Usually, January & April is the time of the year where I get all sort of questions regarding detox in my free and private community. Typically everyone is wanting to start a detox, a cleanse some kind of ritual that will make them feel better after the “overindulgence” of the last few months….
Bottom line is we do not feel good and it’s because our body is overwhelmed.
When I first got into healthy living, I did a few smoothie detoxes and juice fasting- and for a while, I genuinely thought they worked. I have to admit these detox/cleanse gave me a buzz but I didn’t understand why at the time. I’ve come to realize – both personally and professionally – that I was overplaying the effects of the various techniques.
I now know that no detox is necessary to stay healthy.
Your innate detoxification system
The truth is we do not need weird ritual to detox here’s why: the fact is, the only time that you are not detoxing is when you are dead.
Our bodies are constantly sifting through the stuff we put into them and forcing out waste and toxins. Every minute of every day.
Every cell in the body has the ability to detoxify itself and break down environmental and metabolic waste. The lymphatic system carries the waste from the cells to the bloodstream. The liver filters the waste from the blood and finally, our kidneys are an extremely sensitive and powerful filtering waste disposal system. All this is happening. Right here, right now without any juice cleanse or smoothie detox.
Why do I feel like “this” then
What I hear the most often in my private practice & community sound something like this:
“I have over indulged in the last few days, weeks (sometimes months) and I feel like “$%$!” I’m bloated, my tummy aches, I have lots of gas, my skin is breaking out, I’m not regular anymore and when I go it smells really bad, I have a tons of sugar cravings, I use to be able to eat clean easy and now I can’t control myself, (I could go on forever but I will stop). Stephanie, I need a detox!!”
First consider why you “over-indulge” in the first place? Why do you need to over consume food pass your natural fullness signals? Restriction is typically the primary reason why we “over-indulge”… because we label food as “good” or “bad” and restrict bad food yet our subconscious mind desire what is forbidden … innate reaction!
Really what you need is not detox but rather to give your body a break, or more specifically your “gut”a break from overeating. The symptoms you feel are simply messages from your body from being overwhelmed.
You need to stop the flow of toxic into your body and allow the body to deal with the backup. No need for green juice, green smoothie or expensive detox supplements.
Your gut is the key
The “gut” is really what we call the digestive system: intestine, stomach, gallbladder, and colon. When we overeat pass natural fullness signals we overwhelm and offend our digestive system. One can say that our digestive system becomes literally “piss it off”.
When an overwhelming amount of foods are ingested, the digestive system is alone to do all the work to process, package and evacuate all the stuff that is not needed (which is most of it!). That’s is a lot of work!
In the process, we create a lots of inflammation and this is what cause the bloating. Most of us are intolerant to some of these foods which causes the gas and bloating as well.
Inflammation cause water retention which is the reason why you can put on between 5 to 10 lbs in a week worth of time. It’s all water.
The solution to your detox
So back to my clients that feels like “$%$!” what do I recommended they do to give the digestive system a break:
- First, respect your natural fullness and hunger signals.
- Get back to basics: eat mostly real food: protein, fat and carbs.
- Drink 2-3 liver of water per day. Avoid pop, coffee and or sugary drinks.
- Exercise, sweat a little. Walking, hot yoga, weight training whatever you prefer.
- Continue this regimen for a few weeks.
This will allow the body and digestive system to literally relax and heal itself.
Simply put you will stop assaulting your body and the innate detoxification of your body will then be able to do its work as it should.