I had a massage today. Somehow revealing that information embarasses me a bit. As if the mention of such a luxury automatically makes me a spoiled brat.
But, massage is so much more than a luxury. Aside from the obvious stress-relieving properties, massage has numerous health benefits including full body detoxification.
Personally, I find all the “diet detox” products and fasts to be a bit silly. Your digestive tract doesn’t really hold onto anything – it is either digested and absorbed in the bloodstream, or it leaves the body as waste. That is just simple biochemistry. There really isn’t anywhere for foods to hide in the GI tract. Of course that is assuming that you are drinking enough water and getting enough fiber regularly. But, even if you aren’t – I can’t imagine you have a big steak hanging out in your colon from a couple of weeks ago. It just doesn’t make sense – and a recent study noted by Dr. Oz on Oprah concluded that detox diets didn’t work any better than a regular eating patterns.
Sorry, I kind of digressed from my original topic of massage, but I have been meaning to vent on the detox diet issue for a while. I have seen people get very ill from fasts and lemon juice detoxing and I just wish that trend would stop.
So, here is my suggestion for the ultimate in detoxification:
- drink plenty of water every day (approximately 8 cups)
- get plenty of fiber (25 – 35 g per day) especially from fruits and vegetable
- exercise regularly
- get regular massages
This last point brings me back to my original topic – massage. The cleansing benefit of massage is that it helps release stored toxins and waste products through the stimulation of deep muscle and tissues. The massage I had today was hot stone and that seemed to be especially theraputic as it seemed the heat from the stones penetrated deeper into my muscles. A few hours after the massage I felt very nauseous and found myself having to urinate more often. I believe this was likely my body trying to clear out the waste that had been trapped in my tissues. I have been careful to drink more water to assist with the cleansing process and I also ate some candied ginger to help settle my stomach. All and all though – I really do feel much better!
For more information on the health benefits of massage, please visit my other website: www.HappyHealthyHer.com.