I think that everyone and everything on the planet needs support with detoxification. I can’t stress this enough due to the level of pollution we are all dealing with in our environment on an everyday basis...
If you decide you want to start small, just begin by de-toxing your life. Move away from using household synthetic scents, insect sprays, artifical perfumes, room deoderisers, and chemical based personal care products. Use only natural cream bases and essential oils as perfume. Make-up can be mineral based: more natural based products are readily available now (remember it's worn on the face all day usually!). Use natural cleaning products and if you must use some cleaning products, keep it to a minimum. There are many cloth-based options that use only water and good-old elbow grease!
If you have cleaned up your home and you now want to start on your own body. Start by avoiding eating food that looks like it was manufactured in a factory with a long ingredient list!
Visit the local market or store and purchase locally grown food. Organic is good, but food grown with love and without the use of chemicals is the best. Organic labels can be misleading. Do you know a friend who has a garden and is always trying to give away the melons and zucchinis that have run wild? What about the preserves and relishes at the markets?
I love small home-grown markets as THE BEST place to get lovely food and homemade supplies for all the family. Learn how to grow a few staples yourself. There are plenty of websites, books, videos and social media pages to help guide you on growing simple things like leafy greens, tomatos, potatoes and cucumbers etc.
If building a house why not try using natural materials like mud, straw and rammed earth? Use wool and jute, and hemp as the most sustainable choices.
What can I do to reduce the toxic overload in my animals?
With your animals avoid excessive medications and chemicals;
- Vaccinations (try a titre test instead)
- Flea treatments and collars
- Excessive worm treatments - use herbal rotation, paddock management and faecal tests.
- Packaged processed food
- Non-natural shampoos, conditioners and detangles.
- Pet deodorisers
- GMO foods
- Reduce using insecticides in your garden and home and love your weeds!
Symptoms of a detoxification
When you decide to clean up your life in both diet and lifestyle it is a good time to consider a herbal detox support.
There are often some undesirable early discomforts when starting a detoxification which may need to be managed. Withdrawal symptoms is often a better term as your body readjusts initially to function without the substance that has been withdrawn (like caffeine, sugar and alcohol). Once you get through the withdrawal stage you will be rewarded with an increase in energy, vitality and an all over healthier and more resilient you!
We should not confuse an herbal detox with the withdrawal symptoms that can last anywhere from 3 days to 3 weeks.
General Symptoms of withdrawal (usually associated with sugar, caffeine and alcohol);
- Headache
- Nausea
- Lack of appetite
- Body pain/aches
- Sleeplessness/restlessness
- Fatigue
- Cravings
- Dry mouth/thirst
Symptoms of a detox
These symptoms vary and are temporary -usually occurs in the first 3 weeks and moved through by week 4-5. Sypmtoms of a herbal detox, using the 12 week blood cycle model.
- Increase in urination
- Increase in bowel movements
- Skin eruptions
- Odema
- Chronic symptoms increased (getting worse before it gets better)
In Conclusion
Improving your life by ridding yourself of the many chemicals we are familiar with and cleaning up your diet is a great start to the new year. I don’t like resolutions as such but the New Year always has a spark of hope of what the year will bring.
Let’s use this time to inspire us to set ourselves up for the next cycle of cell renewal – the next 7 years will see every cell in our body 100% renewed, made up from the food we eat and the air we breathe, as well as the emotions that are stimulated by our life experience. Our body is, after all, the foundation upon which our soul explores the physical world. Lets keep our body as we would a sacred space - carefully, mindfully and with intention. The benefits will appear in all areas of your life!
