8 Tips to Support Your Body’s Natural Detoxification Process

How your body detoxes naturally

Detoxification (detox) diets focusing on cleaning your body of harmful toxins have become more popular than ever. These typically restrictive diets claim to improve your health, boost your energy, and promote weight loss in as little as three days.

But the thing is, your body is already well-equipped to eliminate toxins all on its own!

Our body’s detoxification pathways work around the clock and aren’t something you can turn on or off. But, sometimes, our detoxification pathways don’t function as optimally as we’d like and require some extra support. Supporting your body’s innate detoxification process through nutrition and lifestyle practices is a great place to start. But first, it’s important to understand how the body’s detoxification process functions.

What is a detox?

While the word detox might bring to mind special juices or water fasting, detoxification, or detox, is actually the body’s natural process of removing toxic substances.

Because we are exposed to pollutants, toxins, and other chemicals through the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the foods we eat, our body must work to remove these toxins. Our bodies are well equipped with several natural detoxification systems, such as our kidneys, lungs, liver, and bowels, that help filter, break down, and expel toxins.

Why is detoxification good for your body?

Supporting the body’s natural detoxification processes has been practiced for centuries by cultures around the world – including Chinese medicine systems – to focus on resting, cleansing, and nourishing the body to help protect it from disease and optimize its health.

Since we are exposed to toxins every day, our body’s natural detoxification processes are under immense pressure to keep up and can lag behind. When our body’s detoxification pathways aren’t functioning correctly, it can affect our energy, digestion, mental clarity, and skin. Plus, research indicates that we become more susceptible to cardiovascular, metabolic, endocrine, immune, reproductive, and behavioral disorders. (1, 2, 3, 4)

The Body’s Detoxification Pathways

Supporting the body’s natural detoxification pathways essentially means supporting six critical body systems: the liver, digestive tract, kidneys, respiratory system, lymphatic system, and skin.

Detoxifying these body systems help the body’s natural cleansing process by:

Stimulating your organs to push toxins from the body
Promoting the elimination of toxins
Improving blood circulation

At a high level, let’s break down each body system’s role in the detoxification process.

Liver

The liver is our body’s master detoxifier. It acts as a filter to remove toxins our body produces, such as cholesterol and hormones, and external pollutants, such as viruses, bacteria, chemicals, alcohol, and drugs. The liver breaks down these byproducts so the kidneys can filter them out of the body. (5)

Kidneys

The kidneys help filter out waste and any byproducts from metabolism, allowing the body to eliminate these compounds through urine, which along with stool, is one of the primary pathways that the body removes toxins. (6)

Gastrointestinal Tracts

The gastrointestinal tract (GI) is essential in detoxifying the body. The GI tract helps detoxify poorly digested, fermented toxins, filters out food and intestinal bacteria, and helps eliminate toxins via your stool. (7)

Respiratory System

The air we breathe contains oxygen and other gasses, bacteria, viruses, and other pollutants. The respiratory system's main job is to move fresh air into our body while removing the waste gas carbon dioxide. But the respiratory system also provides a protective barrier to help keep particles like dust and dirt out of the lungs while also helping to remove harmful substances by coughing, sneezing, filtering, or swallowing them. (8, 9)

Lymphatic System

The lymphatic system – consisting of the spleen, thymus, adenoids, tonsils, and the capillaries, vessels, and lymph nodes that connect them – transports and disposes of white blood cells, bacteria, viruses, and toxins from the tissues in our body. Effectively helping to fight infections and protect against harmful toxins. (10)

Skin

The skin, the body’s largest organ, provides a protective barrier defending our body from bacteria, viruses, and chemical toxins. The skin also plays an essential role in eliminating toxins by helping rid the body of heavy metals, arsenic, lead, and mercury through sweat.

How do you know if your natural detox process could use support?

Sadly, we live in a toxic world. From heavy metals like lead and mercury emitted from vehicle exhaust to fertilizers, pesticides, and PCBs found in rivers and soil, and phthalates that off-gas from household plastic products, our bodies are bombarded with toxic chemicals. So, it’s not uncommon for your natural detoxification process to need extra support.

