Toxic influences bombard you in your daily life. Preservatives and additives permeate the processed foods you eat. Off-gassing from pollutants taint the indoor environment, while outdoors, cars and factories belch poison into the sky. Addictions to tobacco and alcohol can cripple your body and warp your mind. Stress and negative thinking diminish your capacity to live as a happy, mentally virile human being.
There are many ways toxic influences can harm you, but there are also many ways you can fight back against them. Rather than succumb to a doom and gloom outlook, you can take proactive steps to address the toxins that threaten your ability to thrive.
Eliminate Addictions
To detoxify from the effects of an addiction, you must remove the offending substances from your life.
If you've found yourself reeling from the repercussions of drug or alcohol use, a medically supervised rehab can help. Choose a well-established institution with proven success in helping the addicted. Hazelden offers inpatient and outpatient addiction treatment programs, and, like many rehabilitation centers, it accepts insurance. Even tobacco smokers can find help in recovering from that particular addiction.
Free 12-step programs such as Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous also have a proven history of helping addicts and alcoholics.
Change Your Diet
An improper diet can lead to bloating, obesity, heart disease, diabetes and a vast array of other health issues.
As a method for rewiring your thoughts about food and your eating practices, a detox diet is a good start. Detox diets vary in length and in the foods they permit. Dr. James F. Balch recommends a monthly three-day detox consisting of fruit juices, teas and the occasional watermelon slice. Less strict detox diet regimens often revolve around the consumption of raw foods: salads, fruit smoothies, nuts and seeds. Select the detox diet that seems right for you.
Those with serious health conditions should consult their doctor before embarking on a detox diet, and pregnant women should avoid detox diets completely.
Rid Your Home of Toxic Materials
Pollution is an unfortunate byproduct of our civilization. Beyond lobbying for stricter government regulation of the toxins released by agriculture, building materials and transportation, you do not have a lot of control over the outdoor environment.
Your home, however, is your own little kingdom, and you can thwart the toxic demons that dwell there. In the book "You: Staying Young," Doctors Michael Roizen and Mehmet Oz devote an entire chapter to ridding your home of toxins. By eliminating toxic products from your cleanser repertoire, filtering your drinking water and protecting your pillows and mattresses from dust mites, you'll be well on the path toward achieving a healthy indoor environment.
Stress and Psychological Toxicity
Your mind and body are powerfully connected. All the fresh fruit juice in the world won't wash away the emotional maladies that paralyze your spirit. Just as poor health can diminish your mental well-being, prolonged stress and depression can contribute to physical problems. An emotional detox addresses the emotional and psychological toxins in your life, and helps rid you of psychologically detrimental influences.
At the Chopra Center for Wellbeing in California, medical director David Simon touts a seven-step program that uses self-reflection, journaling, ritual and reward as a means of cleansing the mind of toxic thought processes. Self-help books and counseling may be helpful in developing an emotional detox strategy.
References
- "Natural Health"; Emotional cleansing; Nora Isaacs; April 2006
- "You: Staying Young"; Michael F. Roizen, M.D.; 2007 and Mehmet Oz, M.D.,
- "Prescription for Nutritional Healing"; James F. Balch M.D. and Phyllis A. Balch, C. N. C.; 2006
- Hazelden: The Top 5 Questions About Addiction Rehab Treatment
