Have you ever had the feeling that something doesn’t feel right with your body, even though there’s nothing visibly wrong with you? You try to lead a healthy lifestyle, or simply avoid bad habits, but you just don’t feel as good as you’re supposed to. Well, you’re probably suffering from toxin overload.
Toxins by themselves don’t cause as much damage as you would expect. It starts becoming a problem, however, once your body begins accumulating them at dangerous levels. This is made even worse by the fact that toxins can practically be found everywhere, from the food you eat to the products that you use. But there’s no need to worry, though. You can detoxify your body by simply eating the right kinds of food, and that’s what we’ll be talking about in this article.
1. Signs of Toxin Overload in Your Body
The accumulation of toxins in your body can affect you in ways you may not even realize, due to the slow nature of this buildup. From affecting your memory, to affecting your digestion, there’s a myriad of ways toxic overload can change your life for the worse. Here are just some of the signs you need to watch out for:
1.1. Toxins Cause Foggy Memory
Too many toxins in your body can severely affect how your brain works. Toxin overload may lead to confusion, the inability to stay focused, and in severe cases, memory loss. All of these symptoms are a sign of brain fog, which when not addressed could lead to permanent memory problems in the future.
1.2. Toxins Lead to Low Energy
If you’ve been feeling tired even though you’ve had 8 hours of sleep, or you’ve been suffering from chronic failure, then you’re probably suffering from toxin overload. The reason why your body has been lacking energy is because it’s been focusing most of its efforts in keeping everything from falling apart.
1.3. Toxins Cause Constipation
Another sign that you’re suffering from toxin overload is when your digestive system is causing you problems, specifically constipation. If you’ve been consuming too much processed foods, which are full of preservatives and artificial ingredients, then they can severely slow down your bowel movements. Not drinking too much water can also cause you problems as well.
1.4. Toxins Cause Unusual Body Odor
Whether it’s uncharacteristically bad breath, or just unusual bad odor overall, toxins can also have a huge effect on your body odor. Your body produces a myriad of gasses and odors, and some of them can be considered normal. An overload of chemicals and toxins, however, can cause them to produce some really nasty smells. If you find people avoiding you or start looking the other way when you speak to them, then maybe you should start detoxifying right away.
2. Why it’s Important to Detoxify Your Body
Now that you have an idea whether or not you’re suffering from toxin overload, you may wonder why you would want to detoxify at all. These problems are more inconveniences than anything else, really. Well, in order to convince you, here are a few good reasons why it’s important to detoxify your body.
2.1. For Better Weight Management
A severe accumulation of toxins in your body can cause an imbalance in your body’s basic functions, including your metabolism. They can also lead to sudden weight gain if you’re not careful, so detoxifying can actually help you lose weight. If nothing else, if you go into a detox diet, that can be enough to jumpstart healthier habits that can lead to weight loss in the future.
2.2. For a Better Immune System
Another thing that benefits when you detoxify is your immune system. Flushing out the toxins in your body can help bolster your immune system. This means you wouldn’t have to worry about sickness as often as you normally would otherwise. Fewer toxins in your body also means you can absorb vitamins and minerals that aid your body’s ability to fight off disease.
2.3. For a Healthier Brain
Nothing is worse than having a slower brain. You remember less, and everything simply loses its clarity. Clearing your body of toxins can help you remember things better, and you can think more clearly than before.
2.4. For Younger-Looking Skin
As we’ve mentioned before, toxins can do a number on your skin’s overall health. You might end up looking older than you actually are if you’re suffering from toxin overload. Detoxifying your body not only helps with having clearer skin, hence making you look younger, it can also help you act younger, as well.
3. Food That Can Help Deal with Toxins In Your Body
3.1. Cruciferous and Green Leafy Vegetables
One of the best ways to help detoxify your body is through consuming a lot of beneficial vitamins and minerals, and when it comes to vitamins and minerals, no food can compare to vegetables. Cruciferous and leafy vegetables, in particular, such as cauliflower and kale, are rich in vitamins B, C, E and K, all of which can bolster your immune system and overall organ health.
Some green leafy vegetables in particular are rich in chlorophyll. Chlorophyll can bond with certain heavy metals, such as lead, cadmium and mercury, allowing your body to easily flush these heavy metals out, and prevents them from being reabsorbed by your body.
3.2. Lemons
A good way to help flush out toxins from your body is by rehydrating yourself constantly. Although water itself is enough for this, you can actually reinforce its benefits by adding some lemon juice in it. Lemon helps with detoxifying your body by not only helping you rehydrate better, it’s actually full of vitamin C. Vitamin C can not only help improve your immune system, it can also help with your body’s natural waste-disposal systems by strengthening your kidneys and liver.
Adding lemon and other citrus to your diet can also help clear out constipation, which is a real problem if you have toxin overload.
3.3. Green Tea
Although not necessarily a type of food, consuming green tea regularly can help assist with detoxifying your body. It has been consumed for thousands of years, yet its benefits are not all that known to many people. Green tea is rich in antioxidants that help fight off free radicals that can cause damage to your skin and body overall. Aside from helping clear your body of toxins, antioxidants are also known to help prevent cancer.
To maximize the number of antioxidants you can get out of green tea, make sure you brew loose leaves.
3.4. Garlic
Garlic is another food item that has been used for centuries to fight off diseases and other health issues. It contains the chemical allicin, which helps with the production of white blood cells. White blood cells are your body’s cleaners, as well as the enforcers. They’re responsible for clearing away bacteria and other microbes and helps clean away any dead cells and toxins in your bloodstream.
Garlic is best eaten raw if you’re planning on maximizing its detoxifying effects.
3.5. Algae
Another food that is rich in chlorophyll is algae. As we’ve mentioned before, food rich in chlorophyll is great at flushing away heavy metals that can do your organs harm. Algae are not only rich in chlorophyll, they’re also full of vitamins and minerals that can help with lowering cholesterol and aid in weight loss. It’s also rich in antioxidants that can help prevent cancer, making it a healthy food option overall.
3.6. Avocado
One popular food item nowadays that is also excellent at keeping toxins at bay is avocado. Avocado is rich in glutathione, a substance that helps protect cells from oxidation, prolonging their lifespan. Much like chlorophyll, glutathione also binds to heavy metals, allowing your body to safely flush them out of your system.
Aside from that, avocado also encourages the production of many digestive enzymes that not only improve your digestion, they also help with your body’s natural waste-management systems.
3.7. Sweet Potato
If you’re looking for more food rich in antioxidants, then the sweet potato is one to look at. Not only is it a rich source of antioxidants, which makes it great for preventing heart disease and cancer, it’s also full of vitamins that help with digestion. Because it is rich in dietary fiber, sweet potatoes are great at flushing away toxins, and making sure that they don’t get stuck in your gastrointestinal tract.
Sweet potatoes are also rich in vitamin C, which helps improve your body’s overall health. It’s a popular food item for people losing weight as well, since it helps increase your metabolism, yet it’s also easy on the calories.
3.8. Nuts and Seeds
Many nuts and seeds, especially walnuts and sunflower seeds, are rich in antioxidants, vitamins and minerals, all of which help at keeping the body clear of any toxins. Some of them are also rich in glutathione and omaga-3 fatty acids, which helps support your natural liver functions. As we’ve mentioned before, the liver and other waste management organs are responsible for naturally clearing your body of toxins. So, any sort of food that help support them can then help rid your body of toxin overload.
