Yes, it is possible to detox without changing the way you eat. I am not advocating a poor diet, mind you. I believe in eating good, clean food. It is truly the foundation for great health. But if you are looking to start feeling better, these five things might just motivate you to make some changes. I do all of these things every single day. They give me energy, make my skin glow, whiten my teeth, help me sleep soundly, and keep my mind clear and focussed. Sounds pretty good doesn’t it?? You may or may not notice results right away. Some people do. In general, I would say that you need to give it two weeks or so to see effects. I have listed these in order of what I do everyday.
1. Drink lots of water
What can I say about water that you don’t already know. Just drink more of it, okay?! It is one of the simplest things that you can do to cleanse your body on a daily basis and you will feel so much better when you are properly hydrated.
I have yet to meet anyone that truly drinks enough water. Most people kid themselves about the amount of water they actually drink. It is a good idea to measure out the amount of water that you should be drinking each day to ensure that you are actually getting enough.
So how much is enough? YOU CAN START WITH THIS FORMULA: ONE-HALF YOUR BODY WEIGHT IN OUNCES. IF YOU ARE 150 LB, THEN YOU WOULD NEED TO DRINK 75 OUNCES OF WATER PER DAY.
Now if you are active you will need more and if you eat a diet high in high-water content food like fruits and vegetables you will need a bit less. If you eat a dense meat and potatoes diet with very few vegetables, you need more also. Anyway, you get the idea.
You can keep track of how you are doing by simply keeping track of the colour of your urine. If it is light yellow or clear, you are hydrated, but if it is dark yellow or yellow-brown you need more water. This is a simple way to teach your kids to drink more too.
Besides flushing out toxins, here are some of the other miraculous things that water can do for us:
- Our brain is mostly water. Drinking it helps us think more clearly and keep us focussed and alert. Feeling foggy? Drink more water!
- It is great for your skin. It moisturizes, keeps it fresh, soft, glowing and smooth and lessens wrinkles. It reduces acne too, by eliminating toxins.
- Water aids in digestion and promotes regularity. Our stomach acid is made up of hydrochloric acid, which needs water to produce the proper amount of digestive juices.
- Promotes a healthy weight by removing toxins, reducing hunger and raising your metabolism.
- Drinking plenty of water helps to boosts our immune system by flushing toxins out of our system on a regular basis, helping to keep us from getting sick.
- Drinking enough water helps relieve and prevent headaches, migraines and back pain, which are commonly caused by dehydration.
- Proper hydration helps keep joints lubricated and muscles more elastic, keeping us free from injury and pain.
- Water will keep our body temperature regulated, keeping us cool in the summer and warm in the winter. Also aids in relieving or eliminating hot flashes.
- Water will improve your mood. You will feel great and be happy when your energy is high and your brain is working at its best.
One of my favourite tricks for getting enough water in, is to start the day with 2 cups as soon as you get out of bed.
This is what I do, and recommend to all of my clients: Take a large glass of water to bed with you. Keep it on your bedside table. If you get up in the night to go to the washroom, you could take a sip. When you get up in the morning, drink it all up before you do anything else. If it is too much for you to drink, then drink half, go have a shower and then finish it when you are done. Your body is very responsive to taking in water after not having anything for eight hours or more. It will give you energy, and you will be less likely to reach for that cup of coffee to get you moving.
Never leave the house without water. Keep it in the car with you, at your desk with you, while you are watching TV, etc. Sip all day long and you will feel great.
2. Dry Skin Brushing
Dry skin brushing will give you more than beautiful, smooth skin!
Doing your skin brushing first thing in the morning before you shower is best and before you brush, make sure your skin is dry. Always brush in an upward motion, starting at your feet, and working your way all the way up to your heart.
The main drainage points for your lymphatic system are right near your collar bones, so this is where you want to direct the flow. Brush in smooth, long strokes, or in circular motions.
If you have areas of concentrated cellulite, or joint pain, you can stay and focus on these areas a little longer. Skin brushing can help to bring fresh circulation to areas of cellulite and help to break them up. (Cellulite is simply areas of stored toxins.)
Brush all areas of your body, including the bottoms of your feet, your entire back and your armpits, always up towards your heart. If you choose to brush your face, do so very gently, or get a very soft skin brush designed for that area.
For best results, brush your skin every morning.
- By skin brushing, you are removing dead skin cells. This cleanses the skin and clears the way for your body to more efficiently remove wastes and toxins through sweating.
