A patient came to my office and said: “Doctor, I want to detoxify”. “Detoxify?” I asked, “but you are detoxifying while we are speaking”.
He opened his eyes wide with confusion and did not know what to say, so I continued.
“You poop once a day, pee six times a day and breathe several times a minute. What other detoxification do you have in mind?”
Our bodies detoxify continuously
Somehow the idea that we need to detoxify through some potion or outside intervention has infiltrated our society. Not too many people stop to think that we detoxify even while we sleep, while we eat, while we walk or have a good time at the party.
The body has several detoxification systems constantly on the go and I stress the word constantly. Strangely we think that an occasional $10 detox kit can be better than our multiple automatic, unconscious, hard-working 24/7 internal detoxification machinery.
Aren’t we kidding ourselves? We actually believe we have to intervene with nature, with its thousands of years of experience in mammalian physiology? I don’t think so.
Are we toxic?
Many of us are, and many of us feel we need extra detoxification, but why? Where are these toxins coming from? How come despite all that huge internal detoxification efforts you still have a mountain of toxins to dispose of?
Start with asking yourself a potentially embarrassing question: “How toxic is my lifestyle?”
Examine your diet, level of stress, destructive thinking tendencies, exercise habits or lack of them, work habits, addictions, hygiene, use of drugs including prescription meds and other factors critically before you jump into buying the latest and hottest detox solution, so you can feel good about yourself.
Stuffed with poop or water?
If your own potent and elaborate detox system cannot handle the toxic load wouldn’t it make more sense to stop putting garbage into your body, rather than to buy into often questionable garbage removal methods?
Poop kits (otherwise called detoxification kits) move your bowels. If you’ve used them and think they helped, maybe it is worthwhile to examine the reason why you do not poop properly in the first place. Maybe a lack of vegetables or good fats in your diet has something to do with it. If you are not sure how bowels should move and what they need to work well, look it up on the internet or hook up with an expert in this field.
If you find that water pills from health food store work for your water retention you actually may have a problem with lymphatic, cardiovascular or urinary system. Diuretics help but only as long as you take them. Do not expect water retention to get better if you take diuretics without addressing the underlying problem.
In fact, expect edema to get worse, as diuretics promote nutrient loss, which in turn can promote more water retention. Kidneys should be working seamlessly if your body is in a healthy state. That means you should not have water retention in the first place. Diuretics do not improve health, so do not fool yourself in thinking that you are helping your body.
Lymphatic stagnation?
Have you ever tried sauna for detox? It works wonders. Why? Sweating is another way we detoxify and you probably know that already.
Exercise, sports, and physical exertion also promote sweating. Yet working out is more than just sweating. Full range of motion exercise promotes oxygenation, agility, strength, muscle mass and joint health, which you cannot say about sauna.
If you think sauna is good for detox you should now understand that exercise is even better than sauna. If you considered sauna for detox why not consider exercise instead. After all with exercise you are getting more benefits than just sweating, you can do it anywhere and don’t have to suffer the expense of having one installed at your residence.
First steps to a cleaner body
Well, next time you feel you need to detoxify follow these simple steps:
- eat less junk,
- put more veggies on your plate,
- drink water (instead of sodas or juices) and most of all
- exercise.
- Spend some time outdoors and
- question the necessity for your prescription drugs.
Maybe your internal detoxification system will finally get a break and catch up with the work. Once in homeostasis you will never need to think about buying the “quick 7-day detox solution” from a store again, because what you have should be more than enough. There is nothing more powerful than mother-nature with her thousands years of experience in detoxification and homeostasis….. just do not mess things up again.
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