What is Detoxing??

Detoxing. If you search online, you'll find a plethora of different options for doing a detox. You will also find warnings and horror stories of what can happen. But what is really happening  when you detox? Honestly, the whole concept is rather vague. Just try plugging in the words detox (or cleanse) in a Google search, the results will show all of the different methodologies and side-effects of them. Included in the term detox are simple habits such as drinking a little bit more water through your day to full fasting diets. Add in all kinds of herbal remedies as well as other other medicines and practices to help clear out the body, and you have the recipe for confusion. Bottom line: some of them help and some of them don't. I’m not going to go into the differing opinions about detox - it suffices to say the conventional medical world doesn’t like it while the alternative health world loves it. 

So why do a detox? The idea behind detoxing is that the liver becomes “congested” due to the enormous onslaught of environmental hazards. And it can’t keep up its job of cleansing the body anymore. It needs help. So detoxes focus on flushing out toxins that are stored in the liver. Sometimes liquid diets are used, other times supplements are employed. The challenge is that the toxins that are released can overpower the immune system and lead to many discomforts such as dehydration, joint aches, skin sensitivity, emotional instability and more. The benefits are a healthier liver and overall body. Remember, that there have been very few studies to prove this concept. However, detoxing has been around for millenia - it is not a new concept. The absence of research does not prove or disprove detoxing. It should, however, encourage us to take all of the claims both positive and negative with a grain of salt. 

So around here at Santé fitness, we don't ever recommend hardcore diets as you know. We don't recommend starvation diets. Honestly, we don't recommend anything extreme because the body needs time to adjust (and so do our minds) to lifestyle changes. So even when it comes to cleansing or detoxing, we don't suggest or recommend anything extreme. In fact, what we recommend for any healthy improvement remains the same. Simply add more healthy choices into your life and refrain from the unhealthy choices. So in this case, if you're trying to clean out your body from stuff that you know shouldn't be there, then keep it simple. Substitute one soda for a glass of water. Substitute one doughnut for an apple. Don't focus on what you’re taking out as much as what you’re adding back in. Making healthier choices has a cumulative effect and allows the body to slowly clean over time. That also minimizes the side effects because as you clean out the body, you will release toxins that were stored away. Fortunately, your body will be able to fight off those toxins. So we say no to weekend cleanses, we say no to week long fasting and we say yes to lifestyle changes. And the benefit is once you get in the habit of substituting that apple for that doughnut, your overall health will improve in every way. You're now giving your body what it needs and not giving it what it does not need. So you are helping the present and creating a better future. 

Nutrition is not the only healthy way that we can help our body process gunk, another great option is exercise. Exercise, as we saw last week, is amazingly beneficial to the body and helps to move things through the body. It helps to increase the heart rate which increases blood flow. And it also helps to build sweat and when we sweat we move things out through the skin. It also increases our oxygen inhalation and exhalation. (By the way, much of our detoxing actually happens with our exhale.) So exercise is a great way to start detoxing or cleansing your body. Add in some exercise every day and you’ll be amazed at your results. 

Another popular choice is dry brushing. Many people have claimed that dry brushing helps. We don't have a lot of research officially to prove the anecdotal information, but again the absence of research does not mean it doesn't help. And there really are no negative side effects to it. It feels yummy, like  a massage to the skin. So there really isn't a problem trying it and seeing if it works for you. And don’t forget sleep as an option if you’re trying to clean out the system as you need it in order to digest and rebuild.

So rather than focusing on these hardcore, extreme cleanses that punish our bodies, let's just focus on supporting and tending our bodies. Giving it what it needs and helping it to work the way it's designed. And then we won't need to do anything extreme anymore, because the body will be in a healthy state overall.