Detoxification or "detox" has become a dietary staple for millions of Americans who are searching for safe steps to better health and longevity. With digital marketing purporting to offer an endless array of product enhancements and specialized diets, it can be challenging for the average consumer to sift through what is legitimate, empirical science and what is advertising hyperbole. What IS important to know is that your body naturally is remarkably efficient at eliminating noxious toxins and rarely necessitates the use of overpriced supplements or specialized, trendy diets. Rather than misplacing your trust in these medically dubious yet seductive products, it is imperative to instead focus on what personal adjustments you can make to facilitate your body's natural detoxification system. The following five detox steps are surefire remedies to enhance your body's efficient filtering and flushing of toxins:
1.) Improve Sleep
2.) Eliminate Sugar Intake
1.) Improve Sleep
- Everyone knows the importance of a good night's sleep: its benefits redound positively with improved concentration, work performance, and increased energy levels. But, did you know that steady, quality sleep is essential in supporting your body's overall health and natural detox system? During sleep phase, the body and brain remove dangerous, toxic byproducts that have accumulated in your body throughout the day. Excess stress hormones and beta amyloid proteins are eradicated, lowering your risk of hypertension, heart disease, diabetes, and obesity. When the body is sleep-deprived, the brain does not have the time to perform these crucial functions, thus leading to a graduated increase in toxic build-up. Shoot for seven to eight hours of sleep per night to encourage the natural detoxification process. Listening to soothing music and limiting the placement of light-emitting digital devices around the bed will enhance your ability to meet this achievable goal.
2.) Eliminate Sugar Intake
- The consumption of sugary foods plays a significant role in our nation's current obesity epidemic. Sugar consumption is linked to obesity, diabetes, cancer, and heart disease. All of these diseases furthermore have a deleterious effect on your body's ability to naturally detoxify itself by disabling and harming the organs of the human body including the liver, kidneys, and heart. Sugary sodas and alcoholic cocktails possess high levels of sugar that directly lead to fatty liver condition, inhibiting the liver's proper and crucial role in filtering toxins out of the body. Limiting junk food and replacing it with healthier options like fruits or vegetables will enable your body to resist breaking down and continue to operate with maximum efficiency.
- For anyone who took a biology class in high school, it is common knowledge that the human body possesses an internal calendar that continuously repairs and replaces each of the billions of cells that make up our body. During this cellular recovery phase, the body releases certain levels of wastes and toxins including carbon dioxide that can be harmful in the bloodstream if not eliminated properly.This cycle of cell replenishment only operates optimally when sufficient levels of water exist in the circulatory and digestive system to eliminate these toxic byproducts through urination, sweating, and breathing. Water intake also serves other core functions such as regulating body temperature, lubricating joints, and the absorption of nutrients. It is recommended that each person drink about 3-4 liters of water per day to enhance the body's natural detox properties. Of course, water intake depends on the individual: more highly-active, daily lifestyles necessitate even higher daily water intake goals.
- Limiting the intake of alcoholic beverages can dramatically enhance the body's detox performance. Drinking to excess directly attributes to degraded liver function by provoking fat buildup, inflammation, and scarring around the essential organ. This unhealthy landscape is not surprising when you consider that over 90% of alcohol is metabolized in the liver. When alcohol molecules enter the liver, enzymes metabolize the alcohol into a new toxin called acetaldehyde. Acetaldehyde is a dangerous toxin that is directly linked to several cancers in the human body. An undamaged liver can convert the acetaldehyde into a harmless substance called acetate over time and eliminate it from the body. However, if the liver is damaged, this conversion and expiration process is disrupted and harmful toxins can remain in the body long after the consumption of alcohol by the individual. To avoid this unhealthy, dangerous scenario, limit alcohol intake to one to two drinks per day. This easy, proactive step will benefit your body's detoxification efficiency and improve heart health.
- Antioxidant-rich foods offer a protective shield for each cell in your body from the damage caused by free radical molecules freely roaming in the body. Whenever your body suffers from excessive free radical production, the net result is oxidative stress that can harm and destroy essential cells in your body. While the human body naturally produces a certain level of free radicals to accelerate digestion, engaging in unhealthy dietary habits can artificially accelerate free radical production. Tobacco smoking, alcohol consumption, and a diet high in sugars and salts can spike free radical formation, endangering the body's smooth-flowing, detox system. Free radical damage to the cells of your brain, heart, and liver can contribute to early dementia, heart disease, liver disease, and a myriad cancers. Antioxidants such as Vitamin A, vitamin E, Vitamin C, selenium, and lutein can be found in a diverse array of food and drink selections including berries, nuts, fruits, vegetables, green tea, and coffee.