Our bodies are an amazing piece of art. When something is not right, our body has a way of letting us know. It’s all about reading signs. And you need to read them because life in the 21st century is complex, and tiring.
Get off the highway to hell and get on the stairway to heaven. Here are ten signs your body is in desperate need for a detox.
1. Unexplained fatigue bumming you down
Do you sometimes feel like no matter how much you sleep, your body just begs you to go back into bed? It’s almost magnetic, and everyday seems like a Monday. You haven’t done anything different, yet you feel drained out of energy for no obvious reason. Fatigue that just doesn’t seem to get quenched by sleep is your body’s way of telling, “calm down and give me a detox!”
The physical causes of being tired all the time could be if you’re underweight or overweight. Because this would mean your body has to work harder to do the same activities. Other reasons could be because you’re mentally stressed or anxious most of the time. When you’re stressed, your hormones tend to work overtime, leading your cortisol levels to rise. This causes your mind to be always on guard. Imagine being alert all day, everyday. If your mind doesn’t relax, your body isn’t going to either.
2. Bloated tummy
Is your stomach constantly bloated? If yes, then you should probably consider a change in diet. A bloated tight tummy is your body’s response to a build-up of gasses in your digestive tract. It comes out because of a problem in the digestion.
The most common reasons for a bloated stomach are constipation (low fiber-no poo), dehydration, and when your intestines are home to higher amounts of bad bacteria than good bacteria. You would need a detox to tackle frequent bloating.
Increase your water intake. Make sure you drink more than 8 glasses of water a day. Also, include a lot of fiber and leafy greens in your diet. The best thing you could do for a bloated stomach is to up your probiotic consumption, found in live cultured yogurt or Greek yogurt, and raw cheese. This will improve your digestion, and your stomach should get back into it’s normal size.
3. Lack of concentration
Is your mind drifting off every now and then? Sure, everybody daydreams. But if you feel like you can’t focus like before, or it’s difficult to sit still for a while, or even if you’re making higher-than-usual careless mistakes, you might be stuck in a brain fog. This could happen when you’re stressed, or with lack of sleep. Even an unhealthy food life contributes to your lack of focus.
Get on a mind and body detox. Make sure your diet includes whole grains, fruits, veggies, and stick to lean proteins. Another great food for thought is natural sources of omega-3 fatty acids.1 Spread out your meals for a day, having several small-portion sized food. Also, go slow on caffeine intake.
Don’t fret, just make a few changes in your life. Practice mediating, write a journal, read a book, or pour some love into a hobby.
4. Feeling the blues
Do you have days where you feel extremely unmotivated to start your day? All you want to do is to sit on your comfy bed, and just keep thinking about certain things over and over again. Feeling depressed, or having frequent bouts of mood swings, are sometimes symptoms of a desperate need for a mind and body detox.
In fact, there have been studies that linked depression to the presence of toxic chemicals in the body.2 Another study linked depression as a product from a magnesium deficiency.3
Being depressed can send your body off to find unhealthy sources of comfort. Binging on sugar, refined carbs, and junk food could get you irritated and moody. If you feel comforted by food, reach out to antioxidant-rich berries, or maybe snack on almond butter spread out on apple slices. Vitamin-rich dark leafy greens, walnuts, avocado, salmon, mushrooms, and beans are great to boost your mood.
Here’s an interesting fact: Okinawa, Japan has plenty to boast about. The people have one among the highest lifespans in the world. The population also has a very low rate of mental disorders. Thanks to their high consumption of fish and frequent exercising.
5. Struggling to fall asleep
If only tossing and turning in bed counted as exercises. Let’s get into the science of getting sleep. Your body produces a component known as melatonin. This is significant for your internal clock, and it gives you the urge to fall asleep. As you move towards the end of the day, melatonin level keeps increasing. The brain’s pineal gland is responsible to produce melatonin from the amino acids in your diet. And, how would you get amino acids if you’re having an affair with burgers, alcohol, and cupcakes?
This is why drinking milk (rich in amino acids) before you hit the bed, helps you to fall asleep. A body loaded on unhealthy sources of food, will keep you up in the night. Give yourself a detox by having sleep-friendly foods like sweet potato, nuts, turkey, bananas, and sip on herbal teas like chamomile tea and peppermint herb tea.
6. Sexual dysfunction
Your partner is in the mood for some hubba-hubba. But the thought of sex, turns you off. Remember, if you can’t bring it up under the sheets, then you know something’s wrong. Maybe you’ve been drinking too much alcohol or smoking over the weeks, or you blame it on simply being too tired to perform. Stop! Your body needs a detox asap.
Reduce your intake of refined sugar. This will help you get your energy levels back on track. Go green by taking in mineral-rich leafy veggies. When you eat healthy, your body resonates love back to you, and you begin to feel great on the inside.
7. Frequent headaches
Headaches make its appearance because something in your system is wrong. Constant but not-worrisome headaches could mean you’re probably depriving yourself from the nutrients you need to perform your day. This could include not drinking enough water as well.
8. Cravings
Sure, you get mood cravings all the time. Dealing a life crisis with cupcakes is the easiest thing to do. But did you know you get cravings from physical issues as well? Highly-processed food have the potential to artificially raise your dopamine levels (the hormone that makes you feel happy), a key part in addiction. If you keep eating such food, your body would keep needing larger amounts each time to reach the same level of satisfaction you had earlier.
9. Body odor
One of the biggest cries for a detox is a funky smell. If you’re building up a stink frequently, it’s time to clear out toxins from the body. Focus on cleansing your digestive tracts by building up good bacteria. One research claims eating a lot of red meat could lead to BO.4 This is because the amino acids in red meat leave a residue in your intestine after digestion. This residue then breaks down and mixes with the bacteria when you sweat. Is it turning you off, already?
While doing a detox, you might want to go low on garlic, processed food, caffeine, and spicy food. Step up with citrus fruits (great to remove toxins from the body), and chlorophyll-rich plants like kale and spinach.
10. Read your tongue
Stick out your tongue. Now check its color. A healthy person should have a pink colored tongue. A dominantly white-coated tongue is considered to be a mark of an unhealthy system. It could come as a result from drinking alcohol, smoking, and poor oral hygiene. The trapped germs on your tongue could lead to bad breath. Add fresh parsley and peppermint to your meals to improve your breath. Also, drinking green tea and increasing your water intake helps to reduce oral bacteria.
References
