Detoxifications—or detoxes as they are commonly called—are used by millions as a way to remove potentially toxic and harmful substances from the body. Although you may often hear of detoxes in reference to stars entering facilities to overcome alcoholism or drug addiction, the detoxes we refer to here are systems recommended by alternative health care professionals worldwide and can include special dietary recommendations, herbs and homeopathic supplements, food eliminations, and other ingredients and methods for ridding the body of damaging waste.

Every single day our bodies are exposed to toxins of all shapes and sizes. We breathe in toxins because of the polluted air both inside and outside our homes and workplaces. We absorb toxins through our skin, either through the cosmetics and personal care products we apply or through our clothes and other textiles. We also take in toxins when we eat, especially if we consume conventionally-grown fruit, vegetables, seafood, meat, and processed foods.

It all adds up! But you can do something to help support your body’s own natural cleansing by using a detox to speed up the process. Knowing which detox is right for you can be somewhat confusing for those unfamiliar with the options. Some types of detoxing can be more intrusive and disruptive than others. They also very in how long they last and how involved they are.

To help clear the air we’ve got a list here of the various general detox methods you can choose from, including specific food diets, vitamin and herb therapies, fasting, chelation therapy, colon therapy, and hyperthermia.

Specific Food Diets for Detoxification

These are perhaps one of the simplest and most effective forms of detoxing for long-term health and for developing strong dietary habits. Many health professionals recommend simple modifications to your existing diet in order to limit the number of new toxins being introduced to your system and to maximize the ability of your elimination organs (lungs, liver, kidneys, colon, and skin) to get rid of toxins on their own.

Rather than a severe detox like the fast, these specific diets give you recommendations for the types of food to consume generously, as well as a list of foods to avoid. In general, they stress the importance of:

• Eating organically-grown produce
• Minimizing your intake of meat
• Cutting out processed foods
• Drinking a lot of filtered water

Depending on the recommendations of the health care professional, you may also be encouraged to maximize your intake of certain naturally-detoxifying foods like turnips, radishes, ginger, berries, swiss chard, or artichoke hearts.

Vitamin and Herb Therapies for Detoxing

Sometimes the body needs a little help getting rid of pollutants, and so many natural health practitioners will recommend a course of vitamin, herb, and/or homeopathic remedies for a short period of time. These supplements are taken in a variety of ways—in pill or capsule form, as dissolvable tablets, in drinks, topically through the application of creams, etc—for the purpose of supporting your elimination systems even further.

Vitamins like A, C, and E, antioxidant supplements, and natural herbs are very common remedies for various types of ailments. Homeopathic therapies are also frequently recommended and can be used to treat any number of illnesses or physical maladies.

Some of these therapies specifically target free radicals—atoms that can damage our cells or impair our immunity. Vitamins can give your cells the extra boost they need to neutralize free radicals so that your immune system can function properly.

Fasting Detoxifications

For a shorter-term, more drastic result, many health care practitioners and natural health experts recommend fasting detoxes. These take place over a shorter period of time and tend to be more severe than simple dietary modifications, but they can result in dramatic changes in your body.

The main goal of a fast is to give your body the time and space it needs to really go to work at the detoxification process. By eliminating new sources of toxins and emptying out the digestive tract, your systems have ample elbow room for getting the job done.

There are many types of fasting detoxes around, but most require that you eliminate all solid food from your diet for a set number of days. Some fasting detoxes allow you to drink fruit juices and certain teas (the Master Cleanse Detox is one such diet), while others only permit water with herbs, homeopathic remedies, and vitamins.

If you’d like to partake in a fasting detox, you should do so under the watchful eye of a natural health practitioner to ensure your safety and the best results.

Colonics/Colon Therapy for Detoxing

Doing a colon cleanse usually involves consuming purified water together with herbs and other cleansing agents, such as psyllium husks and clay, probiotics, and so on. A colon cleanse can be accompanied by particular dietary recommendations and can also be combined with a fasting diet, depending on the purpose and aim of the detox.

Colonics is yet another popular form of colon detoxification being used around the world today. Like other colon therapies it involves pure water and herbs or other cleansing agents, but this time these ingredients are introduced into the body rectally. Similar to an enema, colonics should be performed by a trained professional who knows how to safely introduce the solution into your rectum using a nozzle and tube—between 5 and 25 gallons of fluids in all. Through this process, your colon will be flushed clean of toxic stool that has collected in the folds of your colon.

Hyperthermia Detoxification

Your skin is the largest organ in your body and one of the most important elimination organs you have. As you sweat, your body gets rid of toxins and other harmful substances. In a hyperthermia detoxification, which is also sometimes called stress detoxification, you take the natural sweat system in your body to the next level.

By sitting in a steam bath or a sauna, you speed up the skin’s detox system. This detox method is quite popular for liver cleansing since the liver is perhaps the organ more responsible for processing and eliminating poisons that build up in your bloodstream.

Chelation Therapy Detoxification

A way of removing calcium build-up in humans with heart disease, chelation therapy has been used since the 1930s. It can also be used to rid the body of free radicals that cause cell damage and has also be helpful for people with multiple sclerosis, thyroid disorders, diabetes, and more.

Health practitioners use chelation to help leach harmful heavy metals from the body. As such, chelation involves the injection of ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA) into the patient. EDTA is a chemical that binds (or chelates) heavy metals such as mercury, zinc, iron, lead, and cadmium, carrying them out of the body.