PAULA OWENS {Nutritionist, Fitness & Fat Loss Expert}: 20 Detox Tips for Health, Vitality, Longevity & Fat Loss

The average American has 116 synthetic compounds in their body according to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention. We’re exposed to toxins from food additives and preservatives, the environment, smog and pollution, heavy metals, digestive distress, obesogens, non-organic foods, pesticides, xenoestrogens, chemicals and so much more.

Toxins are stored in fat cells. All toxins brought into your body have to be processed by your liver. The liver converts harmful chemicals into water-soluble molecules that are released when you eliminate (this is why it’s so important to have daily bowel movements). Toxic overload and a congested liver make it difficult to lose body fat and increase your risk of disease.

Look Great and Feel Better! Detox = Reduced Inflammation = Lower Body Fat plus diminished bloating and puffiness, healthier looking skin, alleviation from constipation, reduced aches and pains, improved sleep, increased energy, plus so much more!

Take the Detox Quiz --- Download the Detox Questionnaire.

20 Simple Detox Tips for a Hot ‘n Healthy Body

1. Consume an appropriate amount of clean, filtered water daily. Physiologically water works as a catalyst to most functions within your body. Water is important for eliminating toxins from your body. Adding the juice from a fresh lemon and/or lime to your water is supportive and beneficial as a natural detoxifier.

2. Stay away from anything called a diet, including hCG. Diets are a major stressor to your body that destroy your metabolism and create hormonal disruption, muscle loss, fat storage and added weight gain once you’re off the diet. Your body requires specific nutrients for the detox process to occur. Eating real food must become part of your lifestyle if you want to experience optimal health, vitality, longevity and permanent fat loss.

3. Go easy on the booze. Excessive alcohol consumption disrupts blood sugar and causes hormonal imbalances, dehydration, is estrogenic, toxic to the liver, stimulates appetite, and adds inches to your waist line giving you a pleasant looking muffin-top or spare tire.

4. Drink more organic green and white teas. In addition, some of my favorite teas especially beneficial for detoxing: Pau‘d Arco tea, Dandelion tea, and Yogi DeTox tea.

5. Eliminate vegetable oils, processed soy, refined sugars and soda pop (liquid sugar with chemicals), pasteurized dairy products, high-fructose corn syrup, wheat and gluten, table salt, artificial sweeteners and hydrogenated trans fats. These items are stressful to your body, creating disease and nutritional deficiencies, digestive dysfunction, excess inflammation and cortisol, increase toxic load and stimulate fat storing hormones which equals added body weight and risk of disease.

6. Opt for organic over commercially-raised, non-organic foods that are full of antibiotics, pesticides, chemicals, GMOs and xenoestrogens. Especially avoid farmed salmon and other contaminated frankenfish. Start with grass-fed beef and bison, free-range, pastured poultry and eggs. Reduce pesticide intake by avoiding the 12 most contaminated fruits and vegetables.

7. Minimize exposure to Electromagnetic fields (EMFs) Simple things you can do – remove all electrical devices including your cell phone from your sleeping area; avoid using electric blankets and electric heating pads; avoid using your laptop on your lap; avoid carrying your cell phone in your pocket or on your hip; stop using the microwave oven; switch out fluorescent light bulbs for incandescent bulbs. If you live near power lines, consider moving.

8. Eat smaller meals versus fasting for days on end. Always eat breakfast that includes an organic protein source. Individuals who consume a diet deficient in protein have trouble detoxifying environmental toxins/pollutants. Your brain chemistry is made from amino acids. Disrupted brain chemistry causes depression and anxiety versus feelings of calm, happiness and clear thinking.

9. Include a variety of leafy greens and plenty of non-starchy vegetables. Consuming fresh vegetables and leafy greens blended in a Vitamix or high-powered blender is phenomenal for boosting the detoxification process. And, it’s one of my favorite ways get more veggies and fiber in my diet. The chlorophyll from the leafy greens enhance detoxification.

