How to Reduce Toxins After the Holiday Season
As the new year gets under way, many people are trying to make good on resolutions that included "getting healthy," but what does that mean, exactly? Getting healthy means different things for different people; however, most people will be making it a point to break harmful habits and replace them with health-supporting ones in the process. In this blog, we take a closer look at ways to get back on track and remove or reduce toxins both after the holiday season and any time you feel you’ve overdone it and just don’t feel like your best.
OVERINDULGING AS A FORM OF TOXICITY
For many people, the holiday season, particularly Thanksgiving through New Year’s Eve, is a time to celebrate. It's common to overindulge and enjoy more food and drinks than you would any other time of the year. Needless to say, "holiday eating" can quickly become a habit that follows into the new year and causes you to feel self-conscious about your appearance or physically unwell.
Studies show that the average person gains about two pounds during the holidays. Many people have trouble shedding those unwanted pounds even when the holidays are over. So is overindulging on delicious luxurious, high calorie food and drinks really considered one of life's toxins? Well, the gluttony of overeating is toxic to the body which has the potential for better control.
CONSIDER AVOIDING RESOLUTIONS
The main reason we make resolutions is that they allow us to "turn over a new leaf." We promise ourselves that we will make good on our resolutions to make better food choices and start exercising. Although on the surface this sounds great, many people give themselves license to overindulge until the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve before committing to their resolutions.
Although this strategy may work for some, it is a disaster for others as they consume a variety of unhealthy foods and drinks leading up to the New Year and suffer through sudden deprivation or the disappointment of not following through on the commitments they made to themselves.
A way to avoid this going forward is to go easy on the resolution mindset, and shift to setting tangible goals. Your body does not care if it is a holiday, but instead wants you to respect it consistently every day. Setting goals promotes mental, physical, and spiritual health throughout and is significantly easier to eventually make habit forming. Working with skilled integrative professionals such as a health coach or functional medicine physician can make the success rate of reaching and sustaining the goal significantly higher.
Tips on How to Reduce Toxins:
Focusing on strengthening your immune system can help ensure your body is capable of removing toxins. Remember that the key elements the immune cells need is water, oxygen, and essential nutrients.
Start your day off with drinking 1 liter of warm tap water.
Strive to drink 4 liters of water per day at specific intervals of the day such as morning, early afternoon, late afternoon, and evening.
Do not mix food or doing other activities while drinking water.
Do not substitute water for alcohol, caffeinated drinks, soda, fruit, Gatorade, and carbonated beverages.
Decrease your food portions so that you are never overful. Try to have your biggest meals before dinner.
Focus on having high nutrient foods such as green vegetables, beans, ancient whole grains, and mushrooms.
Hold off on having high calorie items which cannot give the immune cells sufficient energy or nutrients. Some would say think twice about the American diet rich in processed pre-packaged items, sugar, animal protein, alcohol, and bread.
Delegating responsibilities is a great way to make sure you don't become overstressed and take on more than you can handle. For example, if you're getting back into the swing of work, school, and other responsibilities, there is no need for you to shoulder all of it yourself. The kick off to a new year is a great time to request that your children and other family members help prepare food, set the table, do laundry and other household chores. If it is possible at work, delegate tasks as needed. As you are probably already aware, stress is one of life's great toxins and the #1 killer of chronic disease. . Delegating responsibilities to others can ease stress while allowing you to avoid some of the health problems that come with it.
Improved sleep should rank high on your list of New Year’s goals. Poor sleep is linked to most chronic diseases, including diabetes, obesity, heart disease, and cancer. If you don't do anything else to overcome toxicity going into the new year, you're encouraged to make getting a good night's sleep a priority. Try to give yourself 2 to 3 hours to unwind before bedtime. This will include fasting, no electronic exposure or engaging in intense work task or conversations. Instead, reflect on the day, keep a gratitude journal, stretch, and meditate before bedtime. Get to bed before you become overly tired. Otherwise, you may actually have trouble falling or staying asleep.
Making exercise part of your lifestyle is key to feeling fit and healthy. We are not suggesting that you over do right at the beginning of the new year. Being physically active and avoiding a sedentary lifestyle helps us relax and improves circulation. Choose a workout time which you can stick to and one that is many hours before bedtime. If possible, exercise early in the day as it will allow your body ample time to cool down and your heart rate to stabilize. Think in terms of moving throughout the day. Exercise is very beneficial, but getting it should not become an additional stressor.
Practicing mindfulness is a great way to tend to your mental health, something that too often goes neglected. Taking time to incorporate mindfulness in your day can reduce stress, boost your immune system, and help your body clear toxins after the holidays and throughout the year. Mindfulness involves focusing on the present moment, which can be done through slow deep nasal breathing and staying still. The end result is letting thoughts come through your mind but that you took a conscious effort not to immediately react. Becoming fully immersed in any activity you are engaged in will create a state of peace, awareness, and transformation.
AUTHOR
Dr. Payal Bhandari M.D. is one of U.S.'s top leading integrative functional medical physicians and the founder of SF Advanced Health. She combines the best in Eastern and Western Medicine to understand the root causes of diseases and provide patients with personalized treatment plans that quickly deliver effective results. Dr. Bhandari specializes in cell function to understand how the whole body works. Dr. Bhandari received her Bachelor of Arts degree in biology in 1997 and Doctor of Medicine degree in 2001 from West Virginia University. She the completed her Family Medicine residency in 2004 from the University of Massachusetts and joined a family medicine practice in 2005 which was eventually nationally recognized as San Francisco’s 1st patient-centered medical home. To learn more, go to www.sfadvancedhealth.com.