If you spend any amount of time reading articles on the Internet or in magazines, or even listening to the radio, you’ll come across some group touting the unbelievable benefits of their proprietary detox diet plan.

“Drink this juice blend for just X days straight and you’ll shed pounds like never before!”

“Ready to clean out your system? It’s never been easier! Just drink water, lemon juice, and Tabasco three times a day for a week!”

These too-good-to-be-true detox diet plans are just that. They may not be healthy for your body and don’t bring any long sustaining results. If you are ready to detoxify your body of toxins the right way, here’s how to create the ultimate healthy detox diet plan, combining smart dietary choices and sauna use.

Step One – Prepare for Your Detox Diet

Jumping right into a detox diet plan can be jarring to the system if you do it too abruptly, so begin the overall detoxification process at least five days prior to the start of your new detox diet. Experts agree that those who skip this step may experience bloating, constipation, headaches, and other painful side effects of such a drastic dietary shift.

Prior to starting any new healthy detox diet plan, try to cut out sugar and alcohol from your normal routine. Artificial sweeteners, wheat-intensive products, overly processed foods, and all fast food should be eliminated during this time. Then, gradually reduce your intake of animal proteins – especially those that are high in fat, like any variety of sausage, pork, or beef. Try to eat as many fresh, raw vegetables as possible, but feel free to eat plenty of steamed veggies too.

This is a great time to declutter your refrigerator and pantry in preparation for your detox. By removing foods that may tempt you to cheat during your detoxification, you’ll have an easier time adjusting to the challenging, albeit temporary, diet plan.

If you’re worried about the side effects of dramatically reducing your caffeine levels during your detox, try to taper off your overall caffeine intake prior to beginning the new diet. Start by blending ½ decaf and ½ regular coffee for a few days, then move to ¾ decaf and ¼ regular two days before the detox diet starts. Then, go caffeine-free the last two days. If you find that a zero-caffeine diet is too tough, consider drinking green or white tea, which is significantly lower in caffeine than regular coffee – and hydrates the body more effectively.

Step Two – Plan Your Healthy Detox Diet Plan

This is a diet detox plan that includes a lot of fresh, healthy foods and a real-world focus on diet, exercise, and hydration – not a starvation cleanse. You’ll feel great and boost your overall wellness when you commit to this diet plan and combine it with heart-healthy exercise. To make the meal planning process easier, let’s break down the foods into seven key groups:

Vegetables

Detoxifying your body is made easier when you commit to eating one healthy salad per day. A salad full of dark leafy greens (like Swiss chard, kale, arugula, spinach, or collard greens), other healthy veggies, and a light dressing of lemon juice and a swirl of olive oil, unfiltered apple cider vinegar, or zero dressing at all is ideal. Snack on vegetables like celery, carrots, cucumber, jicama, lettuce, snow peas, squash, zucchini, yams, and asparagus.

Grains

Since this isn’t a detox diet plan focused solely on calorie control, you certainly can and should include a serving of healthy grains into your meal plan. Integrate the following grains in moderation to give your body an energy boost:

• Wild rice
• Quinoa
• Millet
• Tapioca
• Arrowroot
• Buckwheat
• Rice bran
• Rice crackers
• Oats

Try to work high-quality grains into your meal plan by adding 100% buckwheat noodles to the menu, or quinoa flakes, rice bran, or gluten-free bread.

Nuts/Seeds

Your healthy detox diet should be about all things natural, and nuts and seeds are a great way to get some serious protein in your system without having to eat excessive amounts of meat. Choose unsalted nuts and seeds, and always go raw when feasible. Almonds, cashews, Brazil nuts, hazelnuts, and pistachios are popular options. However flax seeds, pine nuts, and coconut are quickly gaining in popularity with those who appreciate a little variety in their detox diet, as well.

Fruit

Fruit is a foundational element in most detox diet plans, and for good reason. You’ll get a big kick of fiber, a massive dose of vitamins, and most fruit tastes so good you won’t think you’re on any type of regimented eating plan at all. Fresh or frozen fruit is fine. Some of the top detox fruit choices are: apricots, apples, pears, peaches, papayas, mangos, kiwi, cherries, watermelon, and figs. Juice is fine if it is natural, unsweetened, and contains nothing but fruit. You’ll want to steer clear of dried fruit during a detox – so no raisins, cranberries, dates, or similar fruits.

