Detoxification & Elimination

Detox has become such as buzz word over the past decade or so that it has lost some of its translation and understanding. Too much emphasis is put on quick fix detox programmes which last a few days or slightly more. Whilst this can be helpful in kick-starting a detox journey it should not be seen as 1-2 week fix all approach. We need to understand that decades of toxic accumulation in the cells and tissues cannot possibly be flushed away in days. Most do feel better due to the elimination of the processed foods, improved hydration, more fibre to improve elimination of wastes etc but it needs to be a continuous focus on nourishment that will feed the cells and deliver the nutrients to support our detoxification and elimination systems which are having to work harder at protecting us from the onslaught of daily toxins that surround us. Our way of living weakens organs and glands,which need to strengthen and regenerate for their optimal function.

True ‘early’ Naturopaths focused on detoxification (biotransformation) and elimination methods to help support the healing of the body. They believed that the body could heal itself if it had the correct environment, regeneration and repair with the correct nourishment to do so. They used measures to detoxify the body, improve eliminations and strengthening and regenerating the organs, glands, tissues, cells, nervous and hormonal system pathways. Their focus was to treat the body as a whole and would teach the client/patient the philosophy of natural hygiene methods which included living foods, hydration, postural alignment, sleep therapy, nature, herbal infusions, mindfulness and much more to harnesses the power of nature to heal.

We have come much further in our understanding of toxins and the negative effect that they have in our body. Our early Naturopaths were not dealing with the amount, type and length of exposure of toxins that we are witnessing today. However, we should not veer too far from their philosophy, teachings, and techniques to help detoxify the body and support the elimination of wastes.

We are surround by a ‘cocktail’ of chemicals that have been introduced into our environment over the past several decades. These chemicals are in our food, water, air, dental work, pharmaceutical drugs, in the air we breathe as well as what we absorb via our skin and more.

Our body is well equipped to deal with toxins but the type, amount & length of exposure as well as genetics may underpin many of the health issues we see today.  We cannot possibly expect our detoxification mechanisms to work optimally when they themselves are under nourished and being affected by toxins, leading to symptoms and/or chronic disease.

Toxins interfere with our physiology, they can have different effects within the body such as inhibiting enzymic pathways, cell communication, ATP production (cell energy), hormone & neural disruption and more.

We are dealing with the body burden of toxins, the frequent low dose of toxins can build up over time which may contribute to the chronic health issues we now see.

This accumulation may also lead to unwanted symptoms such as frequent headaches, hormonal issues, skin conditions, joint stiffness, heavy periods, constipation, gas, digestive & fertility issues, food cravings, fatigue, bloating, weight gain, frequent colds, insomnia, premature ageing, joint stiffness/pains, congested lymph and skin, and much more.

Our food choices can either be helping or hindering our body, foods that are not health generating such as processed foods, sugar, refined grains, excess of red meat, alcohol or processed meat etc, rob the body of nutrients instead of supplying them.  Also, processed grains, excess meats and processed foods in general do not pass through our digestive system cleanly, it can leave a residue that build, leading to changes in our gut microbes encouraging yeast and bacteria over growth, excess gas, inflammation and more with the residue of waste products sitting in our digestive system leading to putrefaction.

This waste if left to build up can weaken our bowel walls rendering them more sluggish under the weight of this matter that is left behind – more on this in the colonic section.

A lifestyle detox approach to health and wellbeing has never been so important as it is today, we need to supply the body with the raw materials in order for its systems to function optimally to detoxify efficiently and to strengthen, repair and regenerate our systems. We can only achieve this by nourishing our body with ‘foods with life’ as much as possible, which means enzyme, vitamin, mineral, phytonutrient rich (see the raw food section for more information).

We need to encourage a healthy lymphatic flow which takes our cellular wastes away, as well as reducing/removing chemicals as much as possible such as plastics, household cleaners etc.

A focus on living foods, adequate protein, essential fatty acids, fibre, fruits such as berries, leafy greens etc as well as stress management, hydration, sleep, natural sunlight, intermittent and other fasting techniques, colon cleansing (colonics, enemas etc), lymph movement and more are keys to support our detoxification and elimination channels.