Detox. The golden rule to effectively and safely lose bodyfat for 2023
But what is detoxing exactly?
Gym members, personal trainers and dieticians have different perceptions of what exactly entails a detox and what method is preferred. This means a lot of information is out there so its importantly to understand your choices and reasons behind going through with them. To make it easy for you and understand there are 6 choices:
1. Fasting for 1 -3 days. Not eating any food but drinking water only.
- promotes blood sugar control by reducing insulin resistance.
- Fights inflammation
- Reduce blood pressure, triglycerides and bad cholesterol
- Aids weights loss and boost metabolism in the short term
2. Drinking fresh fruit and vegetable juices, smoothies and green tea.
- Digestive health, high in fibre
- Immunity support
- Lowers cholesterol
- Increases vitamin/mineral intake and helps restore micronutrient deficiency
3. Drinking only specific liquids and doing liver, kidney and/or colon cleanses
- Detoxification of organs and neutralizing toxins
- Passing of stones to help liver and kidneys function better
- Preventing further symptoms such as headaches, nausea, leaky gut syndrome, tiredness, high heart rate, sleep deprivation, anxiety and slow metabolism.
- Removal of harmful toxins that are stored in your fat cells and blood.
4. Elimination of processed foods high in heavy metals, saturated and trans fats, gluten and diary
- Reduce symptoms irritable bowl syndrome and other gut issues
- Reduce chronic headaches
- Removal of toxins, trans fats and Hi GI sugars
- Improved insulin response, metabolism, mood and sleep
5. Removing Alcohol, cigarettes, recreational drugs and Sugar.
- Allowing the detox pathways e.g. skin, blood, organs and digestive systems to get rid of toxins faster and more effectively
- Preventing inflammation of lungs, gut health and blood.
- Improve hormonal balance in the body by naturally increasing testosterone, insulin sensitivity and reduce aromatase and cortisol.
- Allowing protein absorption to improve to build muscle and burn fat quicker.
6. Include supplements such pre/probiotics and Herbs.
- Treat infections and improve antibodies
- Improve gut health, the digestive tract and stomach acid levels
- Increase metabolism and immune system
- Rebalance the bodies PH levels to a more alkaline state and thus anabolic.
First of all I would consult a dietician or a qualified Nutritionist before embarking on any form of detox which is considered aggressive. The body is used to its hormonal balance, mood, energy balance and state of gut health.
Doing a detox can be safe and beneficial for your health but if its done incorrectly might make you feel worse. Essentially, it’s about ridding your body of harmful toxins and foods and replace them with healthy choices. In turn this will help you with your target of getting rid of unwanted body fat. From a scientific point of view, it is the metabolic process by which toxins are changed into less toxic or more readily excretable substances. It is also described as the physiological or medicinal removal of toxic substances from the human body, mainly carried out by the liver, kidney, gut and our blood.
The correct method of detoxification is setting an agreed time period of refraining from bad foods, toxins and alcohol and replacing it with healthy organic foods and hydration (or no food if its fasting). This can be 2-12 weeks depending on severity of a cleanse needed. It is allowing your liver, kidney, and gut to get rid of harmful toxins, repair and replenish its cells and improve their function. When our bodies are in an anabolic, oxygenated, PH balanced, healthy state will we truly lose significant amounts of fat.
The incorrect method of fat loss is cutting down on calories (calorie deficit) but maintaining the same bad food choices. The problem with this is the toxin levels will remain highly concentrated and cause the body to be in a catabolic state of stress and fat storage. In conjunction ‘dieting’ implies people do not deal with health issues and continue to drink, smoke and binge on the weekend. This will leave you with decreased energy, headaches, migraines, low moods, leaky gut syndrome, stomach pain, disturbed sleep patterns and the likelihood you will fail your ultimate fat loss journey.
If the liver, kidney and guts are failing, clogged up and faulty then fat reduction will be sabotaged significantly. A constant diet that is refined, processed and filled with sugars and bad fats will eventually cause damage to these organs after years of abuse and they will no longer be able to fulfil their purposes in detoxifying the body. As we get older these becomes more likely if bad habits are maintained.
LIVER
The livers main job is to filter the blood coming from the digestive tract before passing it to the rest of the body. The liver also detoxifies chemicals and metabolizes fats, proteins and carbohydrates and stores glycogen. If you have symptoms such as feeling sluggish, low in energy, mood, bad sleep, headaches, blurred vision, yellow jaundiced skin, nausea, diarrhoea, plateau in body composition improvements are all possible signs that your liver may not be working properly. You can no longer detox toxins properly anymore due to gallstones congesting the bile ducts in the liver. A cleaner liver means
1. Fat loss
2. Immune system support due to better blood supply
3. Get rid of liver and gall bladder stones
4. Improved skin, hair and eyesight
5. Significant boost in energy levels
KIDNEY
The Kidneys are 2nd organ that is responsible for detoxing, in this case the fluids and the water in our bodies and also contribute to filtering the blood of toxins, salt and poisons to keep us healthy. The kidney cleanse shows how to flush out toxins, in turn the benefits are:
1. Prevention of further kidney stones
2. Boost immune system & energy levels
3. Improve overall health and mood
4. Curing lower back kidney pain
5. Improvements in skin and hair conditions
THE GUT & COLON
The gut and colon’s job is to maintain PH balance in the bloodstream, so when we eat high acidic foods such as red meat without any fibre then this can cause the liver, guts and colon to work overtime and contribute to blockages in digestion. If the colon tissue becomes inflamed it will reduce the organs job to allow water, vitamins, minerals to pass into the blood stream. Infections, yeast, molds and fungus can build up and enter the blood stream which will then cause severe issue with weight management, body fat and illnesses. Best book: The Intestinal cleanse and reconstruction (Nekoterrran). Gut absorption levels are dictated by stomach acid levels and how healthy the colon is at passing excrement and toxins. A clean and healthy gut & colon the benefits are:
1. Makes the digestive system more effective
2. Increase in energy and performance in gym
3. Increase body’s absorption of proteins, carbohydrate, vitamins, minerals
4. Weight loss and fat loss
If your ambition is to burn significant fat you will have a serious problem in doing so if any of the above 3 organs are damaged or not performing optimally! Hence following one of the 6 choices at the top of the article will help you achieve your goal. Depending on your current health and what level of bodyfat you want to achieve will dictate which option you go for and for how long. Remember essentially its about getting rid of harmful toxins, foods and metals and replacing it with healthy options. Don’t do anything extreme, get advice of a professional and make sure remain in a safe environment. Below are foods to help each organ:
LIVER
A Mediterranean Diet
Green Tea, Apricots, Blueberries, Cranberries, Prickly pear, Grapes, Beetroot, Brussel sprouts, Broccoli, Lemon In water , Nuts, Sardines & salmon, Olive Oil
KIDNEY
Renal Diet: Restricting Sodium, Potassium, Phosphorus, Red meats.
Cauliflower, Cabbage, Blueberries, Red grapes, Pineapple, Cranberries , Spinach, Kale, Radish, Turnips, Garlic & Onions , Bell Peppers, Olive Oil
GUT
Pre/Probiotic & high Fibre rich Diet: Vegetables, Fruits and Legumes
Fruit & Vegetable smoothies, Kimchi, Pickles & onion, Herbal Teas, Ginger & Garlic, Laxative herbs, Aloe Vera, Psyllium and marsh mellow root, Dark leafy greens, Apples & Bananas, Sweet Potatoes.
Enjoy! Next article is on......