Scenario: You feel heavy, sluggish and foggy in the head. Maybe you think a detox is the best solution, as there is so much information online about how detoxing is the key.
But what really is a detox and how long should one do a detox for?
Are detoxes 3 days, 1 week, or longer?
What foods do you eat during a detox, and are there supplements that work best?
If you think about any of the above, you are not alone……
Many clients come to me wanting to detox and have been told the latest supplement at the health food shop or pharmacy that lasts 3 days is the way to do a detox.
Let’s dive into detoxification and why it should be done more slowly than just a general three-day process.
In my opinion, no one detox program suits everyone.
We are all individuals and have differing stress levels, demands and nutritional requirements.
Just like no one diet suits absolutely everyone, no one detox program suits everyone either.
It is about looking at the whole person, the health challenges and health goals.
What’s detoxification?
It’s a process where you eliminate toxins from your body.
When you think about that, it is a bit of a cleansing process.
Our body detoxes each day. We eliminate toxins through our bowels, our kidneys, our breath, and our skin each and every day.
The body does this every day.
Toxins in the body can be found in foods and drinks, the air we breathe, personal care products used on the body, internal processes such as destroying viruses and bacteria, hormone metabolism, stress chemicals, medications, and the list goes on…..
Limiting exposure to toxins, such as moving to a less polluted region and eating unprocessed foods with minimal pesticides, is advisable. Drink filtered water. Choose personal care products that are low in chemical load. Minimise stress or identify how to manage stress.
Reducing your exposure helps to reduce your toxin load.
The next key is to support the body’s elimination channels – the bowels, kidneys, lungs and skin.
Every time you breathe out, you are expelling toxins.
Skin issues such as rashes can be due to a high toxin load being eliminated through the pores.
The kidneys excrete water-soluble toxins, so drinking plenty of filtered water to support them is imperative.
The liver aids in the elimination of toxins via the bowels. Supporting the liver is essential for this process.
Think of daily detoxification as a household clean
Let’s say you have rubbish from your household. You put the rubbish in your kitchen bin. This bin gets emptied into the council wheelie bin. The council bin gets emptied regularly.
This is the daily detoxification process.
But, once or twice a year, a spring cleaning of the house occurs.
So, consider the detoxification process a bit of a spring clean.
If you plan to spring clean your house, you probably wouldn’t clean the whole house in one day.
I know I can’t get through my whole house in one day, so I plan time to do it over several days or weeks.
That’s the same with the detoxification process.
A longer detoxification time can aid the progress. I suggest planning for at least two weeks, but longer is optimum for a spring clean of the body to eliminate stored toxins.
How do you know when you need to do a detoxification process?
● Feeling sluggish
● Feeling run down
● Skin has lost its glow (or skin breakout/rashes)
● Eyes are dull, gritty, and tired
● Sore joints and muscles
● Headaches that are niggly and come and go
● Foggy thoughts
● Gaining weight
● Getting cellulite
● Dark circles under the eyes
● Irregular bowel movements
● Feeling bloated
These can be symptoms that your body needs a regular detox spring clean.
Think of intense detoxification as a spring clean – once or twice a year to clean out stored toxins on top of regular daily elimination.
We want to get the stored toxins because our liver, bowels and kidneys just haven’t been able to get rid of it daily.
How do you detox effectively?
In my opinion, concerted detoxification should be done over at least two weeks…..slowly…. rather than a fast 3-day process.
I get a lot of clients that try to do a three-day process, and they end up getting severe headaches, nausea, and it’s quite debilitating.
Sometimes, depending on their health condition, it might flare up some of their existing health conditions.
Think of it like you’re working full time, you’ve got your kids, you’re running around after them, and now I want you to spring clean your house today on top of everything else?
Could you do it? Probably not.
Think about the body as doing the same thing. Is it feasible to ask the body to do a massive detox process in only a short amount of time? Would it be better to go out over a couple of weeks?
Ways to support the detoxification process
1. Start with your diet
● Increase your plant-based foods. Include salad, fruits and vegetables that is at least 50% or more of your plate of meals. Include colour and variety!
Eat the rainbow! Make your plate sparkle with colour.
Not only is it enticing visually, but it’s also nourishing for the body and supporting the beneficial microbes in the digestive system. These help detoxification.
● Decrease your meat and your grains.
