4 Expert-Approved Ways To Support Whole-Body Detoxification

Once in a while, for one reason or another, your body might start to feel off. Maybe your digestion is sluggish, or your skin isn't as clear as you'd like it to be. Unfortunately, there are a host of environmental and everyday stressors that can have these kinds of negative impacts on your physical wellness, and they aren't always avoidable. 

The word "detox" has a negative connotation thanks to products like extreme teas or eating regimens that are marketed to "cleanse" the body but can end up being unhelpful and yield undesirable results. 

However, "detox" simply refers to ridding the body of toxins and other unwanted compounds. It's not supposed to be a negative or isolated process. On the contrary, according to Alisa Vitti, the founder of hormonal health center FLO Living, functional nutritionist, and women's hormone expert, a proper detox is meant to be a means of support.  

"Detox is really about supporting the pathways of elimination of the body through the skin, lymph, liver, and large intestine through the use of food, supplements, and specialty treatments,"* Vitti explains. She goes on to say there are three main categories of toxins—environmental (think dry cleaning chemicals, mold, heavy metals, and even endocrine disrupters in makeup), hormonal, and medicinal—all of which can be disruptive to your body's functionality. 

When your body's showing signs that it needs support, it's not necessarily a question of should you detox but rather, how to detox in a safe and healthy manner. First, ask yourself what you're looking to achieve from said detox. Chicago-based registered dietitian Maggie Michalczyk, R.D., says things like getting rid of unwanted compounds, reaching a healthy body composition, increasing energy levels, and improving metabolism are some of the most common reasons a person may desire detoxification support. Once you've narrowed down your "why," you can figure out the best approach to achieving your goal. 

It's important to note, however, that the human body detoxes on its own. So while many fad diets and health trends will try to lead you to believe that cleansing products, juice fasts, and more are necessary to achieve this, Michalczyk tells mindbodygreen "you don't need to do a seven-day juice cleanse or drink a 'detox tea' in order to rid your body of unwanted chemicals and toxins."

In an ideal world, the foods you eat each day would supply enough of the vitamins and minerals needed to support the human body in its natural detoxification processes. Unfortunately, this isn't always feasible thanks to the influx of modern environmental toxins most of us face on a daily basis.

What's more, there are unique botanicals and bioactives like milk thistle and glutathione, respectively, that are detoxification support powerhouses, and those are not often consumed on the daily.

While we still encourage you to eat an abundance of colorful, nutrient-rich foods, targeted supplementation can be a great tool to help fill in dietary gaps, provide unique and additional detoxifying botanical and bioactive players, and fuel the body with ingredients that help it effectively rid itself of unwanted toxins most optimally.

The idea behind regularly taking a detoxification supplement like mindbodygreen's daily detox+ is just that: regular detoxification support. By feeding your body the nutrients and bioactives it needs to detoxify consistently, your internal pathways will be better equipped to efficiently eliminate toxins before they become a burden.* Because that burden can lead to long-term health concerns.

Another one of the best ways to detox the body naturally? Getting physical. According to Michalczyk, the benefits of physical fitness are endless and include things like increased metabolic function, digestion support, improved motility, enhanced sleep hygiene, and more. 

"Reducing oxidative stress and supporting a healthy inflammatory response improves our immune system, which is our defense against some of these toxins. [Movement also] enhances digestion and motility, which are other ways our bodies get rid of unwanted or unneeded substances," explains Michalczyk. Sweat, she says, is another form of excretion. "It not only cools us off but is another way our bodies can secrete unwanted compounds." 

But, there's a catch. According to a 2018 review published in the journal Oncotarget, although physical activity can improve the body's antioxidant defenses overall, different types of physical activity1 are more beneficial to the body's natural detoxification process than others: "Strenuous physical exercise" (think HIIT circuits, types of weight training, etc.) was shown to increase oxidative stress in the process, while "constant, progressive physical activity" (aka low-rep, high weight training or cardio) can improve the body's recovery rate and decrease oxidative stress. 

There's a reason people say "you are what you eat"—it's because, well, you are. What you put into your body matters; the more you fuel it with an abundance of nutrient-rich foods, the more optimally it will operate. This isn't to say you shouldn't indulge once in a while, but when your digestive system is feeling a bit off, take it as a sign that your body is craving more of a balance of good-for-you foods, specifically those rich in antioxidants.

"Antioxidant-rich foods help to remove free radicals, unwanted substances that can potentially be disadvantageous," Michalczyk explains. "By consuming antioxidants from food sources (such as fruits and vegetables), our defense system is readily prepared to remove them." 

Notice how we're not suggesting a quick-fix diet plan. Rather, a healthy detox diet should be approached as a lifestyle change in which the goal is to add, not to completely subtract or restrict. A natural detox diet involves incorporating more whole (preferably organic) foods into your daily regimen, such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, lean proteins, and healthy oils. 

One of the easiest ways to naturally detox is to make sure you're staying hydrated, as "adequate amounts of water and fluids can promote the removal of toxins and waste," Michalczyk tells mindbodygreen. Think about it: The more H₂O you drink, the more you urinate, which is essentially the flushing of fluids riddled with materials that aren't useful or needed in the body. 

What's more, drinking fluids after meals helps promote healthy digestion. When your body can properly break down what's being put into it, it's able to hold on to the nutrients it needs to thrive and suss out any materials or waste products that aren't serving its purpose. 

The human body naturally detoxifies itself, but that doesn't mean it couldn't use a little help consistently ridding itself of excess toxins. Some simple ways to support your body's natural detox pathways include eating an abundance of nutrient-rich foods, staying hydrated, moving regularly, and taking a targeted supplement like mindbodygreen's daily detox+ .*