We are always detoxing toxins. Especially in today’s world, we must be actively ridding the body of unwanted chemicals since we are constantly being bombarded by more and more of them. The modern environment is inundated with foreign substances that the human body has never seen before. It is not a stretch of the imagination to think that the liver, kidneys, and lymphatic system will have significant trouble trying to deal with these. So, what can you do to combat this toxic onslaught & optimize your health?
Remove the incoming, increase the outgoing.
We will go over the sequence of detoxing, differentiating detox & cleanses, & how to support different aspects of your detoxification pathways.
First and foremost, the gut must be in operable shape for proper detoxification. The colon is one of the main excretion pathways to remove toxins from the body. If it is backed up, not moving waste products in a timely manner, then this will allow reabsorption of harmful chemicals, xenoestrogens, heavy metals, & mycotoxins. Gut motility is mostly governed by vagal tone. For this reason, our detox programs incorporate vagal tone stimulation & stress reduction techniques early on to optimize movement through the digestive tract. When we are in “fight or flight” mode or adrenaline overdrive, the last thing our nervous system wants to focus on is digestion. Blood flow is shunted away from the intestines in order to supply the needed oxygen and nutrients to the skeletal muscles, allowing us to escape the danger. We must address any gut dysbiosis, SIBO, leaky gut, digestive enzymes, and reflux before ramping up the other players of detoxification.
If you are not evacuating your bowels, going number 2, every single day, perhaps twice a day, then this must be addressed. Make sure that you are using proper toilet posture, which means purchasing or constructing your own Squatty Potty. There is an ideal anatomical shape that will allow proper flow to occur within the bowels and it aint slumped over watching TikTok with your hips at a 90˚ angle.
Quick way to remove stagnate buildup in the digestive system & also improve your vagal tone is through colonic hydrotherapy or coffee enemas.
Note: Sleep is so, so, so important for the detox process, especially for the brain.
The next phase is where we have to really customize the strategy depending on liver and kidney function. Say, for example, that the filtration rate of your kidneys is bogged down, and your phase 1 & phase 2 liver enzymes are operating at different speeds, then we do not want to send a whole new influx of toxins their way at this time. We would want to focus on fixing these issues before instituting intense exercise, sauna therapy, or lymphatic drainage. However, at this point, it is essential to provide the body with all the nutrients that it needs to function at an optimal level including magnesium, B vitamins, & sulfur.
Now, that the gut has healed, the kidneys are functioning, and the liver is doing what it does best, we can get some light exercise, passive lymph movement, binders, and parasympathetic sweating going strong. Infrared sauna sessions are incredible at this stage, along with lymphatic massage, dry skin brushing, Tai Chi, Yoga, & binders such as Activated Charcoal, chlorella, or Bentonite Clay to snatch up the recently released toxins.
Let’s quickly talk about Herxing. A Herxheimer reaction is when you experience a healing crisis where you will feel like the bottom of Satan’s feet. It is not a fun time, but sometimes is necessary. It can also signal that you are pushing your body too quickly, not allowing enough time for your emunctories to process the toxins. Essentially, your tissues are releasing stored toxins and flooding the blood stream, but they keep getting detour signs in Rush Hour traffic. Once the roadways open up, your rage in our scenario which equates to feeling like mush, will suddenly alleviate.
At this point, you should feel like a whole new human being. As we ramp up toward the end of our long-term detoxification program, now is the time to really push the limits so that those pesky little toxins making their last stand at the Alamo can be flushed out. This is where we introduce fasting, juice cleanses or more intense exercise. Some of these options will be used earlier if someone is in really bad shape & in urgent need of toxin remediation. However, we always like to progress from simple to complex. Meaning, focus on the low-hanging fruit first, before moving on to the more drastic measures, which typically require a higher financial commitment. The basics will get you at least 80% of the way and then the more extreme healing strategies will fill in the rest if needed.
A cleanse is a short-term strategy that targets a specific organ, system, or emunctory pathway. A kidney cleanse, for example, may entail drinking celery, cranberry, or parsley juice, drinking lemon mineral water, & drinking diluted apple cider vinegar while avoiding all solid foods for a few days. During this time, you are focused on consuming plenty of quality water, herbal teas, & some supplements to help expediate the process. It is challenging, but often worth it at the end.
If you would like assistance on your health journey and are fed up with the conventional medical model, then contact our office at (727) 789-4020 and Janine will get you all set up for your initial consultation. I look forward to meeting you and helping you to be your best self. We dedicate as much time as needed to get you back on track.