10. Practice at least 2-5 minutes of deep, full diaphragmatic belly breathing daily. Deep breathing is the source of all energy in your body. It transforms your energy and releases endorphins that make us feel happy. Without sufficient oxygen, cells begin to die and energy cannot be sufficiently produced.

Benefits of Deep Breathing: Toxin elimination, less stress, increased energy, composed mind, improved mood, enhanced appearance and changes to your physiology on a cellular level.

Yogic breathing helps clear out carbon dioxide from the lung tissue, stimulates the organs of digestion and can, over time, retrain the diaphragm to move freely.

11. Don’t eat after 8pm. Evening is the time for your body to rest and detox, not digest food. Eating too close to bedtime can disrupt sleep, create digestive distress, inhibit production of growth hormone, and minimize the detoxification process.

12. Quality sleep. Keep a regular sleep schedule, going to bed and waking around the same time. Optimally, asleep by 10pm, awake by 6am. Your body repairs physically and psychologically at night during sleep. This is a time for your body to balance hormones, repair tissues and regenerate. If you're highly physical, more sleep may be needed.

13. Ditch the toxic products. Switch to more natural cleaning products such as white vinegar and baking soda. Use organic, non-toxic skin care products void of chemicals. Swap out your plastic storage containers and plastic water bottles for glass or other eco-friendly materials. Replace Teflon cookware with stainless steel or other eco-friendly cookware.

14. Detox your mind. Your thoughts are the most powerful way to maintain health and well-being and to heal your body. Turn off the news. Minimize time spent with energy vampires and negative people. Generate positive emotions and thoughts. This is key to detoxifying your mind. Practice positive affirmations daily. Write 5 things you are grateful for daily in your gratitude journal. I keep a gratitude rock next to my bed. At night before going to sleep, I hold my gratitude rock in my hand, and think of the best things that happened during my day, and say thank you. Express gratitude every day. Be Authentic!

15. Surround yourself with like-minded people. Form win-win relationships. Determine who is trustworthy and displays character traits of integrity, honesty and authenticity. Dissolve those relationships that no longer serve you in a positive light. Enjoy relationships that nourish your soul and make you feel good.

16. Keep a food journal. This is especially helpful during your detox. Research shows that people who journal what they eat tend to lose twice as many pounds and make healthier food choices.

17. Your Skin is a major organ of detoxification. Saunas, especially infrared saunas, accelerate the release of toxins. Dry Skin Brushing before you shower stimulates your lymphatic, immune and nervous systems, improves circulation, and allows for greater removal of toxins.

18. Practice yoga or qigong, bounce on a rebounder Rebounding on a mini trampoline is extremely beneficial for every cell and organ in your body. Doing so flushes the lymphatic system and boosts your immune system.

Different yoga poses, twists, legs up the wall and downward, help detox your body naturally. In addition to the physical detoxification, yoga also aids in mental detox as well.

19. Get Your Sweat On with your favorite exercise. Exercise is a natural form of detoxification. Brisk walking, sprints, my 10-5-5 workout, the Fat Loss Revolution 12-Week exercise program or any workout you enjoy that cleanses the body of toxins.

20. Reward yourself. Allow yourself time to rest without feeling guilty. Get your daily dose of sunshine (vitamin D). Indulge in a warm bath with Epsom salts and a relaxing essential oil such as lavender. Schedule a massage or sauna – both of these increase the effectiveness of detoxification by releasing toxins from your body. Listen to your gut (intuition) and give your body, mind and soul the love and support it needs.

Everyone can benefit from a detox!

Take the Detox Quiz --- Download the Detox Questionnaire. If you want to take your detox to the next level, check out my 10 Day Detox Program formulated by Dr. Abbas Qutab, M.D. The 10 Day Detox is a program designed to address the most common underlying causes of chronic health challenges.

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