Oils

You’ll want to use some oil during food prep, but make sure you stick to one of the following: flax oil, cold-pressed olive oil, chia oil, hemp oil, almond oil, walnut oil, coconut oil, pumpkin oil, avocado oil, and hazelnut oil. Sesame, safflower, and sunflower oils should be avoided while detoxifying.

Animal Proteins

Some detox plans prohibit the intake of animal proteins, but part of a healthy, sustainable detox diet plan is maintaining a sense of balance. Try to eat no more than three ounces of animal protein at each meal, and always select the leanest cuts. Turkey, chicken, wild-caught fish, lamb, and most wild game animals are fine during a healthy detox diet.

Drinks

We talk a lot about detox foods, but what you drink is equally as important. Filtered water is the absolute best thing you can hydrate your body with, but coconut water is great as well. Flavor your water with lemon or lime slices if you’re not used to drinking a lot of water. The idea here is to aim for at least 64-ounces of fluid intake per day, but aim closer to 96 ounces if you’re spending time in your sauna on any given day.

The Benefits of Starting a Healthy Detox Diet Plan

Creating a detox diet plan and sticking to it is a great way to shift your metabolism into overdrive and clean out your system for ultimate health benefits. But what really happens when you detoxify your body?

Gut health: You reduce the amount of bad bacteria in your gut and almost immediately improve digestion and minimize bloating. Consuming a probiotic drink during a detox diet can help balance you out, too.

Liver function: After just a day or so of detoxifying, you’ll burn much of the fat in your liver, helping it to work better almost immediately. The body will then excrete stored toxins, and your liver will be optimized to better manage any new toxins introduced to your system.

Skin appearance: A few weeks after the detox diet, you’ll see a marked improvement in your skin tone and complexion. The first week or so of the detox can push toxins through the skin. Cadmium and lead are two that excrete through the skin’s pores.

Your sense of well-being: A healthy detox diet plan is challenging because many of the food items we’ve become accustomed to – and even use as a coping method for stress and anxiety – are now gone from our lives. But after you get over the initial shock of saying no to sugar, high-fat foods, and more, you’ll feel empowered and in control, and the resulting physical changes will likely give you a big boost of confidence and a sense of accomplishment.

A healthy detox diet plan doesn’t have to be a permanent change in your life, but it can help you instill quality eating habits and a sense of purposeful living rather quickly. The detox diet – combined with exercise, plenty of sleep, a lot of hydrating water, and scheduled sessions in your detoxifying infrared sauna – will help you look and feel your absolute best.

We often hear a lot about detoxing, but exactly what are toxins? Just the word alone sounds frightening and instantly strikes up worry. According to the dictionary definition, a toxin is a poisonous substance that is the result of metabolic activities. Simply put, a toxin is something harmful to our bodies.  The definition of a toxin tends to be vague because of the different types of toxins. Toxins are generally classified as either an internal toxin or an external toxin. It’s important to understand what toxins are so that you know how to identify and get rid of them in your body.

What are Internal Toxins?

Internal toxins are naturally produced by our bodies as part of our daily functions. Our bodies are constantly using energy to rebuild body tissue and replace worn out cells. Throughout this process, they’re also producing waste or internal toxins. These toxins need to be broken down, recycled, and eliminated.  While our bodies have automatic processes to carry out these tasks, they can’t always address built-up toxins. Without proper detoxification, these toxins can clog your system and cause damage to surrounding tissue, organs, and cells.

What are External Toxins?

External toxins are the toxins outside of our bodies that can be ingested or absorbed. Whether chemical or microbial, external toxins enter the body through food, water, air, or physical contact with skin. These toxins can affect your overall health and wellness.

What are the most common external toxins?

• Bisphenol A and Phthalates, commonly referred to as BPA, are toxic substances that exist in cheap plastic drinking bottles. While most bottles with BPA have been phased out, some still use them and should be avoided. A 2015 study confirmed that about 44% of canned food producers still use BPA-lined cans.

