8 Affordable Ways to Detox Naturally

Interested in helping your body detox, but overwhelmed with ideas or concerned about the cost? Fortunately, detoxing can be simple and affordable! There are many things you can do in the comfort of your own home that effectively help your body eliminate toxins.

What Causes High Toxicity in the Body? 

On top of our normal cellular waste, our bodies are constantly flooded with a host of unwanted exogenous toxins. From antibiotics in our meat and heavy metals in our water to herbicides and pesticides covering our fruits and vegetables, we are living in a world with a high toxic load.

In order for our bodies to function at an optimal level, we need to provide a healthy environment for our cells to flourish. This means providing them with proper nutrition, hydration, oxygen, and energy, while simultaneously supporting their detoxification. How do you expect to have a healthy home if you never clean it? In the same way, you can think of your body as your “house” which requires constant upkeep.

The Benefits of Detoxing 

There are numerous benefits to detoxing and keeping your “house” clean. Other than providing a sense of overall vitality, it can increase energy, improve hormone function, aid in digestion, help with weight loss, and enhance your brain function. Good-bye brain fog!

While our bodies are detoxifying themselves on a daily basis, sometimes they need a little extra support to do so more efficiently. Here are 8 simple and affordable ways to help your body detox naturally!

8 Simple Detox Strategies 

1. Lemon Water

Instead of reaching for a hot cup of coffee when you wake up in the morning, try drinking a warm glass of water with fresh-squeezed lemon juice. Starting your day with this (on an empty stomach) helps to stimulate the liver and gallbladder to release toxins.

Specifically, lemon contains citric acid, which has been shown to enhance your body’s ability to flush out toxins. Warm lemon water also stimulates digestive enzymes and peristalsis in your gut, which improves digestion and aids in the elimination of toxins through bowel movements.

As an added bonus, lemon is loaded with Vitamin C (around 30-40 mg) as well as other minerals which act as an immune booster and antioxidant!

How to:

• Upon waking, squeeze the juice of one fresh lemon in a 6-8 oz glass of warm water. Drink on an empty stomach and wait 20 minutes to eat!
• Pro Tip: Add in 1 tsp of Apple Cider Vinegar to further boost the detoxification of your liver and gut!

2. Oil Pulling

Oil Pulling is an ancient practice that involves swishing coconut oil around in the mouth to promote oral hygiene and stimulate the lymphatic system. Coconut oil contains lauric acid which works by binding with bacteria in the mouth during the “pulling process.”

The constant swishing stimulates the lymphatic system and works to clear blockages from the meridian pathways in the mouth that are connected to our organs. On top of that, it also functions as a natural way to whiten your teeth!

How to:

• Oil pulling is best done first thing in the morning, on an empty stomach (before or after the warm lemon water is fine!).
• Simply place up to 1 tablespoon of coconut oil in your mouth and allow it to melt. Then, begin to swish the oil around.
• Without swallowing or gargling, move the oil around your mouth, teeth, and gums for 5-20 minutes. When you are finished, spit the oil into a disposable cup or in the trash can.
• Rinse your mouth with warm water and brush your teeth as usual!

3. Fasting

Fasting is a practice that has been around for thousands of years. Historically, it has been used for a number of reasons, including spiritual growth, weight loss, and  detoxification. Recent studies have shown that our ancestors were spot on, as fasting has numerous benefits including anti-aging effects, detoxification, and improving brain function.

Taking a break from eating allows your body to clear out cellular debris more easily (including old proteins that are detrimental to your brain) and put all of its energy towards repairing itself. The best part? It’s free!

So, if you want to boost your body’s healing capabilities, lose weight, and stay younger longer, you should consider implementing fasting into your healthy lifestyle. 

How to: 

There are several different methods to fasting. Figuring out what works best with your lifestyle is key! Here are two popular methods of fasting:

• 16:8 Intermittent Fasting
  • This method involves eating all of your food for the day over a period of eight hours and avoiding any food for at least 16 hours. This can be practiced a few days a week, or every day.
  • Example: stop eating after 8:00 p.m. and wait to eat again until 12:00 p.m. the following day. 
• 5:2 Fasting
  • This method consists of eating a normal, healthy diet 5 days a week while either completely fasting the other 2 days, or restricting calories to 500-600 calories/day.
  • Example: Fasting on Monday and Thursday while eating normal Tuesday-Wednesday and Friday-Sunday. 
• More info:
  • Johns Hopkins on improved brain function 
  • Clinical Interventions on Aging
  • Fasting and Stem Cell Regeneration

*Caveat: Before starting any type of fasting diet, always be sure to discuss it with your doctor. 

