Detoxing - How do we do it?
Posted
by Stacey Hancock
at 6:10pm, Monday 7th February, 2011
In the last 2 posts we looked at what signs to look out for that may indicate your body isn't quite functioning as well as it should and why it may need a detox and we looked at why the body can become distressed to the point that it needs a detox. This post, looks at how to detox and what different levels of detox you can undertake.
There are four things you want to address with your detox:
1. What do you need to leave out of your diet to assist your body in eliminating toxins
2. What do you need to add into to your diet or lifestyle to assist your organs in elimination
3. How do you create an environment within the body that supports the entire detox and elimination processes
4. What non-dietary factors need to be changed.
1) What do we need to leave out of our diets?
This is pretty much grass roots detoxing right here. If you are toxic then you take out what is causing toxicity. Even if you did nothing else, this strategy alone is considered "detoxing". The obvious things are sugar, and foods containing sugar, transfats, high amounts of saturated fat, alcohol, yeasts, (including bread) fungi and processed foods. Avoiding the 7 common allergens (wheat, dairy, soy, peanuts, gluten, shellfish, egg) may be useful even if you aren't allergic. Peanuts can contain fungi which make detoxing harder and things like dairy and eggs can contain high levels of growth hormones and antibiotics. It is advised to avoid coffee, as it creates acidity in the body. It is also advisable to leave out all non-essential medications, synthetic supplements and pain killers. This pretty much leaves us with non-gluten whole grains (eg Millet, Amaranth, Quinoa, Buckwheat), loads of veges (broccoli, beans, spinach, tomatoes, carrots...), lean meats (organic and free range if possible), essential fatty acids (avocado, nuts and seeds, oils).
2) What do we need to add to our diets?
Water is obviously a must. We need to ensure our cells are well hydrated to support the detoxing and elimination functions. It's best to aim for filtered water if you can. Bobble is a new product which contains a personal water filter in the bottle...fantastic idea and no excuses now to not drink filtered water (from pharmacies and selected homewares shops). The level of detox you're going to do will determine what else you will add to the diet. Someone who is feeling generally unwell, with recurrent infections is more likely to add more things than someone who is just trying to shake off some holiday excess. Herbs like Milk Thistle are good for the liver and slippery elm great for the digestive system. Oregano Oil, Olive leaf and garlic are all powerful anti-bacterial agents which can help fight off parasites and bacteria, and probiotics repopulate the good flora in the gut and strengthen the immune system. If you are feeling generally unwell, with no diagnosed condition and recurrent infections such as colds, flus, stomach bugs, athletes foot, candida and other yeast infections I recommend a full detox. Talk to a Naturopath or a Nutritionist who deals in detoxes to discuss what you would add in and when. From an exercise perspective, 150 minutes a week is the minimum standard for good health, with weight loss being around 60 minutes, 5-6x per week.
3) Create a good environment for detoxing.
Bacteria, fungus, parasites and yeast just LOVE acid. They will flourish and multiply in acidic environments and the toxins they release are also acidic. These little pests basically live in their own waste in YOUR body. This acidity causes inflammation and damage to your cells, and this damage can cause cells to replicate incorrectly and this along with huge amounts of inflammation leads to disease. Our bodies, being the awesome machines they are, will try and mop up as much of this acidity as possible and store it in your fat cells, which can lead to weight gain and difficulty in losing weight. Not only that, things like magnesium and calcium will buffer excess acidity, causing leaching of these minerals from your tissues. So, to kill the nasties, we need to tear down their environment. Supergreens (wheatgrass, barleygrass etc) and magnesium supplement are two good ways to alkalise your body. But, your main alkalising organ is your lungs . Your body primarily maintains it's acid/base balance through the expulsion of C02 from your lungs, so you need to make sure you're breathing correctly. Read more about correct breathing here.
4) Address non-dietary factors.
How much stress is in your life? Stress will create acidity and allow nasties to multiply, so it's important to get this in check when embarking on a detox. How many potions are you putting on your skin daily and how many auto spray devices and other chemicals do you have in your house? Is your house mouldy or damp? If you are doing a detox because you really aren't feeling well, then these all need to be addressed as they will enter your cells via your skin and lungs. I also think it's a good idea to get a little bit of a spring clean of the pipes through colon hydrotherapy. This helps to clear away any built up matter (and yes, it does get stuck sometimes). When you have a clean bowel wall it allows for nutrients to be absorbed and prevents toxins that may be stuck to the bowel wall from leaching their waste into our bloodstream.
