Anyone working on a healthy lifestyle has heard of a detox, often in the form of a juice cleanse. It seems like a quick fix, but nothing could be further from the truth. Laura Delrio is an experienced kPNI and orthomolecular therapist and dives into the world of detoxing. Why should we detox and how can we do it in a healthy way?

Why detox?

If we separate the word detox we get the (get rid of) and tox (toxins), we want to rid our body of toxins. Today, many toxins enter our system. Not only do we find toxins in foods and personal care products, but air pollution and radiation also play a big role in this. No matter how hard we try to live a healthy life, we will always ingest unwanted toxins. There is nothing wrong with ridding ourselves of these toxins every now and then!

Nowadays, however, a commercial trend has emerged around the concept of detoxing. Many health gurus swear by juice cures, diets and restrictions. For example, they drink only juices or eat only certain foods for days at a time. Probably with all good intentions, but what they don't know is that this is actually an attack on our system. 

What detox really does to our bodies

The purpose of a detox is to detoxify our bodies, and often people want to lose weight. The good news? Our body has its own detox system! Our organs, including especially the liver the skin and the kidneys, have a strong detoxification function. In order for the liver to do its job properly, it is important that the liver (and all other organs) be supplied with enough healthy nutrients. 

When we follow a juice regimen, what happens is that we ingest only the juice of the fruits and vegetables. This juice contains mostly fruit sugars (carbohydrates) and we miss out on the healthy fiber that our bodies so desperately need. We are literally shortchanging our bodies with this. The enormous nutritional deficiencies that occur during a juice cleanse cause a high stress level in our body and this causes our reserves to be depleted. As a result, we also lose a lot of fluids in the first place. This is how a juice cleanse causes us to temporarily lose weight, which we often rapidly regain after the juice cleanse.

What can we do better?

As I mentioned above, our body has its own "detox system. This simply means that in a healthy body, our organs are able to detoxify. That doesn't mean, by the way, that sometimes our organs can also use a boost. 

Want to support your body to detox responsibly? Then try the following tips;

• Ensure adequate intake of Omega 3; this contributes to the flexibility of membranes. Flexible cells are able to absorb good nutrients as well as excrete waste products.
• Eat plenty of (especially green) vegetables; the fiber stimulates the intestines, contributing to proper digestion. All this is necessary to get rid of waste products.
• Use fresh herbs, such as those listed below;
• Parsley promotes kidney function
• Dandelion has diuretic effects
• Oregano stimulates metabolism
• Do Oil Pulling, rinse your mouth in the morning for 10 minutes with cold-pressed coconut or sesame oil. You can find more on this in the Brain Food Smoothies book!
• Drink Matcha Tea; Matcha supports the body to naturally remove waste products from the body.

I wish you much success with these tips!