In the last decade, the word “detox” has turned from something often associated with addictions to a bit of a celebrity fad. I’m definitely not about fads at Zest+Zing, so I wanted to clear up the real benefits of a detox, or what I prefer to call a ‘cleanse,’ and explain how a therapeutic practitioner guided cleanse can actually be the key to rebalancing your health.
The concept of a detox originated in traditional cultures and rituals, for example religious fasting periods. Detoxing is aimed at eliminating anything harmful from the body, whether that is stored toxins, poor diet, cravings, habits or thoughts…all of these things come up and are released in a detox program.
When people hear the word “detox” they often start fearing the idea of not having the foods and things that they love in life. A therapeutic cleanse is not about deprivation, it’s about knowing what is causing imbalances in your health, and supporting the body with foods and nutrients to help heal and rebalance.
Apart from the many physical benefits you will enjoy. You gain so much more awareness around what foods and habits serve you well and it really opens up the opportunity to transform your body. The biggest transformations I’ve seen in my clinic, have always been with my cleanse program!
So what are the real benefits of a therapeutic cleanse…
Promote fat loss
If you’ve been trying to lose fat and have been unsuccessful in the past, or maybe you’ve reached a plateau, then a cleanse could be what your body needs! The reason for this is we store toxins in our fat cells!
Our bodies first priority is to protect ourselves from exposure to these harmful substances. So if we have a high level of toxins which our bodies are struggling to process (i.e. poor digestive or liver function), then it will not want to release the fat.
A cleanse which supports your liver and digestive function and reduces our levels of toxins, also helps the body to start burning fat again, kick starting that fat loss!
Rebalance hormones
We process and what we call ‘conjugate’ any excess hormones (i.e. oestrogen) in our liver to then safely excrete via our digestion system through our waste. If your liver is not functioning optimally which can happen when it’s a bit overloaded (i.e. too much booze, medications, high sugar diet), then we cannot bind and eliminate these excess hormones. They then recirculate around the body and we end up with excess levels of these hormones particularly seen in oestrogen excess. High levels of oestrogen in our body contributes to heavy and painful periods, weight gain, fluid retention, headaches and if chronic then fibroids and cysts.
Kick the sugar addiction
Sugar cravings are normally a combination of habit and issues with blood sugar control. By cleansing the body of refined sugars and also following the program which helps balance blood sugar levels, you will unhook yourself from these cravings.
Identify “trigger” foods
You may have heard of elimination diets for helping identify food intolerances. Well a cleanse kind of works the same way. By removing certain foods from your diet for a short period of time, you allow your body to reset and you may find some things you’ve become accustomed to (like frequent headaches, sluggishness, bloating), will disappear! When you add these foods back into your diet after your cleanse, you will really notice how your body reacts to them.
Strengthen your immune system
Toxins and trigger foods activate your immune system and can be related to re-occuring infections and illness. By removing these threats to your immune system and allowing it to strengthen, we’ve seen improvement in sinusitis, hay fever, re-ocurring chest infections and even improvement in auto-immune conditions.
Signs you need to detox:
* Headaches & Nausea
* Bloating & Gas
* Fatigued & Sluggish
* Sleeping difficulties
* Unable to lose weight
* Fatty liver disease
* Irritable Bowel Syndrome or Digestive Problems
* Chronic Candida
* Congested skin/acne
* Re-occuring sickness
* Foggy mind or lack of mental stamina
* Hormonal imbalances
* Pre-conception care
More benefits of a body detox:
* Increase energy levels
* Better sleep
* Clear mind and better concentration
* Glowing skin
* Reduce bloating, gas and encourage regular bowel movements
* Promote healthy fat loss
* Boost your metabolism
* Beat food cravings + change habits
* Reduce cellulite
* Reduce any pain and inflammation
* Release dangerous toxins from your body
* Remove bad bacteria, yeasts and waste
* Improve liver and kidney function
* Reduce risk of chronic disease
I work with my clients in 1:1 consultations to create personalised detox programs for their goals and body. You can work with me in person, via Skype or phone by booking an appointment online.
