OLL ABOUT DETOX
Over our lifetime, many of us accumulate a fair bit of toxicity within our bodies - predominantly through what we ate, what we breathed, and what we put on our skin, and this is a huge contributor to any health issues you may be experiencing.
Detoxification is a wonderful tool that helps us remove the substances that have gotten stuck within us - we’re talking about substances that should never have gotten there in the first place.
Substances like heavy metals, microplastics, synthetic chemicals, pesticides, drugs (recreational and pharmaceutical), old food residue, and even certain unfriendly organisms like bacteria, parasites and fungi, which come to make a home in our inner space, because of the presence of some of these toxins.
These substances end up in all sorts of places throughout the body - in fat cells, the lymphatic system, in the organs (such as liver & brain), the intestines, to name the few most common…
Having these substances inside the body affects the way our organs and glands function - this is because they interfere with how the systems work. For example, microplastics affect our hormone balance, heavy metals interfere with and damage our nervous system, chemicals and pesticides can kill our cells, as well as friendly bacteria throughout our body - these are just a few things that can happen.
Essentially, having things inside the body that shouldn't be there, negatively affects how the system functions. The quantity of the toxicity, where it is within the body, and the strength of one's genetics all influence how & when health issues and symptoms arise.
Let's talk about detox symptoms…
Because getting all of these things out of the body brings huge upgrades to our experience of life, but…
As they come out, it isn’t always fun or pretty.
The body will use whatever exit, hole, or method it can to push toxicity and old waste out of the body, and that can mean all sorts of weird and uncomfortable symptoms.
Let’s have a look at some common things that can happen during the body’s process of detoxification.
headaches
The two main factors that contribute to headaches are dehydration and a congested/sluggish liver.
It may seem strange to experience a lack of hydration whilst you’re drinking all of this juice, but the process you’re undertaking requires a lot of fluid. You’re rehydrating areas of the body that may have been dehydrated for decades, and as you do that, you’re changing and replacing the water in those areas. As you rehydrate old stored toxins and toxicity, the body is then bringing that liquid straight back out again to flush out the toxicity.
Hydration is the name of the game during detox, water truly is life, and we’re doing deep work to cleanse, replace and replenish all the water throughout our bodies.
Enemas can be a MASSIVE help here if you feel you aren’t able to hydrate yourself enough to fix a headache. The first place the body looks for water is in the colon, and introducing water to the colon can fix a headache super quickly. Enemas are even used to rehydrate chronically dehydrated people who are close to death, they have been literally life saving.
The liver - headaches can also be very much related to the liver and gallbladder, our liver is our master detoxifier, and if we came into the course already congested and overburdened, there are moments where you may experience some discomfort in the form of headaches or nausea.
Headaches arise when the liver is not able to process & breakdown toxins effectively or fast enough, and they begin to build up in the bloodstream. As the quantity of toxins in the blood increases, we experience headaches, and often a bad mood alongside that.
The best thing to do in these moments is to focus on hydration, especially green juices with plenty of herbs, and again, enemas can be very helpful here. If you are feeling toxic, or that your liver is sluggish/not able to keep up with your detox, keep meals simple, and keep fats low to allow the liver to focus on cleaning the body, instead of digesting fats.
inflamation
the body may hold onto excess water and fluid in certain places/tissues where there is toxicity or excess acidity. It does this as a way to try and clean and replenish the interstitial fluid (spaces around the cells) in those areas (see lymphatic system video to understand this better).
It’s also a way of keeping the cells in that area safe when there is toxicity or acidity that has been mobilised, whilst the body tries to clean & remove it, this can take time (more fluid means a more balanced PH, and a safer environment for your cells).
ANXIETY AND MOOD SWINGS
All sorts of moods can show up, but anxiety can present when on the physical level our nervous system is exposed to toxins, or that there is too much toxicity in our blood. It’s not uncommon for this to happen. Often you just have to remind yourself it can be a natural part of the process, and do your best to stay in your body, and take some deep breaths.
All sorts of emotions can arise as we cleanse the body, this is because we have energy and emotions attached to many of the physical areas that are damaged or hold toxicity.
We often engage in behaviour that damages our physical bodies,when we can’t cope with what’s going on in our lives. For example, drinking alcohol to numb emotional pain, or binge eating to try and fill a space within us that we feel a void.
And as we heal the physical, we have to experience the emotions or energy that has been stored in those areas. Feel it as best you can, don’t push your emotions away, it’s not a problem to be feeling strange or weird.
See the TCM organs and emotions chart below to find out more about this!
