Shabir and Trinny were in the bathroom discussing the importance of body cleansing. While you might think drinking a green smoothie regularly is enough to detox your body, Shabir isn’t convinced. Here’s everything you need to know.

Why should you cleanse?

Everyday your body is exposed to thousands of toxins and chemicals from cleaning agents, personal care products, pollution et cetera. Toxins cause inflammation within your body, which slows everything down, scars your tissues and exacerbates ageing. While you body is constantly regulating itself and detoxing, the average human still stores over 700 toxins in their body at one time.

Where should you start?

Shabir recommends starting with your intestines. Most of us don’t eat enough fibre and as a result it takes us longer to digest the food and overtime this can cause constipation, bloating and gas. Your gut is supposed to absorb the nutrients from food and then expel the waste once or twice a day. However, our low fibre diets slow this process down, which can lead to fermentation in the gut and more toxins being created.

Eventually parasites start to feed off of the build-up of food in our intestines and excrete waste. It’s thought that you could have over 300 different parasite species in your body feeding off your vital nutrients, so taking steps to eliminate them is essential.

Your colon contains billions of bacteria to breakdown the food and send signals to your brain to say you’re hungry or full and they’re maintaining your immune system.

How do you cleanse your intestines?

There are different ways to cleanse your colon, including colonics, enemas and laxatives. There is also a supplement called Complete Fibre Cleanse, which is a blend of insoluble and soluble fibres to help reduce constipation and regulate your bowel movement. This not only cleanses your colon but helps cleanse the whole length of the intestines scraping the gut of plaque and lodged pathogens.

Fibre isn’t for everyone, especially if you battle with IBS, colitis or inflammatory bowel conditions because you’re adding bulk to what is already there. Instead, they would be better using a blend of vitamin C and magnesium, such as Effervescent Vitamin C Magnesium Crystals. This supplement cleanses the colon and replenishes these two vital nutrients.

How do you cleanse you liver?

Your liver is your second biggest organ (skin is the largest) and has over 300 functions to support your body. It is responsible for regulating, processing and breaking down the different substances in your body. It works closely with your gall bladder, which stores bile required to breakdown fats and eliminate toxins from your gut.

Your liver is the only organ which has the ability to regenerate, but it is bombarded with toxins on a daily basis which hinders this process. Most things in excess with affect your liver, including alcohol, carbs and protein. For example, your liver breaks down protein to release amino acids, however this process releases ammonia which is toxic to the liver.

If you want to support and cleanse your liver or you’re following a high protein diet, it would be prudent to take a supplement such as Milk Thistle Complex. This supplement contains the trinity of liver cleansing and supporting herbs; Milk thistle, Dandelion and Artichoke Milk Thistle all known for their varying roles in helping to protect the liver and enhancing its function.

Can you cleanse your intestines and liver together?

Yes, you can take both Complete Fibre Cleanse and Milk Thistle Complex at the same time. However if you want to do one at a time, Shabir recommends starting with your intestines.

How do you do a sugar detox?

There has been plenty of health warnings about the amount of sugar that we’re consuming in the news recently. Why is it considered toxic? When your body metabolises sugar it is converted into energy. Any leftovers are then converted into glycogen (stored energy) and fat pockets which get deposited around your body (usually in your mid-drift area).

When you burn sugar for energy you create AGEs, a by-product which destroys the proteins in your body. The metabolism of sugar impacts every single structure within the body from your eyes to your joints and it is vital that we try to keep our sugar intake under control.

The best way to ‘detox’ is to control your sugar levels. Chromium is one of the best ways to do this as it keeps your insulin levels balanced, which could potentially ease any cravings for sugar. Taking a chromium supplement, such as 7-Day Sugar Detox, is a good place to start as it comes with a helpful guide.

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