DIY: Detox Bath

Lately we have been watching a bunch of documentaries on how our food is grown. It has been very eye opening and we are starting to watch what we are putting in our bodies. We have started our journey to healthy living. It's going to take awhile to change our habits, but I think it's important to get healthy before we have kids. I was never really taught how important is to take care of our bodies.

  

For me the first step to this lifestyle change was to start eating more fruits and veggies and a detox bath. I always do a ton of research before I start doing anything new to my body. I have read countless forum threads, blog posts and comments. We are surrounded by toxins in the air, water, cleaning supplies and these days in our food; not to mention the toxins we knowingly put into our bodies like cigarettes. These toxins can slow us down and make us feel fatigued and groggy. A detox bath can help remove these toxins and absorb needed nutrients leaving you fresh and energized. I've also read that detox baths can be useful helping your body regain balance after the use of anti-biotics. I never knew that anti-biotics kill the good bacteria as well as the bad and that it's important to put good bacteria back into your system.

Most recipes out there call for the same ingredients: Epsom Salt, Baking Soda, Sea Salt, Apple Cidar Vinegar and fresh Ginger Root. Epsom Salts help the cleanse by making you sweat; it also helps form proteins in brain tissue and joints helping reduce inflammation and pain. Baking Soda helps to cleanse the body and even has some anti-fungal properties, while helping to keep your skin soft. Sea salt helps to soothe open pores and purify the body. Apple Cidar Vinegar is used to help restore the balance of acid-alkaline metals. Fresh Ginger is added to help improve circulation and heat. I've read that most people will sweat like crazy when Ginger is added, so I would be careful with this one and don't over do it. You should stay in the bath for at least 20 minutes, but you should really push for 40. For the first twenty minutes your body is expelling the toxins and the other twenty it is absorbing the nutrients. The water should be pretty warm, not so hot that its going to burn you though. Once you get out of the bath (carefully, the tub maybe slippery) you can continue the detox process by wrapping yourself up in a towel and continuing to sweat. Or you can take a warm scrubbing shower, but you should turn the water colder towards the end to allow your body to return back to a cooler temperature.

It is recommended to use a chlorine filter for these baths. However, I know most people (including me) don't have one. A couple of tablespoons of hydrogen peroxide can be added first to the water to help to get the water pure. Its important that you make sure you are hydrated throughout the ENTIRE process. Make sure you drink plenty of water the day you are going to bathe, and don't stop drinking water until you go to sleep. (This means you need to drink water while you bathe) From what I've read these baths can get pretty intense, I've read about people passing out while bathing and having flu like symptoms afterwards. If you have ANY known medical problems I strongly suggest you talk to your doctor before you start using detox baths. 

Now that I've got all the technical stuff out of the way I'll tell you my experience with detox baths. Once I got this idea the beginning of last week I could not wait to try it out, but I didn't have a day off till Sunday. Im very impatient. After doing my research and seeing how exhausting it was for some people I decided to use a small simple recipe and go ahead and do it before I had to go into work. I used two tablespoons of peroxide, two cups of Epsom Salt, a cup of Baking Soda and a cup of Apple Cidar Vinegar. I decided to leave out the ginger because I didn't want to sweat too much and wear myself out before work. At first I was very disappointed with this bath. It definitely didn't live up to its reputation and make me sweat, but I don't think I had the water hot enough. My hands are always freezing, and I think that since I tested the water with them it felt like it was really hot when it wasn't. I sat in the bath for twenty minutes regardless and then stood up and took a hot shower. At this point I was completely skeptical, and then about half way through the shower I realized I felt more awake. I thought about the fact that could be just because I took a bath and a shower. But over the next couple of days I realized that I just felt better and my bowel movements seemed more regular. Come Sunday I was super excited to try the full recipe bath with the ginger added. This time I used two tablespoons of peroxide, two cups of Epsom Salt, a cup and a half of Baking Soda, one cup of Apple Cidar Vinegar and one tablespoon of fresh grated ginger (most recipes I saw called for ground ginger but I didn't have it or the tools to do it but I found a couple of recipes that said to grate it). This time I ran mostly hot water with very little cold. I'm pretty sure I had the water hot enough this time, but I still did not see the results I wanted. The bath still didn't make me sweat. I've read that you can use up to two thirds a cup of grated ginger. So next time I think I'm just going to go for it and put the whole two thirds in and give that a try. After the bath I took a quick shower to rinse off and went right to bed. Man did I sleep good! Phillip woke me up that morning and I didn't more AT ALL in my sleep, and that is very rare. I'll also say that I continue to feel better rested and have a bit more energy. So even though I didn't get the results I wanted I still think it did some good and will try it again. I recommend everyone to do as I did and try a small recipe first if you have never done a detox bath. We are all different and everything affects us differently and I would hate for someone to harm themselves in anyway.

Small Recipe Ingredients:

2 cups Epsom Salt

1 cup Baking Soda

1 cup Apple Cidar Vinegar

2 tablespoons Hydrogen Peroxide

Regular Recipe Ingredients:

2 cups Epsom Salt

1 1/2 cups Baking Soda

1 cup Apple Cidar Vinegar

2 tablespoons Hydrogen Peroxide

1 tablespoon - 2/3 cup of fresh grated/ground Ginger Root

Run a hot bath and mix the ingredients in right before you shut the water off. I like to do it this way because I think it helps to stir everything up. Swish everything around real good or you will be bathing in a gritty tub. You will be able to feel when everything has dissolved. Once everything is good and dissolved you can ease in. Then just get comfy and relax for the next forty minutes. I read in a couple of different places that if you have a body brush to brush your skin before the bath to get your skin ready to release toxins and to scrub your body with a wash clothe every ten minutes while in the water. Once you've soaked for at least twenty minutes you can get out and wrap yourself up or take a warm scrubbing shower. Then go get comfy, relax and go to sleep.

I'd love to know if you try this recipe and how it worked out for you...or didn't.

P.S. I found out you can add Sea Salt after I had purchased my ingredients, which is why I didn't incorporate it into my bath.

Warning: From what I have read these baths can get very intense. I've read about people's heart rate getting uncomfortably high, flu like symptoms and people passing out while in the bath. I've heard that even after a few minutes people are itching to get out because of how intense it can get. Please, please be careful when you try this at home. You should really try for at least twenty minutes, but be smart, listen to your body and don't overdo it.