Detoxification

detox

In the last decade there has been increasing interest and media on detoxification. One week does not go by without a question on detoxification. Detoxification has become increasingly popular because of the wide range of benefits it has been aligned with. Weight loss, allergy relief, decreased symptoms of arthritis, decreased skin issues are but a few outcomes with a detoxification program. However, detoxing isn’t always the same; there are many ways to detox which can range from fasting, foot baths, baths, juicing and much more- just as much as there are the varied benefits of detoxification.

The biggest concern is if it is safe to do. The second concern is if you are strong enough to do it, or if the symptoms will be unpleasant for example headaches, diarrhea, joint pain, skin issues or spontaneous combustion!

Before I can calm your fears I hope to both clarify the benefits of detoxification, as well as, confuse you further with better questions to ask yourself.

  1. There is no doubt that a body that can detoxify itself is a body at greater ease.
  2. Detoxification is a great benefit to your health.
  3. Detoxification is an equation of detox at a greater rate than toxins.
  4. If you quit feeding your body it can detoxify. Less food to process allows energy and coordination of detoxing.
  5. If you continue eating you can still detoxify, but not as fast as not eating or fasting.
  6. Your body is continuously detoxifying. The question is, “is it doing it well and fast enough”.
  7. Toxins are a very broad definition and can outright be poisonous to hormones and dead cells. *Think of anything your body doesn’t need to survive that is no longer beneficial to its ease.
  8. You need to have adequate water to detoxify. The question is. “Do I have enough water to help my body detoxify.”
  9. Your body needs a healthy liver, kidneys, colon, gallbladder, and lungs to detoxify. Can you guess what the question is for this? “Do I have organs that can detoxify with ease or do they need help?”
  10. Your body can detoxify using the skin and the sinuses to release waste. Ewww! That doesn’t sound good. “Why do I get chronic skin problems/ why do I have sinus issues?”
  11. Why am I reading another article on detoxification? There has got to be other things to read!

Generally cleanses are safe if you do them properly. Do not think that a cleanse or a detoxification program will fix all your problems because it will not. This is where the crazy can creep in. You want a detoxification program to allow your body to detoxify and not to force it to detoxify. It is absolutely best to consult a trusted health practitioner. You need to be healthy enough to detox because it is a stress to your body.

The best frame of mind is to go through the experience and notice the changes. If you get sick, headaches, joint pain, skin problems, or any symptoms that do not feel good you can always quit. There are no trophies or medals yet for detoxification, so it’s OK to stop. If you do experience any sickness symptoms, it is not a bug but the body not being able to detoxify fast enough and it got “clogged”. These symptoms should tell you that your body is in a place where it needs to detoxify more efficiently. Which ultimately means, there is more garbage in your body that needs to come out and you found the mother lode.

If you do get these symptoms and can “gut through” them, then that is fine to do. In most cases there is a period of discomfort that can last a day or two.

I do not recommend any fasting or juicing cleanses if you live a busy lifestyle. If you fast or only drink liquids you will affect your blood sugar and can really harm yourself. The reason for this is that your brain and body need to have a constant supply of blood sugar to perform. If you force yourself with a busy schedule you will require stress hormones which will hinder the cleanse and cause more chemicals for your body to detox from. If you can take a vacation from your everyday, and rest most of the day it will work even better. In fact, medically supervised fasting has been known to drop blood pressure, triglycerides and high cholesterol.

A cleanse is a good way to see how you feel when you help the body get rid of its wastes. The detoxification is not the prize to be won, it is a way to get in touch with your body and listen to it more.  The ultimate goal is to figure out why you had to do a program in order for your body to be cleansed.

The number one reason we may need to do a program is our food.  Eat real food such as whole unprocessed meats, vegetables and fruits. If you do not agree, it is just as fine to be a vegetarian if you are concerned about meat. Do a food allergy test to see which foods stress your body. However, you could try living without wheat, dairy, soy, sugar and corn for 2 weeks and re-introduce it to see how you feel. Go to www.ewg.org to see if there is any toxins in your home or environment.  

You can always take enemas or see a doctor that provides colonics to jump start your detox.

In my opinion, the best detoxification program is a whole foods approach. This keeps your body functioning as well as provide the supplements you need to ALLOW your body to detox more gently.  There is a Biotics 10 day cleanse and there is a Standard Process 21 day cleanse. They both require a change in your food diet and you must eat more regularly. You will have great benefits because you will get the right nutrition to help your body detox as well as learn how to eat to nourish your body and to decrease the toxic load for a lifetime. Remember, the detoxification program is a way to see if you are generally detoxifying well. The most important thing to know is how and why you got there.

A detoxification program can help any chronic health problem, if it is cleared from your treating physician including brain fog, memory problems, diabetes, neuritis, irritable bowel. Fibromyalgia, fatigue, psoriasis, high blood pressure, high triglycerides, stubborn weight loss, stiff joints, headaches, and PMS to name a few. If the detox helps your condition then you know that it can be one of the causes to your health problem. It really isn’t that complicated.

I hope this helps and you have learned that the greatest test of your health is how you feel.