The body is fully equipped to ‘detoxify’ a reasonable amount of external and internally generated toxins and metabolic wastes. This is a team effort of the liver, kidneys, the skin, the digestive tract, and the lymphatic and respiratory systems.
It is when there is an ‘unreasonable’ amount of toxins and metabolic waste, that these systems are not able to keep up, and assisting the detoxification process may be necessary. These Metabolic wastes include hormones, cholesterol, bacteria, maintaining pH. External toxins include pollutants, pesticides, fertilizers, personal care and cleaning products, consumption of processed food, preservatives, drugs, and alcohol.
Asian culture and medicines traditionally utilise the laws of nature to maintain health and wellbeing, without the need to ‘detoxify’.
Food choices were aligned with seasonality, therefore this naturally detoxified or prepared the person for the season and the season to come. For example, the Winter assumes a greater caloric and ‘slow to metabolise’ requirements. Heavy, root vegetables, slow cooked, easy to digest. It is the season of recuperation, of the most inward energy. Moving into the next season, Spring, which brings new life, upward and outward movement from the deepest and slowest aspects of our being. To be able to deal with the next season, Summer, the body needs to be ‘freed’ from the heavy fat stores that are rich in calories, collected through the winter, to be able to deal with the heat of summer. To catabolise this, and the foods that are naturally in season, the body naturally generates the release of bile and enzymes in the Liver and Gallbladder. When there is ongoing toxic load and no reprieve, it becomes hard for the body to keep up with the demand and natural detoxification becomes congested. More movement becomes important, as this brings about sweating which in turn will release more toxins stored in the body fat.
When we are unable to ‘live in harmony with nature’ or have times of excess that lead to metabolic and toxic overload, a detoxification process may be necessary to facilitate the expulsion of unnecessary toxins
Some of the cellular disfunction that occurs when there are too many toxins and metabolic waste that have unsuccessfully been completely excreted include;
· Toxin compete with hormones for their receptor binding sites, therefore disturbing hormone balance
· Toxins energy problems by disturbing electron communication in our energy house/mitochondria
· Oxidative stress damages our DNA and lipid membrane lipids, think leaky gut, skin and brain!!
Furthermore, diseases states that may occur when the detoxification processed is overwhelmed;
GUT > indigestion, constipation, diarrhea, stomach pain, sluggish digestion, nausea
PAIN > headaches, muscle aches and pains, nerve pain or numbness,
IMMUNE > recurrent infections, allergies, sensitive to environmental factors,
ENERGY > Fatigue
EMOTIONS > anger, frustration, assertive issues, depression, anxiety
REPRODUCTIVE > hormones imbalances such as PMS, heavy/painful/irregular periods, semen irregularities
The dietary adjustments that can be implemented in the Spring time to facilitate the detoxification process include;
leafy greens, cruciferous vegetables, beets, carrots, chives
blueberries, goji berries, grapefruit, strawberries
eggs, liver, pork, venison (especially if there is deficiency)
crab, crayfish, lobster, mussels, oysters, shrimp, squid, trout, whitefish
flax, pine nuts, sesame
cayenne, garlic, onion, vinegar, turmeric (careful with heat signs)
olive oil
cod liver oil, krill oil (increases anti-inflammatory omega 3 fatty acids)
chrysanthemum tea, green tea, lemon or lime water
Avoid these foods
spicy, hot foods (in excess)
greasy, fatty, oily, fried foods
alcohol, coffee, caffeine
sugar
processed, refined foods
To therapeutically assist diseased states in the body, I implement a supplemented detoxification program. The ingredients in the program are of a potent dose to facilitate a ‘therapeutic’ change in the body. I modify these prescriptions depending on diseased states and the persons requirements. The program includes carefully selected nutritional and herbal formulas, together with dietary and lifestyle guidelines to enhance your detox efforts, and help you achieve great results. The detox comes with information dedicated to dietary and lifestyle tips that will help you to learn how to decrease your toxin burden over the long-term and produce the desired results.
The detox program is 2 weeks and you may see the results you desire depending on your requirements. The program can be repeated until a desired outcome is reached or an alternative option is found to be suitable.
If you’re interested in trying the detox program or just want to implement some of the lifestyle and dietary changes to assist your natural detoxification process, read the below manual.