Everyday Detox: 10 Foods to Cleanse Your Body
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The idea of detoxing can carry some pretty negative connotations, and for good reason. The word “detox” probably brings to mind some incredibly restrictive diet or juice cleanse that leaves you feeling hangry and weak. You’ve likely seen advertisements for expensive colorful juices from companies that claim they will rid your body of toxins. You may have even dabbled at a miserable few days spent fasting on cayenne-lemon-water. (Yeah, I’ve been there—it’s miserable.)
While you may have heard that the occasional “detox diet” is necessary to rid the body of toxins, the truth is your body is naturally equipped and super qualified to detoxify itself. Your liver, kidneys, digestive system, and lungs all work hard to filter and excrete toxins from your body every day.
So why do we need information about detoxing? Well, sometimes the body can use a little extra help getting rid of the toxins that inevitably accumulate, particularly if you haven’t been living a very healthy lifestyle or haven’t been feeling your best lately. But rather than detoxing with a restrictive (and miserable) diet once or twice a year, we should be thinking about how we can live a healthier lifestyle every day to reduce our accumulation of toxins.
The best way to improve your detoxification system isn’t by doing a juice cleanse, it’s by making healthy choices with your diet and lifestyle on a daily basis.
There are foods that you can eat (or avoid) to keep your organs healthy and strong and enhance your body’s natural detoxification pathways. Rather than approaching detoxification with a quick-fix mindset, we should be looking at how we can support our body’s natural processes and improve our health in a sustainable, long term way.
So where do these toxins come from?
Outdoor air. Car exhaust, cigarette smoke, industrial emissions, and forest fire smoke (7).
Indoor air. Chemicals found in furniture, carpets, dry cleaning, and construction materials. Also from mold and cigarette smoke (14).
Food. Pesticides, heavy metals (i.e. mercury, lead, arsenic), and alcohol (14).
Drinking water. Tap water contaminated by heavy metals, chemicals, pesticides, and herbicides (14).
Household products. Cleaning products, plastic food containers, fertilizers, weed killers, and insecticides (14).
Beauty products. Deodorant, makeup, skincare and hair products (14).
Internal toxins. Waste products that occur in the body during natural metabolism (i.e. lactic acid and urea) (14).
How does the body process toxins?
Liver. Breaks down waste byproducts from normal metabolism to be filtered out by the kidneys. Helps the body eliminate chemicals, alcohol, drugs, heavy metals, bacteria, cholesterol, and excess hormones (14).
Kidneys. Filter out waste and chemicals and regulate fluid balance, electrolytes, and body pH (14).
Digestive tract. Removes toxins from the body through bowel movements (14).
Lymphatic system. Works together with the immune system to remove waste, toxins, pathogens, and other harmful cells (11).
Respiratory system. The nose and lungs provide a protective barrier from toxins and particles and exhale CO2 (14).
Skin. Offers a protective barrier for the body and excretes toxins through sweat (14).
Here are some steps that you can take to help your body naturally remove toxins every day.
10 Foods to Support Detoxification
Matcha green tea
Matcha’s detoxification abilities come from its high levels of chlorophyll. Chlorophyll is considered a blood purifier that can help to clear pollutants from the body by binding to toxins and increasing their excretion in the stool (17).
Matcha green tea has particularly high levels of chlorophyll because of how it is grown. It comes from the same Camellia sinensis plant as regular green tea, but it is shaded from sunlight in the last 20 to 30 days before harvest, which turns the leaves a darker shade of green and increases the plant’s chlorophyll levels (5).
Spinach
Spinach is also high in chlorophyll, which gives it a high rate of toxin excretion (17).
However, spinach is currently rated number 2 in the Environmental Working Group’s “Dirty Dozen” list of produce with the highest levels of residual pesticides (8). Therefore, it’s a good idea to consume organic spinach for detoxification.
Spirulina & chlorella
Spirulina and chlorella are types of algae that are typically consumed in powdered form and help to support detoxification (4). They are both high in chlorophyll, helping to remove toxins and heavy metals from the body (15).
Spirulina and chlorella are also high in antioxidants, which help to fight free radicals and prevent damage to your body cells and tissues (4).
Cabbage
Cabbage is part of the cruciferous vegetable family, along with kale, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, bok choy, and collard greens. Cruciferous veggies contain phytochemicals that can enhance your detoxification system (9).
