Soupure busy at the IDEA Fitness Convention at the L.A. Convention Center
This weekend we participated in the IDEA Fitness Convention at the LA Convention Center. We had a blast and loved being with over 14,000 of our like-minded health and fitness community. As we close out the weekend and in the spirit of fitness, we thought we would remind everyone (including ourselves!) why exercise is an important part of any detoxification program.
Detox and exercise go hand in hand. Moving the body creates conditions for the body to breathe, stretch, circulate and sweat. It is a good idea to drink lots of water during a detox period, so the skin can sweat and the kidneys can effectively filter toxins. By increasing your water intake, as well as increasing your heart and breathing rate, your body can more effectively flush out unwanted toxins, fats and waste.
Exercise helps the body’s organs responsible for elimination function optimally, simply by getting them going. Moving the body helps to circulate both blood and the lymphatic system. The more they circulate, the more the liver and lymph nodes can do the job of cleansing and purifying the blood and lymphatic system.
The digestive system works well and more regularly with consistent exercise. When you exercise you breathe deeply with your lungs. The oxygen that you breathe in travels though the blood to the brain and muscles. The lungs increase their capacity as the heart muscle grows stronger, and they produce and give off carbon dioxide as a waste product of aerobic exercise. The skin is cleansed from the inside out by the cleansing process of perspiration. Many toxins can be eliminated through the skin by sweating.
Another way exercise helps to detoxify the body is by reducing the body’s subcutaneous fatty tissue. Toxins get stored in the fatty tissue of the body. Therefore, when fatty tissue is reduced as a result of aerobic exercise, the toxins are released and can be eliminated through the cleansing organs.
While we saw all sorts of crazy new exercise contraptions at the IDEA Convention (contact us if you want to see the photos!), exercise is beneficial in many forms. Gentle, low-intensity aerobic exercise is good for detox since it gets the body moving, heart pumping and the lungs breathing deeply but within the fat-burning zone. Running, walking, bicycling, dancing and swimming are examples of beneficial aerobic exercise. Yoga poses are also beneficial because some are specific for detoxifying certain organs. Rebounding (bouncing on a mini-trampoline) is especially good for exercising during detox because the low-impact motion allows for excellent stimulation of the lymph system. For best results pick a form of exercise that you enjoy and start slowly. Whatever the form of exercise, move at a pace at which you can breathe evenly and carry on a conversation. Exercise for at least 20 minutes two to three times per week for best results.