Detox Bath

Hi Hi Hi! This post is something a little different than the regular foodie post but still I really wanted to share this with all of you!

I had heard about detox baths for so long, but never had tried them. I honestly didn’t understand them or comprehend that it was more than just a regular hot relaxing bath. I thought it was totally just a mental/relaxation thing (that IS part of it) but had no idea what a detox bath could actualllllyyy do for your body. Until recently….

I have been detoxing internally for about 3 weeks now. That involves an elimination diet of caffeine, alcohol, gluten, dairy, soy as well as eating as whole and natural as possible (i.e. just because a cracker is gluten free- I still shouldn’t be eating it). The detox program I’m doing is through Arbonne (more on that later) but really it involves sticking to the above guidelines, having one of their protein shakes for breakfast and or lunch followed by a healthy dinner. This is my second detox program (they last 28 days) and the first one I did I lost 14 pounds! So I’m excited to report back after I complete this second one. Anyway, somehow the idea of a detox bath popped into my head and that I should try one. Seriously I don’t know where the idea came from other than I knew I had a Friday night to myself and thought- hey why not. I looked up several “recipes” and combined several to make the version I used.

First before I get into my experience- lets just talk about what the hell a detox bath is in the first place.  Our bodies naturally detoxify themselves on a constant basis. As humans we are exposed to toxins at high levels and particularly in this day and age each of us are exposed to more toxins than ever before. We are exposed the second we wake up. We breath in polluted air, we take showers with water that is full of residual pollutants and toxins, we use shampoo and beauty care products full of chemicals, we brush our teeth with toothpaste that most likely contains fluoride, then we move on to eating breakfast. Breakfast probably consists of food that has been exposed to harsh chemicals and pesticides or genetically modified . We don’t even have to leave the house to put excessive strain on our bodies natural detoxification abilities. Then just imagine what happens when you leave your house and are out and about in our dirty, albeit beautiful, world. Our bodies can’t keep up with all the stuff we keep exposing it to. It would be virtually impossible to eliminate all toxins from our body but there are ways we can encourage our body and promote it’s natural ability to boost our health, strengthen our immune system and prevent illnesses.

Our bodies have several ways in which it detoxifies. One is through the liver which removes harmful toxins and metabolic waste, converts them to water soluble compounds and excretes them from our body through our urine. For toxins that cannot be converted to water soluble or aren’t water soluble, our livers excrete this through bile which then travels through our intestinal tract and is  removed by going #2 🙂 There are still some toxins yet, that can not be or aren’t removed through these two methods and usually we end up sweating those out through our skin.

In a world where:

• 2,100 chemicals, including pesticides, herbicides, medications such as antidepressants and recreational drugs are in our water supply
• 80,000 metric tons of carcinogens are released into the air annually in North America
• Over 80% of foods have genetically modified ingredients
• The EPA estimates that the average U.S. citizen has residues from over 400 toxic compounds in their body
• 82,000 chemicals are in use today in the United States, but only a fourth have ever been tested for toxicity ∗

You can see why it’s important to aid our bodies all that we can. I’m not sure who thought of a detox bath but I’m glad they did! For centuries people have been using Mineral Salts (Epsom, dead sea) to aid in healing various illnesses and improving overall health and well being. Most detox baths do have empsom salt(also known as Magnesium Sulfate) in them. Due to it’s properties to help with easing stress, regulate activity of 300+ enzymes, reduce inflammation and relieve sore muscles, flush toxins, and improve circulation. Good stuff!!

Now as I said I sort of combined several “recipes” that I had found and created my own. I’ll briefly go over what and why for each ingredient.

– Epsom Salt – see above 🙂

– Sea Salt– see above 🙂

– Baking Soda– this will not only help help neutralize your water (if you don’t have filtered water) but also improve mineral absorption.

– Bentonite Clay – this is a unique healing natural clay that has electrical components that assist in the ability to absorb toxins specifically heavy metals and chemicals. If you are having troubles finding this you can order online or try looking at your local coop or health foods store. For my fellow Madisonians- Willy Street Coop has a great selection of natural clay powders.

– Ginger–  Not only does ginger smell great but it has anti inflammatory properties and for some reason or another it is supposed to really make you sweat. Which is why I added it to my bath- to aid in sweating out all the bad! 🙂

– Raw Apple Cider Vinegar – Not only do I love AC Vinegar for it’s fermentation and all around rock star healthy living awesomeness (I should do a whole post on this stuff) but this is also specifically used in this bath to help remove and flush Uric Acid from your body. But I recommend using raw with the “mother” as this is the most pure and natural form of it and most likely will do a better job. THIS is an amazing brand to use.

– Essential Oils– really meant to help with the mind and relaxation part of this bath. When it smells good you can close your eyes and pretend you are on an island with the water crashing around you…..oh I mean that’s what I did anyway. You can use anything you want (that is safe for topical use) I used a mix of Lavender oil and Tee Tree Oil but you could use whatever you wanted. Make sure you are using pure oils. Unfortunately a lot on the market today have many fillers in them. Young Living  is a great brand and my personal favorite but doTerra is another good option.  Here is a great source for some ideas on which oils to use for different symptoms.

So now that you know the ‘why’, I’ll tell you how!

Seriously- I’m not kidding when I say, STAY HYDRATED!! On a normal day I drink about 100 oz of water. The day I did this bath, I had already drank about 120 oz by 4 pm and then drank another 32 oz while in the bath, and then another 32 oz when I got out. And I was still suuuuuppper light headed when I got out of the bath. I realize I that drink more water than the average person so please take care of yourself and drink lots of water!!

I was amazed how much I sweat when I was in the bath- seriously my face was dripping in it, even by the end of my 40 minutes in the tub, I was still hot hot hot. And I continued to sweat for about 30 minutes after getting out. It was amazing. Also, without going into took gory of details, my sweat smelled FUNKY! Like I don’t even know how to explain it. But I usually sweat a lot (like I would say more than the average person) and it never smells but this sweat was a little funky smelling. Also when I was done with the bath I noticed it had a beige grey brown tone to it. Way more so than at the beginning of the bath. I mean I know I put ginger and AC Vinegar in there but it was definitely a different color at the end than it was at the beginning.

I was so tired when I was done. My body was exhausted and my muscles were really sore! Almost as if I’d just done a really good workout. Not the sore where it “hurt” but the good sore feeling. You know what I’m talking about, right? 🙂 I couldn’t believe how good I felt afterwards and all of the signs that the bath actually worked and it wasn’t all in my head. Seriously, I’m sold. I’ll be doing these on the regular from here on out.

Hope you learned something today and I hope that you give a detox bath a try! As always that you for stopping by and checking out the blog!

xoxo

∗Some of this information (and specifically the stats cited above) were pulled from http://www.healthylivinghowto.com on September 14th 2014. 

∗These opinions are my own. Please do not use as medical advice and consult a doctor if you have questions or concerns before starting a detox regime.