What is detoxification and why your body needs it

So let’s start with a brief history of detoxification and where it originated from.

It is probably the oldest medical modality known to man. All Indigenous Medical Traditions begin their healing processes with detoxification, cleansing or purification. Here is the history of some different types, and the elements they included. Many are still practiced today.

Ayurveda

This type of medicine originated from the Hindu culture in the lower parts of India. It talks about a detoxification process called Panchakarma (“Pancha” means five and “karma” means treatment). It outlines a process to prepare the body for detoxification, and five methods to remove Doshas or toxins. They include:

• vamana (emisis)
• virechana (purgation)
• niroohavasti (decoction enema)
• nasaya (introduction of medicine through nostrils)
• anuvasanavasti (oil enema)

Native Americans have also practiced detoxification for many centuries. A couple of practices that are popular amongst them are fasting and smudging.

Fasting is common in many detoxification practices and aids the body’s digestion. The body burns off glucose and then begins to burn fat, which contains toxins, so they are also burnt off. This results in detoxification, and also the release of endorphins after a few days.

Prolonged fasting has also been shown to help rebuild cells in the immune system. It often benefits cancer patients according to some studies, as fasting gets rid of the old cells that can be damaged by chemotherapy and strengthens the immune system before more toxins are introduced to their system.

Smudging is the practice of burning herbs to clean the air around a person or in a room to purify it. Sacred herbs like sage are burned in a clay bowl or waved through the air. When those herbs are burned, they release negative ions, which act as mood enhancers.

Smudging is more than just a physical cleansing. It too involves a spiritual aspect of cleansing for a person or a place. Many times, if you have had an argument or you have moved into a new home, smudging can help clear the air and spiritually cleanse the space.

What is detoxification?

Detoxification is the metabolic process by which toxins are changed into less toxic or more easily excretable substances. It’s the method by which the body gets rid of the gunk and the sludge and the waste materials that, if left alone, would slow us down, tire us out, and do us harm.

The purpose of detoxification is to cleanse the body of internal impurities, which if left to thrive,could cause deterioration and disease. Taking steps to thoroughly detox the body will restore

your physical and emotional energy, increase your mental stamina, improve your digestive processes, aid with weight loss, and help you feel and look much healthier.

What are toxins and where do these toxins come from?

Toxin is anything that is harmful or detrimental to the body. Toxins can be “internal” – created by the biological processes of the body or “external” – something that is introduced to the body, ingested, absorbed or inhaled

So, to break it down toxins can be present anywhere at any given time – examples would be from food, water, air, toiletries, cleaning products, medication & drugs, technology, stress & tension

Other factors that contribute to build up of toxins:

• poor- or low-quality nutrition – eating high processed meats and poor quality food
• minimal exercise – can lead up to build up of toxins, when you are not exercising enough your lipolysis decreases (lipolysis is the breakdown of fat)

How do you know if your body is built up with toxins and you need a detox?

• Review your diet. Probably the first thing I would go through and check. If you are consuming a lot of junk and highly processed food there’s a good chance this is where all your problems are coming from. More times than not if the diet is poor it will have a domino effect on the mind and body. Some of these side effects include
• Spikey energy levels – if you have an imbalance or inconsistent level of focus
• Poor quality of sleep – insomnia, struggling to wake up and to get out of bed and feeling groggy all day
• Inflammation – bloating, constipation, skin rashes
• Excessive fatigue – feeling low on energy by the afternoon, increased appetite which usually leads to bingeing and poor food choices
• Brain Fog – finding it difficult to remember things, forgetting to finish tasks, multi- tasking but actually not getting anything done

Detox methods that will help improve your health in a long run and restore energy

• Eat A Bulletproof Diet
  Best place to start to remove toxins and start feeling energised again. Typically, a high fat, fibrous and low carb diet. This will help with removing toxins from your fat cells that can get trapped from consuming a poor diet for a very long time. When you learn to use your own body fat as fuel, you will burn excess fat and along the way those toxins will be released with the fat cells during the process.
• Exercise to flush those toxins out!
  Regular exercise is another way to flush toxins from your body, and through more than just making you sweat. Exercise increases lipolysis (the breakdown of fat tissue), releasing toxins stored in your fat tissue. Lipolysis is especially effective when you combine it with liver and kidney support or adsorbents that can suck up the released toxins.
• Infrared sauna
  Sweat Sweat Sweat it out!! This is a great way to remove toxins from the body.  It promotes relaxation which means aiding the balance of cortisol levels in the body. The heat in the sauna will help you de stress and relax those muscles especially if you’ve just endured a big week of training.
• Cryotherapy
  Cryotherapy refers to any form of medical treatment that relies on the application of cold temperatures. Whole Body Cryotherapy is most commonly utilized in the field of sports medicine as a mode of muscle recovery and pain relief.
  
  Benefits of detoxifying the body using cryotherapy
  • Reduces inflammation in the body. Case studies lately have shown that cryo can increase mobility in frozen shoulder patients, reduced pain and increased mobility in patients with rheumatic disease and improved eczema particularly with female patients.
  • Increased energy capacity especially in anaerobic exercise post cryotherapy.  Examples of anaerobic exercise include heavy weight training, sprinting (running or cycling) and jumping. Basically, any exercise that consists of short exertion, high-intensity movement.

Do you want to know more about the best way to keep your body at its best?

If so, book a Health and Fitness Game Plan with Rushcutters Health HERE