This is not your typical blog post suggesting you drink lemon water everyday, eat cabbage soup, and take fibre supplements to make you poop. And it's not about dry January where you ditch alcohol and purify your liver after the holiday binge you went on.
While I think those are all helpful to cleanse and detox for optimal health at certain times of the year, this post is more about detoxing in a broader, more holistic, longer lasting, natural sense ~ detoxing three areas of your body that affect Every. Single. Thing. You. Do. Everyday.
Your skin.
Your mind.
Your gut.
Before we go there, let's define what a Toxin (tox-in) is:
A poisonous substance typically capable of inducing antibody formation.
Any unwanted chemical, parasite, or germ.
Let's break it all down into simple things you can do to detox naturally and holistically this year to keep your whole body healthy.
1. Detox your skin through clean, natural skincare. Of course this one is near and dear to me as an organic skincare formulator and founder of a natural skincare company which is why I put it first. I also believe it is the easiest one to achieve though. Start by reading the labels of the products you use everyday. Do they contain any of the Dirty Dozen Chemicals to Avoid in Skincare? If they do you can either throw them away and replace them with a clean alternative or use it up as fast as you can so that you replace it! Know what you are using.
See this list below, as provided on the David Suzuki website:
- BHA and BHT
- Coal tar dyes: p-phenylenediamine and colours listed as “CI” followed by a five digit number
- DEA-related ingredients
- Dibutyl phthalate
- Formaldehyde-releasing preservatives
- Parabens
- Parfum (a.k.a. fragrance)
- PEG compounds
- Petrolatum
- Siloxanes
- Sodium laureth sulfate
- Triclosan
So what to do? What you put on your body, goes in your body! When it comes to what you use daily, make the switch to natural face care, natural body care and natural hair care. And also look at the cleaning products you use in your home. You can diminish your toxic load right away and start detoxing your body with natural skincare alternatives, without chemicals.
2. Detox your mind through daily movement such as yoga, fitness, walking and meditation. Not only does daily movement help to reduce stress levels, gets you more steps on your Fitbit or Apple Watch, keeps you flexible and fit, and burns calories. But let's face it. The greater good for detox purposes is that when you sweat and move your body, you detox all the toxins that are trapped inside your body and wanting to get out. (See point 1 about natural skincare. This is why we make a natural deodorant that not only really works, but also ensures you allow your body to sweat and detox out all the bad stuff!).
So what to do? Move your body everyday. It's that simple. Whether you go for a walk, take a yoga class, lift some weights, or simply sit and meditate. Any and all movement and mindfulness will help your body to detox.
3. Detox your gut through clean, healthy foods that nourish your body rather than harm it. Food is medicine and your gut health determines your overall body and mind health. If your gut microbiome is not balanced, it not only affects your gastrointestinal health but it also affects your mental health by creating inflammation in the body as it works hard to fight off the unhealthy bacteria and to restore balance to your systems. Inflammation can cause brain fog, fatigue, insomnia, painful joints, weight gain, hormonal imbalance, and so much more.
So what to do? Eat whole, unprocessed foods such as fresh fruit and vegetables, lean grass fed meats, wild caught fish, nuts and seeds. Reduce your consumption of packaged and processed foods that are loaded with preservatives, sugar, dyes and additives that don't promote your health.
Bottom line: Are you going to be a different person after you detox or a healthy cleanse? Well, not necessarily. But you will certainly be healthier, better balanced and more informed than you are today, so heck I will take that any day!
p.s. One final word on detoxing your skin. Want to try a fun way to detox your face with food you have in your kitchen? Check out this Detox Face Mask with clays and powders you can mix with ripe avocado, apple cider vinegar, organic honey or aloe vera. So many options to get gorgeous skin, without using any chemicals!
ABOUT CLEAN KISS
At Clean Kiss we are passionate about creating natural skincare and body products that you can feel good about using yourself, and for your whole family.
From health-conscious, active mamas, to busy teenagers and dads, our customers love the experience of using our freshly-scented products that not only leave your skin feeling amazing, but ACTUALLY work.
Clean Kiss was founded by Family Natural Health Expert, Jodie Pappas, out of her own personal quest to find natural products for herself and her family that ACTUALLY worked. After first creating her signature natural deodorant, she went on to produce a full line of skincare and body products.
Each product is created in small batches using chemical-free formulations that have been recognized with several awards, has developed a loyal customer base of Clean Kissers, and has gained some international media attention by Business Insider, InStyle Magazine, The Toronto Sun, Breakfast TV Toronto, CHCH Hamilton, Global TV and more!
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