Chances are, you give your home a good clean-up every now and again. But do you remember the last time you helped your body take out all the toxins inside? From the pollution that we’re exposed to outside to the junk food that we treat ourselves to, our bodies are filled with countless toxins that must be flushed out by detoxing.
Contrary to popular belief, the goal of a detox is not to lose weight — though, it’s an added bonus. The art of detoxing actually improves our overall health, and therefore restores our mind and body. It’s important to note, though, that there is no one-size-fits-all approach. That being said, we’ve rounded up some of the best ways to detoxify your body.
Lemon Water Detox
Chances are, you’ve probably heard of the ‘master cleanse’ where all you drink is a mix of water, lemon, maple syrup, and cayenne powder for 10 days. Fortunately, you don’t have to put your body through that in order to detox, as a simple glass of lemon water will do the trick. True enough, PopSugar’s feature on lemon water highlights its myriad of detoxifying benefits, such as producing collagen, boosting your immune system, and regenerating glutathione — a potent antioxidant.
But of course, proper preparation is essential when it comes to a lemon water detox. The key is to add a sliced lemon (with peel) to about 0.3 litres of warm water. Plus, it’s best to drink lemon water first thing in the morning to hydrate yourself and replenish the water you lost overnight.
Green Tea Detox
We’ve previously covered on our ‘From Drinks to Fine Art: Our Love Affair With Tea’ post that tea is a staple of British culture, which, fortunately, works in our favour. This is because green tea works as a powerhouse detox ingredient, as it’s filled with polyphenols. These are micronutrients that help support the liver’s (the body’s major detox organ) detoxification process. In fact, a study published in the Journal of Translational Internal Medicine found that polyphenols can even treat non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.
You can take this a step further by looking into detoxifying products with green tea as one of its main ingredients. Case in point: In Pretty Me’s Lean N Green Coffee review, Sheena Dizon notes how green tea’s benefits are enriched by those of green coffee beans and psyllium fibre husk. The former is packed with antioxidants that protect your harmful free radicals, while the latter helps boost the digestive system. Overall, if you’re looking to honour your body, then green tea is a lovely natural ingredient that you should incorporate into your regular diet.
Digital Detox
Did you know that the Guardian reported that the average Briton approximately spends 24 hours online each week? While there’s no denying that our lives practically revolve around technology, it’s vital to take a step back and disconnect. From experiencing eye strain to dealing with mental health struggles like anxiety and depression, too much tech exposure can take a serious toll on both your physical and mental health.
To this end, you should consider doing a digital detox. To make meaningful changes with your mobile usage, you can set a time limit on apps that you frequently use or try minimising the notifications you receive. A pro-tip? Former Google project manager Tristan Harris reveals that converting your mobile to a greyscale filter will make it less addicting. And for your other devices like your computer and telly, adopt the ‘Single-Screen-Rule’. As explained by Thrive Global, this entails only using a one device at a time, as it allows to you really concentrate on your task, while alleviating any feeling of anxiety caused by too much time online.