● Eliminate coffee, alcohol, processed sugars, and fried foods.
2. Ensure adequate hydration
Drink about 2-3 litres of filtered water so the kidneys can help flush out water-soluble toxins.
Tip: Include herbal teas and coconut water if you do not like plain water.
3. Ensure you open your bowels daily
It is essential to eliminate toxins regularly. Consider the bowels as the council garbage truck coming to take away your regular rubbish.
If you struggle with your bowel movements, look to increase fibre content or use herbs that can gently help to entice the movement and the activation of the bowel to eliminate waste.
Regular bowel movements are important and it is optimal that they are daily.
4. Take some time to breathe
We can eliminate some of our toxins through our breath. However, many of us are so busy and rushing each day that we have a shallow breath.
It is essential to breathe deeply to help with the elimination process.
Take some time and be very conscious to breathe deeply.
Take a moment from your busy day and enjoy some beautiful, deep, relaxing breaths. This will aid the detoxification process.
5. Engage in regular exercise and sweating
Exercise can be whatever activity you love to do and if it includes sweating then it will increase the detoxification process.
Find out whatever you love to do that gets your body moving – walking along the beach, walking in nature, going to an exercise class, swimming, cycling, yoga class, martial arts, or playing soccer with the kids.
Whatever it is that gets muscles moving and gets the blood flow moving around the body because regular exercise not only helps with the blood flow and the lymphatic system, which is another part where we help with the detoxification channels, but it also increases your sweating component.
When you increase sweating, you’re detoxing through your skin.
Sweating increases toxin elimination. Remember to shower afterwards to get rid of sweat.
6. Detoxification support
Imagine doing the spring cleaning in your house without any cleaning equipment, garbage bags, or rags to wipe down and dust everywhere.
Many specific nutrients and herbs can support the detoxification process…….
Many nutrients like Vitamin B, Zinc, Taurine, Methione, Glutathione, and Sulforaphane support detoxification.
Traditionally, herbs such as Nettle, Dandelion, Milk Thistle, Schisandra, Cleavers, and Burdock can support detoxification.
Beetroot, Spinach, Rocket, Cabbage, Broccoli, Onions, Garlic, Coriander and Spirulina are a few on the foods that can assist detoxification.
A combination of these nutrients and herbs will help support your body’s spring cleaning process.
7. Ensure dry skin brushing during the detoxification process
Helps stimulate the circulation to the skin and helps eliminate through the skin.
These are some methods to ensure that your detox or spring clean program for your body is effective and helps you rejuvenate.
After working with me, many of my clients feel they have more energy, less brain fog, better skin health, eyes look more vibrant, less pain in their body, less bloating, and sleep better.
I recommend doing a detox over several weeks to support effective detoxification. Many routines can support this.
What can you do to support detoxification? Do you want to find out how?
Make an appointment now with me to find the best individualised method for you. I’d love to be able to assist you.
Ready to kick start Gut Health? Book a Call!
This is how gut microbes can influence weight!
Probiotics can help you gain weight or lose weight by interacting with our genetics, food and metabolism.
And yes, I did say lose or gain weight……..
Firstly, let me explain that the trillions of microbes in the gut need to be varied, meaning that there should be a large variety of species. There are many different species (or breeds) of microbes, and they all have their place in aiding health — the more variety and balance, the better health results.
Back to the weight loss or weight gain issue….
Do you eat yogurt and berries for breakfast? Thinking that it’s helping you lose weight?
Well, Lactobacillus acidophilus (like the species found in yoghurt) has been connected to weight gain.
I am not saying throw your yoghurt and berries in the bin. Instead, I am suggesting looking at the overall picture. If Lactobacillus acidophilus is the predominant micro-organism of the gut, then weight gain can result.
It is about the variety of species of gut microbes. Imagine if we only have trained german shepherd guard dogs in the world. It may be a safe world, but I am sure that other breeds may be more suitable as a family pet.
While Lactobacillus acidophilus is associated with weight gain, other Lactobacillus species correlate with weight loss.
Species like Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactobacillus gasseri, and Bifidobacteria animalis have been found to support weight loss.
Want to lose weight?
Look at your gut flora to support your goal.
Tests can be performed to identify the predominant species of the gut, and specific species can be utilised to support weight changes.
Want more information about your gut health?
Or want to look at all the factors contributing to weight gain, I’d love to be able to help.
