Detoxification... whats it all about?

From two completely different sources I heard about two articles which were both talking about the hoax of detoxing people and how the products are just a marketing gimmick. I think its time I put some facts straight for everyone on what detoxification is, as it is something talked about by many naturopaths and health practitioners.

The detoxification (extremely) simplified...

Detoxification is the process of removing toxins from the body which are harmful to help our bodies to function properly. This is done via the kidneys and the liver, but mainly the liver.

Picture our bodies detoxification processes like a conveyor belt. Items go onto the conveyor belt, then go along the production line and then at the end come out all packaged up and ready to be metabolised & used in the body, or disposed of via the bladder or intestines.

The liver consists of 2 conveyor belts, both performing different parts to detoxification. Both conveyor belts require different nutrients to work properly. Some nutrients speed up the processing, some slow it down. Unfortunately if the first one is moving too fast, the 2^nd one will have a back up of toxins to process, which can make people sick. I drew a picture to help explain this...

When would I need to detox?

When a body is overly ‘toxic’, certain signs and symptoms may be a result*, including:

•  Nervous System symptoms: depression, fatigue, mood changes, poor concentration, headaches with nausea
• Immune Dysfunction: allergies, asthma, eczema, sinusitis, hayfever, food sensitivities, fibromyalgia, recurrent viral, fungal or bacterial infections.
•  Digestive Problems: Indigestion, reflux, gallstones, intolerance to fatty foods, intolerance to alcohol, bloating, constipation, irritable bowel syndrome
• Blood sugar irregularities: sugar cravings, hypoglycaemia
• Hormonal imbalances: PMS, increased side effects to the OCP or HRT.
• Other symptoms: bad breath, itchy skin, dark circles under the eyes, excessive/offensive sweating, pale skin.

*This is not to say that the reasons for these symptoms are 100% result of a toxic liver, however it may be a contributor! 

You want both your conveyor belts working at optimum speed to ensure everything is getting processed and packaged quickly.

Anything we ingest or breathe in must go through the liver to be cleaned. Unfortunately, if we take in too many bad things (the toxins), our liver and kidneys can be overloaded.

So what are are toxins?

• Food additives, such as preservatives, colours, artificial flavours, flavour enhancers, added hormones, fatty foods
• Medications
• Environmental exposures, such as pesticides, petro-chemicals, heavy metals, gas clouds
• Smoking
• Alcohol
• Stimulants, such as caffeine

If people are suffering from kidney or liver damage, this may also affect the way their body can remove toxins. This is why kidney patients require dialysis.

So what are these articles talking about??

These articles start by telling us about detoxification. Our bodies remove toxins from the body through the kidney and liver. They say that these organs are all the body needs to detox. In the perfect world, absolutely! In the perfect world, we all live off the land and eat healthy, nutritious foods and there is no pollution and there is clean water and everyone is healthy all the time. Guess what? We don’t live in the perfect world. We are exposed to toxins every day and the number of them is growing. Our bodies are not evolved to deal with this number of toxins!

The next point that the article raises is what are these toxins and no one can explain what they are... I think I covered that one! They then discuss the marketing ploys currently around. With this point I agree with them, to an extent. There are many products available which people can buy off the shelf, such as 48 hour Detox, or 7 day Detox and this is meant to make everything good. Do you really believe that years of exposure and intake of toxins can all be repaired over a 48 hour period? Hmmm, no. There is no quick magic bullet fix to all this and some of these supplements may be doing you more harm than good when self prescribed.

Surely the fact that Kim Kardashian is the spokesperson says something to you about this product!

Healing your body should be worked on every level – you should not simply take a pill then expect everything to fix up. Your exposure to toxins should be observed and reduced where possible. There are supplements which can assist in providing the right nutrients to get the conveyor belts working properly, however these should be provided by a health care professional and should not be self prescribed. Any detoxification program should go for at least 1 month and should be accompanied with a healthy fresh diet and plenty of water. There are detox diets available, but be careful – some of them may not be suitable for your current health situation.

I did a gentle detox with my husband last year for a month and it changed my lifestyle a lot. Read my blog here for the detox guidelines, some recipes and our experiences: http://detoxober.blogspot.com.au/

We are going to be exposed to chemicals no matter what. Using common sense and living healthy can reduce your exposure and keep your liver happy!

-Laura x

How to deal with a hangover as healthily as possible!

I think most of us at some time in our lives has gone out, got completely wasted from too much alcohol and woken up the next morning wondering where the night has gone and will the torture of the hangover ever end!

While I don’t condone binge drinking, I know that we are all human and yep, we are going to go out with friends and party. Rather than chide, I thought it would be more beneficial to give you the causes of a hangover and how you can help yourself out more naturally than popping 2 panadol and making maccas run.

So what is a hangover? It is a collection of signs and symptoms linked after a recent bout of heavy drinking. 

