It’s important to understand that our bodies are detoxifying all of the time, that is after all the primary job of our livers. Therefore in order to get the most out of a detox we need to focus on supporting this everyday process rather than going on a short term detox protocol.
Detox programs certainly have their place but should be overseen by a health professional with a plan catered specifically to the individuals we all are. With this in mind, here are 5 tips that can be implemented every day to support detoxification on an ongoing basis.
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Drink enough water.
Water makes up 70% of our body, it is the medium to which all of our biochemical reactions take place, it helps keep our blood healthy and most importantly keeps our kidneys flushed and bowels regular 2 of the 5 pathways which are vital to proper detoxification. A good guide is 32ml per kg/day.
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Reduce liver loaders.
Liver loaders is a term used to describe things which can burden the liver and its detoxification pathways, causing congestion in this organ. These include drugs, alcohol, caffeine, refined sugar, tobacco, overly processed and packaged foods, trans fats, chemicals from perfumes/cleaning products/plastics/beauty products/personal care items/make up and insecticides/pesticides. Now, it’s not about living in a bubble and not enjoying life, it’s just a gentle reminder that EVERYTHING we eat, breath and put on our skin goes through to the liver where it is deemed as a useful ingredient to keep the body functioning or to pass it out of our system before it causes too much damage – imagine a bathroom sink with its tap on full blast, that poor little drain hole is going to have a hard time keeping the water from overflowing. It’s about balance, so start being aware of these things and reducing the liver loaders where you can.
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Eat a rainbow.
Amp up the coloured fruits & vegetables in your life because these bundles of goodness contain a whole range of vitamins, minerals and plant chemicals which quench free radicals produced from a congested liver. Free radicals are unstable molecules in the body that like to stir up inflammation, activate the immune system and hinder many other bodily processes – they are like little Pac men except their aim of the game is to plant little fires everywhere. Antioxidants such as vitamin C, vitamin E, selenium, vitamin A, zinc and phytochemicals are what help to put out these fires and support the liver. Aim for 3 different coloured vegetables on your plates at each meal – beetroot, carrot, squash, pumpkin, silverbeet, tomatoes, rainbow chard, sweet potato etc etc and 2 pieces of brightly coloured veg/day – kiwi fruit, pomegranate, berries, oranges, dragon fruit etc etc. The more variety the better!
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Ensure adequate protein intake.
Protein in both animal and plant sources are broken down into tiny individual molecules called amino acids – think of them as different kinds of bricks. These bricks, and some more important than others play an essential part of liver detoxification, in fact they actually lay the foundations of the pathways to detoxification. So without them it would be like walking on egg shells.
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Manage stress.
I spoke before about external liver loaders putting a burden on detoxification but our liver is also in charge of sorting through the leftovers from metabolic processes from inside our bodies as well. High levels of stress hormones cortisol and adrenalin which are released when we feel stressed can congest our liver pathways and compromise efficient function. Managing stress is such a personal journey but here are some ideas which may help – exercise, listening to music, yoga, reading, feeling the sun on your skin, deep breathing, meditation, swimming in the ocean, playing a sport, massages. Doing any activity which takes you out of your head, fills your heart with joy and makes you feel good is what needs to be done on a regular basis. Self-care is the ultimate way to manage stress and therefore support detoxification.
As you can see our little liver is such a hard worker and requires the TLC in a frequent way which is why I encourage us all to look at detox from this way, there is no point in doing a detox for 2 weeks that resets your system to only feel like you’ve been hit by a bus a few months later because the liver became too easily congested again.
Seeing a health professional that you trust is the most sensible way to go about the more common detox programs, as they can tailor it to you specifically and ensure long term health and well-being. Nutrition Consultations are available with Jess at Embrace Life – give the team a call on 3491 6533 to make an appointment today!
