits and vegetables you consume daily. The reaction of these toxins is not immediate, and so you might not see any adverse effect. But with the time when toxins accumulate in your body, they show the signs.

How Detoxification Help Your Body?

The healthy human body can efficiently detoxify all the toxins you consume daily in food, air, and drugs. But when the toxins accumulate in your body, the capacity of the liver to eliminate or detoxifies them retarded. For this reason, the toxins remain active in your body more than usual and cause harmful effects. Toxins affect the metabolism and make you sick, overweight, and bloated.

The increase in weight due to toxins accumulation will lead to many other problems like diabetes and heart disease. At this time, detoxification will surely help you to get rid of toxins. Some studies also show that toxins help in the weight loss because it reduces the factors that contribute in weight gain and chronic inflammation.

Effective detoxification will help to lose weight by adding vital nutrients to your diet. It also improves overall health by eliminating the things that cause toxins to accumulate in your body.² It requires to give everything your body needs to detoxify, and the most important thing is food. You have to add healthy nutrients to your diet to detoxify and improve weight loss.

Natural Ways to Detoxify Your Body

In ancient times people use methods like bloodletting and leeches to detoxify their bodies. Still, with the advancement in technology, there come less invasive and natural ways to detoxify your body. The detoxification not only makes you think free but also boost your immune system, improve cognitive abilities, and increase energy. Read on to learn 10 natural ways to detox your body.

1.   Limit Your Alcohol Consumption

All of the alcohol you consume is metabolized in your liver. The enzymes present in your liver metabolized alcohol into a cancer-causing substance known as acetaldehyde. Later the liver converts acetaldehyde into a neutral substance called acetate, eliminating it from your body. Drinking one glass of alcohol for women and two glass of men are healthy and have some health benefits.

On the other hand, excessive alcohol use is toxic because it damages your liver and decreases its capacity to eliminate toxins from your body. As a result, there is a build-up of toxins in your body that cause heart disease, obesity, and diabetes. Therefore, quitting or limiting the use of alcohol is the best natural way to detoxify your body.³

2.   Increase Water Intake

Water is necessary for many functions and structures of the body. It maintains the body's temperature, keeps hydrated, aid in digestion, lubricate your joints, and most importantly detoxify your body. The normal metabolism of the human body release many waste products, including carbon dioxide and urea. If these by-products accumulate in your body, they cause harm.

Water excretes these waste products by pricing them from the bloodstream through urination and sweating. Therefore, adequate intake of water is necessary for proper detoxification of the body. The ideal water intake is 3.6 liter for men and 2.7 liters for women, but it can be varied according to your diet and body needs.⁴

3.   Consume Antioxidant-Rich Foods

The unnecessary production of free radicals in the body increases oxidative stress and damages cells and tissues. Eating food rich in antioxidants help to remove free radicals from the body and save cells from damage. Free radicals are usually produced in the human body as a result of various cellular processes. Still, consumption of poor food and alcohol will increase their production and leads to cell damage.

Damage to the cell causes various conditions in the human body like dementia, liver disease, cancer, and asthma. Eating food rich in antioxidants helps your body clear up free radicals and fight against oxidative stress. The common antioxidants present in food are vitamin C, vitamin E vitamin A, selenium, and lutein.⁵

4.   Eat Prebiotics

The intestines play an important role in detoxification that helps the human body clear up harmful chemicals. The human body's gut contains natural bacteria called probiotics that aid in digestion and keep the environment of the intestines healthy. A boost in the number of harmful bacteria that enter the human body via food affects the performance of natural bacteria and produces toxins.

Prebiotics is the food of natural bacteria. Eating food rich in prebiotics help to keep your immune system healthy, and the process of detoxification working usually. The increase in several harmful bacteria will increase the risk of many diseases and inflammation. Add foods like tomatoes, garlic, onion, and banana to your diet because these foods are rich in prebiotics.⁶

5.   Avoid Processed Food and Sugar Intake

Sugar and processed foods are the cause of many deadly diseases. Diabetes, cancer, and heart attacks are caused by eating processed foods. The increased sugar level damage the vital organs, including the liver and kidney. When the liver and kidney have been injured, the toxins accumulate in the body and cause any harm.