Typical hangover symptoms include:

• Headache
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Lethargy, tiredness, fatigue,
• Anxiety, regret or embarrassment from the actions of the previous night
• Sensitivity to light and sounds
• Dizziness
• Bloodshot eyes
• Body and muscle aches
• Changed bowel motions, such as diarrhoea
• Dizziness
• Thirst
• Sleepiness
• Moodiness and irritability

If you have the following more severe signs and symptoms, you may have alcohol poisoning - this is a medical emergency (get medical help as soon as possible):

• Breathing loses its regular rhythm
• Breathing slows down to less than eight inhalations per minute
• Confusion or stupor. The patient is in a daze
• Fits (seizures)
• Hypothermia - body temperature drops
• The patient passes out (loses consciousness)
• The skin becomes pale, or takes on a blue tinge
• Vomiting continues and does not abate

The severity of a hangover can be closely linked with how much alcohol was consumed, what type of alcohol was consumed, how much sleep the person has had and how much water was drunk during the previous night. Most hangovers go away after 24 hours.

What causes a hangover?

A hangover is the consequence of having consumed too much alcohol - an accumulation of several factors:

• Urination - alcohol makes people urinate more, which raises the chances of dehydration occurring. Dehydration can give the individual that sensation of thirst, headaches and lightheadedness.
• Immune system response - there may be an inflammatory response by the immune system to alcohol, which may affect appetite, concentration and memory.
• Stomach irritation - alcohol consumption raises the production of stomach acids; it also slows down the rate at which the stomach empties itself - this combination can lead to nausea, vomiting or stomach ache.
• Drop in blood sugar - some people's blood sugar levels can fall steeply when they consume alcohol, resulting in shakiness, moodiness, tiredness, general weakness, and even seizures in some cases.
• Dilation of blood vessels - alcohol consumption can cause the blood vessels to dilate, which can cause headaches.
• Sleep quality - although sleeping when drunk is common, the quality of that sleep may be poor. The individual may wake up tired and still sleepy.
• Congeners - these are substances that are produced during fermentation and are responsible for most of the taste and aroma in distilled drinks (whiskey, gin, etc). They are known to contribute to symptoms of a hangover. Examples of congeners include esters and aldehydes.

How to reduce the risk of getting a hangover...

There is no immediate cure for a hangover. Thats the price you pay for putting too much alcohol through your body!

There are a couple of things you can do to help reduce the severity of your hangover before you go to sleep (if you can remember to do them!)

• Make sure you have a full stomach before you start drinking. An empty stomach causes the body to metabolise alcohol more quickly, which means you are more likely to feel drunk quicker!
• Between every alcoholic drink, opt for a non-alcoholic drink. Soda water with fresh lime or lemon can be very refreshing and the bitterness of the citrus helps your liver function. Avoid going for sugary drinks like coke or raspberry.
•  Avoid mixing drinks – many people find that if they have spirits, then they switch to beer or wine, they are more likely to have a hangover.
• Avoid the preservatives - Some beverages contain preservatives, which can cause negative reactions in the body. Champagne and sparkling wine is known to cause headaches. This is thought to be due to their sulphite contents.
• Avoid lolly water drinks! They contain large amounts of sugar which plays havoc on your blood glucose levels, not to mention artificial colours which can cause allergic reactions in some people. The amount of sugar also increases your thirst, which makes the drinks go down more easily and makes you go back for more quicker. If you are used to your sweet drinks, try cider, or vodka with soda water and fresh lime which gives you the bubbles.
• Know your limits – Your common sense tells you how much to enough to drink. If you have gone out and drunk before, you should know that 1-2 drinks an hour will keep you happy without being blind drunk, while a tequila shot, scotch and coke and a vodka sunrise all within the first half hour is pretty excessive. 
• Drink a tall glass of water before going to sleep. This reduces the risk of dehydration and waking up dizzy and ridiculously thirsty.

 How to help get rid of a hangover...

So you still ended up with a hangover?

•  Drink water through the day. Avoid overly sweet drinks, as these do not help hydrate your body. Coconut water is very hydrating and contains electrolytes which may have been depleted through sweat, over-urinating, vomiting and diarrhoea.
• Don’t have painkillers! Although it is very tempting to pop a couple of panadol to relieve your sore head, paracetemol in large amounts can be toxic on the liver (and more dangerous on a liver which is still detoxing alcohol!), while aspirin is not wise for a delicate stomach. No pain killers should be taken on an empty stomach, as this may cause irritation to your body.
• Avoid the maccas run! You have a hangover, your body craves greasy food. This is because your body is trying to balance blood glucose levels and wants sugars. The brain is also currently starved for fats to function properly. What to eat instead?
• Bland foods, such as dried crackers or bread with avocado or hommus dip are easy to digest
• Watermelon is an amazing hangover reducer! It is 98% water, so its hydrating and contains fructose sugars to help metabolise the alcohol.
• If you must have a greasy food, go for something less processed than maccas. A piece of grilled fish from a Fish & Chip shop not only gives you essential fatty acids, but also provides that “greasy food” craving.
• Rest – if you can get back to sleep, you will probably recover a bit faster. Otherwise, take it easy for the day. Lie down on the couch and watch some mindless TV or movies where you don’t need to think much. Keep a glass of water beside you at all times.
•  Vow never to drink that much again!