Natural Detoxification: Allowing Your Body to Heal Itself

In our modern society, we are bombarded daily by chemical pollution. Compounds foreign to our body's normal biochemistry produce symptoms of chemical toxicity, most notably a breakdown in the function of our immune system and damage to the nervous system. It can take years of exposure before toxins build up and symptoms become apparent.

One obvious solution is to prevent your body from becoming polluted any more than necessary. We can avoid eating foods filled with contaminants, consider natural therapies in place of modern medications, refuse unnecessary vaccines, give up smoking and overindulgence in alcohol, and buy products for our home and families that are environmentally safe, but we are still constantly exposed to enviromental toxins over which we have no control.

Detoxification of body tissues has become big business. Health food stores and alternative therapies offer many choices for removing toxins from the body. Your body doesn't need special herbal diets, patches, supplements, ozone generators, colonic cleansing, or other such methods to detoxify and repair itself, although the manufacturers and marketers of these products would sure like to convince you of that!

The human body is fearfully and wonderfully made, with the innate capacity to cleanse and heal itself. Instead of spending hard-earned dollars on questionable supplements and detoxification therapies that promise quick results, make a few simple lifestyle changes that will allow your body's natural detoxification system to do the job it was created for. Most of these changes are the same ones you would follow to improve your overall good health anyway!

Hydrate Your Body

Drinking plenty of water is the most important step in any detoxification effort. Drink pure, filtered water to avoid the contaminants found in most tap water. Adequate water intake dilutes toxins in our body tissues and helps our kidneys work most efficiently to excrete toxins broken down by the liver. Good hydration allows us to sweat more when we exercise, and release toxins through the sweat glands in our skin.

Work Up a Sweat

Exercise increases blood flow and encourages lymph circulation, which plays an important role in our immune system and the body's ability to clean itself of waste products. The lymph system has no pump, and relies on our skeletal muscles to push lymph cells through the body tissues. Lymph cells travel in one direction through the body, and when they unable to circulate, toxins are allowed to build up. Adequate exercise increases our overall good health and benefits our metabolism, keeping our immune system strong and able to fight off harmful microbes.

Breathe Deeply

Deep breathing exercises can aid in detoxification of our bodies, as well as in relaxation. The diaphram is the structure which supports the heart and lungs, separating them from all other internal organs. In deep abdominal breathing, the diaphragm moves upward and downward, massaging the organs above and below it, increasing blood flow, allowing our lungs to expel noxious gasses more efficiently, and pumping lymph through our system through the muscular movements associated with breathing.

Take Care of Your Skin

Take a sauna regularly to increase how often and how much you sweat. The heat of a sauna opens the pores in your skin, allowing for deep cleansing, and produces copious sweat which washes toxins out of the body.

Dry skin brushing increases the flow of lymph through cell membranes and removes dead skin, allowing pores to remain open. Use a natural bristle brush or loofah to brush your dry, bare skin, starting at the ends of your limbs and brushing lightly toward the heart in long, smooth strokes. Don't scrub or rub in circles. The most convenient time to do this may be before you shower, and you only need to brush for about a minute.

Eat a Healthy Diet

Most of us don't get enough fiber in our diet. By consuming adequate amounts of fruits, vegetables and whole grains, you will stimulate your digestive system to rid itself of accumulated waste products and bacteria. You don't need to "cleanse" your colon with enemas; it is designed to clean itself when provided with adequate water and fiber. Over the long term, the overuse of colon cleansing practices can disrupt the colon's natural sodium and water balance, and contribute to problems such as malnutrition, anemia, and heart failure.

Consume food as close as possible to its natural state that has been grown or raised without the use of pesticides, herbicides and antibiotics. Avoid overprocessed food products that contain artificial colors, flavorings, preservatives, and other toxic chemical additives. Eat a variety lean meats, nuts, fruits, vegetables, whole grains legumes, and replace fats with healthy oils.

Make fermented foods a regular part of your diet. Yogurt, natto, kefir, kimchi and other fermented foods and drinks contain beneficial microorganisms that help strengthen your inner ecosystem and encourage enzymatic reactions that aid in detoxification.

Resist the Urge To Fast For Health Reasons

The liver is the only organ that filters toxic chemicals and microorganisms (such as bacteria, parasites, fungi, and bacteria) from your bloodstream, and can become overtaxed with toxins. Some people chose to fast to rid their liver of toxins quickly, but by changing your diet to avoid processed and fatty foods, your liver will eventually rid itself of the excess toxin load without the uncomfortable symptoms produced by strict fasting. If you feel you must engage in a long-term fast for spiritual reasons, it should be done under a doctor's supervision.

Wear Comfortable Clothing

Restrictive clothing can inhibit the circulation of lymph throughout the body, allowing toxins to accumulate. Wear clothes that fit comfortably, but not snugly. Wear cotton and other natural fabrics instead of synthetic. Natural fabrics will wick sweat away from your body, while synthetics will contain it and allow toxins to be reabsorbed.

A healthy lifestyle encourages your body's natural detoxification system to work as it should. You didn't get toxic overnight, and it will take time to rid your body of all the harmful substances it contains. Let it work at its own pace, and trust your body to heal itself.

This article is for information only, and not meant to replace your doctor's advice or instructions.