top of page
Search

Do you need a detox?

Writer's picture: Brittany HancockBrittany Hancock

Updated: Oct 18, 2024

Throughout history, humans have detoxed intentionally through seasonal rituals and ceremonies. The irony is that our world is more toxic now than ever and these rituals have fallen away! A regular proper detox is one of the foundations of health and is great to keep your body working optimally.

So what does a proper detox actually do – a detox cleanses the organs, tissues, blood and muscles from harmful substances that don’t belong in the body. This is essential because the liver thyroid, heart and brain in particular all can’t work properly with toxins, metals and parasites present.


What are toxins?


Toxins are harmful substances that can enter your life and body in many different ways. It is the immune system and livers job to remove these toxins from our systems and if they are not removed then the toxins can live in the body for many years unnoticed.


The issue about this is that your toxic load can get so high and that’s you start seeing the impacts appear via many different symptoms. This is your body’s way of telling you its time for a detox!


Where are toxins and how do I know if I have a high toxic load?


There are 80k new man-made chemicals in our environment day that weren’t there historical all due to the industrial revolution which yes is great for society but not great for our bodies. Most of them have not been properly tested for human safety as seen by the number that have now been banned but weren’t previously. In a 2004 study funded by the European Union / the World Wild Fund UK, the blood from 155 volunteers was examined for 77 different toxic chemicals. The number of toxic chemicals found was an average number was 30.


So in other words we are likely to have them in our system and they often can’t be avoided as they are literally in our air, water, food etc. Furthermore, we are already born with high toxicity (received from mothers in the womb was shown in a number of studies) and by living normal and everyday life, more toxins get absorbed and stored.


So where do the toxins come from:


  • Environmental toxins: population in the air especially on busy high streets, pesticides in your food (non-organic), toxins in cleaning products, your make up, hair products, radiation from airports etc.

  • Lifestyle toxins: processed sugar, medications, alcohol, caffeine, smoking etc.

  • Metabolic reactions: our bodies breakdown the food we eat every day into there basic form and this produces toxic waste. This is usually eliminated from our body through natural detox processes but when your diet doesn’t have enough nutrients to remove these then they too become stuck in the body.

  • Emotional toxins: Stress, fear or traumatizing events can affect both the nervous and hormonal systems, which then affect your body’s ability to detox.

Doesn’t my body detox everyday?


Well the answer to this is yes through your excretions and your sweat but this is often not optimal as we age and the toxins begin to build up and that’s why easy detoxing tools should be incorporated everyday and a regular season detox performed.


What are the sign you need a detox?


Skin problems including rashes and acne

When the liver is overloaded from toxins and struggling to detox them out, they start to push some of the toxins out into the skin to try and eliminate them. The skin sees these as poisions and creates acne and rashes and even eczema flairs when pushing them out.


Unexplained headaches

Frequent unexplained headaches are a sign your toxicity levels are high. Toxins such as aspartame and monosodium glutamate can also cause persistent headaches. These are found in diet coke, food colouring, food preservatives etc.


General aches and pains

Muscle pain is another sign of high toxicity. Toxins can stimulate pain receptors located in the muscles and often cause spams, cramps and knots.


Fatigue and low energy

Are you getting more than enough hours of sleep, but still feeling tired all the time? A toxic overload may be the reason why. When your body has an excess amount of toxins, it creates a lot of stress for your adrenal glands. A long-term toxic load can lead to adrenal fatigue which makes you feel exhausted and sleepy. Furthermore, some toxins such as caffeine can actually disrupt adrenal functions negatively by forcing your body to stay alert while struggling to flush out toxins.


Compromised resistance to infections

High toxic loan can affect your bodies ability to fight infections because the immune system is already overloaded with toxins it is trying to detox it struggles to fight the infection at the same time.

Inability to lose weight

If you are having trouble losing weight but you are counting your calories and doing the exercise, toxicity is often to blame. Toxins are stored in fat so they don’t harm the body, these are known as lipophilic toxins. Lipophilic toxins contain pesticides and dioxins which cause the body to produce more fat cells in order to store more toxins in it. This makes it almost impossible to lose weight until you get rid of the toxins in the body.


Brain fog

Toxins can affect the brain directly. If you constantly space out during the day or lose concentration easily then high toxification may be the reason. MSG is usually present in highly processed foods and meats while aspartame is found in sugar-free beverages, gum, and toothpaste. It’s important to cut these excitotoxins out of your diet. These have the ability to kill brain cells and prevent oxygen from getting to the brain.


Sluggish digestion

If you suffer from constipation, irregularity, cramping, bloating, or discomfort in your digestion, chances are something is out of balance.


Water retention

Do you often feel like you are swollen or puffy, this is often because your body is retaining water in your lymphatic system to dilute the toxins. So sometimes that additional weight you think you might be carrying could even just be water.


If you are seeing any of these signs it is properly time to detox otherwise they will just get worse and worse as your toxic load increases which can cause chronic diseases. In fact many clinical studies done at the Metagenics Functional Medicine Research Center have shown that symptoms of people with poor health can be vastly improved when they follow a properly designed detox diet and take supplements rich in the substances shown to support liver detox.


When choosing a detox it is important to remember that it should be individualised for each persons toxic load, differences in detox capacities and nutritional status. Get in touch with me if you are looking for a detox plan.



41 views0 comments

Recent Posts

See All

Comments


bottom of page