Shanghai Running Magazine Volume 3 | Page 24

Detoxing For Runners
By John

your ‘toxic load’
and remove from
your bodies some
of the harmful substances that you
may be sucking
back on a regular
basis.

S

o most of us who live in Shanghai
spend a lot of time outside, it’s
one of those cities where life happens on the street. Even though I
can’t always ‘feel’ it, I’m concerned
about the potential impact that
the “fresh” Shanghai air is having
on my body. Of course this is mostly unavoidable whether you are a
frequent runner or just another
commuter. I certainly support any
effort to reduce ones exposure to
this stuff, but for many, the inconvenience and discomfort of something
like a facemask seems to keep many
people from wearing them regularly.
I imagine this is even more so for
runners or others who get their exercise outside.
So the question becomes, once it
gets in our bodies, how do we get it
out? This consideration often gets
overlooked by many people, who
resign themselves to suffer whatever
negative impacts the air here may
be having. But take heart! There are
things that can be done to reduce

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I love experimenting with this stuff,
and there are so
many interesting
(and enjoyable)
ways to get these toxins out of your
body, and they don’t all involve some
sort of juice or smoothie (though
they can certainly help)! Of course
sometimes the glut of solutions can
be a bit confusing, so here I’m going
to stick with four methods that I have
tried, which are fairly well recognized
as being effective, and which provide

© Shanghai Running 2014

many auxiliary health benefits.
Epsom salt (magnesium sulfate) bath
– Magnesium is something most people are deficient in, and this is one
of the most efficient (and enjoyable)
ways of making sure you are getting
enough. Of course it presumes you
have access to a bath, but if you do,
add two cups of Epsom Salt and sit
back and relax. The skin is one of our
main elimination pathways, and the
combination of the heat, and the
Epsom Salt serves to draw toxins out
of the body. Additionally, Epson Salt
baths have also been shown to ease
stress, improve sleep, reduce inflammation, improve nutrient absorption,
relieve pain and cramping and much
more! I recommend using a skin
brush afterwards to remove any toxic
residues that may remain on the skin.