How To Do A Body Cleanse

Give yourself a thorough spring-cleaning, and maybe even lose weight, with our handy detox guide.

- Vera Tweed

It’s no secret that we’re exposed to hundreds of chemicals in today’s environment, but we can reduce their impact in two important ways. “We can improve the body’s ability to get rid of these chemicals, and we can limit the amount of chemicals we are exposed to,” says Gaetano Morello, ND, a naturopathic physician based in Vancouver, B.C., Canada, who has developed an effective detoxification and cleansing program that most healthy people can do at home.

Limiting exposure is an ongoing process that includes eating organic food, drinking pure water, using non-toxic skin care and household cleaning products, avoiding chemical air fresheners, and eliminating other controllable sources of harmful chemicals, such as pesticides or herbicides in the yard.

On the other side of the coin, there are various ways to improve our ability to eliminate toxins, including daily juicing, supplements that enhance our natural detoxification processes, and occasional cleansing and detox programs, which could last a day, a few days, or about a week. Fasting, as in consuming nothing but water for extended periods, is not recommended.

How to Do a Body Detox at Home

“Detoxification has two phases,” says Morello. In simple terms, phase 1 dislodges toxins and phase 2 eliminates them. Toxins that are dislodged but not eliminated from the body will recycle, causing unpleasant side effects such as fatigue, achiness, moodiness, or a general feeling of being unwell. However, the right nutritional support can help control the process, getting rid of toxins efficiently without misery.