Toxins enter your body through what you breathe, drink, and eat. Once inside, the toxins weaken your immune system and leave you vulnerable to health issues – which is far from ideal now that the cold and flu season is coming and make you age faster. Your body has a natural ability to remove toxins and keep your immune system healthy, but it’s best to help it, especially during a period when external factors can weaken it. The fewer toxins present in your body, the healthier you’ll be. 

The term toxin refers to external and internal noxious substances. External toxins can be synthetic chemicals, processed foods, pollutants, heavy metals, and other similar elements. Internal waste includes metabolic waste and excess hormones. Your body has a complex way to remove toxins that involves multiple organs (lungs, skin, kidneys, liver, and digestive system). But they must be healthy to perform properly and eliminate toxins.

Signs of toxicity

It’s easy to notice the symptoms associated with toxins. Some cause persistent and trigger discomfort regularly, while others come and go, but they all affect the quality of life. Tiredness is often a sign of toxins in the body because they cause fatigue and overall sluggishness. Headaches also point to an increased level of noxious substances, so pay attention to how often you experience them and how intense they get. Skin irritations (hives and rashes), digestive problems, and joint pain can also indicate a build-up of toxins. Sometimes toxins also cause mental health issues like anxiety and depression. 

Fortunately, you can help your body flush them out, boost your immune system, and improve your overall health. 

Source your food wisely

It’s best not to buy processed and packaged foods containing ingredients you find hard to pronounce. Instead, you should get fresh foods from natural and eco-friendly sources. Your diet should include at least 50% vegetables because the fibres in vegetables are a natural binder and contain beneficial phytochemicals. You should also lower the amount of red meat you eat. It would also be great if you switched to organic over conventional products. The prices for organic products may be an issue because they are more expensive than traditional foods, but if you purchase them directly from the producer, you can get them at lower prices. 

You should also check the list of dirty and clean foods provided by the Environmental Working Group, to know what products to look for when you go shopping. 

The dirty dozen are some of the dirtiest products on the market that are often contaminated even if you buy them from organic sources. The list includes raisins, celery, potatoes, tomatoes, peaches, pears, cherries, apples, grapes, kale, nectarines, spinach and strawberries. 

The clean fifteen list includes sweet corn, avocado, papaya, pineapple, frozen sweet peas, onion, asparagus, eggplant, cantaloupe, broccoli, cauliflower, mushrooms, cantaloupe, honeydew, and cabbage. 

Include in your diet immune-boosting and detoxifying herbs

A couple of natural ingredients and herbs can boost your immune system and support your body in the detoxification process. Here is a shortlist:

– Milk thistle can support liver health, the main organ responsible for detoxification. 

– Chlorella binds to toxins to enable your body to eliminate them more efficiently. Chlorella is quite effective in removing heavy metals. You can find it in capsules, tablets, or powder. 

– Fulvic ionic minerals bind to heavy metals and radiation to flush them out of your body. Among the benefits of fulvic acid minerals, we should also mention that they boost the immune system because they include numerous minerals, vitamins, electrolytes, and probiotics that encourage a strong digestive system. 

– Dandelion also supports liver function and promotes the body’s natural elimination of toxins. 

– Rishi mushroom has excellent antiviral and immunomodulatory characteristics and promotes the body’s immune response against bacteria, and lowers inflammation.         

Filter your water

Tap water can contain pollutants that harm your health, so consider filtering it if you usually drink from the kitchen sink. When you buy a filter, ensure it’s certified with the Water Quality Association, and removes the contaminants in your water. Check with the local drinking water organization to find out what pollutants are the most common in your area. 

Drink more water

Removing the toxins from your body and maintaining it hydrated is essential to boost your immune system and prepare it for the cold season. Water has a more important role than quenching your thirst; it improves digestion, regulates your body temperature, enables nutrient absorption, lubricates joints, and flushes out waste products. Among the essential roles it has for your body, water also supports your natural detoxification system and removes waste products from your blood. 

Lower the amount of salt you ingest

Consuming too much salt can be detrimental to your health because it promotes toxic accumulation and increases water retention. It’s best to avoid salt when possible. If you eat potassium-rich foods and hydrate properly, you can eliminate excess water and remove salt from your system. Spinach, bananas, potatoes, kidney beans, and squash are some foods rich in potassium. 

Get outdoors

Spending time outside the house isn’t effective only in combating cabin fever but also in providing your lungs with cleaner air. The air in natural environments is cleaner than indoors because it contains less carbon dioxide. High levels of carbon dioxide can deter your productivity and impact your quality of sleep. 

Spend as much time as possible outdoors and especially close to forests because forest air contains phytoncides, which are organic compounds plants and trees produce that play an important role in supporting your immune system and neutralizing toxic elements. Open and green spaces are also rich in negative ions that can lower inflammation. 

Keep the windows open as much as possible to clean up the indoor air and lower the amount of carbon dioxide and other toxins present in the air you breathe. 

Let’s wrap it up

A fall detox is essential because your body needs cleansing to help the organs get ready to deal with the challenges associated with this time of the year. Change your diet, drink more water, and get out of the house to boost your immune system and overall health.