Is Your Detox Making You Sick?
I am constantly hearing people complain that they just don’t feel great and that it is time for them to do a Detox! They may be experiencing fatigue, pain, weight gain, bad breath, skin issues, joint problems, very strong food cravings, gas, bloating, constipation, diarrhea, difficulty sleeping, headaches, irritability, anxiety, and even depression. They check out the latest detox fad, something a friend found that ‘worked great’, or that they read about online, or that a celebrity touted on Facebook. They then purchase the book, herbs, juices, supplements, and/or enemas required to follow this 10-day or 14-day program, which has promised restored health and well-being. They eat their favourite cheat foods and drinks over the weekend and, on Monday morning, they are ready to begin.
They struggle through this program. Day 1 and 2 are not too bad, but by day 3 and 4, they may not feel great, often feeling worse than ever. Some experience chills, vertigo, headaches, diarrhea, overwhelming fatigue, body pain, and even vomiting. At the end, if they reach the end, they begin to feel better. But, the question is: do they simply feel better than how sick they felt during the detox program or have they genuinely moved in the direction of improved health? The detox aggravations or unpleasant symptoms are often referred to as a healing crisis, a.k.a. Herxheimer reactions, experienced as the body moves the toxins from where they were stored. If the liver and kidneys are unable to eliminate the toxins, where, in the body, are these toxins right now and are they actually causing greater damage? Let’s do a deep dive into toxins, what they are doing to us, and the best way to clean things up.
Our Body and Toxins
The definition of Toxin in Dorland, 27th Issue, is: “Poisons: substances which, when ingested, inhaled, or absorbed…may, by their chemical action, cause damage to structure or disturbance of function.”
Our body may have difficulty processing the overflow of toxicity due to constipation, toxic accumulations that have damaged our system of elimination, and suppression of symptoms with creams, like cortisone, puffers for allergic symptoms, NSAIDs for gastrointestinal issues, and drugs, like Benadryl, Tylenol, Advil, and Prednisone.
How does the body detox naturally? The liver processes fat soluble toxins and the kidneys process water soluble toxins. Eventually, each of these emunctories get clogged, resulting in toxin overload. The excess toxic material blocks the enzyme systems at the cellular level, preventing the cell from functioning normally. Unfortunately, fasts only clean at the external level of the cell.
The Terrain
The terrain is the “soil” or internal environment of the individual or organism. It includes your nutritional status, metabolism, immune function, microbiomes, environmental exposures, and more. A healthy terrain is the reflection of an individual’s reserve energy. The soil should be rich, fertile, and alive.
When the terrain is imbalanced, we become more susceptible to disease. Have you ever wondered why you “catch” every illness, while others in the same room or standing right next to you do not? We think that we become ill after being exposed to germs, so we stay away from people who are sick, thinking that this will protect us. In actuality, it is all about our body’s terrain. An unhealthy terrain supports the growth of harmful organisms while lowering our resistance, our immunity. It is not about the bugs, but the environment. If you change the environment that supports and feeds these organisms, you change the terrain, and your state of well-being.
How do you change the environment? The first step includes limiting your exposure to toxins. These include mold, radon, toxic chemicals, found in your cosmetics and household cleaning products, off-gassing of fabrics in your home, herbicides, pesticides, plastics, and diet, including GMO foods, containing glyphosate. It is also important to make changes to unhealthy aspects of your lifestyle and reduce toxic emotions and toxic relationships.
The next steps? Let’s examine Cleansing, Drainage, and Detoxification.
A healthy body has the energy to expel its toxins. As it becomes fatigued, the toxins begin to accumulate causing damage to the cell walls and ultimately, to the cells themselves. The client’s reserve energy or Vital force tells us how much energy they have left in order to heal themselves. It also tells us their level of toxicity. When the Adrenals are depleted, the Vital Force is reduced due to stress – physical and emotional.
Symptoms
Symptoms are the body’s way of speaking to us and tell us that something is wrong. Listen to them. If we don’t excrete the toxic material, but instead, suppress the symptoms, the body will bury them deeper and eventually disease will manifest.
