In our modern world, it is almost impossible to avoid coming into contact with toxic substances. Food additives, unhealthy foods, chemicals of all kinds, environmental toxins are everywhere. Some of these, like air pollution there is almost no way to avoid. Other toxins like Cannabis, alcohol, and drugs such as cocaine, opiates, methamphetamine, PCP, etc. we knowingly take into our bodies. And don't forget tobacco, cigarettes, and cigarette smoke. Over 800,000 people die in any one year from second-hand tobacco smoke!
We live in a stressful age, and stress, especially so-called oxidative stress, is another kind of toxic condition. As we shall see, foods that contain antioxidants may help to eliminate the waste products of oxidative stress and play an essential role in natural detox.
Pharmaceuticals that are medications that we are prescribed can be beneficial to our health, but they can have toxic effects as well. Dietary supplements, although often recommended to improve health, can also have toxic effects.
Toxins, by their very nature, are damaging to our health and well-being. Another name for toxin is poison! Studies have revealed that exposure to and accumulation of toxins play a significant role in heart and blood vessel disease, type 2 diabetes, and obesity. To cleanse our bodies of toxins and improve our energy levels, we may want to consider natural full-body detoxification. In this article, we shall explore relatively simple home recipes for natural full-body detoxification. But what this article is really about is to show you how you can live a healthy life with as little toxic exposure as possible.
YOUR BODY'S DETOXIFICATION MECHANISM
Before you embark on full-body detoxification using home recipes, you should take a little time to understand your body's natural detoxification mechanisms.
The primary way that detoxification of foreign substances happens is by your liver function. Toxins reach your liver by two routes. One is via the so-called "hepatic portal" system. This system carries digested food or drink from your gastrointestinal tract to your liver.
Most veins carry blood to the heart, but portal veins, including the hepatic portal veins, take blood from your GI tract to your liver.
Toxins may enter your body through other routes such as from your lungs if you smoke cigarettes or marijuana joints or from your skin if you use creams or lotions. In that case, the toxins are absorbed into veins, which take them via the heart directly to your liver.
Your liver is rich in enzymes that break down toxins and convert them into inactive substances. According to recent studies, detoxification enzymes are also present in your GI tract, kidneys, lungs, and brain. In unusual circumstances, some chemicals are converted to even more toxic metabolites by these enzymes.
Your body's natural detox mechanisms are always at work, cleansing your system. They are continually breaking down toxins to safeguard your body. Recent studies suggest that a variety of foods may have significant effects on these enzyme systems, thus changing the way your liver works to provide detoxification. In this article, we shall take a detailed look at the studies available that have a direct bearing on home recipes that you might use for whole-body detoxification. If you use these recipes, you may well experience weight loss as well as cleansing your system and healthy life.
WHOLE BODY DETOXIFICATION
The first and perhaps the most essential aspect of whole-body detoxification is to STOP using toxins!! No amount of home recipes will work if you continue to use toxins! Stop drinking alcohol, stop using Cannabis products, stop using illegal drugs. Get medical advice about prescription medications and which dietary supplements you are taking. Also consider, over-the-counter medications because these can interact with prescription medications and/or supplements to have a toxic effect.
MYTHS ABOUT DETOXIFICATION
The internet is deluged with entries about the myth that you can "flush" toxins from your body if you drink water. NOT SO! The idea that if you drink copious amounts of water or other liquids helps flush toxins from your body is not correct. You now understand what your body's detox mechanisms are and how they work, not by drinking water to flush out toxins. They work by enzyme systems that inactivate and excrete the toxins.
The second myth is that you must "detoxify" your liver. Again, NOT SO! Some toxins such as alcohol can produce liver damage and reduce the ability of your liver to break down toxins. Alcohol in reasonable amounts will not impair your liver, but if you drink excessively, it can lead to permanent, irreversible liver damage. As we shall see, a variety of foods can potentially improve your liver's ability to inactivate toxins.
HOME RECIPES FOR WHOLE BODY DETOX
Exercise!
You may not think of exercise as a recipe to achieve whole body detox. Recent studies show that engaging in regular physical activity has broad-ranging positive health implications, including those that improve the metabolic health of the liver. These effects are so strong that they can reverse fatty liver disease caused by excess alcohol or obesity.
Your fluid intake
Your body has an excellent mechanism to tell you when to drink water. Let your thirst mechanism work and do not drink excessive amounts of water. Drinking excessive amounts of water can lead to a condition called water intoxication. That condition can require hospitalization for treatment or even lead to death.
All-juice diets have been recommended by some people. Commercially available juice such as orange juice, grape juice, and apple juice drinks contain large amounts of sugar. There is no good evidence that diets composed in all or part of juice will detox your system.
Your diet
Here we come to a powerful but poorly understood aspect of home recipes for detoxing your whole body. While we shall discuss some individual nutrients, it appears that the best overall recommendation if for a healthy "balanced" diet heavily slanted towards plant-based ingredients and fish with minimal amounts of meats, especially red meats.
