1. Don’t buy chemical products.

This one seems fairly straightforward but a lot of people would be surprised at just how many toxic products they have in their house that can cause problems. For instance, household cleaners can cause all sorts of problems. Short term issues include respiratory distress, gastrointestinal distress, and some household cleaning chemicals can even kill you. There are some that may not do much at first but long term exposure can cause cancer. The best solution is to get rid of those toxic cleaners for more organic solutions. This even applies to stuff like toothpaste. Chemical toothpaste has ingredients that cause dry mouth and canker sores. It’s a fairly large list overall and even includes stuff like chemical air fresheners, pet products, and laundry products. The first step to leading a detox life is to get rid of these harmful chemicals.

2. Don’t buy drugstore remedies and cosmetics

This is another important one because people really don’t expect these to be that bad. Did you know that long time use of NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) like ibuprofen can increase your risk of heart attack and stroke by up to three times? Tylenol is bad for your liver. Cosmetics are even worse because you wouldn’t expect something you put on your body every day to be that bad for you. According study conducted by the CDC, the average woman uses nine cosmetic products which exposes them to over 100 chemicals. Many of those chemicals have been linked to birth defects, breast cancer, hormonal problems, and reproductive problems. Thus, your next step is to get rid of your drugs and your beauty products and begin to look into more natural remedies for simple things and organic make up to make you look good.

3. Get rid of the toxic people in your life

Toxic people can cause just as many problems as toxic chemicals. They can poison your mind with negative thinking, encourage you to do things that poison your body, and cause any number of other mental, emotional, and sometimes even physical distress. It’s about time the chord with those kind of people get cut. It’s been well documented that negative thoughts and emotions affect your health in a negative fashion. Thus, the premise is fairly obvious. If you want to live the detox life, you’ll have to remove all of the toxins and that includes toxic people.

4. Don’t buy grocery store product

This seems like a bit of a bad idea because everyone tells you that fruits and vegetables are good for you. Unfortunately what they fail to mention is that you should probably eat fruits and veggies that aren’t coated in harmful, toxic pesticides. It’s been documented that most produce contains pesticides and it doesn’t take a doctor to tell you that chemicals that kill any life form is probably bad for you too. The regulations for pesticides haven’t been updated in any meaningful way since the 1990’s which is just sad. If you can, try for organic vegetables that either use natural, non-toxic pesticides or no pesticides at all.

5. Avoid high fructose corn syrup

This one will be the most difficult because few people realize just how much of this stuff is out there. It’s in soda, yogurt, bread, salad dressing, juice, and a host of other foods. The danger with high fructose corn syrup is that it reacts in your body in a different fashion than sugar. The difference causes higher blood sugar levels and more violent blood sugar spikes. This can lead to obesity, diabetes, and pretty much every other health concern that involves being overweight. Did we mention that it also contains mercury? It’s difficult but you can avoid high fructose corn syrup. As a personal anecdote, I quit high fructose corn syrup 18 months ago and have since dropped from 220 pounds to 170 pounds. No one is saying that you should consume a lot of sugar either but if you have to choose between the two, sugar is actually healthier for you than high fructose corn syrup.

6. Stop smoking

This one couldn’t be more obvious. Smoking is terrible for you. It offers virtually no health benefits and cigarettes contain more chemicals than we can list here. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve no doubt heard about the dangers of smoking. If you smoke and you want to detox your life then you really ought to quit smoking.

7. Keep real plants in every room of your house

When in doubt, bring nature indoors! When you have plants indoors it can help in a number of ways. The more important way is that detoxifies the air. Plants take in carbon dioxide and expel oxygen but the plants and the soil itself also absorb other chemicals in the air that can be toxic. It also helps that some nice plants can really liven up a boring room and can make your house smell fresher.

8. Get eight hours of sleep every night

While your brain has you lulled into the wonderful dream world that is sleep, your body is doing all kinds of stuff. Your immune system gets kicked into high gear, your wounds heal faster, reset your body, and even lower the risk of some diseases like heart disease. It will also give you more energy to perform our next tip.

9. Sweat it out

Not only does exercise lower the risk of many, many diseases and make you look better but it also helps detox your life. Your body expels toxins in all sorts of ways and one of those ways is sending it out of the body via your sweat. When you work out, you’ll be making your body stronger and when you sweat you’ll be making your body healthier. You can also use saunas to get a good sweat in. Don’t forget a nice shower afterward so you can rinse of all those toxins in your sweat!

10. Detox your finances

When you have bad money problems, you have a bad life. When you have a bad life, you’re more likely to engage in toxic activities. In order to attain a more pleasant and pure peace of mind, you need to fix your budget. This includes paying off your debts, becoming more financially secure, and even spending more money on yourself. When you buy yourself something nice it makes you feel good. You’ll likely also need a few extra bugs to get the slightly more expensive organic products to replace your chemical ones. It’s a win-win. It can be very difficult to get used to a non-toxic life. You’ve likely been using some of the chemicals you use for your entire life. Things like detoxing your finances and friend circles take time. Getting enough sleep is likely something you wish you could do anyway regardless of its health benefits. It is a tough path but when you see it through and get it done, you’ll ultimately see the benefits. Featured photo credit: Blogilates via blogilates.zippykid.netdna-cdn.com