By Angelique Panagos
There is a lot of hype around the word “detoxification” at the moment – should we, shouldn't we? Is it healthy or are we harming our bodies? These are all really valid questions and concerns. After all, our bodies are designed to detoxify. Every day we neutralise and eliminate toxins through organs such as our liver, lymphatic system, colon, kidney, lungs, and our largest organ, the skin. It’s one of our most basic automatic functions!
When it comes to our overall health, fitness, and general well-being, it’s important that we take the best possible care of ourselves so that we can have the best possible chance of a healthy, happy and prosperous life. Despite this however, many of us unfortunately make certain lifestyle decisions which directly and indirectly harm our health. Take diet for instance; worldwide obesity levels recently reached an all-time high, this alone should tell us that something is not right. People are eating and drinking way too much junk “food like” products and not getting enough exercise. Other choices such as drinking excessive alcohol or smoking is also affecting our health, pumping our bodies full of additional toxins and other harmful chemicals. Truth be told, toxins and harmful chemicals are everywhere. They’re in the air we breathe, the foods we eat, and the beverages which we drink.
To help give your body a break from these chemicals and toxins, a detox can be beneficial. Many healing experts have confirmed that following a special guided cleansing programme can help our self-cleaning system and may help alleviate immune-deficiency diseases.
So why Detox?
Give your digestive system a well earned rest
Every single day, we eat foods which our digestive system has to break down and digest, before processing it and eliminating the waste products. If you had to work hard constantly every day, you’d soon become tired and would possibly even not be able to function. Just the same as you need a holiday your body needs a break too. Some of the most common symptoms of toxic build-up within the body are digestive complaints like bloating, gas, constipation, diarrhoea and acid reflux. By eliminating the additional toxins and heavy load caused by alcohol, sugar, smoking, processed food like products and fried foods you are reducing the amount your digestive system needs to do. Having instead nutrient rich, clean food you are lending a helping hand by ensuring your body has the right nutrients to cleanse by deactivating toxins or removing them.
Help flush toxins from your body
As the name suggests, the main benefits of a detox is to remove harmful toxins and chemicals from your body. These toxins, found in junk (food), pollution, and other sources too, are extremely dangerous and can potentially cause serious illnesses, especially when we take in toxins faster than they can be eliminated. They have the potential to poison you, or cause your cells to mutate and change their molecular structure, which could eventually lead to them becoming cancerous. Regular cleansing helps you fight off illness and disease as you flush these toxins from your body. This gives your body the space to rebuild healthy tissues and regain energy, lose weight, have radiant skin and strong hair and nails.
Strengthen your immune system
Another important benefit of a detox, even if your diet is good, is that it can help boost and restore your immune system. On a detox, you pump your body full of natural vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, all of which are proven to help strengthen the immune system and immune responses. As we know the stronger an immune system is, the less likely you are to become ill.
Stepping stone into healthy eating
A well designed cleansing and nourishing programme can be a stepping stone into a healthier “eating” way of life. Once you remove the toxins, break unhealthy eating habits, you can easily continue with a healthier way of eating all the time!
If you would like to know more have a look at my Cleanse and Nourish metabolic detox .
Nourishing well wishes,
Angelique.
Consult your doctor or health care practitioner for any health problems, before embarking on any new health regimes, using any supplements or before making any changes in prescribed medications or food programmes.
Angelique Panagos, Nutritional Therapist in London
Angelique has an immense passion for the healing power of food. “The food we eat affects every cell in the body, making the difference between feeling 'all right' and feeling 'great'!” As a devoted foodie and health enthusiast Angelique will inspire you to make the changes needed for you own health and vitality!
Angelique completed her training as a Nutritional Therapist at the renowned Institute for Optimum Nutrition (ION) in London. Angelique is registered and regulated by the British Association for Applied Nutritional Therapy (BANT) and is a member of The Complimentary and Natural Healthcare Council (CNHC).
Angelique is in row 36 on our Practitioners' List
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By Lynn DeBuhr Johnson
The Five Elements system of the ancient Chinese serves as an aid for understanding the limitless correspondences that pervade every facet of life. The Five Elements is a diagnostic step toward unification of the person, including the internal organs, emotions, body parts, and environment, linking these with five dynamic categories that empower and control one another. The Five Elements are Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water
The liver is a Wood-Element organ, and is perhaps the most congested of all organs in the modern person. Too much fat, chemicals, intoxicants, and denatured food all disrupt the hundreds of intricate biochemical processes of the liver. Traditional Chinese physiology tells us that the healthy liver establishes a smooth and soothing flow of energy through the whole person, in both body and mind. When the liver is harmonious, there is never stress or tension. People with vital livers are calm; they also have unerring judgment and can be naturally effective as leaders and decision-makers. When obstructed, stagnant, or overheated, the energy flow in the liver and throughout the body is hampered, resulting in myriad physical and emotional problems.
There are both emotional as well as physical symptoms of a liver imbalance. One of the first signs of liver disharmony is emotional difficulty related to anger: impatience, frustration, resentment, violence, belligerence, rudeness, edginess, arrogance, stubbornness, aggression, and an impulsive and/or explosive personality. When these emotions are repressed without an opportunity for transformation, they cause depression. Mood swings as well as emotional excesses in general are liver-related.
Numerous signs exist on a physical level, ranging from the superficial and subtle to the deeper and obvious. In order to recognize the signs and the imbalances they represent, let us now look at the most prevalent liver syndrome and the dietary principles for resolving it.