Cruciferous Vegetables
Let's now look at some individual nutrients and their sources in foods. One of the most heavily studied and most promising foods are cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, fresh cabbage both green and red, Brussel sprouts and radish sprouts, to name just a few. These nutrients have the ability to induce toxin-fighting enzymes in your liver and throughout your body.
Unfortunately, most of the studies of these nutrients are either laboratory or animal studies. There are no clinical studies that confirm these vegetables as having exceptional toxin-fighting properties that can result in reduced incidence of disease and improved well-being. Never-the-less, cruciferous vegetables are an excellent place to start when devising home recipes for whole body detoxification.
Resveratrol
Resveratrol is a compound found in grape skins and grape seeds as well as peanuts and berries and low amounts in red wine. It has a high antioxidant effect and inhibits Cancer both in animal and human studies. Even more, other bioactive effects, namely as an anti-inflammatory, as a protector of the heart and blood vessels, and nervous system, have also been reported.
Blueberries
Berries, particularly blueberries, are potent antioxidants and should be a part of any whole-body detoxification regimen. They also contain large amounts of fiber, Vitamin C and Vitamin K, as well as Manganese, an essential dietary element. Through their toxin-fighting effects, blueberries provide anticancer and anti-obesity effects. They can prevent degenerative diseases, counteract inflammation, protect vision and liver, prevent heart diseases and diabetes, improve brain function, protect lung properties, strengthen bones, enhance immunity, prevent cardiovascular diseases, and improve cognitive decline.
While some caution that further human clinical studies are needed to confirm the role of blueberries in enhancing human health, there appears no reason not to include them as essential parts of a home recipe for whole-body detoxification.
Apiaceous Vegetables
Apiaceous vegetables-do you know what they are? Carrots, parsnips, celery, and parsley are examples of those kinds of vegetables that can inhibit cancer-causing toxins. A recent study suggests that inhibition by apiaceous plants may be due to the phytochemicals present and imply that apiaceous vegetable intake may protect from cancer-causing chemical toxins. That is an excellent reason to include apiaceous vegetables as part of a home recipe for healthy whole-body detoxification.
Quercetin
How about including Quercetin in our home recipe for whole body detox? Quercetin is the name of a group of phytochemicals, meaning that they are present or derived from plants. Quercetins have a wide range of toxin-fighting biological actions, including anti-carcinogenic, anti-inflammatory, and antiviral activities.
Quercetins are found in a variety of foods, including apples, berries, Brassica vegetables, capers, grapes, onions, shallots, tea, and tomatoes, as well as many seeds, nuts, flowers, barks, and leaves. One study found that organically grown tomatoes had 79% more Quercetin than chemically grown fruit.
Other foods for healthy home recipe whole body detox
A variety of other natural food products and drinks can contribute to your recipe. These include rooibos teas and celery that both contain the toxin-fighting Chrysoeriol. Another toxin-fighter Curcumin that may have anticancer, antibiotic, anti-inflammatory, and antiaging properties is found in Tumeric. Soybeans and black beans provide the toxin-fighting chemicals isoflavones. They may play an essential role in the prevention of many toxin-caused diseases, such as osteoporosis, type II diabetes, hypercholesterolemia, and cardiovascular diseases.
Detox drinks
There is little scientific evidence to support claims that detox drinks can help remove toxins from your body. However, detox drinkcarbohydrates will support the natural detoxification system in the body and create overall balance. A detox drink does little or nothing to help this process.
Drinking nutrient-dense smoothies instead of a detox drink can be a tasty and convenient part of a healthful diet. They can help a person consume more vegetables, fruits, and whole grains.
You can easily obtain all of the ingredients of a home recipe for whole-body detoxification. There is no need to purchase expensive so-called "detox systems" or "detoxing supplements!" These systems often include a whole variety of herbal elements that have dubious detoxification actions and can cause allergic reactions as well as interference with prescribed medications. Likewise, there is no reason to go to extreme recipes like all-juice diets or prolonged fasting for whole-body detoxification or weight loss. The later is said to have by some to be a "mystical experience," but exactly how it affects detoxification is not clear.
Single Agent versus Lifestyle
An important recent paper focuses on isolated nutrients and foods that contain those nutrients. It might be beneficial to consider how an entire lifestyle might induce or inhibit the whole array of detoxification enzymes.
For example, in this article, we have addressed behaviors like smoking, physical activity, and stress. It is difficult to weigh all these variables against each other. Science has not sufficiently demonstrated the individual impacts of these factors, along with all of them together.
Therefore, at this time, a dietary pattern favoring whole, unprocessed, plant-based foods and the removal or reduction of toxic substances in one's environment is a two-pronged approach that would seem to have the best scientific foundation.
With the information in this article, you should be able to create your home recipe for whole-body detoxification. The recipe that you create will be something that you can maintain long-term and not a "quick fix" type of diet or behavior that you will not be able to sustain. This approach should help you to feel full of energy when you are awake and to develop a good sleep pattern, another element of a home recipe detox program.