Understanding the Detoxification Process

Learn how going through the detoxification process gives the body a chance to lighten its load and feel replenished.

It’s advantageous to engage in at least four committed cleansing protocols a year to help assist our bodies’ natural detoxification mechanisms throughout the seasons. The type of protocol you engage in will be unique to you and the season you are in, both your inner season and outer season. Where we are in our personal lives influences what we’re able to handle in terms of physical cleansing. If we’re in a natural contraction phase similar to the winter season, we may be in a hibernation process to reserve our energy, and we may engage in more of a warm soup or tea routine. If we’re in an expansion phase similar to spring and summer, we may consume more juices and smoothies, and possibly participate in water fasting. These are simplified examples of options each of us can use to lighten the digestive load, restore kidney and adrenal health, and replenish energy reserves.

Why Detox

The purpose of effective detoxification is to remove the obstructions that accumulate in the body over years of improper eating habits, lack of movement, overexposure to electromagnetic radiation, environmental toxins, and emotional blockages. Through the process of cleansing impurities from the body, we begin removing impure thought practices, resulting in a more honest, transparent, and authentic expression of who we truly are.

There are many forms of cleansing and detox protocols we can explore, but we must first consider our toxic load. It’s never as simple as just doing a 7–14 day juice cleanse or liquid fast. These are fantastic practices for increasing enzymatic production and growth hormones through the process of abstaining from high calorie foods. However, they can also be done inappropriately if we have built up harsh layers of ashy residue and our channels of elimination are blocked up.

We want to avoid creating what is known as a “healing-crisis.” This is when toxins, lodged in our fat cells, liver, or other tissue regions, are dislodged into our bloodstream and become more bio-active. This is a natural behavior of cleansing; therefore, we want to prepare for this by using specific natural foods, superfoods, and naturally derived supplements to bind up the loosened toxins and extract them from the body.

Elimination

In order to understand the detoxification process, you must understand the four channels of elimination. All eliminatory functions take place through four organ pathways: the kidneys (urination), colon (defecation), lungs (respiration), and skin (perspiration). These are the primary organs that keep the body in its acid alkaline balance. Acidification in the blood is largely due to undigested proteins, plaque formations, cooked cholesterol, and acid dominant minerals blocking the passageways of our arteries. This begins to restrict blood flow to the various regions of the body, including our detoxification pathways, resulting in a lack of the primary fuel of our cells, oxygen.

Cleansing is, fundamentally, the removal of harmful materials in the body, but holistic rejuvenation is about flooding the body with oxygen so it is as efficient as possible. When we do not properly eliminate the waste products of our metabolism, we create a breeding ground for non-oxygen breathing organisms (parasites, yeast, mold, fungus, bacteria, and viruses) which deplete our bodies of oxygen. Aside from all the advice on raw living foods and superfoods, adding a few drops of food grade hydrogen peroxide to your morning water is an effective way to increase oxygenation.

It is recommended you design a basic lifestyle practice surrounding the natural cleansing cycles of the body. In the morning from 4 a.m. to 12 p.m. our bodies are in a catabolic, or detoxification, phase. This means the body is releasing the acid waste products of the night before, and we can set up rituals to assist this process along.

So when we wake up, the first thing we do is scrape the top of our tongue. You will notice a white film coating the tongue if you look in the mirror. This is respiratory cleansing while we were sleeping. After that, drinking one liter of the best water you have available with squeezed lemon and a few dashes of sea salt is highly recommended. Nature’s solution to pollution is dilution; therefore, we want to hydrate our body tissues and flush out the acids. The natural inclination in society is to eat a big, hearty breakfast. I advise bypassing this social norm and continuing to drink liquids through the morning.

A common morning routine for me will look like this:

• 1 liter of spring water with 1/4 teaspoon sea salt or 2 to 4 drops iodine
• 15 proteolytic enzymes
• Hot herbal tea or elixir
• Superfood smoothie (blueberries, chia seeds, chlorella, maca, hemp protein, honey, mint leaf)
• Glass of water
• And finally, move into solid foods

Now that you’ve learned a bit about the detoxification process, try a detox smoothie!