How To Cleanse And Detoxify Your Body by Dr. Shafqat
Detoxification, or commonly referred to as detox, is a process of removing harmful substances from your body. Limiting the junk that enters your body and ridding it from toxins is a very common practice among the healthiest people.
Detoxifying is very important if you are to keep your body in a healthy and optimal state. Our body undergoes the processes of digestion, absorption, and assimilation every eight hours after our last meal. After that, it enters a detoxification mode – a crucial function we often don’t think about. Typically, your body needs approximately four hours to cleanse and detoxify itself from the waste materials of the normal metabolic process – this is without considering the intake of the toxic overload of modern life. But the majority of the people don’t fast every day for 12 hours after every meal: 8 hours for complete food processing and another 4 hours for detoxification. Hence, the idea of personally detoxifying your body from time to time is essential.
This article will highlight the four most crucial steps that can help you properly detoxify your body and restore the balance. There is an abundance of information regarding body detox on the internet, which can be quite confusing sometimes. The key is to follow and adopt safe tactics in your endeavor to detoxify your body. The last thing you want is to end up causing more trouble for your body.
1. Limit Alcohol Use
Your liver metabolizes more than 90% of the alcohol [1]. The byproduct of alcohol breakdown is acetaldehyde – a potentially cancer-causing substance [2] [3]. Acetaldehyde is recognized as a toxin by your body. Excessive drinking can severely disrupt your liver function – this ultimately leads to a myriad of health problems.
2. Consume More Water
Apart from quenching your thirst, water does wonders for health. Water plays a vital role in removing waste products from your body; it also helps your body regulate temperature, absorb nutrients, aid in digestion, and lubricate joints. Continuous metabolic processes in your body produce wastes in the form of carbon dioxide and urea – which can be harmful to your body if not removed from the bloodstream. Water helps in transporting these toxic byproducts and efficiently removing them via urination, sweating, and breathing. Hence, staying hydrated is a crucial step in detoxification.
3. Antioxidant-Rich Foods
Antioxidants protect your body against the damage caused by free radicals. It helps to reduce oxidative stress and limit the harmful effects of free radicals. A diet rich in antioxidants can drastically improve your health and enable your body to overcome oxidative stress due to free radicals and harmful toxins in your body. Vitamin A, C, E, selenium, lutein, and lycopene are significant antioxidants. Foods like berries, nuts, vegetables, coffee, and green tea have the highest antioxidants.
4. Proper Sleep
Adequate and quality sleep is a must for optimal health. It boosts the natural detoxification system of your body. Sleep allows your brain to rejuvenate and recharge itself, and remove toxic waste substances that have accumulated throughout the day [4] [5]. Beta-amyloid is among those harmful byproducts; it can contribute to the development of Alzheimer’s disease [6] [7].
You are frequently exposed to harmful and toxic substances from your surroundings and food. However, your body is more than capable of getting rid of them, most of the time. You can help your body’s detoxification system by staying hydrated, exercising, and eating an antioxidant-rich diet. A proper body detox will not only help you enhance your physical health, but you will also enjoy quality sleep and improved concentration level.
By: DR. HAMAD SHAFQAT
