You can find our detox recipes down below. But they are useless unless used in conjunction with the steps in the rest of this article.
The Importance of Detoxification
Detoxing should always be part of any weight loss goal. Aiding your body in getting rid of toxins is just as important as diet and exercise.
Detox drinks can help facilitate this process. They can help your liver function better, boost your metabolism and also facilitate the removal of waste from the body through your digestive system.
It would be great if we could just wave a magic wand and see those extra layers of fat fall off. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Therefore, weight loss is just not going to happen unless you follow a healthy regime and stick to it.
This plan includes eating healthy, low-calorie foods, adequate exercise, and a good night’s sleep. The good news is that you can speed up the process by regularly drinking detox juices. Detoxing your body needs to become an essential part of the journey.
Detox drinks are good but if you are not following a detox program of some sort then it won’t matter how effective the drink is your bad habits or lack of will power
in other areas will negate any progress towards weight loss, or other health goals.
So, the question is, what else CAN you do, besides downing healthy beverages?
Here goes…
10 Powerful Ways to Aid Detoxification
Cut Out Alcohol
Drinking alcohol is one of the activities you MUST cut out if you are serious about detoxing and losing weight. Alcohol seriously hampers your body’s ability to detox.
Most alcoholic drinks contain an excess of calories that you cannot afford and it makes a good night’s sleep almost impossible.
Also, when you drink alcohol you are unlikely to exercise, and that could follow on into the next day or longer, while you recover.
Furthermore, drinking alcohol also puts a strain on your liver. This organ metabolizes 90% of the alcohol consumed.
Hence, when your liver is doing the job of processing your alcohol intake, it is not doing the work that you want it to do, ie. ridding your body of toxins and facilitating your goal of losing weight.
Drink Plenty of Water
The body cannot survive for more than a few days without water. So, it stands to reason that it is an essential part of the bodily system and thus should be an important part of keeping things operating at optimum levels. Water also helps flush toxins out of your body. Make sure to drink enough of it to help this process along.
Health authorities suggest you drink half a gallon or around 2 liters of water per day. You don’t need to measure this amount out. Just try to hit the mark or thereabouts every day. Drinking this amount on top of your detox drinks should keep your body well hydrated – provided you stay off the liquor.
Get a Good Nights Rest
Sleeping for at least 8 hrs per night, not so much if you’re in the later stages of life, is an integral part of the detoxification process. The brain operates while you are asleep to detox the body. If you are skimping on the amount of sleep you are getting, you are suppressing this functioning.
According to new research by the University of Rochester Medical Center:
“The brain only has limited energy at its disposal and it appears that it must [choose] between two different functional states – awake and aware or asleep and cleaning up. You can think of it like having a house party. You can either entertain the guests or clean up the house, but you can’t do both at the same time.”
This is powerful research and corroborates what many have been saying for a long time – without having the concrete evidence – that sleep and brain activity are crucial in keeping the body, not just the mind, in tiptop shape.
In essence, the brain takes out the trash while we’re away to the beach – in our dreams that is.
Take a Sauna or Visit a Steamroom
Another way to facilitate the removal of toxins from the body is by encouraging our bodies to eliminate them through the skin. The skin is the largest organ in the human body and is a major component in detoxifying your system. Go to your local steam room or sauna to sweat the toxins out of the body. Follow this up with an ice-cold shower if you want to rejuvenate yourself and get the blood flowing.
According to some experts, the amount of toxins excreted through perspiration is minuscule compared to what the liver achieves, this doesn’t mean though that you shouldn’t do it. After all, scientists are making new discoveries every day. Just look at the study above regarding the brain and detoxification.
Fasting/Juice Fasting
Fasting, whether on juices or water only, is one of the most powerful ways that you can detox your body.
Likewise fasting on water-only whether for an extended period of days or even weeks, or intermittent fasting, where you would abstain from food for a period every day or every other day, is an extremely effective way to detoxify your system. Click here for more information on intermittent fasting.
A new study by Harvard University has seen promising results from a study on the effects of fasting and exercise in ridding the brain of toxins. This new information may aid in the battle against Alzheimer’s
It is no surprise that peoples from all corners of the world, even as far back as the pre-Christian era have been using fasting as a regular practice. Furthermore, even animals instinctively know to refuse food when they are ill or have been injured.
When you have been fasting for 2-3 days a process called autophagy kicks in and the body starts eating itself. The amazing thing is though, it feeds on the parts of itself that are damaged. In doing so it rids the system of unhealthy cells and regenerates new ones.
It is entirely possible to lose weight and keep it off through intermittent fasting. Regardless of what you may have been told, fasting the right way can actually speed up metabolism by up to 10%.
Juice fasting is also effective but has to be done for a longer period to get the same results that would be achieved through water fasting.
Juicing when done properly also aids in toxin removal by shutting down the digestive system, thus freeing up more bodily resources, to do the job of removing waste and harmful toxins.
There is no doubt that in a normal healthy person the detox process happens naturally, regardless of whether we fast or not. Does it not make sense, that by giving certain organs time off, those other organs involved in toxin removal, like the liver, will work more effectively?
