When it comes to detoxing, many think they need to go on a week-long juice cleanse or nix out entire categories of foods to remove toxins from the body. Truth is, our bodies naturally detoxify themselves without any external efforts. However, eating the right foods, implementing proper health habits, and drinking enough water certainly speed up and help in the cleansing process.

Here are six practical tips and natural ways to help you detox your body.

 1. DRINK UP

This goes without saying, drinking more water daily can help your system and overall health in so many beneficial ways. You can increase your energy, hydration levels. healthy cellular structure, and mental focus, while cleansing and clearing out any toxins from your body.

Water is literally the river that is the path to our personal well-being. It carries nutrients to our cells, aids digestion by forming stomach secretions, flushes our bodies of wastes, and keeps our kidneys healthy. In particular, the kidneys are necessary for helping the body remove water and waste. They balance the fluids and electrolytes in our bodies so that our systems run smoothly.

In addition, staying properly hydrated can help reduce fat. Water can naturally suppress the appetite, reduce bloating and help the body to metabolize fat.

 2. EAT THE RIGHT FOODS

You don’t have to be on a juice cleanse to add in foods in your daily menu that will detox your body and cleanse your liver. Why focus on anti-inflammatory foods? Well, less inflammation means a much slimmer you. Here’s a sample meal plan to add in some of the top anti-inflammatory foods to your diet:

Breakfast: Blueberries, sliced pineapple and brazil nuts. Blueberries are super high in anthocyanins, which effectively turn off inflammatory and immune gene. Pineapple is not only high in Vitamin C, it is packed with bromelain, which helps to repair and resolve muscle soreness through its significant levels of potassium. Brazil nuts are packed with selenium, which is vital in flushing mercury from your body.

Lunch: Spinach salad topped with brussels sprouts, beets and avocado. Spinach is rich in carotenoids, and vitamins C, E, and K, all of which protect the body from inflammation. Beets have a mix of phytochemicals and minerals that makes it a great blood purifier and liver cleanser. Brussels are high in sulfur, helping to remove toxins from the blood.

Dinner: Salmon (or black beans, my fellow vegans), steamed broccoli, and garlic offer a triple threat anti-inflammatory powerhouse. Broccoli increase glutathione, which helps the liver transform toxins into a form that can be easily eliminated. Garlic is loaded with sulfur to purify the system.

3. MOVE YOUR BODY DAILY

Twist, side bends, backbends and forward folds. When you move your body, particularly your mid-section, you clean out all of your digestion and organs when doing so. It’s like a big squeeze for your torso and tummy, and a bit of a push to get any of the lingering crap (literally) out of your system.

Try these three moves to get your body in gear:

1. Seated or Standing Cat and Cow: Place your hands on the tops of your knees if you’re seated, or bend your knees to a mini-squat if you’re standing. Similar to a kneeling cat-and-cow sequence, inhale and create a backbend in the upper back and look forward or up, stretching the neck; exhale, rounding the spine and neck, tucking chin toward the chest. Repeat 10 rounds.
2. Side bends: Preferably standing during a bathroom break if you’re on a plane, with arms extended, use the inhale to elevate the ribs, and the exhale to bend farther to the corresponding side. Repeat for five breaths on each side. As a bonus, use an overhead bin to press your hand into for a little assist.
3. Twisting Chair: Twisting for equal breaths on each side, use the inhale to extend the spine, and the exhale to twist deeper, squeezing and cleansing out the belly and inner organs.

4. REMOVE SUGARS

Sodas are out. Fruit waters are in. Natural flavors are those that sound just like that: found from nature. Sodas are loaded with added sugar that is 100% useless in any benefit to your body.

Make it tasty, keep it clean, drink more water. These three detoxify water recipes will all get the cleansing job done, so try one, or try them all!

3 Different Detoxifying Water Recipes to Cleanse your system:

1. de-puff // cucumber ginger lemon lemons are loaded with Vitamin C for repair, while cucumbers are major anti-inflammatory foods and reduce bloating, with ginger also hosting anti-inflammatory properties while boosting digestion.
2. de-stress // pineapple strawberry lime loaded with anti-inflammatory, digestive-boosting and liver cleansing properties, with a touch of sweetness provided by the fruits can also boost your energy levels. This one’s great for introducing to kids with the tasty fruits!
3. de-tox // lemon lime orange (Citrus fruits can be very detoxing thanks to the alkaline effect they have on the body. This recipes uses both oranges, limes and lemon to provide plenty of Vitamin C, and infuse the water with classic citrus flavor.

5. (TRY) INTERMITTENT FAST

To begin, intermittent fasting is NOT a diet. Better said, it’s an eating, or lifestyle, pattern. There are various methods to intermittent fast, but the one I’ve personally tried and am currently practicing is eating all of my food within an 8 hour window.

There’s no “eat this” or “don’t eat that” terminology. More like, eat between 12 and 8p. Within that time period, I’ve found that I make healthier, more selective choices for the foods I consume. It helps to simplify my mornings (and no, I don’t go hungry all day either — the body can adjust). And, lastly, I find that with the break in constantly consuming, my body is better able to sleep at night and recover faster from workouts.

I wouldn’t recommend this method for everyone, especially those pregnant or if you’ve suffered from an eating disorder in the past. However, giving your body brief pauses from digesting can give it that energy to heal and restore in the other systems working in your body, including its natural detox and lymphatic system.

6. SLEEP BETTER

Sleep is the time our body gets to repair, rebuild, and restore in every way. Your cell phone eventually dies if it doesn’t get recharged or plugged in every day (give or take), right? Your body works the same way. It need to shut off. It needs to recharge.

Turn off your phone an hour prior to going to bed. No emails. No social media. Both of these tend to flood our mind with emotions and thoughts.

Start small: if your goal is to be in bed by 10am and you’re currently up until 11:30pm or midnight, tick the bedtime timer back 15 minutes gradually to give your mind and body time to adjust.

Create a bedtime ritual. Remember when we were young and we needed a bedtime story to fall asleep? It’s not that we needed the story, but that nightly habit reminded us that it was time to shut down and go to bed. Create your own evening ritual, be it taking a bath, reading a book, or writing in a journal.