Does Detoxing Even Matter?
Why do we need to detox?
There are many people who will say that our liver is constantly detoxing and yes, this is true. However, we are exposed to hundreds, if not thousands of toxins on a daily basis. Even though the liver is still working, it may not always be working optimally.
Imagine a water filter. You pour water into the filter, and it will filter everything as best it can. Especially if it’s a new filter- it’s clean so there isn’t any gunk to slow it down.
But after a while, what happens?
You might notice that the water is filtering slower.
You may notice the water tastes different because the filter is now holding all those toxins, chemicals, or compounds it has been removing from your water.
You may also take a look at the filter and see that it may be getting clogged up and full of junk it filtered out!
This is why filters, any type of filter you can think of really, are supposed to be changed on the regular.
Well, our liver is a filter, and it is definitely not one we can just replace.
We can only support it and provide it with the nutrients that it needs to make its job easier.
That is where detoxification comes into play.
What exactly is phase 1 and phase 2 liver detoxification?
Phase 1 liver detoxification is essentially the first line of defense against toxins. Specifically, there is a group of enzymes called the cytochrome P450 family which help to neutralize substances, such as caffeine and alcohol (yes these are toxins) and convert these toxins into less harmful substances.
These less harmful substances can still be toxic to the body, especially if they stay in the liver and continue to build up, which is where Phase 2 liver detoxification comes into play.
Phase 2 liver detoxification is the process of making these substances water-soluble so that they can be removed from the body.
Since this is a critical component of detoxification, it is critical to ensure that any detox, any true detox, supports both Phase 1 and Phase 2 liver detoxification.
A 7 Day Chronicle
The first week consists of two fasting days- to help make the most of autophagy as well, which is then followed by five days that include two whole food meals and two shakes. In order to ensure that you are getting all the nutrients needed for Phase 1 and Phase 2, the shakes provide all the daily recommended vitamins and minerals, and the supplements provide additional ingredients to boost liver detoxification.
Day 1- I woke up around 5:30 and got out of bed at 6:05 so that I could got for a brisk walk. Whenever I detox, I try and stay away from any hardcore workouts, or from expending too much energy. Knowing that it was day 1, I kept my routine simple. I walked for about 25 minutes, then came back to shower and start my day.
I did start to feel a tiny headache early on, and quite honestly, I do feel like oftentimes this is just part of the “stress” of knowing I won’t have any solid food for two days. But, as I’ve told myself many times while detoxing, I am not starving, I am always weeks away from starving, and my body is just going through the process of removing toxins.
Which is why we do this anyways.
I sipped my first of four shakes over the course of an hour, starting at 7am. Since it was a fasting day, I had filled my tea kettle early in the morning to make sure I had lots of water on hand for all the tea I would be sipping!
I love tea, so a day full of sipping herbal tea is something I do naturally. Being the middle of summer in San Diego sipping tea, well that required my air conditioner to be turned on all day to offset the heat, but I digress.
Around 10am, I started to feel hungry and my headache started to get a little stronger. But, all part of the process. Short-term effects can be low mood, low energy, headaches, nausea…
The long-term effects far outweigh the short.
These can include improved digestion, deeper sleep (which I always look forward to), as well as increased energy.
By noon, I could feel my energy starting to wane and my headache starting to increase ever so slightly.
At 2pm, I was definitely feeling it. My body temperature started to feel off…I didn’t know if I was feeling hot or cold or both! It was similar to feeling a cold or flu coming on. And even though I didn’t have a temperature, my body was still feeling a bit off.
By 3:30pm, I was ready for a nap. Even though I wasn’t too hungry, at this point, I was really feeling the effects of not eating. I was a little lightheaded, hungry, and tired.
At 4:30, I fell asleep. I was pretty tired, and that is something that I feel on every detox. I took about an hour nap, and when I woke up, I must admit, I was bummed it was only 5:30. Secretly, I was wishing it was already past dinner time so that I could have my last shake and go back to sleep!
My 4th shake of the day was pretty easy to take down. The evening was a bit more difficult than I’d like to admit. This is when I started to feel more effects of detoxing- I was cold and hot at the same time. I was lightheaded, and it was uncomfortable, but manageable.
I continued on.
As I wound down for my evening, I finished the day with some Natural Calm to help my sleep. I woke up a few times during the night, as this was attributed more to the heat in my place than anything else.
Day 2 - I was up around 5:30, and considering I was disturbed a bit by the heat the night before, I woke up still feeling pretty energized and surprisingly well rested. I quickly got out of bed, brushed my teeth, washed my face, and drank a glass of water, and headed out for a 30-minute walk before heading back home to start my day.
After my walk, I got home, showered, and made a cup of tea. I sat and wrote in my journal before opening my laptop.
So far so good.
I had my first shake at 7:30am. Things continued on relatively smoothly.
At 11am, I was ready for my second shake of the day. As the day progressed, those feelings of hot and cold crept in again. My energy levels were steady throughout. Overall, this detox was going really smooth and even though I felt hungry, I wasn’t keeled over with hunger pangs- which is always a positive!
I ended up having my second shake a little earlier, and as the day went on, I was still feeling pretty well. I had some Natural Calm to end my evening and was in bed by…9pm.
This was one of the better night’s sleep I had had in quite a while. As soon as 5am rolled around, I was already awake, ready to take on the day! Plus, I knew Day 3 was THE day to break my fast.
Day 3 - Up at 5am, I decided to get out a bit earlier for my morning walk. I love Day 3 because this is the day where we incorporate food into the detox. And after nearly 72 hours without solid food, Day 3 is a welcome relief.
By 6:30 I was back home, sitting on my patio table, sipping tea and journaling. I wouldn’t even begin to tell you how excited I was to have a meal later that day!
