Detoxing and herbal cleanses often get labeled as a celebrity trend or something that health nuts do. But if you can’t seem to get your energy up or if you find yourself constantly dealing with a variety of health issues, it may be a great way to hit the reset button on your health and help you get back into healthier habits. 

Why Do A Detox?

The purpose of an herbal cleanse or detox is to use plant-based foods to encourage our bodies to remove toxins and stressors while giving our cells, organs and tissues a chance to heal and repair. Pairing this with the elimination of harmful triggering foods, including caffeine and alcohol can also be beneficial.

Those critical of detoxes say they’re not needed and that our body has its own systems for cleansing and detoxification, which include our liver, kidneys and lymphatic system. True. But everyday we’re bombarded with thousands of toxins, chemicals and pollutants in our food, air and water that didn’t exist 100 years ago.

Decades of research (and plenty of lawsuits) tell us that the pollutants in our environment can affect everything from mental health and brain functioning, to our immunity, metabolism, hormones, reproductive health and everything in between. Combine that with a bad diet, nutrient deficiencies, poor sleep, pharmaceutical use, lack of exercise and emotional stress, and you have the perfect storm brewing for a total health disaster. It’s no wonder most of us don’t feel great most of the time. 

So maybe hitting the pause button and giving your body a chance to cleanse, rejuvenate and refresh really isn’t such a crazy idea after all.

In fact many “detoxes” report major benefits, including more energy and the reduction or elimination of a variety of symptoms.

Keep reading to see why trying a detox might be right for you, and how herbs like those found in Flor-Essence by Flora, can help support your body’s own detoxification while making detox gentle and easy if you’re just starting out.

Here are some signs a detox may do you some good.

1. Your Energy Is Zapped

If you always feel like you need to grab a latte to get any kind of pep in your step, a detox might be in order. Poor lifestyle and diet choices can stress us mentally as well as physically, slowly draining our energy and motivation. There’s a good chance you’ve been feeling fatigued for so long you may not even remember what it’s like to feel “normal” anymore. After an effective detox, many report feeling renewed, refreshed and full of positive energy.

2. Your Digestion And Gut-Health Aren’t Great

Digestive issues are probably one of the first things we notice when our body isn’t working as it should. Symptoms like bloating, gas, acid-reflux, heartburn, constipation and diarrhea can all indicate your digestive system isn’t working as it should.  Poor food choices (processed foods, food preservatives, additives, dyes) as well as food sensitivities and intolerances like corn, soy, wheat, gluten, eggs, and  dairy can often be the culprit. This can make it hard for our system to break down and absorb the nutrients we need for healthy metabolism and immunity.

Bad foods and drugs like antibiotics can harm the population and diversity of our microme. These beneficial bacteria in our guts not only make up 90% of our immunity but they also play an important part in the body’s own detoxification process. 

These good “bugs” are important for the health of our gut lining which can keep toxins and undigested food out which can trigger food sensitivities and unpleasant symptoms including headaches, abdominal pain, acid reflux, nausea, fatigue and runny nose. Some strains can  even eliminate, inactivate and reduce the bioavailability of heavy metals including lead, copper, and arsenic from what we eat and drink. [1] 

Adding probiotics to a detox can help reduce your body’s toxin load and help to get your gut lining back in shape.

3. You Don’t Drink Enough Water. Or Any.

If you’re not drinking enough water, you’re not giving your body what it needs to keep flushing toxins from your system. The liver and kidney both rely heavily on the water we drink to keep things moving.

4. You Have Skin Issues Like Rashes And Breakouts

An accumulation of toxins in the body can sometimes manifest as rashes and breakouts on the skin, which is our body’s largest organ and barrier to pathogens and toxins. If you’re noticing skin issues like breakouts, rashes, dry patches, bumps, flakiness, itchiness or discoloration that you can’t seem to get a handle on, it can be a sign your body is dealing with an internal imbalance or environmental stresses. Hidden or not-so hidden sources of toxins on the skin can include cleaning products, fragrances, and cosmetics.