4. Dry Brushing

Dry brushing is a simple yet powerful way to help your body properly detox. By brushing your skin with gentle strokes towards your heart, you can effectively stimulate your lymphatic system. Think of your lymphatic system as the garbage disposal network of your body. It transfers your body’s waste and toxins to the blood for filtration and eventual elimination.

By activating your lymphatic system through dry brushing, your body is better able to move toxins and waste from your tissues for effective removal. To make it even more appealing, it is also an exfoliating treatment which leaves your skin feeling soft and smooth!

How to:

• Using a natural-bristle brush, apply gentle but firm strokes starting at your feet and moving towards your heart.
• Continue upwards in long, sweeping motions, always being sure to brush towards your heart.
• Move to your arms, starting at your hands and brushing upwards. Brush several times in each area, overlapping as you go.
• After you have finished brushing, jump in the shower and rinse off!

5. Coffee Enemas

The body processes the majority of toxins through the liver. From there, toxins are sent to the intestinal tract via bile for elimination. When the colon gets backed up and waste is not effectively and regularly eliminated, it can be reabsorbed back into the body. Therefore, one of the best ways to help your body detox is through supporting the liver and cleansing the bowel.

One very effective method of liver detoxification and bowel cleansing is something called a “coffee enema,” which is exactly what it sounds like: an enema made up of coffee and water.

Some of the components of coffee (including caffeine and theophylline) travel to the liver through the portal system and effectively dilate blood vessels and bile ducts, thereby increasing bile flow. In doing so, bile is released (along with the toxins it carries) into the intestinal tract and is eliminated through bowel movements during the enema process.

Additionally, coffee also works to increase an important antioxidant in the liver known as glutathione. Glutathione works to clean up free radicals in the blood as it passes through the liver.

During an enema, you attempt to hold the enema for around 12-15 minutes. By holding it this long, you allow for your blood to circulate through your liver 4-5 times, which means glutathione is cleansing all of your blood 4-5 times, then allowing for that toxic waste to be dumped into the bile for elimination in the gut.

The enema also stimulates peristalsis, which gets your bowels moving and helps you to use the restroom. So, if you want an effective, affordable, and simple way to powerfully detox your body, try a coffee enema!

How to:

For exact instructions on how to perform a coffee enema, please visit one of these sites:

• Coffee Enema Recipe and Procedure
• How to do a Coffee Enema: Recipe and Instructions

Caveat: If you have any pre-existing health conditions, be sure to discuss with your doctor before trying coffee enemas on yourself.

6. Bentonite Clay Baths  

Throughout history, clay has been used for a variety of health purposes, including detoxification. In his book, Nutrition and Physical Degeneration, Dr. Weston A Price wrote about how several cultures (including those from the Andes, Australia, and Central Africa) ingested clay to avoid accumulating toxins from food and water.

Bentonite clay in particular is extremely healing to the body. Not only can it bind to various toxins, including heavy metals and unwanted chemicals, but it is also loaded with beneficial minerals such as magnesium, potassium, silica, calcium, sodium, and iron, which facilitate a wide range of metabolic processes.

Bentonite clay also contains a negative electromagnetic charge which, when combined with water, acts like a magnet and binds to positively charged toxins.

Although historically it was ingested, clay is also used topically to help with detoxification, skin ailments, and as a beauty treatment. Bathing in bentonite clay is a simple, relaxing, and effective way to help your body pull out toxins through the skin. It will also leave your skin feeling soft, smooth, and more radiant!

How to: 

• Mix ¼-¾  cup of bentonite clay in a bowl of warm water. From here you have two options (both of which are beneficial):
• Slather the clay mixture onto your skin, then soak in a bathtub for 15-20 minutes. 
• Or, pour the clay mixture into the bathtub and soak for 15-20 minutes. 
• When finished, wash off the excess clay and dry!

Here’s an article with more information on this: Everything You Need to Know About Magnetic Clay Baths.

7. Emotional and Mental Detoxing

When we think about the popular word “detox” we typically picture intensive exercise, strict juice diets, and sweating to exhaustion in a sauna.

Detoxing is almost always correlated with physical toxins. However, detoxification goes much deeper than what can be seen with the naked eye. Ridding our bodies of negative, toxic thoughts is another way to keep our body functioning at a higher, healthier level. Keeping a healthy mind correlates with a healthy body. 

