As a friend of mine proudly described her 10 day detox diet which involved ‘eating’ only some special juice everyday, which obviously tasted awful, I wondered if there was an easier way. It’s almost as if the terrible taste is a badge of honour but I always wonder if it’s worth it. Especially as I often find that people then throw themselves back into heavy drinking and unhealthy eating almost immediately. “It’s ok, I’ve done my detox so I can retox for a while”. Whilst it’s a fun approach, it got me thinking about toxins and where all this even comes from. And how can we truly detox to save ourselves from modern poisons?

What are Toxins?

As I started reading around, including a great blog on getting rid of toxins, I learnt more about what these are. There are of course the naturally occurring poisons or venoms that can be created by animals, insects or plants. Did you know that bamboo shoots contain compounds that generate cyanide? Hong Kong’s Centre for Food Safety also tells us that beans have enzyme inhibitors – who’d have thought? And yet we need those enzymes to help our body’s biochemical processes. On top of all this, we now have our man-made toxins, also known as toxicants.

Challenges of Modern Life

Unfortunately, we have a whole range of toxicants thanks to cars, factories, processed foods, health products, plastics, clothing, alcohol, to name but a few. And they don’t just affect our physical bodies but also our brains and hence our minds. Research shows that chemicals are affecting the brains of unborn children leading to low IQ or even mental disorders. And let’s not get started on what we risk as adults… from depression and anxiety to dementia. 

Add to this mix, the never-ending distractions from technology, increased isolation and our need for constantly ‘doing’. And yep, you guessed it – a wonderful recipe for breakdowns and an early death. There is an interesting study, conducted in 2017, of an indigenous group in South America. The Tismane people only live off what they grow and have the lowest ‘heart ageing’, or heart risk, in the world. Their average 80 year old has the heart-health of an average mid-50 year old American.

So, what can we learn from these people and what can we do in our version of the world? How can we detox to save ourselves from all this?

1- Help your Body Remove Toxins to Detox Properly

A great article by the US company, ivee, summarises very well how we can help our bodies naturally detox. Our bodies are well designed but it’s still worth helping them out, especially with all our extra man-made toxicants these days. Supplements, healthy food, sleep and exercise are all great activities. However, I highly recommend ivee’s blog as it’s well worth the read for more details on what you can do. Even better, everything is very accessible. It doesn’t have to be as hard as starving ourselves or drinking foul concoctions everyday.  

2- Train your Mind & Detox Your Soul

Toxins can interfere with our brain’s neural regeneration and pathway creation but we can influence that with meditation and mindfulness. Studies show that mindfulness and meditation actually rewire our brains and through these techniques, we can create healthier neural pathways. With practice and time, we develop better habits, even reducing anxiety, depression and risk of dementia. By training our minds to be more present, we naturally ruminate less about the past and worry less about the future. We essentially detox our minds to save ourselves from mental issues.

I realise this is not necessarily an easy thing to do and many struggle to know where to start. Having recently finished a meditation retreat, I was so impressed by the beginners of the group who made it through to the end. But you can start with baby steps. When I first started, I remember listening to the headspace app in taxis for 5 minutes then progressively longer. Or simply get used to having a few moments during the day where you take a breath, walk outside and look up at the sky. You’ll be surprised at how much that simple exercise gets you out of your head for a brief moment. 

3- Connect and Create your Community 

The indigenous group in South America mentioned earlier eat healthy food and are constantly active during the day. They also live in a community that supports them mentally and emotionally. One of the scariest issues in modern life is the increase in loneliness and isolation. And yet we need connections to survive. Yes we have technology to communicate but we are developing fewer deep connections with people. It’s those connections that get you through the hard times and give you the perspective you need to keep you out of your head. Sharing experiences, hobbies, a common cause or interests can help reduce the risk of mental illness. We are all wired with the need to belong. Feeling lonely or isolated can push you into a vicious cycle of reaching for those human toxins: junk food or alcohol or worse. 

As someone who has moved around their whole life, having left my home country at the age of 4, I know it’s not easy to find close connections. Yes I have people I can call online but we still need face to face interactions to truly feel that connection. Luckily I’m not the only one so there are usually clubs or groups that I can join wherever I am in the world. Having said that, I find that volunteer work is the best way to help me find people and to connect. 

This modern life we’ve created all looks so appealing and sexy but it’s fraught with mental and physical dangers. Having said that, let’s not get too paranoid. It’s still a beautiful world and we have the ability to make a difference both to our lives and to those around us. We can detox to save ourselves by trying out some of those tips mentioned and also by sharing what we do with others. That’s how we can also make our positive impact to improve things, even with baby steps. And you’ll feel so much better for it. Don’t we all want a bit less anxiety in our day?

So, what are you going to start with tomorrow? What’s your body-mind-community plan for detoxing?