4 Science-Backed Habits That Can Help Your Body Detox
The January “detox” is a well-established part of end-of-year traditions, almost as strongly ingrained as the festive excess that first inspires them. Each year, many people will consume bland meal replacements, fast for hours a day, or just cut their snacking down to a more government-approved level.
But as wellness recommendations pour into our feeds and flood our screens, it can be hard to remember the health basics behind fad diets and get-fit-quick schemes.
Here are a few quick reminders around detoxing.
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1. Your Body Isn’t Actually Full Of Toxins
While eating 5 to 7 chocolate Santas in the days after Christmas might make you feel as if your body has been poisoned, it’s important to remember that actual toxins are naturally occurring poisons, like snake venom or nerve agents made by bacteria.
Language is important here. The term “detox” equates substances that can actually kill you in minor doses to unhealthy but very survivable lifestyle habits, all in the aim of motivating people to get on board with the latest health trend. Stepping back and appreciating that your body knows how to stay well, and that a “detox” is about helping it naturally reset to a healthy baseline, is an important first step.
2. Fiber Is Your Friend
There are very few countries where people are getting enough fiber in their diet. Just 3 percent of American men and 10 percent of American women are thought to reach their recommended fiber consumption, according to a study in Frontiers in Nutrition. Fiber can help reduce inflammation, protect our kidneys and liver, and cut the risk of diabetes and colon cancer.
According to a study in Nature, Fiber makes our poo softer and easier to pass, which helps flush cholesterol from the body. Extra fiber may even help the body eliminate human-made “forever chemicals,” which can harm our health, although this research is still in an early stage, according to a study in Environmental Health.
Eating foods like fruit, lentils, and whole-wheat bread, all of which are packed with fiber, will help your body clear itself out.
3. Water Helps Wash Our Waste
Our liver and kidneys are the body’s waste-disposal system, and any interventions that can power these organs will help the body cleanse itself. If you are dehydrated, your kidneys don’t work as well.
According to a study in JAMA Network Open, drinking enough water can help them function at tip-top and may even reduce the risk of complications like kidney stones. Remember, the advice to drink 2 liters of water a day is outdated. Instead, try to hit 1.5 to1.8 liters a day — including fluids from tea, coffee, milk, and other drinks. Drinking alcohol, in addition to the myriad other ways it damages our health, dehydrates us, so cutting down on booze can give us a further hydration boost.
4. Better Sleep, Clearer Mind
A study in Brain Science suggests that the glymphatic system — a network of channels between our brain cells — fires up when we sleep, quite literally clearing our heads of excess waste. This science proposes that cerebrospinal fluid — a liquid that fills up hollow chambers in our brain called ventricles — is pumped through this system to wash away waste products.
If our sleep is shorter or frequently disrupted, this built-in brain cleanse works less well and might impact our cognition the next day. Long-term poor sleep is linked to a host of diseases and poor health outcomes, according to research from the NIH. Once again, excessive alcohol consumption plays a role—drinking too much messes up our sleep patterns, so cutting down can help you rest more easily.
This article is not offering medical advice and should be used for informational purposes only.
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