5 Reasons to Start a Gentle Detox

If you’ve read my posts before, you know that I am not a big fan of extreme dieting or restrictive eating. Having a healthy relationship with food is important to me. But with so many environmental toxins in our world these days and with digestive and chronic illnesses on the rise, I wanted to take a moment to talk about 5 Reasons to Start a Gentle Detox.

Now I’m not talking about some crazy detox that involves restricting calories, drinking only sweetened “lemonade,” or 10 enemas a day. Our bodies do not respond very well to this extreme kind of cleansing, and it usually does more harm then good. Disrupted metabolism and increased weight gain often result. These “miracle” cleanses don’t take into consideration that proper and healthy cleansing does not happen overnight ( or in just 3 days.)

What I am talking about is gentle, nourishing cleansing that leaves the body refreshed, re-energized, and clean. Starting a simple detox program can be an awesome way to kick start your health goals and to feel revitalized. Sound pretty good, huh?

Now let’s take a look at 5 Reasons to Start a Gentle Detox:

#1 Environmental Pollutants are on the rise:

We live in a much more toxic world than in years past. Our produce is laden with pesticides and herbicides. Processed foods are full of preservatives. Our drinking water has fluoride and chlorine in it. Commercial make up and body products are loaded with harmful chemicals. Our furniture and mattresses are sprayed with harmful fire retardants. And let’s not even get into the discussion of GMO foods. Need I say more?

Mary Vance, in her book 3 Weeks to Vitality states:

“We are exposed to thousands of toxic chemicals, heavy metals and other poisons from our air, water and food supply. A recent study showed that 100 percent of human fat cell biopsies show elevated levels of known toxins. These include toxins in your home and environment from the paint on your walls, the fumes from the gasoline you put in your car, the cleaner you use on your carpet, and the chemicals on your clothing from the dry cleaner, for example. Add to that the ever-growing list of toxins we consume, including artificial sweeteners, MSG, caffeine, medications, alcohol, corn syrup, hydrogenated fats, and nicotine. Fast food consumption is at an all-time high, and we abuse our bodies with Venti-sized stimulants in the mornings and sedatives (from wine to sleeping pills) at night.”

#2 Detoxing can help you shake those sugar and carb cravings:

Give your body a break by feeding it only healthy, whole foods to nourish and to heal. The body has a natural intelligence that will take over if you stop feeding it the things that you know are not beneficial. After a gentle detox, your body will crave healthy foods because it knows what it needs.

#3 Detoxing can help improve your digestion:

Toxin build up in the body can lead to constipation, digestive upset, bloating, heart burn, and food sensitivities/allergies. Gentle cleansing can help the body to better assimilate essential nutrients, lightens the toxic load on the body so all body functions work more efficiently, and improves elimination. Having your elimination system working properly is crucial to a healthy body.

#4 Detoxing can improve the look and feel of your skin:

Your skin is the biggest organ in your body. Our skin protects us from the outside world, helps regulate body temperature, and allows us to feel sensations of cold, warmth, pain and pleasure. It also excretes toxins. With a build up of toxins in the body, you will see more rashes, blemishes, acne, and generalized dull skin. Give yourself the gift of healthy, clean glowing skin by gently detoxing and allowing your natural beauty to shine.

#5 Your liver will thank you:

The liver has the daunting task of detoxifying every thing you put in and on your body. It works over-time most of the time. And there is a limit to how much toxins the liver can handle. It will reach a threshold. Mary Vance also says that:

“when this threshold is exceeded due to stress, poor diet, alcohol, tobacco, over the counter drugs and antacids, and exposure to household and environmental chemicals, toxins build up in the body and cause symptoms such as weight gain, fatigue, headache, irritability, anxiety, constipation, heartburn, PMS, infertility, and insomnia.”

Check out this post on signs of poor liver detox.

So give your liver a break. Let it go on holiday. So it can be refreshed and resume it’s job of keeping your temple clean.

Ok, now that you are on board, remember that I warned you against any crazy “miracle” cleanses. It has never made sense to me to completely strip your body in order to heal. So what do I recommend? Finding a holistic, whole foods-based cleanse that nourishes while it heals. This is the one that I recommend:

21 days to Vitality by Mary Vance, Certified Nutrition Consultant

This is an awesome program. It’s a 21-day simple, whole-foods based detox program to help you regain your health, lose weight (if that’s your goal), dump the junk from your diet, break sugar & carb cravings, gain energy, sleep better, get clear skin, and be the best version of yourself. This is a program designed by a certified nutrition consultant. There is no fasting or funny stuff– just good, clean whole foods. I’m a big fan of Mary’s blog and am excited to share this program with you all.

Does this sound like you?

Overweight or having trouble losing those last 5, 10, 20 pounds?
Fatigued, brain fog, 3pm energy crash?
Can’t drag yourself out of bed, much less through the day?
Bloated, gassy, heartburn, indigestion, constipation, been recently diagnosed with IBS or Crohn’s disease?
Suffer with anxiety or depression?
PMS or menopausal symptoms?
Acne or skin rashes?
High cholesterol?
Joint or muscle pain?
Headaches or migraines?
Insomnia?
Inflammation
Autoimmune disease?

What You Get:

immediate access to the 3 Weeks to Vitality manual AND Bonus guide, over 100 pages of nutrition & wellness resources, recipes, tips and information
easy to follow 21 day whole foods-based detox plan with directions and guidelines for each week
complete list of foods to avoid and why
plenty of info on what foods to include to enhance your experience
shopping list & diet journal template
meal plans
recipes
lifestyle tips and info on how to detox your environment for a healthy home
how to transition off the detox and into a maintenance plan for life
resources & products recommendations
FAQ
tons of nutrition education