There is only one way to find out whether this works, that is by trying a fast for yourself. As the old saying goes, ‘the proof is in the pudding’ – not eating it in this case.
An Adequate Exercise Plan
Exercise in its many forms can also help kickstart the ridding of toxins naturally, by increasing the blood flow and flushing out the lungs. Taking deep breaths during any rigorous activity will help things along.
If you are undergoing a more vigorous detox like fasting, it is important to keep the exercise light. Walking, swimming and yoga are examples of what would work in this case. Always pay attention to how your body is reacting to the demands being put on it. If it doesn’t feel right, stop or slow down.
Exfoliate Your Skin
Skin brushing and massages can help. Dry brushing helps remove dead skin, improves blood circulation and lymph flow. A deep tissue massage is a wonderful and relaxing way to get deep into those tight muscles and release the toxins buried within. Make sure to drink plenty of water after a massage of this nature.
Remove White Flour from Your Diet
White bread is among the worst things you can eat in terms of clogging up your system. These products are bad for the digestive system, can lead to bloating and other digestive disorders. At the very least switch from white flour-based foods to whole grain alternatives.
Cut Out All White Sugar
Just like white flour, white sugar is harmful to your body. It has been linked to many health conditions such as obesity, heart disease, and depression, among others.
Be aware though, when you cut out sugar you are going to feel some withdrawal symptoms, both physically and mentally.
Without fear of exaggeration coming off white refined sugars is similar to coming off some drugs. This study has indicated that sugar releases dopamine in the same area of the brain as cocaine and heroin highs. Read more about it in this article over at Healthline.com.
As part of a serious detox, you should cut out white sugar entirely. You WILL experience cravings. If you stick it out though they should pass within a week or two.
Eat Foods High in Anti-Oxidants
Consuming an anti-oxidant rich diet can boost your body’s ability to fight oxidative stress. Oxidative stress happens when there’s an imbalance between free radicals and antioxidant activity. This imbalance can lead to inflammation, heart disease, high blood pressure, and other toxic conditions.
To combat this you should eat foods like kidney beans, blueberries, pecans, and artichokes. Many herbs and spices are rich in anti-oxidants like parsley, basil, cilantro, cumin, and turmeric.
Follow as many as the steps above as you can physically manage and you will give your body the best fighting chance to detox effectively.
Try one of the recipes below every morning on an empty stomach.
5 Simple Recipes to Help With Your Detox & Weight Loss Program
1. Ginger and Lemon
Ingredients:
1 Inch of grated or finely cut ginger
1 Half of lemon
Half a teaspoon of honey
Method:
You can leave the honey out or add more depending on how strict you are in your weight loss regime.
Simply put the grated ginger into a glass and pour over boiling water which has been cooled somewhat – cool enough to drink that is. Squeeze in the juice of half a lemon and add the honey. Try this every morning for a few weeks and you will find it is a great aid to weight loss.
2. Cucumber and Lemon
Ingredients:
Juice of two cucumbers
1 Lemon
1 Teaspoon of Honey
Method:
Run the cucumbers through your juicer. Then pour in two cups of cooled boiled water. Next, squeeze in the lemons and add the honey. Again, you can add a little honey or as much as you like, depending on your taste and weight loss goals. This is another winner for your detox list.
3. Beetroot and Celery
Ingredients:
1 Beetroot(peeled and cut into small pieces)
1 Stalk of celery
1 Apple
1 Cup of coconut water
A squeeze of one lime
A sprinkling of chia seeds
Method:
In your Nutri Bullet or other blender add all the ingredients and blast for a few seconds. Then, squeeze in the juice of the lemon. Pour and enjoy!
You can drink this as is, or put through a strainer to remove the pulp. This may remove most of the seeds too though.
4. Celery, Lime, Mint, and Ginger
Ingredients:
3-4 Stalks of celery
1 3 Inch cut of cucumber(sliced)
1 Lime(Squeezed)
1 Inch of fresh ginger
2-3 Sprigs of mint
Method:
Simply run the celery, cucumber and ginger and mint through your juicer, pour and squeeze in the lime juice. It can be difficult to juice small slices of ginger and leafy greens like mint. If possible cut out a slice of apple and wedge the ginger and mint leaves inside to keep it in place for juicing. This makes a refreshing, weight-loss promoting detox juice, and so simple to make.
5. Just Celery
Ingredients:
A bunch of Celery
Method:
That’s it. No other ingredients. Wash first, then run the bunch of celery through your juicer and drink immediately.
Alternatively, you can cut it into one-inch slices, put it into your high powered blender and sieve through a nut milk bag to remove the pulp. Click here for 5 simple ways to use that left-over pulp.
Celery juice has become famous throughout the world for it’s detoxing properties. Recent studies have suggested it may help curb inflammation and boost cardiovascular health.
Click here for loads more juicing recipes.
In conclusion, detox drinks are great but should only be taken as part of an overall weight loss program. Because frankly taking them in isolation is going to have little to no effect.
We hope you found this article useful and that it spurs you on to make some healthy changes in your life.
Please leave your questions and comments below.