04 Jul Is a juice cleanse a good idea? How to detox properly

This post is an update of a post from 2016.

We live in a world of invisible poisons.

These poisons are pollutants in the air, water, and land. Poisons are in your foods in the form of chemicals and additives. Heavy metals are everywhere, mostly the byproduct of industry. Even medicine, including vaccines, can contain harmful substances. Your house can put out VOCs. Your skin absorbs chemicals from your personal care products .

These poisons are not usually fast acting, sending you to the emergency room, or calling the poison hotline. They are slow acting and insidious. They create inflammation and symptoms like fatigue, skin disorders, digestive upset, brain fog, mood issues, and a long list of other problems.

Your body has its own system of detoxing. It detoxes the waste products it naturally creates as well as the toxins you are exposed to. Some people are better at detoxing based on their genetics. I am not one of those. My genetics mean I have to consciously support my detox.

All of us need to support our detox as we live in a toxic world.

The best ways to detox are to encourage your body’s natural detoxing on a daily basis. The natural detox pathways are through your stool, urine, sweat, and breath.

Stool Detox

To make sure your stool eliminates toxins properly, eat fiber from vegetables as much as possible. Try for 80% of your diet as vegetables. It’s not that hard if you think of trying to eat vegetable soups, salads, sides of veggies along with your protein and plenty healthy fats. Fats can be good for your elimination too.

Urine Detox

Drinking plenty of water all day long encourages your urine to carry out toxins. Carry a water bottle (but not a plastic one as that’s full of toxins). I like to start the day with a tall glass of water, just to get me off to a good start.

Skin Detox

To encourage your skin to release toxins through sweating, consider exercise, spending time in the sun (without burning), saunas, hot baths with Epsom salts or baking soda, or just be outside in the summer in the south. This is easy for a New Orleans girl like me when it’s 95 degrees outside.

Breath Detox

You can stimulate your breathing by exercising, meditating, or practicing yoga. Keep your air in your surroundings clean so you are not breathing in toxins as you try to breathe them out. I open my windows when the weather is nice to clean the air in my house. Avoid air fresheners, conventional cleansing products, and any other home chemicals and keep house plants to clear the air (and pretty up your house, too).

Food for Detox

Eat your broccoli. Because cruciferous vegetables like broccoli are great for detox. And this includes cabbage, kale, onion, and garlic. Garlic is especially good. I add it to soups and stews when they’re almost done, just before I turn off the fire, so that its potency remains high when I eat it. I also crush the garlic before I chop it to activate its healing properties. Cilantro is very good–good news for Mexican food lovers. Greens are good for detox, and also nuts. I love almond butter, so that’s my reason to indulge. Good fruit choices are apples, berries, cherries, and pineapple. Flax seed is good to keep things moving, so to speak. Fermented food, like sauerkraut is helpful, and seaweed, or sea vegetables as they’re sometimes called. Green tea helps detox and I find it so refreshing.

What about juicing or a juice cleanse?

For detox, some people recommend juicing, as in squeezing juice from vegetables and fruits, and others recommend making smoothies by blending vegetables and fruits. A juice cleanse is an extreme version where that is your main diet for some days. That may not be a good practice, especially if your body is not already good at detoxing. Think of it this way. It may help release some of your toxins, but your body may not be able to keep up with getting them moved out. Detox is complex and occurs in phases.

Also beware of commercial detox programs where you are sold bottles of juice. They are usually full of sugar, which is pretty toxic itself. And they are pasteurized, so that means that much of the nutrients are lost. And you pay a lot of money for all this. But it sounds good, so people fork over their cash for little benefit and possible harm. No, don’t do that.

So adding in occasional fresh juices or smoothies along with regular natural detox may work well for you. Which means, let your body do its job and you support it by eating well, staying hydrated, staying regular, and moving.

I can help you detox. If your doctor gives you a detox diet, I can help you put it into practice. I’m a National Board Certified Functional Medicine Health Coach. Tell me your story, and I’ll help you find healthy habits that resonate with you. I’ll cheer you on and support you as you become your healthiest self. Contact me.

Leave a comment below about your experience with detox.

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