Everyday Detox

Today we live in an toxic environment .These toxins enter our system not only through the food we eat and what we drink, but also through our skin and lungs. It’s this accumulation of toxins over a period of time that can wreak havoc on our normal metabolic process causing allergies, health problems and even altered mood.

Although our bodies are designed to remove these foreign substances but unfortunately the amount of the toxins around us have grown many folds & our natural defense system is struggling to cope up with this increased level toxicity .

That is why periodic detoxing, or cleansing, is the best way to re-set and re-charge your body for long term health. A detox can range from a gentle one-day program to a week or even 28 days, depending on the person’s goals and circumstance . Although one should always consult a medical practitioner or certified health coach before starting a detox program , here are some of the simple & safe daily detox ways you can adopt to improve your health .

Skin

Skin is the our biggest organ & it provides a cover to our internal organs . Although most of us see it as a beauty organ, but it also is a big detox organ and excretes waste through millions of small pores . It is through these pores that many pollutants get absorbed thereby increasing the bodies toxin levels . Try dry brushing your skin for couple of minutes everyday before you shower , this stimulates the lymphatic system and boosts circulation which is important for detoxification . I often suggest to add Epsom salt or magnesium chloride ( ½ cup) to the bath tub as it helps in detoxification and relaxation. Steam bath is also a good option if available .

Eyes

Although crying (tears) is the best way to detoxify eyes , washing them with cold water is also refreshing and soothing particularly after prolonged screen time .

Nose

Neti ( a yogic way of cleaning nose ) is an excellent way to clean the nose , it may need a small practice initially but once you do it , you will get addicted to the clear feeling in your nose . It clears your nasal cavity & improves breathing

Tongue

Some of you will be surprised to know that our tongue is also one of the body’s several detoxification paths & keeping it clean is just as important as brushing one’s teeth. In earlier times (Ayurveda ) doctors used tongue as diagnostic tool as it will tell what is going on with digestion and bowel movement .

Scrape your tongue ( with tongue scraper ) every morning before brushing your teeth. Start from the back and slowly scrape it all the way to the tip, five to 10 times, removing as much toxic buildup as possible. The process takes less than 10 seconds. In addition to cleaning , a tongue scraping gently massages the internal organs that are linked to different areas of the tongue and stimulates digestion by activating the salivary glands.

Gut health

Hippocrates the father of modern medicine, used to say ‘all disease begins in the gut’ – more and more research is revealing the link between the digestive system and chronic illness.

The simple fact is, if your digestive system isn’t working well, it’s really difficult for the rest of the body to compensate. Healing your gut is the first step on the journey to good health. One of the easiest way to detox the gut is to have a gap of 14 to 16 hours between dinner and breakfast . This allows enough time to our intestines to get rid of all the waste and be ready with fresh food . On top of it if you start the day with a glass of water & a morning walk that would be icing on the cake . We can also make the life easy for our gut by taking fibrous food and probiotics . Instead of consuming chemically grown probiotics , i suggest to go following probiotic reach foods

Yams and other tubers

Potatoes

Ginger

Leeks (green and white parts)

Fibrous parts of fruit and vegetables

Legumes/beans

Liver

Liver is an important organ of human body , it does more than 500 vital functions , so you need to keep it healthy . Start the day with Luke warm lemon ( or w/o lemon if you don’t like it ) glass of water . Have a lot of greens , Beetroot , carrot (Raw is best) . Garlic , apple & avocado are also good for liver . Additionally, you may reduce the intake of alcohol for healthy liver .

Kidneys

Our Kidneys filter our blood and get clogged with gunk . Have beetroot juice or beet kvass , cranberry juice ( small portion as it has high sugar ) ginger , turmeric , spirulina , cucumbers , celery juices , sprouts , lemon & lime in your daily routine to clean your kidneys and keep them in perfect working condition

Pooping

Our Poop tells a lot about our healthy . We need to poop daily & if we don’t it is an indication something is going wrong . Start the day with Luke warm glass of lemon juice ( or plane water if you don’t like lemon ) and go far walk . You can also self massage the tummy to ease the bowel movement ( massage around navel in clock wise direction for 4 to 6 min ) . If this does not help then i would suggest to see a doctor as daily excretion is mandatory for healthy body .

Ultimately it is all about self-awareness and self-care, i hope you find these tips useful and would incorporate them in your day to day life to enhance the bodies capability to self-detox .

Stay Healthy

Coach Sunil