Exercising during a detox

Here are the top 10 reasons to exercise during your detox. They are listed in no particular order- we all have different weak areas.

1. Most people only breath from the top 1/3 of their lungs, meaning that stale air and waste carbon dioxide stagnate lower down. Exercise that stimulates you to breathe deeply, using the whole of your lung capacity, will clear out the waste gases and let more oxygen cross the barrier into your blood stream. If you don't feel out of breath during an aerobic exercise session you're not working hard enough.

2. Aerobic exercise makes your heart beat faster, pumping oxygenated blood round your system and through your liver and kidneys. Your cells are thus cleansed of waste materials and supplied with nutrients more efficiently.

3. Both aerobic and anaerobic exercises get your lymphatic system moving, taking white blood cells to sites where they are needed and filtering out toxins from the tissues, thus helping to shift cellulite.

4. Exercise burns fat, releasing stored toxins into the bloodstream where they can be excreted through the liver, kidneys, lungs or skin.

5. Exercise that increases the amount you sweat will help you to release toxins through the skin including heavy metals, pesticides and pollutants.

6. Exercise stimulates the immune system to produce more disease-fighting cells. In a study of 150 people, those who walked on a regular basis contracted about half the number of colds as those who didn't.

7. Exercise can stimulate bowel movements as the movement of the outer, voluntary muscles provokes contraction of the inner, involuntary ones.

8. Exercise is a powerful mood enhancer and de-stresser, causing the brain to release feel-good chemicals, burning off stress hormones, lower blood pressure and promoting restful sleep.

9. From our mid-30's onwards, hormonal changes cause us to lose muscle mass and store more fat, unless we combat this process with exercise. When you lose muscle, you burn fewer calories and put on weight even if you are eating the same amount of food as you always did. More weight equals more toxins. By doing regular strength-training exercise, you can keep the muscles you had and even replace lost muscle.

10. Exercise makes you look better. Your muscles will be more toned, your stomach flatter and skin tone improved. If no other reason from this list motivates you, then exercise for the sake of vanity!

The best exercise for you is the one that you enjoy the most and which fits in best with your lifestyle.

- Aerobic exercises include tennis, football and other ball sports; running and fast walking; skipping, trampolining, dance classes, swimming, cycling, skiing, skating and aerobic exercise classes (such as step or spinning). - Anaerobic exercises include weight training in a gym, either on the equipment or with free weights; stretching; all kinds of yoga, and Pilates. If you do an aerobic session one day, then do an anaerobic one the next. As little as 20 minutes a day will make a difference, although up to an hour is even better.

Do not ever launch into an extreme exercise programme when you are detoxing, as this will direct the blood to your muscles rather than your detoxification organs and could release more toxins than your body is able to cope with, making you feel quite unwell.