How you feel is linked to your body’s ability to deal with toxins. Even given the best conditions, your body has plenty of work to do, digesting the fats, proteins and carbohydrates in your diet.

Add to that the impact of leading a stressful and/or sedentary life, ingesting food additives and breathing polluted air, and your body is taking in more toxins than it can expel.

A toxin is any substance that interferes with the body’s normal functioning, including metabolic waste, viruses, bacteria, solvents, heavy metals and synthetic chemicals. Simply put, “Toxins are anything that nature doesn’t grow,” says Clare Dickens of More Than Skin clinic.

Toxins cause disruption to all systems of the body, contributing to many diseases and affecting the way you look and feel. Symptoms of toxicity range from low energy levels to digestive problems. Unless you do something to eliminate toxins from your body, over time they will accumulate in the tissues until eventually something has to give.

The good news is you can make small, everyday changes that will dramatically improve your health and wellbeing by enhancing your body’s natural process 
of detoxification.

By minimising your intake of toxins and, at the same time, eliminating them externally through dietary modification, body treatments, exercise, rest and relaxation, you’ll be giving your body a great spring-clean.

NUTRITION

“To detox through diet, you need to first eliminate or minimise the supply of toxins that are having an effect on you and therefore causing symptoms of toxic overload,” recommends nutrition specialist Dr Libby Ellis.

The usual suspects are alcohol, caffeine, salt, sugar, wheat, red meat and fried, processed and pre-packaged foods. The liver, being the primary detoxification organ, is forced to go into overdrive to deal with these 
toxic substances.

“Listen to your body and be aware of any symptoms that occur after consuming a particular food or drink,” Dr Ellis says. “If a food causes discomfort in any way, it could possibly be toxic for your body and is best eliminated or minimised.”

A healthy diet is rich in lean protein; oily fish (salmon and sardines); avocado (a good source of essential fatty acids); whole grains; nuts and seeds; legumes; vegetable oils; organic seasonal fruits and vegetables (especially leafy green vegetables); herbs; herbal teas; and water.

The more colour in a food, the better, as this indicates it is rich in the antioxidants that enhance the detoxification process and counteract the hazardous free radicals that accelerate ageing and disease.

Foods such as beetroot, berries, broccoli, red grapes, garlic, spinach and carrot are particularly high in antioxidants.

It’s important to eat organic foods where possible, especially organic fruits and vegetables, as “we cannot see or smell pesticides but they are on most conventionally grown fruits and vegetables.

That is why they look so perfect,” Dr Ellis says. “Washing them with water is not enough. You need to use vinegar as well to break down some of the pesticides.”

BODY TREATMENTS

“One third of all body impurities are excreted through the skin, so it’s important to have regular body treatments that help eliminate toxins externally,” says natural medicine practitioner Debs Chase. These treatments further aid detoxification 
by putting your body and mind in a relaxed state.

Dry Body Brushing

A primary technique for detoxification through the skin, dry body brushing improves circulation, removes dead skin, reduces fluid retention and regenerates body tissue.

Dry body brushing should be carried out daily before you shower, to encourage optimal functioning of the lymphatic system. Using a brush with natural bristles, brush your skin in long, upward strokes towards the heart and the lymph nodes in the knees, groin and armpits.

Body Scrub

This exfoliates, polishes and purifies 
the surface of the skin by removing 
dead skin cells and debris, leaving your skin feeling soft and smooth. It also promotes circulation and stimulates the 
lymphatic system.

Lymphatic Drainage

The lymphatic system is designed to interact with the blood circulatory system to drain fluid from the body’s cells and tissues. It also produces lymphocytes (white blood cells), which protect the body against antigens such as viruses 
and bacteria.

As the lymphatic system has no pump, it relies on muscle contractions and can therefore benefit from the movements of exercise or lymphatic drainage massage.

Infrared Sauna

While a conventional sauna works by circulating hot air, an infrared sauna warms your body directly so that impurities can be expelled using lower, more comfortable temperatures. As your body temperature rises, your muscles, organs and blood circulation are stimulated and toxic waste is expelled through perspiration.

Massage

Not only calming and relaxing but also helpful for stimulating the lymphatic system, therefore loosening sedentary toxins under the surface of the skin.

Body Wrap

Infusing active ingredients into the body can help stimulate the lymphatic system, improve circulation and draw impurities to the surface of the skin, to be eliminated. In addition, “If the body is cocooned in warmth, through blankets or in a steam capsule, the detoxification process is enhanced as the heat encourages sweating,” says Dickens.

Baths

To promote detoxification, your body needs sulphur. Dr Ellis advises having a bath with Epsom salts, as the sulphur will be absorbed through your skin. Natural bath products containing seaweed extract are also recommended.

EXERCISE

“Breaking into a good sweat is the key element of eliminating toxins and chemicals from the body. Any form of exercise that is going to increase the heart rate, blood flow and body temperature significantly will also increase the amount of sweat that is produced and released from the body,” says Megan Crockett, owner of Functional Fitness & Training Solutions.

Though cardiovascular exercise is the key to getting the heart pumping and the body sweating, all forms of exercise are beneficial for mobilising the lymphatic system, rejuvenating the mind, eliminating stress and keeping illness 
at bay.

Yoga (especially Bikram yoga, which is done in a heated room to encourage perspiration), tai chi, swimming, aqua jogging and pool training are also great ways to relieve stressed muscles and joints while elevating your heart rate.

Dr Ellis recommends “lymphacising”, or jumping on a mini-trampoline according to a series of specialised exercises. She says it is an effective way to mobilise the lymphatic system and can make a difference to cellulite, which is essentially a build-up of toxins in the fatty tissue below the surface of the skin.

THE PROCESS

While undergoing detoxification and after a treatment, it’s important to drink plenty of water to help flush the toxins from your body, and to get plenty of rest.

Common side effects of detoxification range from headaches to digestive upsets and irritability. Check with a qualified healthcare practitioner before starting any detoxification program.

Most people find the long-term benefits of cleansing the body well worth the short-term discomfort. These benefits include greater overall health, more energy and vitality and improved skin.