Let’s End the Trendy New Years Detoxes!

There are a multitude of products, diets, health influencers, and self proclaimed health experts out there that will have you believing that you need to start your year off with a good detox and/or cleanse to get rid of all the toxins you took in over the holidays plus to shed that “extra weight” so you can start 2022 off “the right way”. What many people do not understand is that detoxing is a natural process that your body already does daily! The holidays are not the only time that we come into contact with toxins and our detoxing organs don’t just give up when under an increased load. Sure, there are things you can do to support your body through its natural detoxing processes, but there is not a quick fix or magic pill that will simply clear your body of all the toxins and magically make you healthy. Do you want to understand what these toxins actually are? Or how your body naturally expels them? We (quickly) cover all that, plus, 5 daily habits to support your natural detoxing system!

 

What is Detoxification?

Detoxification means “the process of removing toxic substances or qualities.” (Google’s Dictionary provided by Oxford Languages). Detoxing is a daily task for your body. We are constantly breathing, consuming, and absorbing toxins which means that our detoxing organs are continuously at work in order for us to survive. Our main detoxification organs are the liver and kidneys. In addition, our lymphatic system, digestive tract, skin, and lungs are also ways our bodies detox. All of these organs combined make up the complex detoxification systems in our body.

 

Don’t get Caught Up in the Latest Trend!

I saw this mentioned in a blog post by Jessica at Nourished by Nutrition and I want to highlight it here as it is so true and (in my opinion) very important to share. We get many questions from people around this time of the year for a full body detox, they want a “clean slate” or to lose the 5 pounds they put on over the holidays. This misinformation is not the consumer’s fault, the diet/health and fitness world uses these marketing tactics to sell detoxes and cleanses while praying on some of our biggest insecurities. Please be careful when consuming media of any kind (social media, mainstream media, advertising, etc.). Detoxification is not a diet, juice cleanse or expensive supplement kit, it is a natural process your body already does every single day!

“The truth is your body is incredibly well-equipped to eliminate toxins. Your body’s detox pathways work around the clock to keep you alive. You can’t just turn these detox pathways on and off.” – Jessica, Registered Dietitian Nutritionist with a Masters in Nutrition Therapy, Nourished by Nutrition.

 

What Exactly are These Toxins?

Here are just a few examples of some toxins you could come in contact with every day:

• Pollutants in the air outside including exhaust, tobacco smoke, particles from industrial emissions, etc.
• Pollutants in the air inside including mold, tobacco smoke, chemicals released from cooking, furniture, carpet, construction materials, etc.
• Drinking water contaminations
• Chemicals such as pesticides and heavy metals consumed through food. Overconsumption of processed foods, food dyes, preservatives, drugs, and alcohol.
• Household products like food containers, cleaning products, fertilizers, weed killers, bug spray, etc.
• Beauty products including skincare products, makeup, deodorant, hair products, etc.

As you can see, these organs don’t just have to work after the holidays or a particularly big weekend (if you know what I mean?!), they are constantly working to rid our bodies of the daily toxins we come in contact with. While these detoxing pathways are always at work, sometimes they need a little extra support. Therefore, I recommend some daily practices as well as periodical supplemental support throughout the year.

 

5 Daily Habits to Support Your Natural Detoxing System

1. Hydrate

Because your body is made up of 70% water it’s impossible for your body to function optimally if you are not sufficiently hydrated. Staying hydrated helps flush out toxins through your kidneys which you excrete through urine. It also helps remove harmful cell by-products from the bloodstream. Once filtered from the blood, water pushes out toxins through other detox channels like breathing and sweating.

2. Increase Fiber

Fiber is an essential part of the digestive process, during this process the liver dumps toxins into the small intestine through the bile duct. If you don’t consume an adequate amount of fiber, your digestive process gets backed up, and your body will reabsorb these toxins your liver just tried to get rid of. Having regular bowel movements to get rid of those toxins is important. Fiber doesn’t just keep things moving; it also binds to toxins, preventing them from being reabsorbed and helping eliminate them.

3. Move Your Body

Moving your body daily is a great way to increase lymphatic circulation and supports how your body detoxes. Unlike the circulatory system the lymphatic system does not have a pump (heart), it relies on movement (exercise or deep breathing) to circulate the lymph. Low impact movement to incorporate daily to promote detoxing includes walking, form rolling, and yoga. Additionally, exercising intensely enough to break a sweat is like a two-for-one in terms of detoxification. You release toxins through sweating as well as supporting other detoxification pathways through increased circulation, nutrient delivery to your cells, and promoting digestion. It’s a win-win-win!

4. Deep Breathing

These exercises can help to strengthen breathing muscles, get rid of stale air in the lungs, increase oxygen levels, and increase lung capacity. Multiple studies show that deep breathing encourages the movement of lymph fluid through the bloodstream, dramatically increasing the elimination of toxins.

Here is a simple Diaphragm Breathing Exercise. Take a deep breath through your nose and hold it in, to the count of four. Exhale through your mouth to the count of two. Perform this simple exercise two to three times per day and not only are you helping your detoxification system, you are supporting your nervous system (stress/anxiety) and you are also strengthening your respiratory system.  Win-Win-Win!!

5. Support with Supplements

There are a wide range of supplements on the market, some that specifically promise to detox your body and others that you wouldn’t know are a great support for your detoxing organs. Because we have a number of different organs that are responsible for ridding your body of toxins, it makes sense that the range of product available to support the health and function of these organs is quite large. Our Zyto Elite Scan can help narrow down your supplement needs and ensure your body gets the support it is actually needing!

 

One of the many things that our Zyto Elite scan can do is assess the health of your body’s detoxing system by identifying what is stressing this system and then providing suggestions to help balance those stressors. These balancing items can be herbs, food, services, essential oils, products, etc. When looking at the Zyto Elite Full Health Scan report, we can see if your detoxification system is under stress, which parts of it need some extra support and give you suggestions on what you can do, take or eat to help optimize it!

 

For January only we have the Zyto Elite Full Health Scans on a mega sale!

Adults save $20 which makes the Full Health Scans $60

Kids save $10 which makes their Full Health Scans $50

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Limited appointments are available so call or email us today to book your Full Health Scan!

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PH: 403-947-2389

EM: reception@boydsinc.ca

 

“If you take anything from this article take this.. Each of us are unique and individual from our body composition, emotions, memories (trauma), daily habits, daily nutrition, the water we drink (or not drink), the air we each breathe, the vehicles we drive, places we live, clothes we wear, products we use, goals in life, outlook on life, and this list goes on and on. There are an infinite number of ways each body is uniquely individual. So that begs the question, can a one-size-fits-all Detox or Cleanse program really work the way they promise it will? The answer is an astounding NO. Your unique body needs an individualised support program, if it needs anything at all!” – Zoe Clein, Zyto Practitioner and Laser Technician

 

Sources:

https://zyto.com/detoxify-your-body-daily

https://nourishedbynutrition.com/how-your-body-detoxes-naturally/

https://zyto.com/5-deep-breathing-exercises-for-respiratory-health