The most common syndrome of the liver is liver stagnation. Many liver conditions involve excess of one kind or another. The most frequent kind occurs when too much food is eaten – especially rich, greasy food – and the liver becomes swollen and sluggish in its attempt to circulate qi energy smoothly through the body. The qi then stagnates in the liver and is not properly distributed.
Since it is qi that guides the flow of fluids and nourishment, swelling occurs in certain areas of the body when the liver is swollen and its qi is stagnant. (Swelling is a sign of excess.) The most common locations of swelling are near the liver/gall bladder acupuncture meridians or other liver-related regions. The thyroid gland, for example, governs how fast fats are burned by the body, and it is often thought in Western physiology to be related to the liver. When the liver is stagnant, a lump may be felt in the throat, even though one cannot physically be found; when a goiter exists (an enlarged thyroid, visible as a swelling at the front of the neck), this is also a sign of a congested liver. The chest or abdomen may also become distended, or the breasts enlarged. Swellings or lumps can occur in the neck, groin, sides of the body, and the lateral portion of the thighs. In addition, accumulations such as tumors and cancerous growths are liver-related, although the mass itself is considered a form of pathogenic dampness which generally indicates spleen-pancreas imbalance.
The liver rules the tendons and eyes. When qi energy and fluid flows in the body are deficient, then the tendons are not “moistened” and can easily tear, become inflamed, or cause unusual contract or weakness in their related muscles. A common result of these conditions is an inflexible and rigid body.
Likewise, the eyes become inflamed, swollen, or pulled out of focus by the muscles that control them. Since the liver acupuncture meridian passes through and thereby influences the tissues surrounding the eyes, the eyes are directly affected by the liver in many ways. Cataracts, glaucoma, inflamed, red or dry eyes, night blindness, excessive tearing, near- or far-sightedness, and other visual abnormalities basically mirror the condition of the liver.
Many writers and therapists who teach vision correction suggest a dietary method that has proved beneficial for most Westerners at least partly because of its remedial effect on the liver. It includes primarily vegetarian food, with an emphasis on fresh raw vegetables and sprouts. One is advised to undereat and to take the last meal of the day in the afternoon. Eating moderate amounts of food and avoiding late meals allows the liver and gall bladder ample time to prepare for regeneration during their four-hour cycle of peak energy defined by the Chinese Clock – from 11:00 p.m. To 3:00 a.m.
From this perspective, the qi energy of raw food does stimulate the energy flow of a stagnant liver. In fact, the B vitamin known as folic acid is considered by some researchers as the quintessential nutrient in the correction of myopia. This vitamin is also the most heat-sensitive and so is available only in raw food; it is found in abundance in green leafy vegetables and all sprouts.
The liver stores and purifies the blood. The liver is said to be in charge of the storage of the blood, allowing more blood into circulation during periods of greater activity. While in storage, the blood is processed and purified. However, if the liver is stagnant, then blood purification may be inadequate, leading to the release of toxins through the skin. Impure blood is a cause of acne, eczema, carbuncles, boils, acidosis, and allergies; in addition, toxic blood feeds all degenerative conditions, including cancer and arthritis.
If the storage of blood malfunctions, the menses may be overabundant, irregular, scant, or lacking entirely. These last three can occur as a result of insufficient liver blood. Other signs of such a liver blood deficiency syndrome may include anemia, general bodily dryness, tendon/ligament/muscle spasms or numbness (blood lubricates and nourishes the tissues), pale fingernail beds and face, and spots in the visual field. In many problems with the liver, its blood and yin fluids in general are low and need to be enriched. The spleen-pancreas and kidneys also cause problems with the blood, its production, and the flow of menstrual blood.
Longstanding liver stagnancy wears down the system. Taxed with excess, an expanded liver continually struggles toward balance, and thus generates heat. In fact, most heat signs in people with a rich diet are related to liver excess. Liver heat symptoms are fueled by the overconsumption of intoxicants, fats, meats, cheese, and eggs. Even though these concentrated foods are not all warming, heat develops as they block the normal functioning of the liver, and this blocking/stagnating effect occurs most often when these foods predominate in the diet. Liver heat exhibits general heat signs (aversion to heat, red tongue with yellow coating, constipation, great desire for cold fluids), as well as those that are specific to the liver: inflamed eyes, anger, headaches )especially migraine), dizziness, and/or high blood pressure.
In order to reduce stagnancy or heat, the kidneys - “mother of the liver” - must produce extra yin fluids, which this case act as a coolant and decongestant. If the liver never rests from a state of congestion, neither do the kidneys rest, and eventually the kidney yin function weakens. A liver yin deficiency syndrome and the resulting minor heat signs develop as the yin of the liver diminishes and the kidneys strain to increase yin fluid production. Signs of such “deficiency heat” include any of the general deficient yin symptoms: fresh red tongue and cheeks, small but frequent thirst, hot palms and soles, and insomnia; when lack of yin specifically affects the liver, additional symptoms may include irritability, dry eyes, nervousness, and depression.
Sometimes (excess) heat and deficiency heat coexist in the liver, with signs of heat appearing in one area of the body, and deficiency heat appearing elsewhere. If this occurs, you need t use not only cooling foods but also those which support the capacity of the kidneys to produce yin fluids.
Resources:
Between Heaven and Earth: A Guide to Chinese Medicine, Harriet Beinfield and Efrem Korngold. New York: Ballantine Books, 1992.
The Tao of Healthy Eating: Dietary Wisdom According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, Bob Flaws. Boulder, CO: Blue Poppy Press, 1998.
Lynn is a certified health coach who graduated from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. She is also a macrobiotic chef and advised and coached many clients for years.
Lynn is in row 38 on our Practitioners' List
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