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Just like our wardrobes or fridges need the occasional clean out, so to do our bodies!
 You don't have to wait until spring time to spring clean your body - We could all do with a little extra spring in our step at any time of year.
Why would you want to detox?
Many reasons – firstly take a look at your diet & lifestyle and ask yourself;
- How many coffees, soft drinks, alcoholic beverages, cigarettes, servings of sugars & refined carbohydrates (white bread in particular) or saturated fats do you have each day?
- Where do you live and work? Are you exposed to pollutants in your air from exhaust fumes or factories near by?
- How much water do you drink? Is brushing your teeth the only time of day you get any water into your body? Do you drink 2Lt a day or not even close
- How often do you exercise? I don’t mean getting off the couch because the remote is too far away either! Do you deliberately raise your heart rate every day or is getting out up and down from your office chair the extent of your exercise regime
- Are you on medication (the oral contraceptive pill counts) or regularly take drugs of any kind?
- Do you have a sluggish metabolism and have been struggling to lose weight?
Are you feeling?
- Tired, lethargic, sluggish
- Bloated, flatulent, gassy!
- Constipated, irregular
- Irritated, agitated easily
- Overwhelmed & overburdened
- Generally toxic in mind, body and spirit
Here’s a look at the sources of toxins we take in from our environment and they come from in the first place?
Environmental oestrogens
Known as xenoestrogens, are compounds that are produced outside of the body and known to produce oestrogenic effects within the body)\. There are more than 60 substances that have been identified as environmental oestrogens; some places you can find them are;
Even very small amounts of these oestrogens can cause disruptions to your endocrine system (hormone production & secretion) and are linked to hormone dependent cancers such as breast cancer as well as endometriosis & low sperm count in men. They are also thought to have effects on the development of sex organs in baby boys if the mother is exposed during pregnancy, having an effect 20-30 years down the track.
Not only do environmental oestrogens affect humans, but all mammals, birds, fish, insects and reptiles.
Air Pollution
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) began monitoring our air pollution in 1973, since the 1980’s air quality has improved due to measures such as regulation of industry and removal of lead from petrol. However, air quality is still a major cause for concern for the general health of the community. According to the EPA Melbourne’s biggest cause of air pollution is Motor Vehicles.
Heavy metals
For the purpose of this article the term “Heavy Metal” is used to define metals which are toxic to the human body, rather than its atomic weight or specific gravity. We’re exposed to these metals through many means, some of which are medications, environmental pollution, dietary intake & lifestyle including occupation & recreation.
Whether or not these minerals will have negative health effects depends on the level of exposure (amount and duration) and your body’s ability to remove them. In some cases we are exposed to very small amounts over long periods of time so we are not even aware of the potential health risks. This can be as harmful as acute or short term exposure to high amounts
Not only are there some metals that are known to be detrimental to our health (some are listed below), some of the minerals that are in fact important, even essential to our health can have harmful effects in high doses (zinc, iron, copper, manganese, etc.). So it is important to be aware of the instructions of the label if you are taking mineral supplements for health reasons. Like most things, more doesn’t always mean better.
Your body’s natural detoxification processes
Naturopaths speak of the 5 channels of elimination as the body’s ways of removing unwanted waste, these are as follows;
The Bowel (Digestive system) - The liver is one of the bodies main ways of processing, breaking down and eliminating waste through the digestive system. At any given moment your liver is hard at work performing many different tasks, here are three examples of some basic liver functions;
- Breakdown (deamination) of amino acids to be used for energy (ATP)
- When blood sugar levels are low your liver can turn glycogen (stored energy) or amino acids into glucose to be used by the body. It can also turn glucose from a meal into glycogen or triglycerides to be stored for later.
- Synthesis of good (HDLs) and bad (LDLs) cholesterol, making bile salts from cholesterol
- Storage of Vitamin B12 and fat soluble vitamins, A, D, E & K and the minerals copper & iron
Liver detoxification is performed in the following ways;
- Filtration of blood – approximately 2 litres of blood per minute passes through your liver to be filtered
- Formation of bile – bile carries toxins from the liver into the intestine to be excreted through the bowel bound to fibre
- Phase I detoxification – some chemicals are neutralised immediately here, others are turned into a more active form and passed to Phase II. Phase I has a group of 50-100 enzymes which are referred to as cytochrome P450s and each one will detoxify a certain chemical at different rates or efficiencies
- Phase II Detoxification – because Phase I turns some chemicals into a more active form and send it on to Phase II, it is important that this phase is working efficiently. Here, the toxin is either neutralised or made to be excreted more easily by urine or bile.