Symptoms are the body’s way to auto-regulate and self-heal. The medical community groups symptoms and gives that grouping a name, the name of a disease. They then treat this new disease with drugs. Drugs palliate and quiet the symptoms. They do not treat the cause. Side effects from these drugs cause further symptoms, hence, a new disease, leading to additional drugs. Instead, how do we begin to remove the cause of these symptoms?
Cleansing
Cleansing is nature’s way of eliminating the body’s waste material. This is done through our emunctories, our body’s major organs of elimination. In order to accomplish this, we need to be relaxed and in the Parasympathetic Nervous System of rest and reset, instead of the Sympathetic Nervous System of fight or flight.
- Bladder/Kidney – urination – hydration by drinking water, preferably RO or Distilled
- Bowel/Liver/Large Intestine – stool – increasing fibre in the diet with fresh fruit and veg
- Skin – sweat – through exercise, dry skin brushing, sauna, castor oil packs
- Lungs – breath – by deep breathing exercises, from the diaphragm, not just the chest
- Lymphatics – through the tonsils and out through lymphatic drainage techniques
- Glymphatics – kick in at night while you sleep, detox the brain. Sleeping the required 7 – 9 hrs allows this process to occur. The toxic material is then passed down to the Lymphatics.
Drainage
Biotherapeutic drainage is the process of draining toxins from the body by opening the doors and throwing out the garbage. We open the emunctories and drain. It is NOT detox. Drainage is gently releasing the toxins after the doors have been opened. It is a safe and gentle method to help the body eliminate, in the most comfortable way possible. It is similar to Homotoxicology.
We can gently drain and unclog the liver and kidneys, allow the body to clear out the toxic material that it is ready to release, and, at the same time, support and tonify the Adrenals.
When I begin working with clients, I start with drainage, using the Unda Numbers, homeopathic complex remedies, Gemmotherapy, and Phytoembryotherapy. These are gentle, offering a large variety of remedies, so easier to choose the best combination for each client, depending on their reserve energy and health issues. We open the emunctories and drain, always beginning with the liver and the kidneys. During this process, I also include remedies designed to rebalance the microbiome, by working on the imbalance of bacteria, dysbiosis.
Detoxification
Detoxification is disrupting toxic material to try and push it out of the body. It is like throwing the garbage against the door and hoping it will open. If this doesn’t work, the body will redeposit the toxins while, at the same time, causing aggravations.
It is strong and aggressive and can increase Adrenal Fatigue. If the emunctories are not open, the person will feel sick as he releases the stuff that has nowhere to go. The toxins are reabsorbed through the blood and the body will need to hide them where they will do the least amount of damage, your joints, your fat cells (ever wonder why your body won’t release those extra pounds?), your bones, your skin, and other “safe” areas of the body.
I avoid detoxification, particularly heavy metal detox, with new clients, especially those who are ill. They may be weak and require a gentler approach. Once we have worked on their Cleansing and Drainage, and have begun to address many of their issues, they may never need a detox program. If they do, they will be able to handle it much better.
At Edison Institute of Nutrition, you will learn all about these techniques and so much more. You will work at your own pace, online, in the comfort of your own home. Working with the latest scientific research, our mission is to teach you to evaluate and understand the root cause of ill health and provide you with the critical thinking skills that will enable you to guide your clients, yourself, and your family to optimal health. If you’d like to learn more about any of our programs, including our Diploma in Holistic Nutrition https://edisoninst.com/courses/diploma-programs/diploma-holistic-nutrition/ call us today at or contact us online.
By Gilda Rovan, BA, ROHP, DIHom(Pract)
Curriculum Advisor and Instructor at Edison Institute of Nutrition
Additional Resources:
Adrenal Fatigue: https://www.nppwebinars.com/adenal_fatigue.html
The Liver: https://www.nppwebinars.com/liver.html
The Kidneys: https://www.nppwebinars.com/kidneys.html