Your natural detoxification process may require additional support if you have symptoms such as:

Completing a yearly detox can be beneficial for most adults; however, any type of detox or help to support your body’s natural detoxification process should be supervised by your physician.

8 Tips To Support Your Natural Detoxification Process

Even though the body detoxifies on its own, you can still provide daily support to help it function optimally. Rather than trying a restrictive diet or juice cleanse, try these seven tips to support your body’s detox pathways.

1. Sweat It Out

Find a way that feels good to you to move your body daily. Even moderate exercise can help you release toxins through sweat, improve circulation, promote digestion, and help your other detoxification pathways work more effectively. Or, try a Swedish or infrared sauna to induce sweating.

2. Hydrate

Hydrate! Hydrate! Hydrate! Water plays a critical role in the body’s detoxification process. Water is required to flush out waste products, ensure proper nutrient absorption, support digestion, and help regulate your body temperature. (11) As a general rule of thumb, you should drink about half your body weight in ounces each day to stay hydrated. (12)

3. Increase Your Fiber

We eliminate toxins from our bodies in one of three ways: through urine, sweat, and via the GI tract. Eating enough soluble and insoluble fiber is necessary for our GI tract to move toxins out of the body. (13) Focus on eating 25 to 30 grams of fiber-rich foods like beans, avocado, berries, peas, squash, chia seeds, and flax seeds daily.

4. Focus on a Clean, Balanced Diet

A clean, balanced diet filled with cruciferous vegetables, fruits, protein, quality fats, and a variety of spices is essential in supporting the body’s natural detoxification processes. (14) By purchasing organic produce when possible and avoiding processed foods, you can bolster your detox processes and help protect the body against more toxin-related damage. Avoid glyphosates: most conventionally grown crops, or animal-fed non-organic feed will introduce disease-promoting toxins.

5. Practice Optimal Sleep Habits

Sleep is a powerful regenerative. Not only does a good night’s sleep make us feel better and improve our mood, but research also suggests that getting high-quality sleep can optimize your body’s functions, including its ability to detox effectively. (15, 16) Optimal and consistent sleep – ideally 7 to 9 hours each night – gives your body time to rest, repair, and restore.

6. Limit Your Toxin Exposure

We are exposed to toxins daily from food, water, air, and products that contain endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) that interfere with our healthy bodily functions and increase our toxic burden. Limiting your toxin exposure is an ideal first line of defense to ensure that your natural detoxification processes can perform optimally.

7. Herbal and Supplemental Support

Depending on your symptoms, herbal and supplemental support can boost your natural detox pathways. However, it’s essential to consult your holistic provider before beginning any supplements to ensure they support your specific needs.

8. Acupuncture

Acupuncture treatments help increase the flow of energy throughout the body, remove blockages and stagnation, and allow the liver to function properly, supporting the body’s detoxification process.

Achieving Optimal Health By Supporting Your Body’s Natural Detoxification Pathways

Many practitioners commonly overlook toxic overload. But, if your body’s natural detoxification pathways are not functioning correctly, your skin, digestion, energy, and much more can be drastically impacted.

Even though your body’s detoxification pathways – liver, kidneys, GI tract, lymphatic system, respiratory system, and skin – are working around the clock to flush toxins from your body, they can often use a little support. By focusing on nutrition and lifestyle practices that upregulate your body’s detox pathways, you can achieve the optimal health you desire.

At Denver Holistic Medicine, we partner with you to help identify any underlying factors contributing to your toxic burden and slowing your natural detoxification processes. We are serious about giving your body the support it needs and combine lab testing, functional medicine, acupuncture, and more to facilitate changes and enhance your results.

Schedule a free consultation today if you’re ready to give your body the support it needs.

Find your trusted partner at Denver Sports and Holistic Medicine for your health journey.

Resources

1. PubMed

2. PubMed

3. PubMed

4. PubMed

5. PubMed

6. PubMed

7. PubMed

8. American Lung Association

9. American Lung Association