Learn How To Detox The Body For Better Longevity

Just after my daughter, our second child was born my health was bottoming out and I was feeling completely out of it virtually all the time. I'd had several visits with my doctor, and on each occasion I was informed that they couldn't find any problems.

A friend of mine, who also happened to be a physiotherapist, advised me that I needed to detox my body, and take some time to learn how to detox the body and understand the impact of toxins on my health. It seemed a lot of people had a lot of good things to say about it, so took it upon myself to learn as much about the process as possible, and why so many alternative and complementary health practitioners recommend following a detox diet and in particular the 1 week detox so strongly.

Something else she recommended I try was a detox foot pads. I have a foot spa two or three times a week now, if I have the time, but if you don't have one of those, the foot detox patches can be just as good - but with the patches you don't get a relaxing foot massage at the same time

So here's my top tips about how to detox your body.

Drink water or herbal teas

Making sure you take in plenty of fluids is very important while you are following a detox diet because the water will help your body excrete toxins from your system. Drinking plenty of water also has other health benefits like promoting regular bowel movements, helps your internal organs function more efficiently, and improves your complexion. You should aim for about 2 to 3 liters a day, although you will need more in hot weather or on days when you are exercising.

As a rough guide, increase your water intake by about half a liter for each hour of exercise. Tap water which has been filtered to remove the chlorine and impurities is the best option. Keep your water at room temperature as it's more refreshing that way. Herbal teas are a great alternative in helping your reach your daily quote - loose leaf is better than tea bags as it hasn't been processed as much. Peppermint, camomile, dandelion root, horsetail and yarrow in particular are great choices as their hidden ingredients help boost the detox process. Roibosch (Redbush) tea is also beneficial as it is rich in antioxidants.

How Can I Possibly Drink So Much?

It's actually quite easy to drink that much water when you know how. Have a glass of water with a little freshly squeezed lemon juice or root ginger as soon as you get up - this is great for kick-starting your metabolism and bowel then try to drink another glass each time you take a break from your work.

Aim to have a glass whenever you eat, if you make tea of coffee during the day drink water as well, another during the evening and a final glass before you retire to bed for the night. As I mentioned above, you can replace some glasses of water with herbal teas.

Fresher Food Is More Nutritious

This means choosing fresh food whenever possible and juice or blend them for maximum benefit or just eat them raw, in salads or as snacks or appetizers. Raw food is full of vital nutrients, phytochemicals and enzymes. Once food has been kept too long, or if it has been cooked or processed in any way, it kills the natural enzymes.

Try to buy your fruits and veg locally, ideally from farm shops and local markets- imported produce is usually harvested under ripe (so it won't have created all the nutrition of a fully ripened plant) and will have lost much of its nutritional value during its journey to your supermarket.

Is Organic Better

When detoxing, there's no need to go completely organic, unless you can afford it, but a little organic produce will go a long way to getting you started.

It's not a major problem if you can't get hold of any organic produce. It's more important that you eat plentiful amounts of fresh foods- even if they are non-organic - rather than not get enough of them. Having said that, there are some very beneficial health reasons of going organic on a healthy detox diet.

Organic foods are produced without the use of artificial pesticides and fertilizers, so they have very little or no potentially toxic man made chemicals. It's also a very controversial subject as there is mounting evidence that the cumulative impact of these pesticides may be related to a lot of the serious health issues we face today.

There is a lot less processing of organic produce on its journey to your kitchen. The big benefits of this are that they have no genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and free from artificial preservatives. And you may notice that organic foods also taste better and have much deeper flavors.