5. You’re Virtually A Couch Potato

While technology helps us in countless ways, it’s also made us more sedentary. Lack of exercise and physical activity can have a negative effect on our circulation which has been linked with lowered immunity, less energy and a decreased ability for the body to sweat and rid itself of toxins including heavy metals and drugs [2].

6. You Often Get Migraines And Headaches

A lot of things can trigger migraines and headaches, including hormones, foods, preservatives, stress, dehydration, chemicals, environmental toxins and more. But if you find yourself constantly reaching for a pain-reliever, it may be time for a cleanse.

7. You’ve Been on Prescription Medications Or Have Undergone Surgery

Taking medications or getting anesthesia for surgery can be necessary, but they do come with side effects and risks. Toxicity can also occur when medications build-up in our systems over time or when the dose given is too high and the liver and kidneys are unable to remove it completely from the bloodstream. This can cause us a variety of issues including memory loss, restlessness, fainting spells, high blood pressure and more. [3]

8. You Have Anxiety And Mood Swings

Poor diet and lifestyle choices as well as nutrient deficiencies, exposure to toxins, prescription drug use and imbalances in the body can all cause anxiety, mood swings and even depression. A detox can help you start to nourish your body once again while removing toxins that may over excite your system.

9. You Have Foggy Brain Or Trouble Concentrating

If you feel like you’re not thinking as clearly as you should, a detox could do you some good. Many studies have shown that exposure to pollution and toxins can have a serious effect on our brains and the way it functions. After a cleanse many happily report a feeling that the “fog has been lifted” and they have better mental clarity with improved memory performance. [4]

10. You Live In A City 

Those of us that live in cities are exposed to the highest amounts of pollution. Air pollution, aka smog, is a mixture of pollutants and harmful compounds that can contaminate indoor and outdoor surfaces and even settle on your skin. What’s worse is that we take these toxins into our body simply by breathing.

11. You’re Exposed To Chemicals At Work

Certain professions are more exposed to harmful chemical and toxin exposure than others. Nail techs as well as hair stylists can be especially prone to chemical exposure as are painters, mechanics, agriculture and industrial workers, truck drivers, maids and maintenance workers.

12. You’re A Cosmetics, Skincare And Fragrance Lover

Most makeup, cosmetics and skincare products come in hard to resist packaging in swoon worthy colors promising goddess (or god) inducing benefits that are impossible to resist. But the truth is that we really don’t know what’s in most of these products. At least 60% of what we put on our skin is absorbed into our bodies. A study of 2,016 women by deodorant-maker Bionsen, found that the average woman’s daily “glow-up” routine can expose her up to 515 different synthetic chemicals each day.

While the European Union has banned over 1,300 chemicals found in cosmetics, back here across the pond, the FDA has only banned a total of 8 and restricted 3. It also doesn’t require these products to list every ingredient or have them tested before they hit the market. Which means it may be time to do a detox of your body and your bathroom cabinet.

13. You’re Overweight Or Can’t Seem To Lose Weight

If you’ve tried every diet and exercise like crazy, but you can’t seem to lose weight, toxins may be the reason. A growing body of scientific evidence shows that hormone disrupting pollutants and chemicals we’re exposed to on a daily basis can interfere with our metabolism and cause our fat storing hormones to hold onto weight while putting us at risk of obesity and diabetes.   [5]

14. You Get Sick Often

If you find yourself frequently dealing with symptoms like sore throats, dry coughs, congestion, or respiratory infections a detox might be a good idea. While nourishing the body it can help clear away toxins and triggers which can help our immune cells function the way they should. If it’s successful you may even notice you don’t get sick nearly as often and your allergies clear up.

15. You’re Stiff And Achy All The Time

If you find yourself constantly suffering from soreness, stiffness, aches or pains, that can be a sign of toxin overload. Chemicals in our environment can cause inflammation in the body which can have an adverse effect on our mobility. [6]

Detoxing may help relieve or lessen your symptoms. And when you’re feeling more limber you’ll be more motivated to stay active, eat healthy, exercise, and live your best life.

16. Your Diet Isn’t Great And You’re Addicted To Sugar And Caffeine 

If you have addictions to sugar, caffeine, or junk food a detox program can help you eliminate or at least tame unhealthy cravings that can leave us feeling sick and tired. Processed foods can also be filled with artificial flavors, dyes, preservatives, and other chemicals that can cause inflammation in the body. 

