Spring Clean Your Health: 5 Natural Ways to Detox

How to Naturally Cleanse Your Body

Spring is here! Spring cleaning often applies to cleaning your home, but what about your health?

Your body and mind are your other “homes” and are with you all the time, so why not show them some care by cleaning them up and helping them function better. You’ll feel better too.

The word “detox” is thrown around a lot. Our bodies naturally detox (get rid of waste) in various ways, but due to toxins in our environment, stress, lack of movement and poor diet, our body can get overloaded and we may not be able to detox as well as we should.

Here are 5 easy ways to help cleanse your body daily.

Drink Water

Water helps our organs function and helps us get rid of waste. Are you getting enough water? While 8 cups a day is a common rule of thumb, it’s better to try drinking half your body weight in ounces daily. So if you weigh 180 pounds, drink 90 ounces of water. Water guidelines can vary based on sex, physical activity and pregnancy.

Breathe

Breathing is often so simple and basic that we don’t think about it, but it’s also a main way to clean our body. We inhale oxygen, which gives energy to our cells and helps our body and mind function, and we breathe out carbon dioxide (waste).

But some of us are “under-breathing” or not taking deep breaths often enough. Deep breathing helps get more air into our lungs and cleanse them, along with helping other parts of the body. It also helps calm us.

Try simple breathing exercises such as:

Breathe in deeply for five seconds through your nose from your belly up until you can’t breathe in any more air. Hold your breath for several seconds and then exhale over the course of another five seconds until you can’t breathe out any more air. Repeat 9 times.

Exercise

Exercise cleanses our body in a few ways.

We get rid of some toxins through sweat.

Movement also helps our lymphatic system, which manages bacteria and viruses. “The lymph system is entirely dependent on your movement to flow and combat [disease-causing agents],” according to holistic nutritionist Elissa Goodman.

So get moving! A walk, yoga, or whatever works for you and challenges your body.

Food

Food can either contribute to our toxic load or help cleanse our body and mind. In general, try to eat more real, whole, organic foods and less packaged foods. If you can’t buy all organic produce, try to limit pesticides by buying non-organic produce like avocados from the Clean 15 list and buy organic produce like strawberries and spinach from the Dirty Dozen list.

Some cleansing foods to try:

Leafy greens, apples, asparagus, avocado, flax seeds and other high fiber foods

Some foods to limit:

  • Alcohol
  • Added sugar, especially from cane, agave, or high fructose corn syrup
  • Animal products that aren’t organic or grass-fed

Sleep

While we sleep, our body heals and it is theorized that our mind literally cleans itself by scrubbing away toxins. This is why we may experience brain fog when we are sleep deprived. So get 8-9 hours or as many as you need.

Chiropractic care is also a way to cleanse your body of nerve interference that can cause discomfort and illness and limit your range of motion. Contact us today so we can help you clean up your body and your health.