Should I detox if I want better health and effective weight loss? That is a good question and one that I have been asked a lot.
Let’s start with toxins.
A toxin is any substance that causes harm or irritation to the body.
We are bombarded with toxins every day and so need all the help we can get to keep healthy.
Below are some examples, and remember, these will affect different people in different ways.
Examples of toxins:
- Nicotine
- Drugs – antibiotics, painkillers
- Household chemicals
- Air and water pollution
- Sugar, caffeine, alcohol
- Stress
- EMF and microwaves
- The list goes on…
Should We ‘Detox’?
Our bodies are made up of millions of cells and each one of our cells are surrounded with a fatty lipid layer. Yes fat is essential for our life, and this lipid layer is essential for each cell.
Since we are exposed to toxins every day, the lipids have a protective function in the body and stores what are known as ‘fat soluble’ toxins so as to protect the body from harm.
In addition to this toxic build up, if we don’t provide the body with the correct fats and nutrients the toxicity will build up.
Our body needs approximately 107 nutrients every day, including minerals, vitamins and essential fatty acids. If we don’t provide the correct nutrients, combined with exposure to every day toxins we can quickly become susceptible to toxic overload.
Nutritional Deficiency
In modern life we have a hard time avoiding toxins, and the effect of this is exacerbated by nutritional deficiencies in our diet.
This is not your fault.
Modern farming practices make it harder to obtain nutrients through food.
A couple of decades ago it was suggested that our soils had 70% less nutrients in them than they would normally have.
The resultant nutrient depletion in foods exacerbates the toxicity of our body. Even if you think you are eating nutrient dense diets this may not be as effective as it was say, 100 years ago.
Detox V Diet
It has been well documented that we have got fatter.
An obesity epidemic is upon us.
Yet we have never spent more on health care!
The truth is that it is so easy to sell a ‘detox’ supplement. As it happens though you have been built with a very effective ‘detox’ system:
- Kidneys
- Liver
- Lungs
- GI tract
- Skin
Your body is amazing at detoxification. In fact – that’s exactly what it is designed to do!
So here’s how to get the most from it without supplements, special diets or ‘detox packs’:
- Eliminate deficiencies – commonly protein, water, and vitamins and minerals such as vitamin D and magnesium
- Focus on nutrient dense foods
- Eliminate, or at least reduce environmental toxins in your home
- Reduce stress
- Avoid allergens or any food intolerance you may have
If you know that you are deficient in a certain mineral or vitamin, it may be worth supplementing in this as the quickest and easiest way to address issue in the short term, but with a long term view to maintaining a high nutrient dense intake of foods most of the time, and so address the problem long term.
Doing this in itself will result in improved body composition, health and performance so that you look and feel better.
I hope this gives you something to consider, and that it helps you.
Let me know if you have any questions.
Nico.