7 good reasons why you should detox your body?

detox_body_cleanse

I think spring is the perfect time for a body detox! In the past I’ve always done a body cleanse in April.

The foods we eat are quite different than they were a few generations ago — your grandparents most likely lived in the country and consumed foods grown locally, unprocessed, and eaten fresh or dried. No preservatives, no chemicals in the water, no smog in the air – it’s more important now than it’s ever been before to clean your system from toxins that are trapped inside your body and preventing it from functioning at optimal capacity.

Let’s face it our foods have been preserved, chemicals are added to enhance flavour or colour. And containers are made from chemicals that can leach into the food, the air has particulate matter in it previously unheard of, we touch cleaning products that contain high levels of chemical solutions every day.

It’s really difficult to get away from the toxins that surround us and the reality is that our body was NEVER these levels of environmental toxins.

I don’t even think that people living in the country today are able to get away from all these negative effects of modern life.

The idea is not necessarily to relocate to a remote island because that would mean no more high speed Internet and that would just be unconceivable. The most important thing we can do to manage the assault of toxins in our everyday life is to detox a few times each year.

For a lot of readers, this might be the first time you even consider detox to I thought I’d highlight 7 good reasons why you should consider adding a detox program to your health regime.

Many researchers are finding that toxins could be the answer to a long list of ailments many people suffer from today ranging from immune system disorders to cancers.

The funny thing about toxins that accumulate in the body is that you aren’t always aware of them. I know that when I start feeling drained and my skin acts up a lot, I usually get the clue that it’s time to detoxify my body. Some of the other symptoms associated with toxin overload include: headaches, sinus infections, frequent colds, fatigue, congestion, or other ailments that seem to be a result of feeling run-down. Many of these symptoms have been known to give way to diseases like asthma, allergies, neurological disorders and hormonal imbalances.

I’m a strong believer in prevention so if it’s a question of making a few changes for a few weeks to eliminate potential poisons that could do me hard in the long run … I’m happy to disrupt my routine for better health.

Before I jump in, I think it’s important for me to state to before even thinking of starting a detox program it’s important for you to consult your doctor of naturopathic doctor in order to get the best advice possible and maintain good health throughout your detox.

A professional will be able to ensure that you’re not doing your body more harm than good.

So here are 7 reasons why you should really consider adding a detox program a few times per year:

When you detoxify your body you get the benefit of:

1) Removing toxins and parasites from your body: There is no knowing what’s hiding inside your body as a result of your lifestyle decisions. Even the healthier people on the planet need to detox to keep their body as fit as possible.

2) Toxins can cause premature aging: There is a billion dollar industry designed to sell lotions and potions to keep us looking 20 forever, but I believe that it’s throwing your hard-earned-money out the window if you don’t detox your body on a regular base. Toxins stress the body and cause systems to break down and to age more rapidly than normal. The sad reality is that free radicals (which are the result of toxins in the environment and in the body) cause skin and organ damage that accelerate the aging process.

3) Your immune system might be feeling sluggish: It’s so hard to describe, but sometimes your body is feeling like it’s working on slow motion. When you cannot find anything physically wrong with you like a cold or a flu … that might simply meant that you have an overload of toxin that’s slowing down your system. A much needed detox program will help boost your immunue system.

4) Chronic diseases don’t come out of nowhere: Do you remember Julia Roberts in the 2000 smash success “Erin Brockovich”? The premise of the movie was this single mother who realized that big manufacturing plants were contaminating the air, water and soil and people living in the area where those manufacturing plants were operating where getting violently sick and dying. Erin Brockovich linked the two and won an unprecedented settlement for many people suffering from the neglect of many unsuspecting workers. Today, you’ll see Erin Brockovich lobbying for people suffering from mesothelioma (aka cancer linked to exposure to asbestos). In fact, the World Health Organization (WHO) indicates that environmental toxins may cause more than 60 per cent of known cancers.

5) You feel so much better after a detox: All those little aliments that are annoying distractions can be eliminated with a few weeks of detox.

6) If you get rid of toxins, your body will feel more balanced: I’m always fascinated by the body and how it functions. If the body is out of balance, that’s when you find yourself with all sorts of ailments and health issues, but the minute your body gets back into balance … everything is solved. That’s exactly what a detox program will do for your body.

7) Lose weight and lose belly fat: The first time I did a 13-day juice fast to cleanse my body (don’t even think of doing this with consulting a doctor), people at the around me couldn’t believe how much weight I lost. Because I saw myself every day I really didn’t notice, but when someone’s reaction was so over the top, I know I was losing too much weight too quickly so my doctor advised me to put an end to the cleanse. My plan was to do a 21-day juice fast, but I would have found myself at an unhealthy weight. Detox is not a weight loss gimmick, but you’ll inevitably lose weight because your body is releasing trapped foods that were never properly digested and tons of other crap that’s doing you no good.

Photo by by thebittenword.com