• Environmental toxins like smog, airborne particulates, and smoke can wreak havoc on our eyes, lungs, and sinuses. They can remain in our bodies for an extended time after exposure.

• Environmental toxins can be transferred to common indoor spaces like homes, offices, or commercial buildings.

• Household chemicals are also guilty of introducing toxins into indoor living spaces. Common surface cleaners can emit dangerous fumes that may concentrate in small, enclosed areas. Even pet products may contain toxic elements that can harm both you and your pet.

Common Signs of Toxins in Your Body

You may want to consider a detoxification routine if you see any of the following indicators:

• You have trouble losing weight especially inches in a particular area. Many toxins naturally gravitate toward the fatty areas of the body. These toxins are called lipophilic and can include PCBs, dioxins, and pesticides.

• You’re tired all the time even though you’re getting enough sleep. Toxin overload can cause problems with the adrenal glands and that often manifests as unexplained exhaustion. A long-term effect of toxin build up is chronic stress, which can trigger feelings of sleepiness and overall fatigue.

• Frequent headaches can also be a sign of toxicity, especially those that are unexplained or don’t stem from a normal source. MSG, artificial sweeteners, and various food preservatives may trigger headaches due to their inherently toxic properties.

• Moodiness can indicate that your body hormones are out of balance. A proven contributor to hormone disruption is toxic chemicals like BPA, PCBs, and phthalates. Minimizing exposure to plastics can help reduce harmful toxic loads.

• Aches and pains can indicate a high toxic load in some individuals. Various toxins act to stimulate pain receptors in the muscles. This can lead to spasms, aches and pains, muscle knots, and general discomfort.

Detoxification – How Does it Work?

In its simplest terms, detoxification is a process that removes poisonous or harmful substances from your body. Impurities are removed from the liver, which is where the body’s toxins are stored and processed prior to elimination. A good detoxification will also cleanse the intestines, kidneys, lungs, lymph nodes, and skin.  Detoxification is important because it effectively removes or greatly eliminates the harmful toxins that can accumulate inside our bodies. Whether these toxins are internal, external, or acquired from toxic behavior, better health is often just a few weeks away when an appropriate detox method is used.
Here are several ways to cleanse the body and minimize toxins in your system:
Hydrate
One of the most important ways to minimize harmful elements in the body is to stay hydrated. You should drink at least two quarts of water per day. This amount should increase if you’re exercising a lot or using a sauna on a regular basis.
Eat fiber
Your diet should include plenty of fiber in it. Fiber enables your body to process and move waste products through your system as efficiently as possible. Organically grown fruits and vegetables both introduce fiber into your diet and limit the amount of pesticides in your system.

Exercise regularly
An hour of cardio exercise every day can help detoxify the body. Any physical activity that gets your heart pumping is a great detoxification option. Exercising regularly will help detox and cleanse your system from the inside out.
Sauna
Using a sauna can remove toxins from your body quicker than any other method available. A good sauna session will promote profuse sweating. That sweat acts as a transport vehicle for getting harmful toxins out of the body.

Using a Sauna for Detoxification

Sweating is a natural process for the elimination of toxins in the body. While we can’t avoid all harmful toxins out there, we can encourage the removal of toxins from our systems through our skin – and sweating is a great way to do it!  Using an infrared sauna on a regular basis can help to remove heavy metals and toxins quite quickly. To do so, begin by using a sauna at least twice a week for 15-20 minutes. Gradually increase the amount of time you’re able to remain in the sauna until you can comfortably complete five 30-minute sessions each week.

Woman using an infrared sauna for detoxification

Research shows that far-infrared saunas work better than traditional saunas because they deliver deep infrared energy into the body. Infrared sauna detoxification helps remove toxins more effectively than traditional steam saunas. IR units are also generally more comfortable to use than steam-based saunas, so you may be more likely to actually detox your system as often as possible.
Just remember, don’t stay in the sauna more than 30 minutes. Take it easy f\or at least 10 minutes after exiting the sauna. And, be sure to drink lots of water after the sauna session.
With everything our bodies go through each day, detoxing should be a top priority for everyone. Using a sauna can make the detoxification process enjoyable and, it offers a variety of other health benefits.