Did you know that your body has numerous ways of getting rid of junk?
From the deadly to the irritating, your body has 7 major ways to dump toxins.
Here’s the quick list:
- Lungs: keep ’em clean! No smoking! Each time you breath out, your lungs release toxins. And the simple act of breathing pumps up the lymphatic flow. If your lungs are clogged, by smoke or from allergies or colds, this path of elimination is hampered. Turmeric and mullein are said to lower lung inflammation. Drinking pineapple juice helps with bronchial decongestion.
- Lymphatic System: An often-overlooked part of the body, the lymph system is integral to immune processing and body cleansing. In concert with your blood and circulatory system, it transports wastes and toxins from your cells, carrying them to your other organs of elimination (kidneys, lungs, skin, bowels, liver). Green tea and spirulina are great helpers.
- Blood: Good circulation and healthy production of new red and white blood cells is crucial to health. Get your heart pumping with regular walks and yoga. This will get blood to all parts of your body where it will pick up and remove toxins and wastes to be removed by your kidneys, lungs, skin, bowels and liver. Take red clover as a helper.
- Skin: Surprisingly, the skin does 30 percent of the work of elimination! Sweating actualy gets rid of more wastes and toxins than the kidneys and colon combined. Therefore, you must take very good care of your skin and provide it with opportunities to do its job. (The fine print says EXERCISE!). Red clover, again, and nettle help to protect the skin and assist other organs when the skin is overwhelmed. One frequent result of detoxing other organs is that the skin takes up the balance of the job, working to remove toxins that exit the liver and bowels. Sometimes, the skin gets more than its fair share and develops rashes. This is when nettle is particularly helpful. It essentially helps the kidneys to grab those excess toxins and flush them out of the body through urine.
- Kidneys: These twins clean out the blood, receive water-soluble toxins from the liver, and get rid of any excess fluids in the body. Dandelion helps to stimulate the kidneys, which is helpful during bladder infections, when recovering from sprains, and when detoxing other organs so that the skin does not become overwhelmed.
- Liver: The liver converts serious toxins into less harmful chemicals that the colon and kidneys can get rid of. Turmeric and artichoke are good helpers.
- Bowel: The bowel’s job is to get rid of toxins that the digestive system and liver have grabbed and processed. The bowel must be clean and healthy in order to function properly. Good fiber, and again, good exercise help.
What else can you do to help your body be clean and healthy?
At the risk of being ridiculously repetitive — EXERCISE!!
Walking is wonderful because it is meditative, energizing, calming, and boosts the immune system all at the same time. Running has been shown to reduce immune function, so if you like it, just remember to boost with added Vitamin C. Exercise has been shown to reduce challenges with Alzheimer’s, heart disease, and cancer. Just do it!
Need some holistic coaching? Contact Heather Cate.