Detoxing Made Simple + 8 Day Detox Guide

The human body is comprised of incredible organs designed for detoxification, better than anything we could ever dream up.

So Why Detox?

Our bodies take quite a beating each second of each day, fending off free radicals, environmental toxins, food additives, pesticides, air pollution, heavy metals, radiation…honestly, the list is endless. In general, our bodies are able to cope with such assaults in truly amazing ways, but repeated exposures lead to bioaccumulation of toxins in our tissues. By changing over to healthier products and minimally contaminated food sources and periodically undergoing a detox program, you can help these amazing detoxifiers (especially the liver, kidneys, and intestines) continue to do what they do best!

A pre-pregnancy detox is especially important for future Mamas, because those growing little babes are susceptible to a lot of these toxins. Plus, toxins contribute to many diseases, either directly or indirectly, including fertility issues. But there’s good news, Mamas- we can help prevent this through some simple everyday changes + periodic detoxing (note to all future Mamas– wait at least 3 months before conceiving after completing a detox program to be sure any toxins released during your program have been expelled from the body).

Simple Steps to an Every Day Detox

One of the most important aspects of detoxing is finding where we are coming into contact with toxins in our every day lives and changing our habits or the products we use to reduce or completely eliminate toxic exposures. 

For instance, common environmental sources include laundry detergents, air fresheners, home cleaners, perfume/cologne, and makeup. In order to reduce toxin exposure, switch to eco-friendly cleaning products (we love Shaklee’s Get Clean line- everything from laundry detergent to a scouring cleanser for ovens!). You can replace air fresheners with an essential oil diffuser, and chemically laden perfumes for ones made solely from essential oils. For makeup, switch to a brand that is committed to keeping dangerous chemicals out of its products like Jane Iredale and always choose lotion and face products that are eco friendly and non-toxic.

Another common source of toxins is though our food, such as conventionally grown fruits and vegetables, processed foods with additives and food coloring, meat, rice, fish, and alcohol. Avoid or lower toxin exposure through food with the following changes:

• Switch over to organic fruits and veggies when the budget allows, and always buy any items on the Dirty Dozen Plus list organic, since these tend to absorb more pesticides than other fruits and veggies. Stick to whole foods as much as possible.
• If you’re indulging in processed food, avoid additives and food coloring (like yellow 5, red 40, and blue 1)
• Limit consumption of large and farm raised fish (tuna, king mackerel, swordfish, shark, grouper, marlin, orange roughy, halibut, sea bass) and rice, which can contain mercury and other heavy metals.
• When eating meat, choose grass fed, pasture raised beef and pasture raised chicken. Choose the same for dairy and eggs, too.
• Rinse rice three times with filtered water prior to cooking to reduce inorganic arsenic exposure.
• Follow the CDC guidelines for moderate alcohol consumption (1 drink per day for women and 2 drinks for men- and of course 0 for pregnant Mamas!).

There are some toxic exposures we can minimize and others we can’t. To help your body better handle the exposures we don’t have as much control over, doing a periodic (think once every few months) detox that focuses on high quality micronutrient rich food is a great way to give your body some extra support. Download your complete 8 Day Detox Plan + keep us posted on Instagram with #mamastepsdetox!