Detox Water
All of us yearn for good health at some point in order to smoothly perform duties and responsibilities, and do whatever we want in life as enjoyable as possible.
In fact, people often seek out their way into looking for opportunities that will help them achieve a healthy boost as well as prevent any risk of diseases to live a beautiful long life.
In order to achieve excellent body functioning and enjoy a feeling of immunity from diseases, people became interested in different health subjects from taking supplements to dieting and exercise.
But most importantly, we should strive in training ourselves develop a mindset of always choosing healthy produce and avoiding damaging foods – such as junk food, processed or fast food, and sweets – that has been repeatedly mentioned to cause health problems. As Hippocrates once said, “All disease begins in the gut.”
Our bodies go into detoxification mode at any time of the day. Thanks to our “filtering” organs such as the liver, kidneys, and the intestine, our bodies are designed to clean itself from the inside. However, depending on our diet and lifestyle, the level of load that these crucial organs handle can be intensive or less so.
There has been an ongoing trend in health whose core principle involves keeping the body free from toxins as possible. Referred to as “detox,” or a shortened form of the term “detoxification” and synonymous to “body cleansing,” it is a form of alternative medicine which upholds the idea that a “clean” body is less susceptible to illnesses and, therefore, is generally healthy.
Drawing from that belief, many enthusiasts in the health space have been promoting the consumption of a fluid which they believe is capable of boosting the body’s inherent ability to detoxify, aptly called the “detox water.”
Unlike the average drinking water, a detox water is more special in that it comes infused with health-boosting ingredients, such as fruits, veggies, or herbs. Adding any of these ingredients help add a unique twist to a drink that is known for being without taste.
Detoxification is one of the most popular methods in promoting good health because it is a process where the body is guided in flushing out toxins and harmful chemicals. Besides, it is one of the most widely accepted forms of treatment in alternative medicine.
Detoxification is performed by dissolving any type of fresh fruit, herb, or vegetable in water. The purer the water in use for the detox, the better.
More than just a fad, the idea of going on a cleanse with detox water apparently seems to work, at least according to research.
Water Fasting
To further understand the process of detoxification, let us examine water fasting. Water fasting is known as the simplest yet most challenging form of fasting. This type of fasting method results to the fullest extent of detoxification with the quickest therapeutic effects.
Water consumed alone during a fasting period offers the body the fastest healing of all its infirmities since water is naturally designed to purify the body from chemicals and toxins that can cause heightened risk of diseases. But according to some experts which call water fasting as “the true fast”, the person undergoing the process should make sure not to eat anything at all.
Otherwise, the detoxification process of water fasting will be compromised with the entry of food components into bodily systems. The entire process can be very challenging to do so, especially because of the intense and uncomfortable symptoms of detoxification during the first few days of the fast. After this period, the body will be able to adjust to a fasting state.
In order to sustain itself, the body will enter a state of ketosis wherein the brain will initiate the fueling of the body through ketones produced from fatty tissues.
According to Dr. Joel Fuhrman, author of Fasting and Eating for Health, the average duration for ketosis is around 48 hours for women and 72 hours for men. After the stage of ketosis, people practicing the fast will experience a sensation in the mouth and throat – similar to thirst – called “true hunger”, which is then known as the best time to end the fast.
However, you have the option not to fully practice water fasting and achieve the same benefits of detoxification but with addition of healthy nutrients. It may not totally cleanse empty your gut, but you can take detox water which you can consume daily, even with meals.
Detox water is very easy to prepare for you have the option to choose which healthy produce to include depending on what you need for your body: through a wide selection of fresh fruits, herbs, and vegetables that you can infuse in water.
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Benefits of Detox Water
While medical experts can be confusing in their arguments on the benefits of detox water, we have compiled here a set of time-proven gains from the detoxification process brought about by consuming detox water.
1. It enhances your emotional health and elevates mood.
Detoxification allows our brain to heal from “stuck” emotional patterns such as depression, hyperactivity, and anxiety. Having a cleansed body from the inside will allow you to understand your body better accompanied with well bodily functions. It can make you feel happier while ensuring the best of your well-being knowing how detox water has already been guaranteed to promote improvement of health significantly.
Dehydration is a condition that can affect people’s mood for the worse. Drinking an ample amount of water, much to the restoration of the body’s normal level of hydration, is shown to be effective in countering the negative effect that comes with being insufficiently hydrated. Therefore, individuals who are well-hydrated are typically in a more positive disposition than those who are poorly hydrated.
2. It helps to remarkably lose weight.
Detox water is a good addition to your diet because drinking water helps ensure that toxins and unneeded fats are cleansed out of the body.
Regular drinking of detox water also promotes healthy lifestyle in a way that it conditions your tongue (and the digestive system) against unhealthy eating habits.
One of the most popular use of the detox water, aside from cleansing the body, is the idea that regular consumption promotes weight loss to the body. The benefit centers to the water’s natural ability to increase the body’s metabolic rate, thereby increasing the possibility of weight loss through enhanced energy expenditure.
3. It increases mental clarity and memory preservation for better cognitive performance.
It has been proven by experts that the sugary and fatty food we usually consume daily can cause fogginess and make us feel lethargic. Detoxification eliminates this risk and consequently, gives way to meditation that can help improve our mental abilities.
Being dehydrated does not only affect our mood due to the discomfort that comes with the condition, it also dulls our ability to think as well. On the other hand, people who consume enough water to replenish their body’s needed hydration have shown significant boost to their cognition. This easily translates to better performance during tests or exams or even in other tasks that require mental function.