One of the best benefits of doing a detox that incorporates fasting days, is that when you have that first meal, you really appreciate how delicious simple, whole foods can be, and secondly, you start to realize which foods aren’t the best for you. This was definitely something that I wanted to pay attention to this time around.
7:30am- definitely feeling the hunger! I was very excited to have my shake this morning. I added a little warm water and some cinnamon, and it tasted exactly like champurrado. Phenomenal. For anyone who isn’t familiar with champurrado, it’s a delicious thick hot chocolate that we would only have at Christmas.
By 10am, I was ready to eat! I still had about another hour before my lunch, and while I kept thinking of taking that first bite of food, I was amazed at how good this detox was going. I did laundry, I vacuumed, I washed dishes. I got a great little boost of energy that had lacked in all my previous detox experiences.
11:30am- LUNCH!! It was delicious. Simple, easy…veggies, protein, and a little healthy fat.
It was interesting to note that I had a bit of a stressful morning before lunch, and I was feeling some digestive discomfort, which is fascinating considering I hadn’t had any food for a few days. It always amazes me what stress can do to the body…
6:00pm DINNER! It was also delicious. Exactly the same as my lunch. Veggies and protein. Something interesting did happen in the evening of Day 3, which hasn’t really happened for me throughout my previous detoxes. I got a surge of energy after dinner. I was cleaning, I was folding laundry, and even after a long day at work, I will still amped.
Day 4 - I woke up at 5am, ready to take on the day. I went outside for my walk, afterwards did a little 20-minute sauna session, and literally felt like I could conquer anything thrown my way.
By 6:30am, I was already sipping on my first shake of the day. And it was all I needed to get my morning off right.
The morning went well and work was slow which is always a positive when detoxing.
At noon, we had a two-hour long workshop, and afterwards, I was physically exhausted.
I took a nap on my living room floor- and woke up 20 minutes later, ready to eat dinner.
Overall, I still felt very well, and I would be lying if I didn’t say how excited I was to get to bed that night.
Day 5 - I had a bit of a rough night, probably due to the fact that I had taken a nap the day before. And I had matcha a little later than I normally would as well.
I woke up on Day 5 feeling groggy and tired. Because I was trying to catch up from a rough night’s sleep, I ended up getting out of bed around 6:30am, and that threw off my morning routine.
At lunch, I headed to my mom’s house for the afternoon, and enjoyed a nice lunch with my sister and my mom. I found something fascinating, that I didn’t crave the banana bread my mom had, nor the cookie that came with my lunch!
That is one thing that I have realized this time around; my cravings for sugar have lessened tremendously. And it feels GOOD.
Then came a somewhat stressful afternoon, and at dinner time, I caved. I ate some potato chips. And my stomach was unhappy.
Even though I slipped up, it wasn’t a big slip up. And more importantly, it didn’t undo all the great progress that I had made during the previous days.
So often when we are on a plan, or protocol, or regiment, and we slip up, how many of us think we’ve undone all the great work that we did up to that point?
I know for the longest time, I did.
And the truth is, that you haven’t. You haven’t undone anything. You are still making forward progress overall, even if you had one slight.
Day 6 – After an extremely long Day 5, I was excited to get in my morning walk. Out the door by 6am, I walked for about 30 minutes, got back home, journaled while I sipped my tea, and got ready for my first shake of the day.
The rest of the day was uneventful. It was a Saturday, and I ended up taking a majority of the day to relax and start a new book. I was able to get to bed early and slept super comfortably through the night.
Day 7 - I was up at 5am and out the door half an hour later to head up to the mountains for a mini hike. I took my breakfast shake with me and packed a bag and headed out.
By 7am, I sat in a little clearing a few yards off the trail, sipped my shake and enjoyed being present. It had been a while since I had made it out to this particular spot, and its beauty always leaves me in awe. It was incredibly windy, which I failed to check before leaving my house, and ended up turning back sooner than anticipated.
I often forget how connected I feel when I am out in nature. I promised the mountains I would be back next weekend.
Personally, when I detox, it is not just an opportunity to support my liver in pushing out toxins, it is also an opportunity for me to slow down and reconnect to myself. This is when I tend to focus more on deep relaxation, doing more journaling, spending more quiet time with myself, and being intentional about the pace in which I do things.
Especially now, when we are all so accustomed to the hustle and bustle of our daily lives, it can seem like taking a week to slow down, even taking a day to slow down, feels like a waste.
On the contrary, it is necessary to give our body, mind, and spirit the time to slow down and reconnect and be intentional about the activities that take up all our energy. In this way, we are also able to use the detox to gain more energy and clarity for the days ahead.
This detox went so well that I decided to continue on for another 7 days. I loved the way I had been feeling, and decided I still had it in me to go on for another week. (This is not something that I always do, especially since I still detox every three months.)
How Often Should You Detox?
That really is going to depend on you and your lifestyle. If you are someone who, for the most part, eats well, works out, and leads a healthy lifestyle, then detoxing every quarter may be the most you need to do.
If, on the other hand, you struggle with chronic illnesses, eat poorly, feel tired and exhausted all the time, chronically stressed, you may want to look at doing a longer detox (14-21 days) to start, and then continuing with a regular 7-day quarterly detox once you feel your body coming back into balance.
One thing to remember is that detoxing is not new. Ayurveda teaches the principles of detoxing the body through the use of herbs, supplements, purging and enemas, to help remove toxins from the body.
Thousands of years ago, Ayurveda knew that toxins could lead to dis-ease within the body, and that helping to remove toxic build-up was essential to bringing the body back to balance.
And in a world where everything around us is filled with, sprayed with, or created with, toxins and chemicals, being able to safely lessen our toxic load can help us reclaim our balance in an unbalanced world.