Detox Symptoms

When your body is healing it may go through several phases of detox symptoms. It is important to allow your body to go through these symptoms and not try to interfere by treating the symptoms with medications or by assuming that your detox is making you sick and stopping the process.  Here are a few things you may notice.

At first you may feel tired and sleepy.  You may get headaches and although you will not be actually hungry you will notice that your stomach feels very ‘empty’ and hollow.  You may feel slightly queasy. This can bother people but if you know to expect it you can learn to see it for what it is.  You may take aspirin or Tylenol for headaches but do not take anything for stomach upset. It will go away on its own and those types of stomach meds will stop your detox.  Many times the headache is caused either by withdrawal from caffeine or sugar or other substance or can be a sign that your body is detoxing at a rate that your bowels have not fully compensated for.  Make sure your bowel patterns are a priority at all times; not only for this reason but for weight loss as well.

Throughout your cleanse you may also experience symptoms from viruses or bacterial illnesses that have been stored in your system and lying dormant.  Drinking plenty of water and keeping bowels moving will eliminate these toxins and their symptoms faster.

Some people don’t realize that the skin is the largest detoxifying organ of the body.  Making it crucial to avoid contact with toxins as well as food grade fats and oils that can be readily absorbed; and may have a profound effect on your weight.  The skin may erupt in a rash or acne during a detox.  One of the things you can do to help facilitate a full detox through your skin is dry skin brushing, and short soap-free showers (only using soap in delicate areas).  Dry skin brushing removes a small layer of dead skin cells as well as dirt that may be on the surface of the skin.  To be quite honest, soap is not necessary at any time.  It washes away your skins own natural oils as well as friendly bacteria that act as your body’s first layer of defense.

If you are going to soak in a bathtub add about 1 cup of Epsom salt to the water to open up your skins pores and facilitate a good release through the skin.  You may rinse in a short cool shower afterward. (Please see the skin brushing info attached)

Something else you may feel is that you tire easily or have a hard time doing things like climbing stairs quickly.  This, possible symptom of detox, however is entirely up to you.  When you are detoxing, on any good detox program your body is under a different type of strain than you might be accustomed to.  If you take it easy and limit your physical activities and rely on things like walking and mild yoga for exercise you should expect to have more energy and a better sense of well-being than you might have at any other point in your life.  If, however you choose to attempt strenuous activity you will find out very quickly that your body wants nothing to do with it at this point and you will feel tired, short-winded and may get hungry or irritable and sleepy.  Detoxing works best under mild activity levels, and in fact, if weight loss is your goal over-activity will actually be counterproductive, so take it easy.  If you are not overly active, have passed the first few days of cleansing, are getting plenty of sleep and still feel very worn down you may be either near your time of the month, are heavily detoxing or are dehydrated.

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