How to Detox: 13 Things You Need to Know
We live in a sea of chemicals. We eat and drink them, absorb them through our skin, and inhale them (both intentionally and unintentionally). Some chemicals make us feel ecstasy, others make us feel like straight garbage.
And sometimes, chemicals that make us feel like heaven at first make us feel like hell later. Everyone who’s experienced a hangover knows exactly what I’m talking about.
At some point, we may want (or be obligated) to help our bodies’ natural detoxification pathways to work more quickly. In these situations, knowing how to detox properly can make all the difference.
Here are 13 Detox Do’s & Don’ts to become toxin-free as quickly as possible.
Detox Drink Do’s
1 - Abstain from “toxins” as long as possible
You would think this is self-explanatory, but on multiple occasions I’ve had people ask me about detox drinks for use on a given day, while simultaneously insinuating that they’ll be adding more toxins into their system that same day. Don’t be that guy.
2 - Go Big or Go Home
The way detox drinks work is by stimulating the release of toxins in the bloodstream via the urine, and replenishing the other stuff that’s lost in the urine so your sample isn’t obviously diluted. The bigger the drink, the bigger the stimulus to release all of the toxins floating around in your blood.
3 - Consider a Detox Pill + Detox Drink Combo
Depending on how much time you have, you may want to consider a two punch detox combo. Starting 7 to 10 days out with a detox pill, then finishing with a detox drink on day 0 will result in the strongest detox purification possible.
4 - Take a Pre-test Beforehand (If Possible)
If you want to be 100% certain that your body isn’t actively clearing toxins in your urine, you can purchase an at-home test. In the event that you’ve taken a detox drink and still showing positive for a given toxin, you should hydrate with an additional 16-32 oz of pure water.
5 - Be Honest About Body Composition
Let’s be honest, every body is different. After the initial ingestion and clearance of a given toxin, the next consideration is body fat percentage. The more body fat we have, the longer it will take before we’re able to get rid of all traces of toxins within our system. Which leads us into our next Detox Drink Do...
6 - Understand Lipolysis & Lipogenesis
Don’t stress, these scientific-sounding words really just mean fat-burning and fat-making. For us, lipolysis (fat-burning) is a bad thing, because that means we’re releasing stored toxins into the bloodstream. The opposite is actually a safety mechanism, because if we’re actively making new fat cells, our blood and urine are more likely to be toxin-free. So eat some fats and carbs together, and don’t feel guilty about it!
7 - Know what Half-Life Is
No, I’m not talking about video game (although I’m told it was outstanding). Half-life in this situation refers to how long it takes a given substance to be cleared out by the body. Specifically the number of hours for one half of the substance to be cleared. So Google that ish!
Detox Drink Don’ts
8 - Don’t Forget That Hemp/CBD May Cause a Positive Result
If you take CBD oil or other full-spectrum hemp supplements, there may be up to 0.3% THC in them. While it’s not a lot, it’s still enough to show up as a positive result on a urinalysis.
9 - Don’t Work Out Before Your Test
This goes back to our discussion of lipolysis. If you’re fasting or working out, you’re likely burning stored body fat, which means you’re releasing the contents of those fat cells into your bloodstream.
10 - Don’t Think It’s a Magic Bullet
No detox product can cause a 100% and permanent elimination of toxins in your body. These products work by allowing you to provide a clean sample for a given window of time. Beyond that window, your body will resume its never-ending process of detoxification.
11 - Don’t Underestimate Your “Toxin” Intake
Especially for those of us who consume “toxins” on a regular basis, it’s easy to mentally dismiss the sheer volume of what we take in. When it comes to intake estimation versus rate of detoxification, always overshoot it.
12 - Don’t Assume What Worked for Someone Else Will Work for You
Apples to apples and oranges to oranges. Don’t think just because your buddy took product X and it worked for him, that it’s a sure thing for you. Our metabolisms, our body compositions, and our bodies’ natural detoxification systems are all different.
13 - Don’t Buy from an Unproven Brand
As Frank Lopez famously said in Scarface, “Never underestimate the other guy’s greed!” As sad as it is to say, there are fly-by-night operations in the detox drink market that sell “snake oil”. Don’t put your health or your livelihood in the hands of unproven brands. Period.
That does it for our 13 Do’s and Don’ts of How to Detox! As always, feel free to Contact Us if you have any questions. For now, feel free to head over to our full selection of tried and true detox solutions.