Caffeine, a stimulant, is a serial cause of anxiety and nervousness and while many of us are addicted, some of us are actually genetically less able to metabolize and eliminate it from our systems. [7]

Detoxes can help you remove caffeine completely, to help bring your system back to baseline.

How To Hit The Reset Button On Your Body With A Detox Cleanse

The whole point of detoxing or doing an herbal cleanse is to help your body flush itself of toxins and encourage healing on a cellular level.  

Nutrients and compounds in herbs can help nourish cells and encourage the body’s own detoxification. Eliminating triggering foods and replacing them with healthy, nutrient dense ones instead can also encourage our body to repair itself. 

In fact, after a cleanse you may notice some annoying symptoms are clearing up and your energy is better than ever.

Here are some tips for doing a detox.

• Avoid sugar, processed foods, preservatives, dairy and red meat. 

• Aim to eat mostly plant-based foods (veggies, fruits, legumes, nuts, seeds), organic whenever possible. To help keep you on track, find a detox meal plan if you need help with shopping and planning meals ahead.  To save time and stress, meal delivery services that can help make your detox journey easy stress-free.
• Increase your intake of fiber, which absorbs toxins in the digestive tract.

• Stay hydrated. drink lots of purified water and herbal teas. Avoid caffeine and alcohol.

• Avoid exposure to plastics.

• Exercise lightly and use a sauna if you have access.

• Dry brushing can help encourage circulation and the elimination of toxins.

• Incorporating herbs into your detox is a beneficial way to help encourage the release of toxins from the body while nourishing. 

With a little planning, detoxing doesn’t have to mean drinking only juice for days on end while feeling dizzy and starved. In fact, using Flor-Essence is an easy way to get started.

Flor-Essence Is An Herbal Tea Blend That Can Help You Gently Detox Daily*

Flor-Essence from Flora is a powerful yet gentle herbal detoxifier that can support your health and wellbeing. Gentle enough for every day while being super effective in eliminating waste buildup, this traditional herbal tonic is made up of 8 certified organic herbs that work together to purify the blood, improve digestion, reduce free radical damage, strengthen organs, and increase energy levels.* Many are well-studied and fully supported by research. 

The herbs in Flor-Essence include:

• Burdock root
• Red clover
• Sheep sorrel
• Slippery elm bark
• Watercress
• Blessed thistle
• Turkish rhubarb root
• Kelp

How Flor-Essence Can Help The Body Detox

Each of the herbs in Flor-Essence nourish with vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients and antioxidants while acting as cellular “cleansers” that help to push toxins out.*

These herbs work together to:

• Cleanse and detoxify at the cellular level.*
• Reduce excess fluids and encourage the release of toxins.*
• Normalize digestion while reducing gas and bloating.*
• Support the immune system.*
• Nourish the body with nutrients.
• Protect the body from free radical damage with antioxidants.*

How To Take Flor-Essence

Flor-Essence comes prepared in a glass jar and actually has a very pleasant taste with a very mild herbal tea flavor. Instead of buying Flor-Essence already prepared, it also comes in tea packets that can be brewed with hot water at home. Be sure to use  purified water for steeping and a glass storage container.

To take Flor-Essence simply add 2 ounces of the Flor-Essence prepared tea to 2 ounces of water. You can even add a pinch of stevia or squeeze of lemon.

For a gentle herbal detox: Take Flor-Essence on an empty stomach 30 minutes before eating. Most like to take it before breakfast, but you can also sip it right before bedtime to encourage cleansing while you sleep.

For a more intensive detox:  Take Flor-Essence 3 times per day, 30 minutes before each meal. 

How Long Should You Take Flor-Essence

Flor-Essence is gentle enough that you can take it everyday. For best results use it for at least 4 weeks, but even 2 weeks may provide great benefits.

Think Your Body Could Use An Herbal Cleanse and Detox?

Repair and rejuvenate your health with Flor-Essence, a gentle herbal detox.  Visit FloraHealth.com to order today.

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.