Our brains regulate our blood chemistry, which determines the environment of our cells. Healthy cellular environments=healthy cells. The fascinating part of this is that our brain regulation is influenced by our emotions and perceptions (aka our feelings and minds).

In his book, The Biology of Belief, Dr. Bruce Lipton makes some interesting discoveries on the influence of the brain on cellular function. He notes that when we have positive emotions and perceptions, such as love, our brains release hormones and chemicals like oxytocin and serotonin, which optimize our metabolism and facilitate the growth and proper functioning of our cells.

Conversely, negative emotions and perceptions, such as fear and hate, cause our brains to release stress hormones (like cortisol) which inhibit cellular growth and the proper functioning of our immune systems.

In conclusion, negative emotions and thoughts correspond with poor functioning cells which inhibit your ability to detox. On the contrary, positive emotions and thoughts lead to happy, healthy cells and facilitate the proper elimination of toxins. So, if you want to have a healthy body, you need a healthy mind!

There are several ways that you can help your mind to detox negative perceptions and emotions. Practicing a daily “mental cleaning” will help keep your brain less toxic and therefore, facilitate your body’s detoxification! We’ll list a few options. 

How to:

• The Buteyko Breathing Method is a breathing technique used to restore proper oxygenation of tissues. It also activates the parasympathetic nervous system and therefore can reduce stress and help with negative emotions (such as anxiety).
• EFT, or the Emotional Freedom Technique, is a psycho-emotional therapy that incorporates acupuncture points in order to help you “clear” unwanted, negative emotions. It allows you to heal from unresolved emotional issues that may be hindering your health and personal growth.
• Ho’oponopono is an ancient Hawaiian technique that is used for self-transformation. It can be an incredibly beneficial tool that allows you to detox or “cleanse” your mind on a weekly or daily basis. Amongst myriad benefits, it helps to accept certain situations, reduce stress, and release negative emotions and perceptions about other people and yourself.
  

7. Digital Detoxing

Digital detoxing has become popular among young professionals recently. Considering the phrase “digital detox” made its way into the Oxford Online Dictionary a few years ago, it’s evident that the world is catching on to the need to “hang up and hang out.”

The question arises, medically speaking, why is it necessary to take a break from technology? And what can we do to “detox” from the digital world apart from simply avoiding their use for a period of time?

While technology is incredible in so many ways, the blue light emitted many devices can disrupt your production of melatonin and therefore hinder your sleep. It also makes you less productive and increases toxic emotions like anxiety and low self-esteem. As if that wasn’t enough, the electromagnetic radiation (EMR) given off by devices (like our cell phones and smartwatches) is damaging to our bodies. This EMR corrupts water molecules and thereby inhibits cell communication and hinders the flow of our cerebrospinal fluid. While more research needs to be done about the potentially harmful effects of EMR on our bodies, there are a growing number of studies that have given great cause for concern. EMR has the potential to damage our DNA, increase our risk of certain brain cancers, and make microorganisms more resistant to antibiotics. 

As you can see, using our electronic devices can hamper our health in more ways than one. A recent study showed that the average American spends nearly half a day interacting with media. Our lives are inundated with emails, phone calls, text messages, web searching, online news, and social media. It is, therefore, imperative that we find ways to protect ourselves from the digital world as much as we can. 

How to:

• Turn your Wifi off at night! Your body regenerates and detoxifies itself at night while you are sleeping. In order to support your body’s healing, turn off the Wifi to save yourself from that EMR exposure. 
• Go back to normal alarm clocks and turn your phone off at night. 
• Protect yourself from EMR being emitted from your smart devices with things like YouMatrix. While you cannot “block” electromagnetic fields coming from your devices, you can change the waves (making them 3D instead of 2D) so that they are more biocompatible with your body. 
• Protect your production of melatonin with the use of Bluelight glasses. If you’re someone who reads at night on your kindle or sits in front of a computer all day, these should be a staple in your closet.
• Put your phone away! Designate “tech-free” times throughout the day. Ideas for this include no phones during meals, no phones for 1-3 hours prior to bed, etc.

Your Detox Regimen Should be Simple and Affordable!

If you thought that a healthy lifestyle and “detox fads” were reserved for the wealthy, you were incorrect. There are always simple and affordable things that you can do to live a healthier lifestyle. While we only listed 8 methods to support your body’s detoxification and elimination processes, there are many more out there that are safe and inexpensive. Before you get overwhelmed or over-do it, start with simple changes: drink adequate amounts of water (throw in some lemon), change your thought life to be more positive, eat REAL food, and get some movement in on a daily basis. Keep it simple, and stay well!

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