There are four things you want to address with your detox:
1. What do you need to leave out of your diet to assist your body in eliminating toxins
2. What do you need to add into to your diet or lifestyle to assist your organs in elimination
3. How do you create an environment within the body that supports the entire detox and elimination processes
4. What non-dietary factors need to be changed.
1) What do we need to leave out of our diets?
This is pretty much grass roots detoxing right here. If you are toxic then you take out what is causing toxicity. Even if you did nothing else, this strategy alone is considered "detoxing". The obvious things are sugar, and foods containing sugar, transfats, high amounts of saturated fat, alcohol, yeasts, (including bread) fungi and processed foods. Avoiding the 7 common allergens (wheat, dairy, soy, peanuts, gluten, shellfish, egg) may be useful even if you aren't allergic. Peanuts can contain fungi which make detoxing harder and things like dairy and eggs can contain high levels of growth hormones and antibiotics. It is advised to avoid coffee, as it creates acidity in the body. It is also advisable to leave out all non-essential medications, synthetic supplements and pain killers. This pretty much leaves us with non-gluten whole grains (eg Millet, Amaranth, Quinoa, Buckwheat), loads of veges (broccoli, beans, spinach, tomatoes, carrots...), lean meats (organic and free range if possible), essential fatty acids (avocado, nuts and seeds, oils).
2) What do we need to add to our diets?
Water is obviously a must. We need to ensure our cells are well hydrated to support the detoxing and elimination functions. It's best to aim for filtered water if you can. Bobble is a new product which contains a personal water filter in the bottle...fantastic idea and no excuses now to not drink filtered water (from pharmacies and selected homewares shops). The level of detox you're going to do will determine what else you will add to the diet. Someone who is feeling generally unwell, with recurrent infections is more likely to add more things than someone who is just trying to shake off some holiday excess. Herbs like Milk Thistle are good for the liver and slippery elm great for the digestive system. Oregano Oil, Olive leaf and garlic are all powerful anti-bacterial agents which can help fight off parasites and bacteria, and probiotics repopulate the good flora in the gut and strengthen the immune system. If you are feeling generally unwell, with no diagnosed condition and recurrent infections such as colds, flus, stomach bugs, athletes foot, candida and other yeast infections I recommend a full detox. Talk to a Naturopath or a Nutritionist who deals in detoxes to discuss what you would add in and when. From an exercise perspective, 150 minutes a week is the minimum standard for good health, with weight loss being around 60 minutes, 5-6x per week.
3) Create a good environment for detoxing.
Bacteria, fungus, parasites and yeast just LOVE acid. They will flourish and multiply in acidic environments and the toxins they release are also acidic. These little pests basically live in their own waste in YOUR body. This acidity causes inflammation and damage to your cells, and this damage can cause cells to replicate incorrectly and this along with huge amounts of inflammation leads to disease. Our bodies, being the awesome machines they are, will try and mop up as much of this acidity as possible and store it in your fat cells, which can lead to weight gain and difficulty in losing weight. Not only that, things like magnesium and calcium will buffer excess acidity, causing leaching of these minerals from your tissues. So, to kill the nasties, we need to tear down their environment. Supergreens (wheatgrass, barleygrass etc) and magnesium supplement are two good ways to alkalise your body. But, your main alkalising organ is your lungs . Your body primarily maintains it's acid/base balance through the expulsion of C02 from your lungs, so you need to make sure you're breathing correctly. Read more about correct breathing here.
4) Address non-dietary factors.
How much stress is in your life? Stress will create acidity and allow nasties to multiply, so it's important to get this in check when embarking on a detox. How many potions are you putting on your skin daily and how many auto spray devices and other chemicals do you have in your house? Is your house mouldy or damp? If you are doing a detox because you really aren't feeling well, then these all need to be addressed as they will enter your cells via your skin and lungs. I also think it's a good idea to get a little bit of a spring clean of the pipes through colon hydrotherapy. This helps to clear away any built up matter (and yes, it does get stuck sometimes). When you have a clean bowel wall it allows for nutrients to be absorbed and prevents toxins that may be stuck to the bowel wall from leaching their waste into our bloodstream.
