So often we hear about these fad detoxes to help lose weight, get healthy and avoid having to do any real work. Most of these detoxes aren’t backed by scientific evidence and often, in reality, promote the opposite.
Our bodies need calories. Detoxes that promote lack of food consumption, will actually cause our metabolism to slow, eat away at our lean tissue (muscle), and reduce access to the vitamins and minerals our bodies need to function properly. Muscle is extremely important for all individuals, especially if a person’s goal is to lose fat; women, this means you especially! Looking thin, toned and building that booty require muscle (this is a subject for another post though).
The true purpose of detoxification is to rid your body of harmful chemicals that we consume through poorly produced supplements, poor dietary habits, poor quality food, such as all of the processed foods that make life so much easier and cancer causing pesticides that are used in excess in nearly all crops. This further included nearly all household products, ranging from cosmetics, to cleaning supplies, to shampoos, toothpastes and even tap water! The increasing prevalence of Genetically Modified foods are further increasing the need for pesticides and, for other reasons, are debatably introducing more potentially harmful products to the public. Try out this app in order to find out which products you’re using that may be further pumping you full of chemicals (1.).
Functional Health Practitioners have been growing in popularity recently and for good reason. These doctors focus on trying to prevent disease rather than cure it; essentially the same goal of exercise. I have been working with a minor league baseball player that went to see a Functional Health Practitioner recently. This ball player’s blood results showed extremely high toxicity for arsenic, which was contributing to a suppressed testosterone balance, among many other potential problems. There are many potential poisons that we are exposed to in our daily life that absolutely cannot be treated with something as simple as cayenne pepper, honey and lemon. Often times fat cells can contain many of the toxic chemicals we consume and, if attempting to expel these improperly, can be released into the body in free floating forms, which can further harm you.
The body performs better under certain conditions, which can be initiated through the use of certain products, foods and supplements. Probiotics for example can help you begin to digest foods better, produce certain hormones better and heal better. Some doctors have even begun to refer to the stomach, where the heathy bacteria proliferated by probiotics reside most, as the second brain. However, probiotics are yet another touchey subject. Many of those products out there are extremely limited on the multitude of strains of probiotics needed by the body. A recent trend has been to consume sauerkraut and kimchi, which produce many different strains of probiotics naturally. After personally consuming these multiple times a day for several months, I can confidently say my body, brain and intestinal track feel significantly better; not to mention these are more affordable substitutes that you can even make your own!
Reducing the body’s alkalinity is another great way to begin detoxing the body; in fact many “detoxes'” goals are to affect the body in this manner. As can be seen in the water industry, many companies are beginning to offer high alkaline water in order to attempt to assist in this manner. Many different things can affect the body’s alkalinity, including consuming high alkaline foods such as many fruits and vegetables, especially greens. One of the most important methods, however, is proper breathing. Due to increasing time spent in chairs, we have begun to develop poor breathing mechanics that are less than optimal. The current standard for the amount of breaths a heathy adult should take in a minute is 12-18. As recently as 30 years ago, this number was as low as 8-10 breaths per minute (2.). We have begun to take short, shallow rapid breaths, and if this occurs we tend to only use the upper half of our lungs and not exhale completely. When oxygen is only replaced in the upper half of our lungs, we tend to hold old, toxic air in the bottom half of our lungs for potentially years at a time; when was the last time you attempted to exhale every bit of air your lungs could take in (maybe your last birthday)? Holding this air in can create an acidic state in our body, which all of the bottles of alkaline water and lemon juice in the world could not replace. Wim Hof, “The Iceman,” has actually shown in a laboratory setting that he can cure major diseases that were injected into him, simply through correct breathing techniques; he has even trained groups of students to replicate his in as little as 8 days.
There are healthy products available such as those sold by Defranco’s Nutrition, that could help to jump-start the detoxification process (3. link at the bottom). But remember, fad detoxes that suggest you should consume nothing but vegetable juice, lemon juice, etc. are often more harmful to your body than helpful. It is good to detox your body, but it is important to make sure it is done properly, under a knowledgeable doctor’s supervision. If you are looking to begin the process of detoxification, eat well, start your morning off right with a large glass of water, some lemon juice, apple cider vinegar and potentially a dash of Celtic Sea Salt or Himalayan Pink Salt.
For more information, email me at tsloan13@ucsbalum.com or wait for future blog posts!
1. Detox Me App:
Apple:
Google Play:
2. Breathing Article:
3. Defranco’s Nutrition Detox Supplement: