I get so many questions about detoxing. There are a million products on the market claiming to be a quick fix to reset your health. I don’t buy it- literally or figuratively. Luckily, there are some really simple steps you can take to cleanse or detox your body from the various toxins in our environment.

What to do:

1. Clean up your skincare, hair and body products! Many body and hair care products include petroleum derivatives from crude oil. Yikes! Learn to read ingredient list and avoid parabins (linked to tumors and endocrine issues), polysorbates, mineral oil, PEGs. The simplest rule I follow is if it’s not something I’d eat, it probably doesn’t belong on my skin.
2. While we’re on the body product subject, use DEODORANT, not antiperspirant! Your body naturally releases toxins through sweat and that’s an important process. Blocking your body’s ability to sweat is a really bad idea. Again, go natural here. You may have a period of not smelling so great when you switch to natural deodorant because your body is adjusting. Stay the course. This is a really important one. I use a great one by a lovely local New Orleans company Oxalis: https://www.oxalisapothecary.com/collections/deodorant .
3. Use a tongue scraper. It’s a U-shaped utensil that comes out of Aryuvedic health practices. They come in metal and plastic but metal is preferred. Using a tongue scraper after brushing in the morning and evening has been shown to remove bacteria improving your overall dental, tongue and mouth health and improving digestion.
4. You gotta move, babe! Regular movement is key to good circulation, lymphatic flow, and healthy digestion. If you wear a Fitbit, get up and do those steps every hour. If you don’t, consider setting an alarm on your phone at regular intervals. Our culture has become too sedentary and it’s killing us.
5. Water. You’re probably not drinking enough. There’s so much contradicting advice out there on exactly how much but one really easy way to kick start the habit is to drink 16 ounces right after you get up…Before your coffee. The current National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine recommendation is at least 11.5 cups for women (92 ounces) and 15.5 cups for men (124 ounces).
6. Shop the perimeters of stores or better yet, shop farmers markets. Processed food is full of all kinds of lab engineered stuff that your body doesn’t even recognize as food and it wreaks all kinds of havoc on your insides. Grocery stores generally place the produce, and the animal products around the perimeters of the store and the interior aisles house the more processed foods. An even better hack is to shop directly from farmers at farmers markets or sign up for a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) box which is basically a membership to a farm where you get weekly produce boxes. Some farms have add-ons for meat, eggs, and dairy if that’s your jam. Try this site to find one near you: https://www.localharvest.org/csa/

Keep it Simple:

“Nature is pleased with simplicity and nature is no dummy.”

-Issac Newton