Why Your Body Needs a Clean-Slate Detox
Whether you made one too many toasts on New Year’s Eve, or you’ve been steadily ramping up the sugar since Halloween, it’s no secret that most of us end the year feeling weighed down and sluggish.
Celebrating a New Year—and especially a new decade—can be an inspirational time to set healthy goals and get our vitality back on track.
But the question is, where do we start?
With a clean slate—and that means detoxing: safely and effectively removing toxins from your body.
So, get ready to clear out a backlog of toxins like heavy metals, pesticides, endocrine-disrupting compounds, and much more. Whether these toxins accumulated over the last year, or the last decade, one thing is certain: Gently and effectively removing them from your body can let you sail into 2020 and beyond with optimal health, wellness and vitality.
Welcome to Part 1 of our New Year, New You Detox Series. In this first article, we’ll dive into the main reasons your body needs a clean-slate detox to start the year strong.
1. Holiday Treats = Inflammation and Toxic Build-up
Were you able to resist the sugary holiday treats that popped up everywhere these last months? No? Well don’t be hard on yourself. It’s nearly impossible to avoid the excess of sweets this time of year. Sugar, gluten, and dairy taste great—but they wreak havoc on our systems.
Refined sugars and carbohydrates trigger glucose and insulin spikes. They also fuel inflammation and free radical production, resulting in oxidative stress, and an increase in toxins in the body.
Gluten and dairy proteins can act like toxins in your body, even if you don’t have full-blown food allergies. That’s why most of us feel “off” after eating things like lasagna and cheesecake.
And if you had any spiked eggnog or champagne, the toxins and additional liver stress brought on by holiday drinking make it the perfect time for a clean-slate detox.
2. Get a Clean Energy Boost
Toxins slow you down, and can drain you of the crucial nutrients your body needs for energy. Plus, they can also interfere with energy production and management by impacting the function of our mitochondria – the tiny cellular “engines” that create energy for the body. That leaves you feeling exhausted, even if you’re getting plenty of sleep.
When done correctly, detoxification can help remove the extra toxic burden weighing you down, so you’ll feel rejuvenated and energized.
3. Boost Your Immune System
When your body is full of toxins, your immune system becomes overworked and overextended. This can lead to immune suppression in some cases, or inflammatory autoimmune issues on the other hand. And when the immune system is tied up fighting toxins, it can be less effective against regular cold and flu viruses. Detoxing gives your immune system a chance to relax and reboot, so it can respond quickly and correctly.
4. Think Sharper and Faster
Brain fog—confusion, memory problems, slowed thinking—is usually a sign of toxin overload. Toxins cause inflammation and oxidative stress that can derail cognitive function. They also rob your body of essential nutrients, including the ones your brain needs to work at full capacity.
Luckily, clearing out toxins can help restore brainpower. You’ll be able to think more clearly, learn more effectively, and recall memories more quickly.
5. Enjoy Better Moods
Toxic inflammation and oxidative stress doesn’t just affect your brainpower. It also causes mood disorders like depression and anxiety. New research highlights the many links between environmental toxins like air pollution, pesticides, and heavy metals, and mental health concerns. Toxic compounds can make you feel sad, irritable, scared, and even suicidal because of their many negative effects on your neurological system.
Giving your body the tools it needs – from superfoods and nutrients, to researched detox ingredients – to remove harmful compounds, will help brighten your mood and calm your tension and anxiety.
Start the New Year with a Clean-Slate Detox
Unfortunately, detox has become a major buzzword, with lots of questionable products and methods promising a quick fix cleanse or 7 day weight loss detox. The truth is, most of these products are not researched, and can even be harmful because they often weaken the body with harsh ingredients and aggressive protocols.
For a safe, effective and health-promoting detox, it’s important to have the right information before you start a detox plan. In our next article, we’ll talk about how to detox the right way, using clinically-proven ingredients and practices that offer gentle, yet powerful solutions to thoroughly remove toxins from the body and prevent them from returning.
For today, adding “New Year Clean-Slate Detox” to your New Year’s resolutions makes a great step toward a healthier, happier year.