Detoxing: What exactly are we getting out?

So, the date is set: detox begins next Thursday(January 26th, 2012) and runs until the following Thursday morning. For those of you who can’t do it during that time, please just use all this info and do it when you can. Over the next couple days I will be sending out e-mails (sign-up for my e-mail newsletters at www.DrJoanneDay.com – it’s the Free Report) and doing facebook posts(Dr. Joanne Day, ND fan page) to give you all the info you need to do a safe and effective detox. You don’t need any fancy or expensive detox kits. Most of what you need will be available at your local grocery store.

Lets get started, first the background technical info:

What is a Detox?

Detoxification is the metabolic process by which your body gets rid of unwanted substances. This is always happening whether you are doing a detox or not. However, a detox aims to support and encourage these processes. There are two parts to a detox. First, you want to decrease the amount of substances you are exposed to that your body will have to detox. This is chiefly done by eating a very ‘clean’ diet (we’ll talk a lot more about the diet later). Secondly, you want to support and encourage elimination.

So what exactly are these toxins that we are getting rid of?

There are two sources of toxins in our body. One type originates inside our body and the other originates outside the body.

Toxins that originate inside the body are known as endotoxins. These include:

• Excess hormones. Hormonal health is all about balance. If one hormone is in excess relative to other hormones, undesirable symptoms arise. The body tries to get rid of excess hormones, but if the route out is blocked, imbalances arise.
• Free radicals. Free radicals are a byproduct of everyday living. Anti-oxidants are used by the body to neutralize free radicals – a good cleanse supplies loads of anti-oxidants.
• Intermediate Metabolites. Some substances need to be changed by the liver before they can be eliminated from your body. And some substances need to be changed more than once before they can be eliminated. Sometimes these “intermediate” substances can be more harmful than the original substance. This is also known as Phase I and Phase II liver detoxification. If your Phase I is overactive, these intermediate metabolites can be floating around in your body, wrecking havoc, for longer than they should.
• Toxic Memories & Emotions. Don’t forget those. Our emotions and thoughts affect our biochemical processes. We can carry these negative thoughts around for years – it is important to dedicate a time to deal with and get rid of emotions that are no longer serving you.

Toxins that originate outside the body are known as exotoxins. They include:

• Dietary toxins.
• Pesticides & herbicides
• Food additives including artificial flavors, sweeteners, thickeners & colors
• Residue from plastic utensils and packaging
• Bacteria, fungus and viruses on fresh food
• Drugs. Over the counter drugs, prescription drugs and recreational drugs can also be sources of toxins. Be sure however, not to stop any necessary medications during a cleanse.
• Pollution from cleaners in our home and workplace.
• Outdoor pollution from cars.
• Chemicals in personal body products. For more information on this go to Skin Deep. 

So that’s all the technical background stuff. Stay tuned for the plan……..