Vitamins and Supplements, Natural Health Products, Organic Foods

What is a Detoxifying Cleanse?

We all try to live our healthiest lives, but stress, pollution, a less-than-optimal diet and other lifestyle factors can all disrupt your body and leave you feeling less than your best. Cleansing and detoxification plans such as a liver cleanse, kidney cleanse or whole body cleanse can help restore balance and optimal function and help maintain total-body wellness.

Your body’s detoxification pathways rely on the liver, kidneys, digestive system, skin and lungs. Maintaining the health of these organs and systems is essential to overall wellbeing. A detoxifying cleanse is a short-term change of diet and lifestyle intended to boost the effectiveness of your detoxification pathways and rid the body of toxins and other buildup.

What are Cleansing & Detox Benefits?

Detoxifying is an important part of overall wellness. A full-body cleanse can help you maintain better digestive and immune health, boost energy, promote healthy hair and skin, jump start your weight loss goals and leave you feeling rejuvenated.

How to Detox Your Body

There are many detox diet plans to choose from. Common cleansing plans include detox drinks, diet modifications and detox pills such as herbal supplements and liver support supplements. Most detox diets involve a period of fasting; drinking fresh fruit and vegetable juices, smoothies, water and tea; eliminating foods high in heavy metals, contaminants and allergens; taking supplements; and exercising regularly. A detox cleanse will also typically eliminate processed foods, caffeine, alcohol, tobacco and added sugars. Additionally, you may choose to do a colon cleanse program to encourage the body to rid itself of toxins and buildup. A colon cleanse kit may help boost your digestive health, support colon health and promote regularity.

Your liver is your body’s primary means of cleansing itself. Support a healthy liver by maintaining a healthy weight, eating a balanced diet, exercising regularly and avoiding toxins. One of the most popular liver supplements is milk thistle which contains silymarin, a powerful antioxidant flavonoid that offers protective benefits for liver health.

What are the Best Detox Supplements?

There are many supplements available to boost your detoxification and cleansing efforts. Try natural detox teas such as dandelion, milk thistle or combination formulas. Popular herbal supplements for liver support, kidney support and overall digestive health include milk thistle, turmeric, artichoke and more. These are available as individual products or in combination forms such as our Liver Essentials or Pure Liver & Detox. Kidney and urinary tract cleansing supplements include cranberry, uva ursi and parsley.

A detox supplement growing in popularity is activated charcoal. Activated charcoal is made by taking materials such as coconut shells or other plant fibers and oxidizing them at a high temperature in the presence of gas. The resulting carbon is more porous than standard charcoal, highly-absorbent and safe for consumption. This activated charcoal acts like a magnet for toxins. Charcoal for detox is available in supplement form but is also found in soaps, facial masks, natural deodorants and more.

What are the Best Detox Foods?

You’ll notice a couple of common themes to the recommended foods: boosting glutathione and flushing toxins. Glutathione is a potent antioxidant that contains sulfur compounds which act as a sponge, absorbing free radicals, toxins and other unwanted substances. Boost the glutathione levels in your diet to absorb more toxins, and support kidney, liver and gut health to aid elimination of those toxins. Foods that deliver glutathione include spinach, avocado and cruciferous vegetables.

Antioxidant properties of vitamin C may also protect glutathione stores in the body. Some of the best food sources of vitamin C include papaya, bell peppers, cruciferous vegetables and fruits such as strawberries and pineapple.

Be sure to use a food journal or nutritional diary to keep track of what you’re eating and make sure you’re getting the vitamins, minerals, nutrients and calories that you need every day. Don’t forget to hydrate by drinking plenty of water during the day.