Author avisha Categories Blog, Food & Nutrition, Lifestyle Posted on 0 Comments

5 Ways to Support Your Body’s Detoxification Process

Detoxification is an essential process that our body needs to perform effectively for us to be in good health.

Detoxing rids our body of toxins that accumulate both as a by-product of our natural body processes and from external environmental assaults.

Detoxification improves our ability to absorb nutrients and to eliminate waste.  It also stabilizes and improves our energy.

Our body is designed to detoxify.  That’s why we have 7 channels of elimination; our skin, lungs, kidneys, colon, lymphatic system, liver and blood.

We are bombarded every day with so many toxins that our system can become overwhelmed so it really is a kind gesture to ourselves to lend a hand to the process.

5 Natural Strategies to Support Detoxification

 

Sweat it out!

Sweating helps to move toxins out through our skin and helps to get our blood circulating.  Exercising and saunas are 2 great ways to get that body hot!

Get Good Quality Sleep

Our body doesn’t rest when we go to sleep.  It uses this time to detoxify and repair.  This is our liver’s playtime.  So getting good quality sleep is key for successful detoxification.  Here are some tips for a good night’s repose:

  • sleep in total darkness
  • shut off all electronics
  • sleep in a cool room
  • go to bed at the same time each night
  • get 7-8 hours of sleep each night

Keep Well Hydrated

A river runs through us and it’s made of water.  In a nutshell water carries nutrients to our cells and waste from them.  And water is involved in many of the physiological process carried out each and every day within us.

6-8 glasses of good quality water each day is minimum.  You want to make sure that you flush out those nasty toxins and support your kidneys in the process.

 

Move it!

Exercise supports all channels of elimination in particular it helps to flush out our lungs, get our blood circulating and our lymphatic system moving.  And as just mentioned working up an exercise sweat is a great way to help detox.

Eat a Whole Foods Diet

Avoiding processed foods and eating a whole foods diet is the backbone of successful detoxification. A healthy diet supplies necessary nutrients for our body to carry out the detoxification process.

Here are some powerhouse foods that you can start with:

  • leafy greens
  • cruciferous vegetables
  • onions
  • garlic
  • lemon
  • turmeric
  • blueberries
  • chlorella

Be kind to you!

 

 

 

 

Author avisha Categories Lifestyle Posted on 0 Comments

4 Ways to Detoxify Your Lymphatic System

The lymphatic system is designed to eliminate cell waste. If our bodies are overloaded with toxins the lymphatic system can become bogged down and not function optimally. To overcome this toxic overload it is important to have methods that aid in decreasing toxins and to help the lymphatic system to function properly.  Below are 4 methods that you can implement to help stimulate your lymphatic system.

Exercise

Lymphatic fluid circulates through the lymph vessels that pass between the muscles of our bodies heading in one direction towards the heart. Because the lymphatic system does not have a pump, it relies on the contracting skeletal muscles to move the lymph along. Therefore, exercise plays a vital role in lymphatic fluid circulation.

REBOUNDING is one example of an excellent exercise benefiting the lymphatic system.

A rebounder is the equivalent of a small trampoline.  Jumping on a rebounder greatly improves the circulation of lymphatic fluid within the body as muscular contractions push the fluid through the lymphatic vessels.  When the muscular contraction is used in combination with deep breathing, lymphatic circulation is enhanced even more.

Dry brushing

Dry brushing stimulates the lymphatic system helping it release toxins.

Dry skin brushing helps the lymphatic system to clean itself of the toxins that collect in the lymph glands. This aids in giving the lymph fluid a better flowing consistency helping the lymphatic system to work more efficiently.

Dry brushing in combination with regular exercise prevents stagnation and accumulation of the waste products that can deposit in our muscles, organs and joints.

Going Braless

Many types of bras restrict the movement of the breasts and impede lymphatic circulation. Try to wear a bra less than 12 hours daily and not to bed.

 

Hydrotherapy

Hydrotherapy is a time-honoured technique that uses the properties of water such as temperature and pressure to stimulate the removal of toxins from elimination organs and the lymphatic system. There are many different types of hydrotherapies, including saunas, colonics and simple hot and cold showers.

Hot and cold showers are an especially convenient and effective method of hydrotherapy. The alternating hot and cold water creates an ongoing contraction and relaxation of blood vessels and other tissues, resulting in a pumping effect that helps pump blood and lymphatic fluid through tissues more efficiently, clearing out the waste and bringing in the nutrients. A common protocol is 2 cycles of a 2 minute hot shower and 30 seconds cold.

 

 

Your lymphatic system is an important part of your immune system.  Implementing one or more of the above strategies will support your lymphatic system and help to strengthen your immune system.

Author avisha Categories Food & Nutrition, Lifestyle Posted on 0 Comments

The Holidays Are Over. It’s Detox Season!

January truly starts the season of the detox. Health food stores stock their shelves with programs in a bottle and nutrition advocates like myself offer up food-based initiatives.

This week a group of go-getters jumped on board for my Detox Challenge. We have a Facebook page dedicated for all participants to share their creations and to ask their questions. And I must say that I am amazed, proud and impressed with both their dedication to the program and their creativity with the recipes.

But as these programs take centre stage in health and wellness circles, those not in favour of them raise the question as to why detoxing is necessary. In broad sweeps their argument is that the body has all the necessary pathways needed to detox all by itself. These pathways include our skin, liver, kidneys, lungs, lymphatic system and intestines.

In a perfect world these systems would very likely function adequately to remove the waste that accumulates in our body from both the external environment and from our own metabolic processes. But our world is not perfect. Our environment is rife with pollutants and toxins continuously bombarding our system and poor diet, alcohol and medications that are often more the norm than an anomaly. These usual suspects can accumulate and overburden our system and it is for this reason that I believe it is important to aid our waste elimination pathways with a proper detoxification program.

For me the basis of a good detoxification program is a well structured whole foods diet that is devoid of processed foods.  Its focus is not to take over the role of detoxification. Rather it is to provide the necessary nutrients for its proper functioning and to eliminate dietary surpluses that are not. And proper detox programs should not have weight loss as an objective although it could very well be a side effect.

There are health benefits to be had in a proper detox program including reduced inflammation, increased energy and improved skin.  But do your research and find one that works best for you.