What is a Detox? Is it for me?
Wednesday, 12 January, 2022

What is a Detox? Is it for me?


‘Detox’ is often a term that gets used throughout January and is usually part of a plan to start a health kick in the new year. However, detoxes can be done at any time and people choose to do them for a variety of reasons. Detox is short for detoxification and can be defined as “a period of time in which one chooses to abstain from toxic or unhealthy substances”. More recently, people are choosing to detox from several things that can be perceived to be detrimental to both mental and physical health.



Digital Detox



With more people becoming increasingly concerned about how much time we spend glued to screens, it’s no surprise that ‘digital detoxification’ has become one of the most common forms of detox, especially amongst younger people. The main reason behind people wanting to take a break from digital life is for the benefit of mental health. Constantly being online, we can often be overloaded with information, as well as plenty of misinformation, and it can be difficult to decipher between the two.

One of the main benefits of a digital detox is being able to take a break from social media. It’s difficult not to compare yourself to others through social media, with people constantly sharing clips and images of their ‘lives’, it’s not uncommon to feel a sense of jealousy or to feel like you’re underachieving. It can be difficult to remember that social media isn’t an accurate portrayal of real-life and that the platforms are designed to be addictive for users.

Taking a break from social media and other digital spaces can be good for our mental clarity, whilst also being stress relieving and inducing more creativity in ourselves. Of course, a lot of people need to use digital platforms for work, but you can choose to detox from your own devices, which has been found to reduce stress, improve sleep, and allow for a more positive life perspective.



Alcohol Detox


This is often the detox that people turn to in January after over-indulging in alcohol during the festive season. Most people are aware of the effects of drinking too much alcohol, but the amount you drink can often creep up on you if you have a lot of social activities planned in a short space of time. It’s important to give your liver as well as other vital organs a rest from alcohol every now and then, and January is usually a common time to give a detox a go.

Not only is having an alcohol detox good for your health, but it can also benefit you financially. If you’re detoxing for a month and not spending a penny on alcohol, you’ll be surprised at the amount of money you will likely save!

Whilst not everyone wants to detox for long, taking a break may help you realise that you’d prefer to cut down on your alcohol intake, and allow you to better monitor how much you drink in future to look after both your health and finances.


Gluten Detox

 


Problems with gluten can often go unrecognised because so much of our diets are often centred around foods that contain it. Gluten is the name given for the proteins found in wheat, barley, rye, and spelt and can be found in food such as bread, beer, cakes, and cereals.

If you ever have problems with bloating, digestion, or fatigue, there’s a chance you could be suffering from celiac disease or other gluten related issues. Taking a gluten detox is a good chance to understand whether these proteins are having a negative effect on your body. If you decide to detox and find that you are feeling better – you may want to consider cutting down on gluten, or cutting it out of your diet entirely.

Whilst cutting out gluten may seem challenging at first, there are plenty of alternatives you can turn to for your staple foods.

 



People choose to participate in different kinds of detoxes for a variety of reasons. The key takeaway is, that if you feel you are indulging in too much of something, then it can be worth taking a break to assess how important and healthy it actually is, and see whether you can benefit from limiting your intake in future.

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