Similarly, processed food like beverages causes fatty liver that damaged the cells of the liver and retards its function to clear toxins.  Avoiding junk food will help your natural detoxification system to work correctly and eliminates waste products. Try to replace processed food with healthy choices like fruits and vegetables⁷.

6.   Reduce Salt Intake

The excessive intake of salt retains water in the bloodstream. When salt concentration is more in the human blood, the kidney produces less concentrated urine, which means more water is reabsorbed. The excessive absorption of water cause bloating.  Lessen the salt intake and increase the water intake will help to detox the extra water weight.

It may sound mystify, but the concept is that when salt intake is more than water intake, the human body releases the antidiuretic hormone, which decreases urine production and water exception. When you drink more water, the body stops releasing antidiuretic and increase urine production. More urination will eliminate toxins and waste products⁸.

7.   Do Exercise

Regular exercise is vital to living a healthy life without life-threatening diseases like diabetes, blood pressure, and heart diseases. The inflammation process helps heal the wounds and fight against infection, but when this process gets out of control, it causes many harms to the body. Regular exercise will decrease inflammation.

Regular exercise will reduce inflammation which results in increases in the detoxification system of the human body. It is recommended to do 150 – 300 minutes of moderate exercise in a week and 75 – 150 minutes of intense exercise to balance body systems⁹.

8.   Fasting

The liver is the most critical organ when talking about detoxification, but other organs, including lungs, kidneys, and intestines, also play a vital role. When your gut is not in good condition, it will not adequately remove toxins and detoxify the body. To keep your gut environment healthy, intermediate fasting is the best way.

There are two ways to do intermediate fasting: quit eating at specific hours of the day, and the second is to minimize the calorie intake for 2 to 3 days and drink only water or juices. Fasting has many health benefits, and it incredibly increases your intestines' capacity to detoxify and remove waste products.

9.   Getting Proper Sleep

Proper sleep is essential for the proper functioning of the human body and natural detoxification. Sleep relieves the stress of the whole day and exchanges your brain to work with full efficiency the next day. Proper sleep will allow your body to eliminate waste products accumulated in your body throughout the day. With the lack of sleep, your body does not find time to stop the waste products from your body, and it starts to build up.

Inadequate sleep is associated with mild to severe issues, including stress, insomnia, high blood pressure, anxiety, heart diseases, and type 2 diabetes. To keep your body healthy and detoxify, you should take regular sleep of eight hours. If you find it difficult to fall asleep, consult your doctor or make some healthy changes in your lifestyle¹⁰.

10.        Manage Stress

It is easy to say but very difficult to do. Stress management is not an easy task, but you have to do this for your betterment. You do not even think how badly stress affects your body. In stress, the human body releases cortisol which is linked to countless negative impacts on the human body, including weight gain, high cholesterol levels, increased blood pressure, and heart diseases.

Manipulating stress can go a long way towards helping your body balancing all the systems. Moreover, stress management also helps your body to detoxify harmful substances and waste products. Do exercise and meditation for stress management.

Best Foods for Detoxification

• Fats and Oils: Organic fats and oils such as extra virgin oil and olive oil can provide energy for detoxification and biotransformation.
• Dry Fruits and Seeds: There are many health benefits of dry fruits and grains like almonds, walnut, and flaxseed. These fruits aid in the proper elimination and exception of toxins.
• Protein: This vital body ingredient plays a crucial role in the proper functioning of two major pathways of detoxification; phase 1 and phase 2. More protein content in the body means fewer toxins.
• Legumes: Lentils, beans, and other legumes are a good source of fiber necessary to maintain the health of the human gut. The human gut performs a significant role in detoxification.
• Fresh fruits: Fruits are a rich source of antioxidants that are essential for the detoxification process. They also contain soluble and insoluble fiber plus rich in water content. All these properties contribute towards the elimination of waste products.
• Vegetables: Vegetables are also rich in fibers and many nutrients that help the body to maintain a balance between various systems. Vegetables keep intestines healthy, and so the natural process of detoxification.

The Bottom Line

You can get toxins from your environment, and your body also produces them in high amounts if you are taking a poor diet or have any disease. Toxins affect the body's endocrine system and disturb the normal balance, affecting many vital body functions. The natural detoxification system of the body must work properly. You should add some healthy habits and foods to your lifestyle to eliminate toxins and waste products from your body.