The Truth About Detoxifying Your Blood

detox ingredientsSo many nutrition plans, dietary supplements and fitness gurus will tell you that your body is filled with toxins — and they are right! However, they often go on to say that their product or regimen is the best way to detoxify your blood and keep it clean, and more than not, they are misleading you into needlessly spending your money.

Though it is common in wellness marketing to talk about detoxification as a process for health, the truth is you probably don’t need any special product or service to eliminate toxins from your blood. Here’s why.

What Are Toxins?

A “toxin” is defined as a harmful substance — which is a ridiculously broad category of compounds. The wellness industry tends to use this vague term because it allows them to make claims about benefits of products without pointing to any specific compounds or processes that are affected.


The truth is that the body is full of toxins. Various bodily processes result in the creation of toxins, and the body encounters toxins in its environment throughout the course of daily life. Toxins include compounds like carbon dioxide, which all cells create as a waste product, as well as heavy metals like mercury and arsenic, which are found in foods, or volatile organic compounds, which can off-gas from manufactured materials around the home. To survive the near-constant state of toxification, the body does need to detox — but it doesn’t need special wellness products to do so.

What Processes Remove Toxins?

The body is a detoxification machine. Many cellular processes and bodily systems function to help filter out toxins, to ensure that the body as a whole is functioning as efficiently as possible. The blood in particular helps to deliver nutrients to cells around the body, but it also pulls away waste produced in the cells and delivers that waste to organs that can expel the waste from the body. Thus, the blood doesn’t need to be detoxified because it is already perpetually in the process of detoxification.

The blood tends to deliver toxins to a few key organs:

The lungs. The lungs are primarily responsible for exhaling carbon dioxide, a significant waste product that can cause serious harm if it builds up in the blood. Thus, the lungs are constantly working to purge the body of carbon dioxide.

The kidneys. The kidneys are so essential for filtering toxins out of the blood that they contain about 25 percent of the body’s blood at any time. As the kidneys remove toxins, they dilute them with water, which carries the toxins through the bladder and out of the body as urine.


The liver. The liver utilizes certain immune cells to identify dangerous compounds and neutralize them through digestion before they can enter the bloodstream and cause harm.

The skin. Certain toxic compounds that the kidneys and liver cannot process are excreted through the skin. Typically, minerals and other toxins with crystalline structures leave the body dissolved in sweat, but oil glands can also carry toxins out through the skin.

Can Anything Boost Detoxification?

The best way to boost detoxification is to live a healthy lifestyle. Regular exercise, plenty of water and whole foods like fruits, vegetables and whole grains help to give your body the nutrients it needs to function as effectively as possible.

Experts currently recommend about 30 minutes of moderate exercise per day, which involves raising your respiration and heart rate enough to make carrying on a conversation slightly difficult. We have several workouts to get you started, such as our 20 Minute Workout and our daily circuit workouts.

Though recommended daily intake of water can vary depending on factors like climate and body size, you should aim for between two and three liters, or 10 to 15 cups of water, sipped throughout the day. Finally, the odd fast-food meal won’t flood your body with toxins, but you should try to ensure most of your meals are homemade or produced from fresh, clean ingredients.

There is no magic shortcut to health; it requires a lifelong commitment to eating well and exercising. If you see detox products online or in store, you can ignore them as they likely won’t do anything to boost your body’s natural detoxification processes.

Is Your Blood Clean?


If you live a healthy lifestyle and do not suffer from a disease, your blood is as clean as it needs to be to keep your body running efficiently for years to come. To make the most of clean blood and improve your surrounding community, you might consider enrolling in the blood donation process. Those suffering from serious diseases are in dire need of healthy blood to help their bodies detox and get well.

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