The change of seasons is a great time to detox and clear your body of toxins. There’s no need for pricey spas or fad retreats when you take advantage of the body’s natural mechanisms to move toxins out of your system. Use these easy steps to rev up your metabolism. You’ll improve your overall health and speed recuperation from those bad habits left over from a long, dark winter of inactivity and poor diet.
Start with Water
Drink a tall glass of water in the morning. Add juice from half of a lemon to your water to promote digestion. Good digestion moves waste out of the body, and lemon also helps hydrate your system.
Add a Lot of Tea
Tea hydrates you, especially if you’re drinking herbal tea. Tea also fills you up so that you are not so prone to overeating or eating the wrong things. If you worry about the caffeine in tea, keep in mind that it’s gentler on your digestive system that the caffeine you find in coffee. The caffeine in tea will energize you without making you as jittery as coffee would. In addition to these benefits, tea also is loaded with antioxidants.
Exfoliate Your Skin
This tip may come as a surprise. Skin is part of your body’s network of dead epidermal cells –hair, fingernails and toenails — that helps slough off cellular waste material. Sweat glands in the skin also play active roles in the excretory system of organs and glands that flush out toxins and excess minerals from the body. The body does an excellent job of sloughing off skin cells through normal activity, but regular bathing helps a lot. For an added boost, skin brushing and oil massages help exfoliate the toxins from your skin and refresh circulation.
Get Your Body Moving
People who exercise regularly have far fewer total toxins in their systems than the average couch potatoes. Exercise encourages digestion as well as circulation in the blood and lymph system. In addition to speeding the removal of toxins, exercise provides the extra benefits of strengthening your body, lubricating joints and reducing tension.
Fight Back Against Environmental Pollutants
Fight pollution and allergens in the air that can trigger allergies and leave you with puffy red eyes. Flushing your nasal passages regularly with a Neti Pot can enhance your breathing naturally. When used before bed, the Neti Pot can help you sleep better.
Sweat It Out in a Sauna
Sweating is another way that skin helps remove waste from the body, but it’s not as effective as sauna lovers might think. The chief role of sweat cooling us off when exercise or high temperatures cause our internal mercury to rise. Some experts say the detoxifying benefits of sweat are negligible and simply a side effect of this cooling process. Sauna lovers who disagree say nothing beats a good sweat for a great detox.
Cut Back on Sugar
Reduce the amount of sugar, honey, molasses and artificial sweeteners that you eat. The more sweeteners you consume, the more you are asking your body to produce insulin. The resulting strain on your pancreas ultimately leads to chronic fatigue and wears you out. You may develop diabetes or cancer, and you’re almost certain to add on extra pounds.
Eat Whole Plant Foods
Processed foods lack the nutrients your body needs, while whole plant foods such as dark green vegetables are located with micronutrients. Develop a varied diet that concentrates on colorful veggies and fruits along with whole grains, beans and legumes and small amounts of nuts and seeds.