Easy Ways to Support Detox Today
Most people don’t think about this👉👉
Truth is that our bodies are busy processing and eliminating toxins all day every day.
We feel healthy when our detox pathways are keeping pace with those toxins and are not overburdened.
Here’s how to know you have healthy detoxification:
✔️ Fresh breath (without needing gum or mints!)
✔️ Clear skin (without rashes or outbreaks)
✔️ Easy bowel movements (every day)
✔️ Sound sleep (without waking at 3am)
✔️ Mental clarity (without brain fog!)
If you can’t check all those boxes, it’s okay!
There are simple things we can do with food, lifestyle, & functional medicine to support detoxification and get to the root cause.
💥Let’s get this straight.
Cleanses and detox protocols are in no short supply.
And the same can be said for confusion and misinformation 🤦♀️
One thing most people don’t realize is that a “cleanse” or a “detox” is not the same as everyday detoxification.
➡️ A cleanse is a few days to a few weeks of following a strict protocol. It’s like a reset.
➡️ Everyday detoxification is supported by daily movement, drinking plenty of water, eating healthy foods, and optimizing nutrition over time.
While a cleanse is safest and most effective when it’s individualized and guided by a skilled practitioner…
Everyday detoxification can benefit anyone for sustained health 🌱
Easy Ways to Support Detoxification
Healthy detoxification is foundational to feeling good 🙌
Did you know we have 6 pathways of detoxification? Here they are and how you can easily support them:
Skin ➡️ Dry Brush
Lungs ➡️ Deep Breathing
Liver ➡️Vegetables
Kidneys ➡️ Water
Bowels ➡️ Fiber
Lymph ➡️Movement
Did you ever think about how hard your body is working on your behalf?
Is Alcohol Clogging My Liver?
I get this question a lot.
Maybe you’re eating vegetables, staying hydrated, moving your body, and even using a dry skin brush or Epsom salt baths but…
👉👉What about alcohol?
Here are the facts:
✔️When you drink, 90% of the alcohol is processed by your liver.
✔️Alcohol is first converted into an even more toxic compound, acetaldehyde. Even though this is short-lived, it can damage liver cells.
✔️Alcohol can decrease the breakdown of fats, leading to fat accumulation in the liver.
✔️When the liver is busy processing alcohol, it is less available to carry out its other necessary functions.
This is your body and your choice, but decreasing alcohol is always helpful when it comes to supporting healthy detoxification.
We always want to “remove the obstacles to cure.”
Sometimes alcohol is one of those.
3 Strategies for Skin Detox
👀 Did you know…
That your skin is the largest detoxification organ in your body!
Even though sweat is almost entirely water, studies have found that some toxins—including heavy metals and bisphenol A (BPA)—are excreted in sweat.
Here are 3 simple ways to support detoxification through the skin:
1️⃣ Sauna
2️⃣ Exercise
3️⃣ Dry Skin Brushing
The first 2 help you sweat, while the last unclogs pores and sloughs off dead skin cells.
Isn’t it fun how all the body systems actually work together?
The Lung’s Role in Detoxification
🫁 Why we say “take a cleansing breath” ➡️
It’s not just cleansing for the mind but actually detoxifying for the body to breathe deeply.
With every deep breath, oxygen floods our cells and tissues—allowing them to function at a more optimal level and to process and metabolize waste better.
Our lungs are one of our main organs of detoxification, along with the liver, gut, kidneys, lymphatics, and skin.
So consider this your reminder…
To take a deep breath.
5 Foods for Liver Support
💖 The easiest and most effective way to love your liver…
Is to eat nutrient-dense whole foods 🥗
That’s because there are 2 phases of liver detoxification, each of which depends upon a steady supply of nutrients to keep it going. Nutrients that are in foods like…
🥦 Cruciferous Vegetables (foods like broccoli, cauliflower, kale, and collards support both phases of liver detoxification)
🧄 Garlic & Onions (these provide sulfur compounds, vitamin B6, and antioxidants)
🫐 Blueberries (contain polyphenols to support antioxidant status)
🥣 Turmeric (a powerful health-promoting spice!)
🍵 Green Tea (rich in EGCG & antioxidants)
Think of it this way:
Your liver is working around the clock to process chemicals and toxins for elimination. If it doesn’t have the nutrients it needs, detox will slow down and you’ll start to feel the effects on your health.
Movement for Detox
👀 Are you still with me?
I have the simplest way anyone can improve their detoxification for FREE ➡️➡️
Move Your Body 💃🕺
When you move, your muscles contract and act like a pump for your lymphatic system.
Your lymphatics are a central part of your immune and detoxification systems, which is why we want to improve lymphatic flow (maybe you’ve heard of lymphatic massage—that works too!).
Whether you prefer to walk, run, jump on a trampoline, do yoga, or dance…
Moving will help your detoxification systems work better 🎉
Protein for Detox
🥁🥁🥁 Ready for it??
The most overlooked nutrient that is essential for healthy detoxification is…
PROTEIN 💥
Amino acids from protein are needed for phase 2 detoxification in the liver, which is the phase where toxic compounds from phase 1 are conjugated for elimination.
Yep—conjugated 🤓
But you can get the full benefits of protein without ever knowing what that word means.
Amino acids are also the building blocks of glutathione—the body’s master antioxidant and detoxifier.
So what?
So without enough protein, liver detoxification cannot work at full capacity, and toxic compounds can build up in the body.
So next time you think about loading up on greens or garlic or lemon water…don’t forget to also grab a source of protein.
I highly recommend that people do a cleanse twice yearly--every spring and fall. Yet it is far more important to incorporate some of the strategies and recommendations listed above for daily detox support!
In Health,
Rachel Oppitz, ND