Once the toxins have been processed and neutralised by the liver they are then removed from the body via the bowel or kidneys
The Skin (Integumentary system) – responsible for the removal of wastes such as salts, carbon dioxide, ammonia, urea through sweat
The Lungs (Respiratory system) – air is filtered by the lungs and oxygen filled air is turned into carbon dioxide. There are many pollutants which the lungs have to deal with, some of which enter the blood stream, others are excreted through exhalation
The Kidneys (Urinary system) – filter blood and remove waste such as ammonia, urea, creatinine, bilirubin, uric acids, drugs and medications as well as environmental toxins
The Lymph (Circulatory system) – removes excess fluid from the tissues and return to circulation, the toxins are then taken to the liver and kidneys to be neutralised and eliminated
What’s the best way to detox?
Some people associate a detox with taking extreme measures such as fasting or juicing for a specified time. Whilst these are valid and effective forms of detoxifying your body, they should only be done by people who are experienced with this kind of practice, or are under close supervision of a qualified practitioner to guide them and certainly would not be recommended for busy people who already have their hands full.
There are so many products, diets, books & experts out there when it comes to every aspect of health, but particularly detoxification. All claiming participants can lose so many kilos in a short amount of time and have this amount of energy, but a few simple, effective and inexpensive ways to detox without turning your life upside down or affecting those around you who don’t wish to (your partner for example) or don’t need to (your children for example) participate is the best way to go.
The D.I.Y Detox
First – choose a convenient time and appropriate time frame, for example if you have a few busy weekends in a row you can detox for 5 days, from Monday to Friday, there’s no point punishing yourself if you have an important occasion where you will want to join in the festivities. 7 days is ideal but you can detox effectively in 3 days if you wish, especially if your diet & lifestyle is not particularly “toxic” in the first place and you are doing it for a bit of a pick-me-up.
Second – remove all artificial & refined products from your cupboard and menu list e.g. bottled sauces, frozen foods, white bread, white pasta, sugars, pre-packaged, all additives (check for numbers), saturated fats, caffeine, tea and alcohol.
 Third – fill your fridge and pantry with loads of fresh seasonal fruit, vegetables (including garlic & onions), raw nuts & seeds, cottage cheese, natural yoghurt, grains, legumes, culinary herbs & spices, sea salt, pepper etc.
If you are used to cooking with flavours from a bottle or jar, you are about to experience the real taste of food.
Fourth - make your own menu with foods that you like – it is important to be realistic about what you will and won’t eat and you are still entitled to enjoy your food and therefore enjoy your detox, we’re not martyrs. Prepare yourself some readily available snacks like small containers of nuts & seeds, chopped celery, carrot sticks and individual servings of fruit salad ready for work or outings. You don’t want to get caught out and have to go hungry or eat convenience food (junk).
Fifth – allocate a 10-30 minute time slot for some exercise. First thing in the morning is an ideal way to get your circulation flowing and energise yourself for the day ahead. It doesn’t have to be anything overly strenuous, perhaps you have a yoga DVD in the cupboard you’ve been meaning to try out, you can even enjoy 10 minutes of stretching or go for a 20 minute walk around the block.
Getting started
Here’s an example of a daily meal plan
7:00am Glass of water with a squeeze of lemon (1)
7:30am Oats cooked with water, after allowed to cool to edible temperature add 1tbsp natural yoghurt & 1tbsp LSA (Linseed, sunflower & almond meal)
8:30am Cup of detox tea or roasted dandelion root tea (2)
9:30am 250ml water with 1tsp chlorophyll liquid (3)
10:00am fruit salad (kiwi, strawberries, banana, apple etc.)
11:00am 250ml water with 1tsp chlorophyll liquid (4)
12:00pm salad (mixed lettuce with carrots, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, avocado etc. with balsamic vinegar & olive oil). You can add ¼ cup of cottage cheese or freshly cooked fish for protein
2:00pm cup of detox or dandelion tea (5)
3:00pm carrots & celery sticks with cottage cheese & hummus (check ingredients)
4:00pm 250ml water with 1tsp chlorophyll (6)
5:00pm piece of fruit
6:00pm 250ml water (7)
7:00pm stir fry vegetables cooked with spring onion, garlic and any herbs you would like to add, served with ¾ cup cooked brown rice
9:00pm chamomile tea (8)
The Numbers (1) etc. mark the quantity of water taken in during the day, aim for at least 8 glasses in total.