- Dry skin brushing helps to stimulate the lymphatic system and encourage detoxification through the skin, which is your largest organ by the way. Your lymphatic system needs to be stimulated to move fluid through it, and dry skin brushing does just that.
- The better and more efficiently you are moving your lymph fluid, the better it is for fighting off pathogens, and keeping your blood and cells clean. Dry skin brushing boosts immunity by helping the lymph to keep moving.
- Dry skin brushing removes cellulite by moving trapped toxins in your cells, and thus removing cellulite. Do this diligently over a period of a few weeks/months and you will notice a remarkable difference.
To further enhance your dry skin brushing experience and to enhance detoxification, you can also add a drop essential oil to your hand, rub it around and then rub your brush over your hand to pick up the residual oil. Adding grapefruit essential oil can aid in further detoxification and the elimination of cellulite, lavender can be calming, peppermint can be stimulating. Choose your favourite oil and add it in to your routine when you fell like a little something more. My favourite is a combination oil made with blue spruce. I find it very grounding and enjoy starting my day with it.
3. Oil Pulling
Used primarily in Ayurvedic medicine, oil pulling is a fantastic oral detoxification method that is simply done by swishing a to 1 teaspoon to 1/2 tablespoon of oil (typically coconut oil or sesame oil) in your mouth for 10 to 20 minutes.
Oil pulling literally sucks the toxins out of your mouth and creates a clean oral environment that contributes to the proper flow of saliva that is needed to prevent cavities and disease. This unbelievably effective procedure has been used for centuries as a traditional India remedy to:
- Strengthen and heal gums
- Prevent heart disease
- Reduce inflammation
- Whiten teeth
- Prevent cavities
- Boost Immune System
- Improve skin tone and eliminate acne
- Reduce and eliminate tooth decay
- Eliminate bad breath
- Promote a more restful sleep
I like to use coconut oil for my oil pulling, however I have done it with sesame oil too. Some use olive oil as well. The most important thing is that you use organic, cold-pressed oils. I will typically put it in before I go into the shower and then spit it out when I am finished in the bathroom. Some days it will be 10 minutes and others longer.
When you are ready to spit it out, make sure you DO NOT SPIT IN YOUR SINK OR TOILET!
It is best to spit in the garbage, as it will clog up your plumbing. Spit and then wish some warm water around in your mouth and spit out again in the sink. Do not swallow your oil as it is full of toxins.
4. Tongue Scraping
In Ayurvedic medicine, tongue cleaning is associated with keeping your teeth healthy and the entire organ of your mouth in good order.
And since great health starts with the health of our mouth, this translates to the rest of the body as well. Scraping the tongue removes the overnight bacteria build-up and often prevents bad breath. You can use a tongue scraper or simply a spoon will also do the trick. (I don’t find the tooth brush as effective at getting rid of the gunk.) It takes about 5 to 10 seconds and is a vital yet simple step in cultivating a clean, healthy mouth.
Tongue scraping sounds weird but you will be hooked once you try this.
The thick, white, and filmy coating that comes off of your tongue in the morning is shocking. I usually scrape mine 2 to 3 times and then thoroughly clean the stainless steel scraper with soap when I am finished.
5. Exercise
Move your body every day to improve health and enhance detoxification. Whether it is simply a short 20 minute walk, or yoga, a 3 hour bike ride or a Zumba class, get out there and move your body.
Exercise in whatever form you prefer is the best medicine. The lymphatic system works like a trash collector and is crucial to the cleansing of the body. It has over 600 collection sites called nodes that are scattered throughout the body. One of its many duties is to collect and carry away waste products from your body’s cells. Its vessels and nodes house white blood cells that engulf and destroy harmful bacteria, viruses, fungi, and other toxic material.
While the circulatory system has a heart to pump the blood, there is no similar forceful organ for the lymph. Instead of a pump, the lymphatic system relies on the body’s daily exercise routine to function optimally.
During exercise, for instance, the rate of flow may increase as much as 10 to 15 times! So simply move that body in whatever way you prefer to greatly enhance your immunity and detoxification. Just do it!
These are my five everyday things that you can do to help to cleanse your system and enhance your health. They are simple, inexpensive, effective and simply require a bit of a routine and possibly waking up a few minutes earlier so that you have time to fit everything in.
If you want to do more to cleanse your system, start cleaning up your diet too. You can begin simply by adding in a Green Smoothie daily or a few days a week to further enhance detoxification. Check out this link on the Magic of Green Smoothies or download my Green Smoothie eBook to learn how to build them properly. They could be your next step to feeling amazing!
Cathy says
I hope you find it helpful.