There have been some incredible innovations and scientific advances in the last 50 years, but this has also led to a lot of unnecessary and potentially harmful chemicals in our environment, in our homes, and ultimately, in our bodies’ tissues. In fact, there are over 84,000 chemicals registered with the Environmental Protection Agency for use in various North American industries. If you look at it from a global perspective, figures from the European Union’s REACH registry estimate this number is closer to 143,000!! That’s a lot of potential chemicals we could be exposed to, which gives us plenty of reason to make sure our body is detoxifying effectively.
When it comes to detox, you might automatically think about deprivation and eating nothing but kale, rice, and beans for 21 days as an effective way to shuttle out toxicity. That sounds both incredibly unappetizing and unpleasant. There is nothing that appeals to me or my family about following a time-limited plan of eating only bland foods and avoiding everything I enjoy, like an occasional glass of wine.
What about instead of depriving ourselves, we adopt habits that help our bodies’ detox systems do their job on a daily basis? Doesn’t that seem much more appealing? I think so!
With that in mind, I wanted to share with you four ways I detox every day. Whether you’re a breastfeeding mama or expecting your first child, these are habits that are safe for everyone and most certainly will do the body good.
Joy McCarthy’s Daily Detox – Ways I Detox Daily
Limit exposure to chemicals from household products.
One of the best ways to reduce your toxic exposure is to eliminate sources of toxins. The place to start is to control what is coming into your home; green your home by using eco-friendly household cleaners. I don’t think I’ve flushed a chemical down my toilet in over 10 years because it’s not necessary. There are multiple options at Nature’s Fare Markets that are kind to the environment and actually work to get your bathroom sparkling clean.
Some brands I love are Nature Clean, Seventh Generation, and Ecover.
Do a beauty detox.
Similar to my first point, avoidance is the best way to help your body detox better every day. When you’re not exposed to a constant onslaught of chemicals, you limit the workload for your most important organ of detoxification: your liver. Personal care products can be a source of many troubling ingredients from formaldehyde to phthalates, to parabens and coal tar dyes.
Luckily, there are many safe and effective brands for you and your family without those ingredients, like Badger, Green Beaver, and Dr. Bronner’s.
Eat more plant foods.
It’s no secret that I recommend a plant-based diet. Does that mean I’m suggesting you turn vegan or vegetarian? Nope, but that’s cool if you are. Labels aside, I just want you to eat more plant foods. At home, I do the majority of the cooking for my family, and I make sure we eat plenty of beans, lentils, fruits, and veggies at every meal to ensure we all get a wide variety of vitamins, minerals, and thousands of phytonutrients. These nutrients are critical for the function of our detoxification systems.
We do eat some animal products, but treat them as a side rather than a main dish.
Make breathing a priority.
Seems like a simple thing to do, right? You’re already doing it 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, but how often do you breathe with awareness? This is especially important for your lungs, an organ of detoxification. Breathing with awareness brings you from fight or flight mode to rest and digest, which is important for detoxification to occur and allows you to fully detox your lungs.
Joy McCarthy is the Founder of Joyous Health, a Certified Holistic Nutritionist, award-winning blogger and two-time best-selling author. A trusted nutrition expert, Joy has been featured in hundreds of publications both online and in print, and is a regular health expert on TV.
Article was published in The Good Life magazine.