Other Meal options
Breakfast
Whole grain bread with cottage cheese & sliced tomato
Bircher muesli with organic milk or natural yoghurt
Lunch
Whole grain bread (vita weets biscuits or corn thins) with cottage cheese, avocado, baby spinach, sliced tomato & pepper
Dinner
Roasted vegetables with garlic & rosemary infused olive oil & sea salt to season
Steamed vegetables & fish with rice noodles (check ingredients)
Vegetable soup with barley & lentils
Baby spinach, pumpkin, fetta & pine nut salad with olive oil
Readily available detox supplements
Green Foods
These all have high nutritional value, are very cleansing and restorative, used as a natural multivitamin and providing energy to those who use them on a regular basis. Ideal uses are lethargy, bad breath, body odour and digestive disorders
Fibre
Fibre is essential to absorb toxins and cholesterol in the bowel and facilitate their removal from the body.
Probiotics
Probiotics (you may know as Acidophilus) are good bacteria and have many beneficial functions for the digestive system and body as a whole. When we’re cleaning out the digestive system, we want to make sure the good or friendly bacteria are being put back in!
Herbs
Many herbal supplements have cleansing properties to specific organs or body systems, here’s a few that might help you get started that are readily available;
You will need to visit a health food store where ‘detox tea’ or cleansing combinations are available or you can often purchase them individually, your herbalist or naturopath will also be able to assist with getting started.
Some pre-made liver & digestive herbal preparations
- LiverPlex by Greenridge
- Swedish Bitters
- Sandra Cabot’s Livatone & Livatone Plus
Add to your cooking
- Garlic
- Onions
- Ginger
- Cayenne
- Fennel
- Tumeric
Nutritional Supplements
Phase I & II detoxification processes in the liver require various nutrients, including vitamins A, C & e, a range of vitamins from the B group and minerals like calcium, magnesium, zinc, selenium & manganese.
Some vitamins and minerals block the body from absorbing heavy metals e.g.
- Selenium, vitamin E & methionine are protective against mercury
- Vitamin C, hesperidin, zinc, iron and calcium, methionine & cysteine are protective against Lead poisoning
- Zinc, selenium, copper, iron, vitamin C & E are protective against cadmium
- Calcium, magnesium, zinc, manganese, iron & vitamin c are protective against cadmium
You don’t have to take all of these above-mentioned herbs or supplements to detoxify your body, there are many options available to increase your bodies output of waste and how much you use will depend on your lifestyle and budget. If you are unsure it’s important to consult with a health professional, ideally a naturopath who can guide you through it.
Manual Therapies
- Massage is not only a great way to relax, but assist with increasing blood flow to deep tissues, effectively increasing oxygen delivery and improving waste removal
- Dry skin brushing (loofa) helps to increase circulation to the skin, remove dead skin cells and regenerate new ones
- Lymphatic massage should be done by a qualified professional and is an effective way to increase efficiency of lymphatic drainage, particularly beneficial if fluid retention is a problem
- Yoga is therapeutic for mind and body, with each pose having beneficial effects for particular organs or body systems
- Sweating is an effective way of removing toxins through the skin, either through exercise or visiting a good old fashioned sauna
Buy yourself a stainless steel drink bottle and use glassware for drinking at home. Why?
- Reduces the amount of Bisphenol-A (BPA) you’ll absorb from plastic bottles
- Reduces the amount of plastic being added to landfill
- Saves you money – you wont have to buy water because you BYO
The most important thing is to enjoy the detox and appreciate the fact that you are going to some amount of effort to feel good, think of it as a gift to yourself. You will definitely feel the benefits of the work you put into improving your health and wellbeing
*It is important to check with you G.P. or other health professional before undertaking any major dietary or lifestyle changes.
Warning - Who should NOT do a Detox?
- Pregnant or breastfeeding women – it is important for you to avoid caffeine and alcohol, but do not restrict your calories or dietary intake except for reducing refined carbohydrates and saturated fats. Replace these with complex carbohydrates and good fats. See Your PCF
- Anyone with a compromised immune system or chronic illness. Some forms of treatment for terminal illness involve fasting, juicing etc. but this should only be done under strict supervision
Enjoy Your Detox and New Found Energy! if you have any questions about any of this information you can email jo at jellyfishconnection.com
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Health & Fitness 
