Detox and Women’s Health
Symptoms of toxicity
These can be as varied as the individual, but generally speaking they manifest as:
- Headaches, fatigue, weakness, muscle and/or joint aches and pains
- Brain fog, poor concentration, irritability, depression, mood swings
- Allergies, stuffy nose, coughing
- Rashes, itching, hives
- Digestive symptoms/IBS/GI upset
- Sensitivities to chemicals, foods, drugs
Toxicity may also play a role in the following diseases and conditions:
- Cancers, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, autoimmune diseases
- PMS, infertility
- Irritable bowel syndrome, chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia
- Psoriasis, eczema, acne
Often, symptoms of toxicity first arise as digestive disturbances (bloating and gas after eating, foul-smelling stools, diarrhea and/or constipation), bad taste in mouth, acid reflux and heartburn. This usually indicates a growing food sensitivity or allergy that may be the first indication of a breakdown in your detoxification system. We become so used to feeling slightly ill after we eat (or all day long) that we mentally override our early warning systems.
How to detox your body naturally
Most detox programs treat the gut and the liver first, moving into detoxification of the blood and kidneys only after the GI tract and liver are functioning properly. I personally don’t recommend extreme fasts or harsh colon cleansers as they tend to shock your other systems by releasing too many toxins too quickly. This can leave you incapacitated and discouraged.
Instead, I encourage you to look at detoxification as a paradigm shift — one in which you slowly and consistently work with your body to make different choices on what to remove and what to add to your total health picture. This is the only way to make permanent, fundamental improvements to your health and sense of well-being. It’s not the quick fix, but it works and it is never too late to start.
In my book, Total Renewal, I explain the seven steps I think are necessary for supporting your detoxification system and enhancing your health. They are, briefly:
Take responsibility for your health. This means paying attention to your intuition (and perhaps challenging conventional treatment) when you think something is not right. It means working to find a holistic practitioner you can trust to monitor your detox program.
Remove toxins and decrease your toxicity load. This usually begins where most toxins enter our system, in the gut and liver, but importantly includes decreasing exposure to environmental and emotional toxins. Studies have shown that most people are likely to have the greatest contact with toxic pollutants inside their homes and offices. So creating a healthy home is essential, in addition to drinking filtered water, washing all your produce, and eating organic food. For more specific suggestions, log on to my website.
One hidden source of toxins is cosmetics, lotions, and other body-care products. Click here for a list of unhealthy ingredients to avoid when shopping for these items.
Recognize your unique diet. Follow a detox diet that substitutes lean, organic meats, whole grains, and fresh vegetables and fruit for foods high in chemicals, artificial additives, transfats and sugar. For more specifics on my Restorative Diet, click here.
If your symptoms are extreme, you may need to follow a strict elimination diet that removes the most common allergens from your diet (dairy, wheat, eggs, peanuts, yeast, shellfish, beef, pork, veal, soy products, citrus, strawberries, nightshades, corn and chocolate) for a certain period of time and then reintroduce them.
Treating GI conditions such as parasites, yeast overgrowth, or unhealthy bacteria through nutrients and diet is also part of recognizing what your individual digestive requirements are.
Replenish nutrients and balance hormones. I strongly encourage you to work on this step with a professional healthcare practitioner who can determine what your individual needs are. Generally, this may include optimizing liver function, replacing stomach acids and digestive enzymes through supplements and reinoculating the GI tract with beneficial bacteria and microflora. Additionally, I treat any nutritional deficiencies with a good multivitamin that includes B vitamins. I usually add essential fatty acids and other nutrients that may be necessary.