How To Dodge The Dreaded Detox Herx, Part I
Full-body detoxing has gained traction because today’s toxic environment has increased our exposure to elements that can negatively impact our body’s immune system and other natural functions. And although we can’t entirely control our day-to-day environment, we do have some control when it comes to decreasing our toxin intake and limiting our toxic burden once we’ve been exposed.
Detoxing is often thought of as undergoing a special diet that aims to remove a specific item, such as sugar or dairy, from what you regularly ingest. But at its core, detox is designed to eliminate toxins from the body and facilitate a lifestyle that’s relatively free of harmful substances. In addition to food substances and ingested toxins, detoxing can also include ridding yourself of unhealthy emotions, habits, or lifestyle factors.
No two individuals will react exactly the same to detoxing. Some people may experience health improvement soon after starting the process, while others might feel it’s a slow process resulting offering incremental improvements over time. Still others may even feel worse at certain junctures in the detox process. It’s important to remember that getting healthy isn’t a sprint – it’s a marathon. And as with any worthwhile endeavor, staying the course is key.
Detoxing Benefits: Energy and Weight Loss
When mitochondria, which fuel your bodily processes as well as your everyday energy, fall into a dysfunctional cycle, you can experience a wide range of symptoms, not the least of which is significant fatigue. Many pathogens and chemicals can wreak havoc on those mitochondria. Detoxing targets harmful substances in the body and helps to eliminate them.
Detox diets often result in weight loss, although that’s not typically the primary goal of a detox regimen. Detoxing can, however, increase weight loss by improving overall gut health. Research has shown that the presence of wrong bacteria in the microbiome can lead to increased food cravings and subsequent weight gain when those cravings are indulged. A balanced microbiome can lead to both decreased cravings and appetite, which, in turn, could encourage weight loss. In general, a combination of certain detox diets and clean eating can enhance weight loss efforts.
Digestive Health and Immune Function
The importance of gut microbiome cannot be understated: Our digestive system contains millions of neurons that make many critical functions possible, including immune activity, nutrient absorption, and blood flow, to name a few. Pathogens like parasites as well as chemicals can significantly disrupt the digestive system and its healthy functioning. Detox can help to support digestive organs and rid the gut of harmful toxins.
Because 70 to 80 percent of your immune cells live in the gut, it goes without saying that when your gut is experiencing imbalance, your immune system won’t be optimally functioning. Detox not only supports both mitochondria and the gut, but also removes dysfunction sources and potential invaders by introducing certain natural ingredients that can destroy pathogens.
Detox Methods
Drainage pathways – including your liver and bile ducts, colon, and skin – are the means by which your body eliminates toxins and gunk. Indicators of open and free-flowing drainage pathways include:
- No poor drainage symptoms such as lymph buildup, rashes, constipation, etc.
- Two to three bowel movements daily
- Noticeable sweating when you’re in a sauna or exercising
If you think your drainage pathways are blocked, consider increasing your physical activity; adding bowel-moving herbs, more water, or coffee enemas to your dietary regimen; sleeping eight hours or more daily; or scheduling a lymph massage.
Pairing the following with your detox program can improve the effectiveness of the process while also helping to minimize unwanted side effects.
Clean Eating, Yoga, Acupuncture, and Mindfulness
By choosing minimally processed foods, you don’t feed the pathogens and toxins that have taken up residence in your body and impacted its functioning. For example, processed and sugary foods can decrease the effectiveness of your immune system, while healthier food choices give an assist to the good microbes and help stave off pathogens.
Because they combines mindfulness and physical activity, yoga poses can greatly improve the sympathetic nervous system. As a result, stress in both mind and body are reduced, leading to overall improved functioning.
Acupuncture, a traditional Chinese medicine practice, focuses on specific body points to balance the qi in the body. This process can help support detox efforts and potentially ease discomfort or pain that can occur when a body and its systems are not in balance.
Certain mindfulness practices, including daily affirmations and meditation, can improve both physical and mental health. Detox does not happen instantaneously, and the results may not be felt immediately; that’s when frustration and lack of patience can kick in, leading some people to end their detox efforts. Mindfulness can help you focus on the positives happening in the moment, while obsessing less about what hasn’t yet occurred.