365-Day Detox: Easy Steps to Everyday Detox
We often think of detox as an annual event, focussing on ‘Dry January’, or a swift juice cleanse to ease us of our guilty overindulgence. To encourage the most thorough detoxification and functioning of cells, organs and tissues, what we really need to think about is detoxing 365 days a year!
By that I don’t mean getting into a purely juice diet, exclusively raw or never touching another sip of alcohol.
Our focus needs to be on our daily practices to support year round detoxification and renewal of cells. This article hopes to offer guidance on your 365 day DETOX, by being wise to damaging toxins we can avoid them, lessening our detox burden and promoting a more vibrant you!
Classification of Toxic Exposure
Endogenous Toxins
Endogenous toxins are those created internally by the body in the process of metabolism. These toxins are known as free-radicals. When free radical production exceeds antioxidant intake, cellular damage occurs.
Exogenous Toxins
These are the poisonous by-products that the body ingests but cannot neutralise. These include alcohol, tobacco, caffeine, recreational drugs, over the counter medicines, hair bleach, non-organic skin creams and lotions.
Environmental Toxins
The most damaging of toxins, includes, pesticides, fungicides, herbicides, petrochemicals, exhaust fumes, chlorine, heavy metals (e.g. Mercury), environmental oestrogens (from dairy and non-organic farming). These toxins poison the cells and tissues directly.
So how do you detox every day?
1) Focus on antioxidant intake – Antioxidants are our internal defence mechanism against toxins and cellular damage, an invaluable component of our diet but ‘5 A Day’ just doesn’t cut it! How do you boost your antioxidant intake? Opt for 8-10 portions of vegetables and fruits each day and incorporate antioxidant rich super foods and vegetable juices for an extra boost. Among these foods are green tea, blueberries, pomegranate, organic cacao powder, Goji berries, Acai berries and cinnamon.
2) Minimise unnecessary toxins in the diet – Where it may be harder to avoid the exhaust fumes, atmospheric carbon dioxide and petrochemicals, your diet is in your hands. If you’re feeling totally overwhelmed, just start cooking a little more from scratch, avoiding ready meals, takeaways and junk food snacks.
An area of much controversy is the high concentration of hormones and antibiotics in much non-organic dairy and meat products. It goes without saying, farmers want fast growing, high milk yielding animals free from disease. Their cattle (particularly cows) are exposed to frequent rounds of antibiotics, in an effort to keep the animals disease free, additionally at least two thirds of non-organic milk is extracted from pregnant cows. This contributes to considerably higher levels or oestrogen and antibiotics in milk which may lead to hormonal and immunological changes when consumed in significant quantities.
Our bodies struggle to detoxify these hormones and antibiotics so avoidance is best. Whenever possible, avoid non-organic dairy, meat and fish and experiment with nourishing non-dairy milks, thank fully there’s a plethora available these days and they aren’t too hard to find!
3) Steer clear of pesticides – Herbicides, pesticides and fungicides are rife in our non-organic food chain. Whenever possible, focus on organic produce. Ideally, go with seasonally and as locally produced foods as possible. If convenience of sourcing organic products is an issue consider a weekly vegetable box or seek out local farmers markets. If cost is an issue, buy non-organic fruit and vegetables and wash thoroughly with Citricidal (Grapefruit seed extract) to remove nasty compounds from the skin.
Detoxing for Beautiful Skin
4) Think about your skin care– Do you take the time to read the label of your skincare/hair care products? If not, it’s time you start. Every year, new toxic chemicals are developed and plunged into our moisturisers, makeups and hair dyes. 60% of what we coat our skin with ends up in our bloodstream. On average, women are exposed to over 500 different chemicals from their skin and hair care before leaving the house!
My advice would be, start reading the labels or your skin care products, avoid ingredients that sound unnatural, some common chemicals to avoid include Parabens (Butylparaben, Ethylparaben, Isobutylparaben, and Isopropylparaben), Phthalates - Di-butyl-phthalate, Di-ethylhexyl-phthalate, Petroleum By-Products (Petrolatum, Paraffin, Dipropylene, Glycol, Butylene), Sodium Laurel/Laureth Sulfate, Diethanolamine (DEA) and Triethanolamine (TEA), and Formaldehyde – Diazolindyl, Imidazolindyl urea.
Instead, focus on organic skin care products or even get creative and make your own, the simplest most natural moisturiser? Coconut or olive oil with a splash of your favourite essential oil!
5) Incorporate detoxifying herbal teas – Organic herbal teas go a long way to support detoxification from the cellular level right through to encouraging regularity of bowel movements and so forth! My top choices include organic green tea, organic mint tea or fresh mint leaves, and organic nettle tea.
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