What You Need to Know Before Buying A Detox Plan

When it comes to detoxing, there are so many options and different programs that you are bombarded with, especially on social media and through celebrity endorsements. 

Read below for detailed info or click here to watch my segment on Fox 26!

So how do you know if you even need to detox your body and which detox option may be best for you?

Before you choose a detox option, you must first understand why you may need to detox. 

Our bodies are bombarded daily with a crazy amount of toxins from:

• environmental pollutants
• heavy metals 
• preservatives & pesticides in our foods
• synthetic chemicals found in our cleaning products and beauty care

When we inhale and ingest these toxins, they get stored in our tissues and cells all throughout the body and deteriorate our health. The modern-day toxic burden is becoming too much for our bodies to handle, so the act of "detoxing" is a conscience effort to assist our liver, gallbladder, kidneys and lymphatic system, so that they may eliminate these toxins according to plan.

With the growing awareness of our need to detox, comes the growing number of companies who what to capitalize on this market! So, it is important to be able to differentiate between safe and potentially harmful detox options. 

Here are some questionable and potentially dangerous detoxes popular today:

• Detox Teas- primarily include a laxative to flush out the colon and excessive amount of caffeine to suppress the appetite. There are also questionable ingredients that are not regulated.

Why it's bad: diarrhea can lead to dehydration and malnutrition and other GI Issues while excessive caffeine may initiate heart palpitations and poor sleep. There is no guarantee that what is on the label actually contained in the product and it what amounts. Further more, we don’t know if the tea bags are bleached with chlorine, if there are dangerous added ingredients such as wood chippings and news paper (disguised as tea leaf’s, yes, this has actually been reported!) and if the tea leaf’s contain mold.

• Solitary Diet (only eating one type of food for an extended amount of time) a few recent fad "detoxes" have included the "cucumber diet", the "cookie diet" and the "fruitetarian diet."

Why it’s bad: singling out one food does not supply your body with the micro or macro nutrients it needs to thrive and survive. It is simply calorie restrictive and can leave you malnourished, fatigued and could lead to other serious long-term health issues. 

• Non-certified vitamins/herbs that claim detoxification without clinical proof. Beware when you are buying from social media posts or even a grocery store or GNC. Unfortunately, there are people out there who give supplements a bad name. Because supplements, herbs and teas are not regulated by the FDA, some companies get away with false claims, meaning what is on the label is NOT actually contained in the product. Nor are they backed by clinical trials or scientific proof.

Here are some safe and effective detox options that effectively detoxify your body and give you lasting results:

• Consult a nutrition professional such as a functional medicine doctor, a chiropractor, a naturopath or a nutritionist, such as myself! We do the research for you to ensure you have an organic, certified and effective detox program. I personally love my AWS THRIVE 14 Day Detox that includes 2 detox smoothies a day, in place of meals, and offers super healthy paleo options for your third meal and snacks.
• Consider a juice cleanse, LOW IN SUGAR! You want cold-pressed, organic, veggie heavy juices. You will want to consume an average of 80oz of juice daily to keep you feeling full and load you up with all those fantastic micronutrients. I personally love Juice Well who uses mostly organic produce and serves veggie heavy juice options that are delicious and nutritious. They offer a variety of juice cleanses from 1-10 days!
• Depend on diet alone! Start the day with a warm glass of filtered water with a squeeze of lemon and you can add some sea salt or cayenne pepper. This will jump start your metabolism and detox pathways. Eat a whole food diet full of veggies, low glycemic fruits, healthy fats and lean protein. If you need assistance with a diet plan, don’t hesitate to reach out to us, we can help!