Detoxification — or detox — is a popular buzzword.
It typically implies following a specific diet or using special products that claim to rid your body of toxins, thereby improving health and promoting weight loss.
Your body doesn’t actually require special diets or expensive supplements to eliminate toxins. But some strategies can help rejuvenate your body’s natural detoxification system.
Detox diets are said to eliminate toxins from your body, improve health, and promote weight loss.
They often involve the use of laxatives, diuretics, vitamins, minerals, teas, and other foods thought to have detoxing properties.
The term “toxin” in the context of detox diets is loosely defined. It typically includes pollutants, synthetic chemicals, heavy metals, and processed foods, which can negatively affect health.
However, popular detox diets rarely identify the specific toxins they aim to remove or the mechanism by which they supposedly eliminate them.
Moreover, no evidence supports the use of these diets for toxin elimination or sustainable weight loss
Your body has a sophisticated way of eliminating toxins that involves the liver, kidneys, digestive system, skin, and lungs.
Still, only when these organs are healthy can they effectively eliminate unwanted substances.
So while detox diets don’t do anything that your body can’t naturally do on its own, you can optimize your body’s natural detoxification system.
Ways for Detoxification
- Limit alcohol
Your liver metabolizes more than 90% of the alcohol you consume
Liver enzymes metabolize alcohol to acetaldehyde, a known cancer-causing chemical
Recognizing acetaldehyde as a toxin, your liver converts it to a harmless substance called acetate, which it eliminates from your body
While observational studies have shown that low to moderate alcohol consumption benefits heart health, excessive drinking can cause many health problems
Excessive drinking can severely damage your liver function by causing fat buildup, inflammation, and scarring
When this happens, your liver cannot function adequately and perform its necessary tasks — including filtering waste and other toxins from your body.
Limiting or abstaining entirely from alcohol is one of the best ways to keep your body’s detoxification system running strong.
Health authorities recommend limiting alcohol intake to one drink per day for women and two for men. If you currently don’t drink, you might want to consider not starting for the potential heart benefits associated with light to moderate drinking
- focus on sleep
Ensuring adequate quality sleep each night is a must to support your body’s health and natural detoxification system.
Sleeping allows your brain to reorganize and recharge itself, as well as remove toxic waste byproducts that accumulate throughout the day
One of those waste products is a protein called beta-amyloid, which contributes to the development of Alzheimer’s disease
With sleep deprivation, your body does not have time to perform those functions, so toxins can build up and affect several aspects of health
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Drink more water
Water does so much more than quench your thirst. It regulates your body temperature, lubricates joints, aids digestion and nutrient absorption, and detoxifies your body by removing waste products
Your body’s cells must continuously repair themselves to function optimally and break down nutrients for your body to use as energy.
However, these processes release wastes in the form of urea and carbon dioxide, which can cause harm if they build up in your blood
Water transports these waste products, efficiently removing them through urination, breathing, or sweating. So staying properly hydrated is important for detoxification
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Reduce intake of sugar and junk food
People often attribute sugar and processed foods to many of today’s public health crises.
Research links high consumption of sugary and highly processed foods to obesity and other chronic diseases, such as heart disease, cancer, and diabetes.
These diseases hinder your body’s ability to naturally detoxify by harming organs that play an important role, such as your liver and kidneys.
For example, high consumption of sugary beverages can cause fatty liver, a condition that negatively impacts liver function.
You can keep your body’s detoxification system healthy by consuming less junk food.
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/how-to-detox-your-body#Common-misconceptions-about-detoxing
