Myths and misconceptions about DETOXING

Last Update: January 9, 2019 at 10:19 am

DATE:  January 9, 2019

SOURCE:  News for the Soul

 

Myths and misconceptions about DETOXING

by Dr Holly, heard on NFTS on Wednesdays at Noon Pacific Time

 

Detoxing is a great way to start off the new year. In fact, in old Ayurveda medicine and philosophy it was a great way to end each week!

Unfortunately, numerous myths and misconceptions have evolved in North America about detoxing so let’s “detox” a few of the myths first.

Detoxing is only for people with heavy metal poisoning or serious health issues.

 

Just think about it, if they needed to detox 3000 years ago, when they didn’t have over 70,000 synthetic toxins in the food; in the medicines/vaccinations/immunizations/ birth control pills/dental fillings’, in the cleaning supplies, and in the personal hygiene – and let’s not forget synthetic supplements – imagine how much more important it is today?

 

I have heard Western Conventional physicians claim that detoxing is just an unnecessary wholistic “fad” as our bodies detox all the time.  Yes, our bodies do detox all the time. They detox on a cellular level AND of course, the liver is the primary detoxing and largest organ in the body. However, as much as we have several detoxing processes in the body; those detoxing processes need to be cleaned out. Just like the filters in your cars or air conditioning or heating units.

 

Detoxing is a great preventative method that helps to protect you from serious heavy metal poisoning and serious health issues.

 

You only need to do a cleanse every few years

 

It could actually be argued that due to the lack of nutrients and the increase in toxins, we need to detox more regularly than ever before. Our bodies were not designed to deal with all the synthetics that we now impose on them.

 

I eat healthy so I don’t need to detox

 

As mentioned earlier, 3000 years ago when food was rich in nutrients and didn’t have all the synthetic toxins; was prepared fresh and holistically; with no GMOs; no pasteurization; no processed foods; no microwaves; no fast food; no junk food; etc etc they still recognized that we need to detox regularly!

 

In addition, I regularly have clients that come in claiming they eat healthy – and have no idea how unhealthy their diet is for them!! What is healthy for one person is not necessarily healthy for another. Eating vegan may work for one person and work against another! Eating nightshade vegetables may work for one person and not for another. Etc etc etc.

 

A cleanse, a detox, and a fast are the same thing

 

The terms are often used interchangeably but in fact are different. An analogy for a cleanse could be – taking out a filter and cleaning it. It is cleaning the filters.

Whereas a detox is a way of helping the body eliminate the toxins from the system that plug up the filter.

With a fast, there is no ingesting of food and the assumption is that the body will remove whatever it needs to. With the analogy given, it would be like simply turning off the air conditioning – big problem with the analogy for a fast is that the body continues to operate…so the analogy doesn’t work here.

 

All three can be beneficial to the body in different ways at different times…but they are different and serve different purposes.

 

My concern with any of these is that people can do any of these and cause more problems. Why?

 

Problem: Let’s go back to the filter analogy. If you have a plugged-up filter and you start to detox more compounds from behind the filter – the filter can get overloaded and cause more problems.

 

Solution: clean out the filter first. In this sense, we need to clean the colon first. The colon is required not just for good elimination (of toxins and compounds and pathogens we don’t need) but where we and our good bacteria make and absorb many nutrients.

 

Make sure you have a heathy colon; healthy immune system in the colon; healthy bacteria load in the colon; no inflammation or leaky gut issues; etc.

 

A few foods that are recognized as good for colon cleansing contain nutrients like: soluble & non-soluble fiber, calcium, vitamin D

 

• Apples – good for the fiber but also good for the pectin that helps remove toxins and strengthen the intestinal lining
• Avocado – similar balance of omega 3/6/9 as our bodies; soluble and non-soluble fibers; high levels of glutathione; loaded with
• Bone broth – provides nutrients for the gut lining – especially helpful if you have leaky gut syndrome
• Broccoli – good source of fiber, Vit B9, C, K and the vitamin C that helps build the collagen in the intestinal lining,
• Cabbage- great pre and probiotic
• Coconut oil – helps reduce gut inflammation; lauric acid help kill pathogens; and heal the gut
• Dark leafy greens: spinach, kale, swiss chard – all good for colon cleansing and lots of minerals, anti-oxidants, vitamins and other nutrients
• Flax seed, hemp seed, and chia seed
  • All good sources of fiber and the anti-inflammatory omega 3s
  • Hemp has all your amino acids
• Fermented foods – help improve good gut bacteria
• Fruit juice – make your own; not only cheaper but what you buy may have upwards of 300% the sugars that are natural to the fruit; make sure to include grapefruit, lemons and limes
• Garlic – over 300 nutrients and 33 different sulfuric compounds that the body uses; and it is good for gut immune system
• Ginger – anti-microbial; increase gut enzymes; helps to generate glutathione production; and a good carminative to reduce gut bloating and cramping and nausea
• Oatmeal – steel cut oats are a good way of scraping the colon lining
• Onions – great prebiotic food for the good bacteria
• Peppermint – a carminative to the gut by relaxing gut muscles; helps tone the gut membrane
• Prebiotics – fibrous foods like apples, bananas, broccoli, cabbage, provide food and transport for the good bacteria
• Probiotics: sauerkraut, kimchi, Greek yogurt (no fruit or sugar), kefir, kombucha and cabbage anything, fermented and pickled foods – all help to increase the good bacteria in the gut; organic acids and B vitamins
• Raspberries

 

That’s a lot of foods to choose from to help cleanse and strengthen your gut. Start incorporating these foods into your daily routine. Then you can start adding in these TIPS.

 

TIPS:

• If you are not used to consuming these foods, you might want to add some peppermint tea to the protocol. When your gut is not familiar with these foods, you may have some initial side effects like bloating and digestive cramping. Peppermint is a natural carminative that helps eliminate these issues until you start producing the enzymes that help you digest these healthy foods.

 

• When working with a cleanse or a detox, a good tip is to start the day and end the day with hot water and lemon.

 

2a) An even better option is to put ½ tsp ACV (apple cider vinegar – which is known to kill of H. Pylori; stabilize blood sugars; reduce inflammation) in with the hot water and lemon juice.

 

2b) Okay, so let’s take that a step further:

1. Make a good healthy water:
   1. Leave water, without a lid, on the counter overnight – most chlorides & fluorides will evaporate
   2. Put water in a blender in the AM – like a waterfall, blender will break hydrogen bonds and create a healthier more alkaline water with fewer H20 bonds
   3. Put a sprinkle of Himalayan salt and lemon juice in the water
   4. Whola – now you have a good alkalizing, anti-oxidant, mineral completed water
2. Make your own lemon juice:
   1. Scrub an organic lemon
   2. Remove ¼ – ½ in off the ends – that’s where the solates abound and you don’t want them
   3. Chop up remainder – outer and inner skin and seeds – that’s where all the vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients and fiber are
   4. Put in blender with about 1 liter of water
   5. Whola – now you have a really good lemon juice

 

Another note: when you buy ACV, make sure it has lots of the ugly brown stuff in it – that is the mother that you want. When ACV goes through the hydrochloric acid in the stomach it emerges into the small intestine (duodenum) as an alkaline ash that is good for the gut.

 

Once your gut is healthy, then you can start on detoxing the liver. Simply go one step at a time.

 

Here’s to your health. Happy New Year.