One of these phytochemicals is sulforaphane, which improves detoxification and liver function (9).
Cabbage also contains glutathione, a protein that plays an important role in detoxification. Glutathione helps to remove fat-soluble toxins from the body (i.e. heavy metals, solvents, and pesticides) by transforming them into a water-soluble form so they can be excreted via the kidneys (12).
Fresh fruit
Many types of fruit are excellent sources of fiber. Not only does fiber help to encourage regular bowel movements and improve the digestive system, it also binds to toxins and eliminates them along with your waste (1).
Blueberries are high in fiber, anti-inflammatory, and very high in protective antioxidants (12).
Apples are great sources of pectin, a type of fiber that binds to cholesterol and heavy metals in the body, helping to eliminate toxins and cleanse the intestines (6).
Pineapple contains high amounts of bromelain, an enzyme that improves digestion and reduces inflammation (12).
Avocado
A great source of glutathione, avocados help the liver to detoxify chemicals (6, 18).
Avocados have also been found to reduce liver damage caused by toxins (2, 18).
Avocados are high in soluble fiber, which will help to improve your digestive health and elimination.
Beets
Beets are known as a blood cleanser because they produce nitric acid, which helps increase blood flow throughout the body (18).
Beets and beet juice also contain betaine, a compound that supports liver function and improves the elimination of toxins (1, 18).
Sauerkraut
With sauerkraut, you not only get the above mentioned benefits of cabbage, but also a hearty dose of probiotics. These healthy bacteria will help to improve your digestive health, elimination, and immune system (1).
Lemons
Lemons may have a protective effect on the liver and help to improve liver function (16, 20).
Plus they are high in vitamin C, helping to fight free radicals and boost the immune system (13).
Water with lemon is a tasty way to stay hydrated, which will also help to improve your detoxification through improved digestion and excretion of waste products (see “Stay hydrated” below).
Turmeric
This delightful yellow spice helps to detoxify the liver by increasing bile production in the gallbladder, which the liver uses to eliminate toxins (18).
Turmeric is high in curcumin, which is anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial and has been used effectively in the treatment of many disorders, including those of the kidneys, liver, and digestive system (10).
Lifestyle support for detoxification
Sleep
Making sure you get enough high quality sleep is very important for detoxification. When you sleep, your body is given the opportunity to remove toxic waste byproducts that have accumulated throughout the day (19).
Stay hydrated
Water is really important for detoxing because it transports waste products from your body through your urine, sweat, and breath (19).
Water with lemon first thing in the morning is a great way to kickstart your body’s digestion, hydration, and detoxification (see the benefits of lemon above).
Reduce salt intake
High salt intake can cause your body to retain excess water, especially if you don’t consume much water throughout the day. In this situation, the best way to shed excess water weight is to decrease your salt intake and increase your water consumption. This will cause your body to increase urination, eliminating water and waste products along with it (19).
Stay active
Exercise reduces inflammation, which can help your body systems to operate more smoothly and protect against diseases.
Regular exercise also has a positive effect on your lymphatic system; it has been found to increase the body’s circulation of lymph, helping to remove toxins more effectively (3, 17).
Switch to natural cleaning and beauty products
Choosing natural cleaning products (i.e. baking soda and vinegar) and natural personal care products can help to reduce your exposure to chemicals over time.
Substances to limit
Alcohol
Excessive drinking can seriously damage your liver and render it unable to complete its necessary tasks of filtering waste and removing harmful toxins. Limiting or abstaining from alcohol is a straightforward way to keep your detoxification system running smoothly (19).
Sugar & processed foods
High intake of processed foods and sugar is linked to a number of chronic diseases, including obesity, heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. These conditions can harm the organs crucial to detoxification, such as the liver and kidneys (19).
Also, eliminating processed foods from the diet will increase the number of whole foods you eat, which will in turn increase your intake of antioxidants, fiber, vitamins, minerals, and other compounds that benefit detoxification.
References
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American Chemical Society. (2000). Avocados contain potent liver protectants. ScienceDaily. Relieved from: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2000/12/001219074822.htm
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EPA. (n.d.). Hazardous air pollutants: Sources and exposure. Retrieved from: https://www.epa.gov/haps/hazardous-air-pollutants-sources-and-exposure
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