New Year Detoxification tips
Why We Need To Detoxify
Happy New Year! Traditionally the New Year is a time to refocus desires and goals. Sadly, much of that focus can quickly get lost in minutiae of everyday existence. However, I think you would agree that we are living in most unusual times and for many of you I hope this will provide added motivation to keep your goals in sight and push through the inevitable obstacles.
The truth is that there has never been a better or more relevant time to take control of your health. The sole reason for writing these Newsletters is to empower and encourage you to really engage in managing your health and making it a part of your lifestyle. After Christmas, detoxification is often mentioned as a topic. This Newsletter gives a short overview of detoxification and why it should be a part of everyone’s health regime.
Our toxic challenge
Our bodies are not separated from our environment. By the law of osmosis, stuff from our environment gets into us on a daily basis. Unfortunately, our environment is more toxic than that of our grandparents. For example, studies show that the mercury content of ambient air is 200 times higher and the lead content in our bones is 400-1000 times higher than 200 years ago.
Practitioners in the field of naturopathic medicine identify the biggest environmental toxic challenges as coming from heavy metals (mercury and aluminium), glyphosate (pesticide), fluoride and electromagnetic frequency radiation (EMFs).
Dr Stephanie Seneff’s work outlines how glyphosate in our environment and food supply damages our gut, sinus, eye and skin microbiome. UK Professor Chris Exley’s work links aluminium levels in the brain to central nervous system diseases like Parkinson’s, multiple sclerosis, ALS and autism. Professor Boyd Haley’s studies link mercury to Alzheimer’s. Professor Marty Pall’s research papers show the mechanisms by which our wi-fi systems allow excess calcium to enter cells, triggering a series of biochemical reactions which age and inflame us faster. The synergistic effects of all of the above can be devastating for health.
How our bodies detoxify
Our bodies have clever inbuilt detoxification mechanisms and pathways to help us detoxify on a daily basis.‘Toxicity’ refers to a person’s response to the toxins they carry. Problems arise when our toxic load exceeds our body’s ability to get rid of toxins. It is important to know that any kind of inflammation (like chronic infections, food allergies) acts as an obstacle to detoxification.
There are two main parts to detoxification. Firstly, removal of the toxins from the inside of your cells to your blood and lymph. Secondly, drainage of toxins from your blood and lymph via your organs of detoxification - the liver, gut, kidneys and skin. Before starting any kind of detoxification, your organs of detoxification should be properly prepared. The most common reason for people feeling worse when trying to detoxify is bile not flowing properly. When toxins make it as far as here, then get stuck, they escape back into the bloodstream, triggering a cascade of unpleasant symptoms like headache, shivers, foggy brain and fatigue. That is why any serious detoxification protocols should really be done under practitioner guidance.
What can we do right now?
There are different levels and types of detoxification which should be done at different times. Easy post Christmas detoxification steps include:
Dietary detox - avoid sugars, gluten, dairy (and other problem foods/drinks like caffeine and alcohol).
Environmental mould detox - check behind walls (especially in bathrooms) for hidden mould from water damage. Once this has been cleaned up, use Propolair filter which effectively helps to remove mould spores from the air.
Wi-fi detox - research this area thoroughly for how you can protect yourself and switch your connections to ethernet broadband. Minimise time on your mobile.
Emotional detox - are you thinking negatively about any aspect of your life? See what you can do to change this. Make some plans. Choose communication with positive people. Minimise communication with negative people. I think we all know the difference.
More specialised detox protocols
Then we move into more specialised areas of detoxification for which you will need some preparation - ensuring you have the right liver/gallbladder/antioxidant support, that you have no constipation or raging inflammation from eating the wrong foods or infections etc. For some of you, this may mean getting your dental infections and heavy metals in your mouth attended to first. Each detoxification protocol could fill its own Newsletter.
Detoxification - a marathon, not a sprint
As we are living on Planet Earth, detoxification should be an ongoing process - a marathon, not a sprint. I advocate using the protocols which augment and support our own natural detox mechanisms rather than subjecting your body to harsh and often very expensive treatments.
Once the preparations are in place, there are some excellent herbal compounds plus other supporting tools that can help us do the rest. I recommend always using binding agents which grab toxins in the GI Tract to prevent them from escaping and recirculating round the body. Another aspect of detoxification is pulsing - doing the protocol for a few days, then having a few days off. It takes energy to detoxify and you can’t keep that up all the time. If you did, your body would habituate to this and you wouldn’t get the proper results.
Detoxification should be a lifelong process - something that we build in to our normal health routines. We can use different techniques at different times for the different toxins we are all exposed to. If you would like help finding out how various detoxification regimes may benefit you and how to start them, please contact me to make an appointment at the Good Health Clinic.