Deets on Detox

What’s the point of a detox or cleanse?

Detoxes and cleanses are quite trendy these days… and in full transparency, I’m a little over a week into a 3 week detox. But rather than jumping on a cleanse because everyone else is doing it, I think it’s important to understand why a cleanse or detox may be necessary.

Every day, our bodies are involuntarily and voluntarily exposed to millions of different chemicals! These chemicals come from pollution in our environment, food, beverages, medication, food additives, personal care products, cleaning products and a variety of other sources. The human body has a number of built-in mechanisms to help get rid of these pollutants, but it’s not able to completely remove all of them. This results in  a slow accumulation of pollutants in the body which eventually affect its function. Some of the ways that toxin build-up manifests itself include fatigue, headaches, digestive issues and neurological symptoms.

One of the areas of the body that is most greatly impacted by the build-up of toxins is the liver. Studies have shown that toxins can actually inhibit the activity of different enzymes in the liver, therefore reducing the liver’s ability to detoxify properly. Essentially what happens is that those enzymes typically take fat-soluble chemicals and transform them into water-soluble compounds that can be eliminated from the body through urine, sweat, or bile. If those enzymes aren’t working properly then these fat-soluble chemicals start to accumulate in different tissues of the body, especially fat and connective tissue. 

To remove these embedded toxins, they must be released from the tissue first before they can enter into the detoxication pathways and that is where a detoxification program comes in! Not all detoxes are created equally, so it is important that you do this under the guidance of a licensed healthcare professional.

The one that I am currently doing is called the Clearvite Basic Program from Apex Energetics. It’s a 3 week program where I’m taking Clearvite (a powder-based supplement) in the morning before breakfast and then the rest is simply dietary changes. I’m eating lots of healthy whole foods and eliminating a list of foods that tend to be irritating to the digestive system or require the liver to work extra hard. 

What can I expect from a detox?

Depending on the amount of toxins that have accumulated, some people may feel slightly under the weather as those toxins go from the connective tissue and enter into the detoxification pathways. Common symptoms include headache, irritability and tiredness. The good news is that as those toxins begin to be eliminated from the body, people start to experience improved focus, increased energy, better digestion, less aches and pains and numerous other benefits!

In addition to the physical benefits of a detoxification, I find that it can positively impact our mindset around food. A dietary detox causes us to read labels and look at the ingredients in the foods we are consuming, it causes us to slow down as we prepare meals from whole foods rather than packages, and it challenges us to ask ourselves “why am I craving what I’m craving right now?” so that we can address that root reason. 

If you’ve been contemplating doing a detox or would like to learn more, please feel free to reach out! At Renew and Restore Wellness it’s our pleasure to guide you in this journey to a healthier you!