To Detox or Not to Detox, That is the Question for This Time of the Year

Why Are Post-Holiday Detox Plans So Popular?

The answer to that is fairly evident…most of us over-indulge with those once-a-year-holiday-favorites. Sadly those wonderful treats are usually laden with more sugar, fat, salt, and carbohydrates than our bodies can handle. Thus the post-holiday pounds follow, along with lower energy levels. This is when people start to look for a quick fix, often treating a detox like a crash diet.

Crash diets are not a good solution to long lasting weight loss. Though you may lose a few pounds quickly, you are lowering your metabolism at the same time and setting yourself up to regain the weight you lost. Therefore treating a detox as a way to quickly lose a few pounds is also not the healthiest move.

This is one of the reasons the topic of detoxing has been called into question in recent years. Some proponents have mislabeled, misled and encouraged misuse of detoxification plans. However, properly used, a detox can be a good first step in cleaning up some unhealthy eating patterns, it can assist in identifying food sensitivities, it can improve liver function, and it can remove toxins from the body.

Another point about post-holiday detoxes is that winter is really not a good time to begin a detoxification program. Consider our ancestor's seasonal eating patterns, winter was a time of warming foods. During winter the body has to work at keeping warm, therefore cooked and traditionally preserved foods are eaten as a ready source of fuel. During Spring our bodies don't have this need. This is also the time of year when bitter greens, which are excellent detoxifiers, begin to grow.

What is a Detox Plan?

Detox plans can vary from simply eating a cleaner more plant-based diet to a chelation to clear heavy metals from the system. The latter should only be conducted following tests with findings of high levels of lead or mercury and under professional supervision (Look under resources for additional information). Between these two extremes there are liquid fasts, raw food plans, along with teas, herbs, and supplements. The goals of these plans are generally the same; to purge the body of toxins.

The body has several ways to rid its self of toxins:

·         The respiratory system

·         The digestive system

·         The lymphatic system

·         The excretory system

The urinary system

The skin and body membranes

The endocrine system is also indirectly involved as the endocrine cells throughout the digestive tract are involved in the entire digestive process.

Over the next week I will cover important information on each system, help you identify whether any of your detoxification systems are suffering, and will identify strategies for improving your body's detoxification systems.