Hello all! I know that I’ve been speaking quite a bit about to detoxing, and I just wanted to share some of the my go-to detox options that help my body get back into balance by to soothing inflammation, dropping unnecessary pounds and eliminating toxic buildup. These 5 amazing ways to detox are so easy to incorporate, and each have their different benefits.
#1 Lemon Water 
This is a really easy detox option, that comes with other benefits as well. I have heard others advocate drinking it first thing in the morning. Personally, I like to drink it anytime throughout the day.
Why Lemon Water?
First of all, lemons are very high in vitamin C, which is always great! It also contains beneficial amounts of potassium, magnesium and copper. It helps balance the pH level in the body and alkalizing your system.
What is interesting about the acidity of lemon, is that aids digestion because the structure of the juice is similar to that found in the stomach, it helps relieve an upset stomach, and helps the food move through the gastrointestinal tract more smoothly. Also, while it is helping you digest and absorb your food, it also helps your body fight free radicals, which in turn helps your skin health. This is accomplished by its ability to reducing toxins in the blood and flushing them out.
Lemons also contain Pectin, which helps you feel full longer… which makes it a great option to help curb those hunger pangs!
Finally, lemon is a way to naturally boost your mood, energy and relieving stress. This is because lemon juice has negatively charged ions which interact with your body to create a healthy balance. Stress relief is a great way to also help anxiety and depression!
#2 Coconut Oil
My favorite ways to use coconut oil (unrefined) is as a natural lotion, makeup remover, hair mask therapy and oil pulling.
Coconut oil is absolutely bursting with good fats that are amazing for your body both inside and out. The oil is antimicrobial and anti fungal. Additionally the fatty-acids in coconut oil are extremely small, allowing it to penetrate our cells for immediate energy.
To use to detox, you can use it to oil pulling, which is popular in Ayurvedic medicine. What it does is pull toxins through the mouth and traps them within the oil so that they can then be easily spit out into the trash. It is accomplished by holding/swishing the oil in your mouth for 10-20 minutes (not more, or you will start to feel drained!). Oil pulling has numerous benefits, including but not limited to: Reducing inflammation, Boosting the immune system, Treating tooth decay, Killing bad breath, Healing bleeding gums, Preventing heart disease, Whitening teeth, Preventing cavities, and Improving acne.
My personal testimony with coconut oil is that it helped me to finally detox from the asthma steroids I was put on as a kid (which had many side effects). It helped me eliminate that excess fat that I just couldn’t shake otherwise, even though I had been eating really well and had done many things to help repair my gut. In order to the get this affect though, I was cooking with it, doing oil pulling (20 min a day) 4 days a week, and using it as a lotion at night after a shower.
# 3 Activated Charcoal
Charcoal is amazing at trapping toxins and helping the body eliminate them. Traditionally it was used for emergency poison ingestion and drug overdose cases. Its main power is its ability to absorb nutrients, chemicals and toxins in the body. It can be ingested, but it can also be used topically to capture those toxins in a targeted area.
As such it has many amazing benefits, including being anti-aging, whitens teeth, reduced brain fog, helps liver function, increases energy, reducing joint pain, increases mental function, alleviates toxins from insect bites and poisonous plants, and just promotes skin and body health. It can also be used in cases of food poisoning.
You can find personal care products with activated charcoal, the most popular including face masks and toothpaste.
Just a word of warning, a little goes a long way if you are ingesting it for detox purposes. Always drink water! Charcoal absorbs, and so you will need to make sure you are re-supplying your body with the water that the charcoal takes away.
My favorite product has been my toothpaste, as it has helped my gingivitis and getting rid of those coffee stains!
#4 Turmeric & Ginger/Dandelion Tea
My other go-to is making turmeric and ginger tea. I like to doctor it up with some lemon and local honey.
The reason I use a combo of these two is for their amazing anti-inflammatory properties! The body breaks down when there is too much inflammation. Helping to soothe that helps the body stop fighting itself and start being able to use its resources to heal.
Turmeric is arguably the most powerful herb on the planet. It fights disease in all of its forms through its potent ability to fight inflammation. It has been shown to reduce depression symptoms, has been shown to be a possible treatment for Alzheimer’s disease, it helps with skin ailments by calming the pores (helping with acne scarring and psoriasis flairs), lowers cholesterol, helps the liver detox and alleviate the effects of carcinogens, and much more!
Ginger is closely related to turmeric. It has so many benefits, the chief of them being anti-inflammatory effects. However, it also lowers blood pressure, treats nausea, helps with muscle soreness, lowers cholesterol, and helps improve brain function. The other way I like to ingest ginger is drinking non-alcoholic ginger beer. My favorite brand is fever tree… it is produced in the UK, and uses real sugar (not high fructose corn syrup!) and is quite potent. If you want to see what the brand looks like, check out my instagram post featuring it.
Dandelion is also known for its detoxing properties. It is amazing for its effects on the liver, stomach and skin. It also high in vitamin K (which actually is better for stronger bones than calcium) Vitamin A which is infused with antioxidants, is good for tooth decay, high blood pressure, helps with skin conditions, and helps the urinary tract.
#5 Bentonite Clay
Bentonite clay is similar to activated charcoal in many ways. However, what makes it so amazing is that it interacts with water, and then binds to toxins within the body to help eliminate them. What is most amazing about it is that it even helps eliminate heavy metals! You can learn more extensive facts about them here, or quick breakdown in my post about tattoos. That being said, heavy metals are unfortunately in so many products in our modern lifestyles, that it is impossible for you not to have some level of them already in your body… which is absolutely devastating on our health including causing anxiety and depression!
Bentonite clay is used internally and externally to help eliminate toxins and promote overall health. I have used it for a face mask, as a bath soak, and will occasionally put a teaspoon in my smoothie to help my body detox internally. As with the activated charcoal, make sure you drink water when using bentonite clay! Especially since this uses water to bind to the toxins. Also, make sure that if you get it to ingest, that the clay is a high grade.
So there you are m’dears! My favorite 5 amazingly easy ways to detox my body during a normal week. Living a non-toxic lifestyle is not just something you consider applying once in a while, but is truly a daily experience. If you want to live with your body working at its best, then you need to give it the best, while taking out the worst. Hope these easy options help you on your journey to healing!
Cheers!