NAUSEA AND VOMITING
This again is very much liver related, the liver and gallbladder are in the first section of the digestive system, and if the liver is overburdened by toxicity, or you open up some old blocked bile ducts (which may contain toxins or fat deposits decades old), then the body may decide the best way to get that out, is the closest available exit, which, unfortunately, is your mouth!
Nausea is likely the liver also feeling burdened by the detox going on, but not to the same degree that the body will vomit.
Sweating - you may notice you sweat excessively sometimes, your body is using your skin (your largest eliminative organ) to purge waste from the blood and lymphatic system. This often happens at night, you may wake up and notice your pillow or bed sheets are a bit wet. It can also happen throughout the day
diarrhea
This is experienced for two main reasons, firstly, because this process we’re doing is cleaning and washing the insides of the intestines, and the body may expel many things as liquid waste. We are also cleansing the lymphatic system inside the walls of the intestine (see week 1 video), and that waste will be pushed into the GI tract to be flushed out by the body.
Secondly, the liver and gallbladder have a direct connection with the intestines, and as you break down old stored toxicity, these two organs will flush that waste into the intestines, to come out in bowel movements. Sometimes you may notice bile in these liquid bowel movements too.
fatigue
You may feel tired, simply because your body wants you to rest. All of its energy it is using to detoxify, cleanse and heal, and it isn’t allocating energy for moving around or being active. When you can, take rest as much as possible in these moments.
cravings
Cravings tend to come for both physiological and mental/emotional reasons.
On the physiological side, cravings come from bacteria or parasites in the intestines which are used to being fed certain foods, releasing chemicals that let you know they’re wanting those foods.
You will also have mild withdrawals from foods/drinks that contain things that can be addictive, such as caffeine, gluten and refined sugar.
Do your best - drink plenty of dense green juice in the morning (lots of leafy greens and herbs), and eat plenty of carbs throughout the day if the cravings are strong.
mucus & sore throats
One of the main ways our bodies protect us from toxins, as well as safely eliminates toxins, is by using mucus.
Mucus builds up in different spaces of the body to protect us from toxicity, this tends to happen in the lymphatic system and the interstitial spaces around the cells (see week 2 video on the lymphatic system).
When we do a detox, it’s common for the body to start expelling waste through the throat and sinuses. It’s simply removing old congestion, dead cells, toxins, and lymphatic waste that are stored in that local area.
The throat and sinuses act as a very useful way for the body to clean and empty the lymphatic system in the head, so know that something good is happening, even though it sucks…
Those who had sinus issues, throat infections, tonsillitis, & regular colds/flus throughout their lives, you’ll be more prone to these symptoms.
It can be uncomfortable and frustrating, but know that your body is releasing waste and toxicity that may have been there since your childhood.
Something that can be helpful is doing a steam / vaporisation with essential oils to help clear the sinuses.
This involves boiling a pot of water, and then adding 3-10 drops of any (or all) of the following essential oils: tea tree, eucalyptus, mint, lemon & ginger.
Take your pot, and place it somewhere that you can rest your face over it, cover your head and shoulders with a towel, to create a closed chamber that fills with the vapour, and breathe deeply in and out of your nose. You can get as close to the water as you can without it being too hot for the skin of your face.
This has helped me a lot over the years to clear my sinuses.
bladder pain
sensitivity or burning during urination is another very common detox symptom.
Our urine is one of the main pathways through which we detoxify, and we release all sorts of toxins through our urine.
Heavy metals, microplastics, chemicals, lymphatic waste, some mucus, and also some bacteria (particularly streptococcus) and fungus (candida), can all exit the body through our urine.
All of these things can irritate the bladder and urinary tract, it’s a common symptom. It will also be particularly sensitive and prevalent for those who tend to experience issues in this area already.
Herbs can really help with this are parsley, uva ursi, burdock, neem leaves, and nettle.
skin
The skin is our body's largest eliminative organ, and as you’ll see below, the skin on our face can act as a map to help us see which areas of the body may be detoxifying.
Pimples, spots, rashes, bumps, lumps, redness, itching… all of these are also common detox symptoms.
Our lymphatic system can push waste out through our pores, and in areas that are particularly congested, the body will use the skin to take care of the excess burden in that local area, instead of trying to bring it into deeper into the body to be eliminated via the circulation - out of the urinary or digestive tract.
Neem oil and aloe vera are two favourites of ours for applying to skin. Aloe helps a lot with sensitive, sore or painful skin, and neem can be very useful for itchy skin or rashes.
Pimples and spots sometimes do well being left alone, as oil may (not always, so you can try for yourself) further congest the lymph in that area.
I know skin issues suck, but if it’s happening during a process of detox, you can be sure your body is just using your skin to get rid of things that shouldn't be there.