4. It strengthens the immune system.
Drinking detox water helps facilitate the delivery of sufficient oxygen from the lungs to the heart and to all parts of the body with its contributory properties in helping maintain the proper growth of blood cells. Since white blood cells are our defense to counter-act entry of toxins and bacteria, detoxification will be a valuable aid in promoting strong immunity against illnesses.
When infused with fruits that contains nutrients that inherently boosts the body’s immune system, such as vitamin A or C, the consumption of detox water offer substantial benefit in bolstering the body’s natural defense against sickness . However, it is worth pointing out the potential discrepancy that comes with consuming a whole fruit and drinking fruit-infused water with regards to amount of nutritional content.
- Wintergerst ES, Maggini S, & Hornig DH (2006). Immune-enhancing role of vitamin C and zinc and effect on clinical conditions.
- Gibson A, Edgar JD, Neville CE, Gilchrist SE, McKinley MC, Patterson CC, Young IS, & Woodside JV (2012). Effect of fruit and vegetable consumption on immune function in older people: a randomized controlled trial.
5. It is a natural diuretic that can purge the body of chemicals and toxins.
Detox water is beneficial against damaging factors that cause diseases, including cancer and organ damage. Detoxification guides the body by initiating body cleansing that starts from the digestive and urinary systems.
One of the most effective way the body cleanses itself is by inducing peeing, which is essentially the result of the kidneys having filtered the blood from toxins. The water element in a detox water, being a natural diuretic, helps with the process of detoxification and, equally as important, helps flush out pathogens in the urinary tract that have the potential to cause infection, especially among women.
6. It improves bodily metabolism and enhances energy levels.
By cutting off on your intake of fats, sugar, and caffeine, the body will become more sufficiently hydrated making detox water more effective. Because of this, it allows you to experience natural boosts in energy that will help your body and yourself perform better and more efficient in your activities.
It has been observed among athletics the correlation between their bodies’ level of hydration and their overall performance which saw decreasing result as the athlete lose water weight through intensive sweating. However, replenishing lost fluids is found to improve performance, suggesting the link between the body’s energy levels and hydration.
Although the subject of the study are individuals who undergo rigorous activities and who are adherent to certain performance metrics, even average individuals will find similar benefit to the idea of keeping themselves well-hydrated while meeting day-to-day tasks.
7. It reduces risk for inflammation and helps with a lot of health disorders.
Drawing from the same free radical-capability that comes with antioxidants, a regular intake of detox water that is replete with anti-oxidants has the benefit in potentially offsetting inflammation. The notion roots to the established link between the existence of free radicals and the body’s immune response. Consequently, individuals who routinely cleanse by consuming an anti-oxidants-rich detox water have substantially less nagging issue with inflammation than those who do not.
Here is a long list of health conditions that have been found to improve and treated with the help of detoxification:
Acne, adult onset diabetes, allergies, anxiety, arthritis, asthma, atherosclerosis, autoimmune illnesses, benign tumors, chronic back and joint pain, chronic fatigue, colitis, deterioration of the musculoskeletal system, digestive disorders, eczema, hay fever, headaches, heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, hyperactivity, hypoglycemia, inflammatory bowel disease (ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease), insomnia, irritable bowel syndrome, lupus, migraines, obesity, osteoporosis, PMS, psoriasis, recurrent infections, rheumatoid arthritis, sinusitis, skin irritations and disorders, substance abuse/addiction, tension, uterine fibroids, and weight loss.
8. It reduces the appearance of the signs of aging inducing a youthful glow.
Aside from playing an essential role in strengthening the body’s immunity against disease-causing agents, antioxidants which are found in certain plants and fruits are also beneficial in maintaining or improving the quality of our skin. This benefit boils down to the antioxidants’ identified ability to eradicate free radicals whose presence promotes not only diseases but also skin aging.
Detoxification purges toxins from the body which will eventually reflect on your outward appearance. When taking out the toxins, the body is stimulated to create new cells that increases vitality and improves the skin and hair.
Subsequently, persons who regularly consume detox water that is infused with antioxidants-bearing ingredients have a significant youthful glow to their skin than their counterparts who do not.
After regular intake of detox water, you should expect clearer and smoother skin; as well as softer, shinier, and healthier hair.
9. It improves digestion, reduces bad breath and body odor.
Inadequate intake of water, particularly over an extended period, is linked to the occurrence of constipation, marked by the feeling of being bloated, feeling sluggish, and difficulty passing stools. Drinking fluid, like detox water, is said to either offset or address the issue due to the liquid’s integral ability to promote good digestion.
Theoretically, the main cause of body odors and bad breath is an unclean colon. In that sense, detox water can help by clearing out the digestive system of all the toxins that could give your body these bad characteristics.
10. It promotes good pH level and healthy lifestyle.
As mentioned previously, drinking detox water will help train your tongue and appetite into a healthy eating lifestyle. It won’t just be a bit of cleansing your body from the inside, but the consumption of carefully chosen nutritious food.
There are only a few known ways where the body can maintain good pH level—that is, alkaline—via a fluid: to drink an alkaline water itself or to ingest a detox water that is infused with lemon, a fruit which is believed to be an agent of alkalinity.
It has been argued that people whose pH level is alkaline (above 7 in the pH level scale) are healthier than individuals whose pH level is acidic (below 7 in the pH level scale). The latter of which is blamed for the occurrence of certain diseases, including cancer.
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