The meaning of the word detoxify, according to Merrium Webster, is to “remove a harmful substance (such as a poison or toxin) or the effect of such and to render (a harmful substance) harmless.”
In my circles, a detox is usually seen more as removing foods and drinks from your daily diet for a period of time with the view that it will cleanse your body. What’s interesting is that when someone puts themselves on a ‘detox diet’ or a cleanse, they’re all of a sudden eating healthier than they usually are. The daily glass of wine or beer is gone, the sugar, coffee and whatever is seen as not healthy is taken out. Just like that. And then the headaches start, and body aches and overall blah feeling, to boot. But really, the process of detoxification in the body relies on your liver, kidneys, urinary system, skin, lymph system, lungs that take in oxygen and breathe out carbon dioxide and of course, the digestive system. Have you ever been constipated? That means you’re not detoxifying. Getting what’s not needed out of the body happens every moment of every day.
When I Googled detoxification, I saw questions like, “How can I detox my body in a day?” and a million ads for products to cleanse your system. The sooner we realize that this is our individual long game, the better. As I started researching for this episode, I realized that we haven’t done a deep dive into the almighty detox, maybe because I feel that my weekly encouragement to eat more fresh fruits, vegetables, proteins and unrefined foods is, in actual fact, supporting your body to detox better. So there might be more to come on that, but in this episode, I want to introduce you to the concept of drainage.
What do you think of when I say drainage? Your sink drain maybe? The analogy fits, if you think of getting rid of waste water with that woosh down the drain, without any back up or blockage. However, the drainage that I’m talking about is on a cellular level. Getting the ‘stuff’ out of your cells and flushing it through the system and out of the body. You don’t need all the ‘stuff’ that’s there and, in fact, without proper drainage, pretty much any symptom that you’re suffering with can be impacted.
So today on EAT THIS with Lianne – Detox vs. Drainage, and an in-depth look into how to help your body get rid of what it doesn’t need. And, of course, how not load it up in the first place.
Think about the cleansing that you do every day… You have a shower, brush your teeth, wash your hair, wash your face. Daily, you are taking care of cleansing by detoxing what’s on the surface and cleansing it off you. But what about internally? The way I often explain drainage to my clients is that it’s like an internal shower for your cells. Cleansing at a cellular level.
You might only think of basic cleansing and elimination happening in the bathroom with having a pee or poo, but how many times a day do you pee? Really, I’d say it needs to be around six, checking that the colour of your urine is closer to light straw than yellow-brownish. And how about your bowel movements? Are they daily and easy to pass? Does the stool break in the water and is not too smelly? That’s the ideal situation of elimination. If not, that needs attention. With the help of my guest, Jason Persaud (known as Coach Jay), we are going to go deeper today, starting with what’s going on in your cells, what exactly is drainage, and of course, why should you care?
Jason is a Holistic Health Practitioner who works with chronic disease and chronic pain. Coach Jay’s mission is to simplify the complex reality that is the human body by teaching individuals how to navigate through the layers of the human condition. He is an ex-bodybuilder who realized that fitness does not equal health and longevity after he became sick with a Candida (yeast) overgrowth that took over his gut and in turn, his mind, body and soul. Coach Jay phased out of the fitness world and into the holistic health world in both his personal life and his work life.He now has an international practice, helping over 350 clients in under a year with the use of an EAV testing machine and his holistic, mind, body approach.
www.quantumhealth.ca
Thank you Jason for such an in-depth journey of ideally what our bodies need to be doing for health and the tips on how we can best support that. Make sure to listen to the episode to hear him!
Whether you call it cleansing, detoxing or drainage, allowing your body to rid what it doesn’t need (as I said off the top) is the long game of life. The first step – or second step depending on how you look at it – is to not give it more work in the first place. This is the place where balance comes in.
My shortlist of non-negotiables:
- Hydrate – Ideally, drink at least 1.5L of filtered water every day. In our coffee episode with Dr B, he said that coffee without anything in it (no sugar or milk) is hydrating. Herb teas add to your water count too, so while it’s winter right now, most of my water consumption is various teas. Juice doesn’t count, unless it’s diluted with water by at least half.
- Fruit and veggies – There are days when we just don’t eat them. Fast snacks often aren’t a banana, apple or pear, or even a handful of berries. For the sake of all nutrients, plant nutrients that don’t even have a name yet, and fibre and antioxidants, you must have at least 5 servings a day. Download this serving size guide for help.
- Fibre – This looks like whole grains. Brown rice (not white), quinoa or whole oat flakes (not the small packets with the brown maple sugar that you add boiling water to). Use a recipe from my book, Sprout Right Family Food – soak those Overnight Oats, make a batch of Chia Pudding for a few days’ breakfasts or as a snack, and whip up the Blender Pancakes to eat instead of white toast.
Extras that help:
- Skin brushing – Exfoliating in the shower so your skin can be eliminated easier without a barrier or dry dead skin in the way.
- Deep breathing – Take deep breaths a few times a day so you know that you’re clearing out your lungs.
- Movement from walks or yoga – Rebounding is excellent for the lymphatics. A favourite of mine is Yoga with Adrienne and her monthly calendars. They help me to follow the leader and not have to decide on which class to do today.
- Even more hydration – If you’re working out, using weights, running or biking with gusto, be sure you’re also hydrating more and refueling afterwards, so your muscles can repair and help eliminate the lactic acid.
- A long soak – Hit the bath with Epsom salts, baking soda and some nice oils. This self-love helps because your emotions also need to be taken into account with detoxification. If you’re holding in resentment, anger or frustration, that creates a stuck-ness that you gotta shift and deal with.
Know that there is so much that you can do before you think that you need to ‘detox’ with all the bells and whistles. Check out the links below for Jason’s suggestions for water filtration, and please remember to Eat This, one mouthful at a time.
