Detox diets have taken off in the past few years, lauded for their efficiency at cleansing your body of dangerous toxins and helping you quickly lose weight. However, while they can certainly change the numbers on your scale in a matter of weeks, there simply isn’t enough evidence that they eliminate toxins or provide any health benefits whatsoever.
What does rid your body of environmental and other toxins are your kidneys and liver. Fortunately, these organs are pretty good at their jobs most of the time. If you think you need to give them a little boost, there are plenty of healthier ways to detox than by following restrictive diets that give mediocre results at best.
Take a look at a few steps you can take to alleviate the burden from your kidneys and liver and cleanse your body.
1. Be selective about what you put into your body
You are what you eat — there’s no going around it. If you continually eat unhealthy foods, you will eventually be unhealthy yourself.
To detox, improve your kidney and liver performance, and maintain your overall health, you need to eat diets rich in protein, healthy fats, fiber, micro-, and macronutrients. You can enrich your diet with beneficial supplements that improve your nutrient intake and take care of your vital organs. Still, you’ll need to focus on a varied, nutrient-rich diet first and foremost.
2. Avoid alcohol at all costs
Moderate alcohol consumption can be surprisingly beneficial. Studies have shown that infrequently drinking small amounts of alcohol can reduce the risks of cardiovascular disease, stroke, and even diabetes. However, the risks far outweigh the benefits, especially since everyone defines “moderate” consumption differently.
To stay on the safe side, it’s generally a good idea to avoid alcohol at all costs, if possible. Your liver metabolizes over 90% of the alcohol you consume. It first transforms alcohol into acetaldehyde (a dangerous, cancer-causing chemical), then acetaldehyde into the harmless acetate.
However, if your liver is overloaded with alcohol, it will stop functioning correctly, making it unable to filter toxins from your body.
3. Make sure that you get enough sleep
Sleep is more important for helping your body detox itself than it first appears. A good night’s sleep can boost your body’s natural defenses and enhance your detox systems.
While you’re catching some Zs, your brain and body are recharging themselves, healing, and rejuvenating. Your body uses the opportunity to focus on eliminating waste byproducts and cleanse itself of toxins accumulated throughout the day.
4. Get moving
Whether you like it or not, physical activity is the key to enhancing your natural detox systems. Sweating is one of the ways that you eliminate toxins, but it’s not enough to just hit the sauna.
You need to get moving.
Regular exercise improves virtually all bodily functions and processes, reducing your risks of diseases like diabetes, high blood pressure, even some cancers.
Final thoughts
There isn’t a shortcut to detoxing your body. You need a proper diet, regular exercise, plenty of sleep, and healthy drinking habits –that’s how you improve kidney and liver function and boost your body’s natural detox systems.