The ultimate guide to detox
If you're searching for more energy and vitality, no doubt you've heard about detoxing your body. The truth is, most people don't know the right way to detox. So they fail to get the intended results.
In this article we'll go over detox protocols as well as the benefits and risks of detox.
We'll also go over why most people fail with detoxes (it's not what you think). As well as a mindset shift that will help you get the most out of your detox.
But first, let's go over the strategy behind a successful detox
Strategy Behind Detox Program
Toxins in our body can leave us sluggish with brain fog, inflammation, and ultimately disease. What happens is the body is unable to flush all of the toxins out of the body so things get "backed up" and stored in our tissue.
The cause of this can be diet related (heavy alcohol, fatty foods, or chemicals in food). Or it can be environmentally related (exposure to pesticides, heavy metals such as mercury). It also can be caused by aging and the slow down of the body's detox pathways.
Whatever the cause, the strategy behind a detox program is this: Get the unwanted chemicals and substances out of your body.
Doing this effectively can change someone's life.
We have seen everything from arthritis to IBS go away with a proper detox diet.
Yet, sometimes detox programs get a bad reputation from companies that put harmful ingredients in their detox supplements. This has kept some people from trying a potentially life altering detox for themselves.
But let's answer the elephant in the room:
Does a Detox Diet Actually Work?
From research and interviewing dozens of doctors our answer is this:
Overwhelmingly YES - Especially when doing the two part protocol as discussed below.
Yet, if you read research on cleanses and detoxification, some experts say the answer is not as clear or that detox is a hoax.
While we can't comment on all protocols, there is an overwhelming pattern in the conflicting information of whether detoxes were effective
1. "Paid agenda" research where there was not scientific research done. This is especially common when simple solutions to better health (things like apple cider vinegar) would hurt the profits of the company funding the study.
2. The RESTORATIVE step of the detox plan was left out. This happens when people would do a detox diet plan such as juicing to lose weight. While the detox would flush toxins out of the body, the underlying cause that created the need to do the cleanse was not addressed.
An example would be where people did a liver and gallstone cleanse, but did not address the underlying digestion issue.
The flip side is cleanses can be one of the least expensive ways to take your health to the next level.
When done correctly, cleansing the body and restoring organ function is one of the best things you can do for your overall wellbeing.
What's In A Good Detox Diet Plan?
The key to a great detox plan is this 2 part strategy:
DETOX + RESTORE
This is drastically different than what the detox lifestyle experts would teach you. Those experts want to consult with you forever offering more and more tips.
But for your overall well being - A good detox plan should support restoring your body to it's natural function. This is especially important if you've had a chronic problems that turn into long-term health risks.
The detox and restore protocol is able to rid your body of unwanted toxins and finally hit your health goals.
During the DETOX phase of the protocol (typically 7-10 days, 14 days max) focuses on eliminating toxins and opening up the detox pathways. The detox pathways are the liver, kidneys, digestive tract, lymphatic system, respiratory system, and the skin.
Why Is It So Important To Open The Detox Pathways?
A lot of people know detox is good for the body. Yet few people know about how the detoxification process works.
First, we identify WHAT we want to detox from. Here are a few examples:
Heavy metals
Candida
Gallbladder stones
Sand in the kidneys
Fatty liver disease from alcohol
There are dozens of things we can detox from. Our focus of this is getting the STRATEGY right. And the first part of the strategy of detox is opening the pathways! This is why so many cleanses and detox protocols don't work.
Here's a real life example I went through after getting parasites while traveling.
I was feeling absolutely AWFUL.
So I followed the Zoiben parasite detox protocol and my body started to puff up a little bit. I also became sensitive to vitamins.
The cause?
Zoiben was working so well, but my detox pathways weren't able to get all of the heavy metals from the parasites out. So my body started storing the toxins in my tissues because it had no other way to remove them. I was unable to get some of the fat soluble vitamins out of my body as well.
To solve the problem, I increased exercise (hot yoga), increase my daily drinking water intake, started taking chlorella, and did a liver cleanse.
There are dozens of simple ways to open up your detox pathways.
Pro tip: One of the benefits of opening your detox pathways is typically weight loss and more energy. We've seen a lot of "mystery diseases" go away when someone would start improving their ability to get toxins out of their body
Once I did the detox protocol and opened my pathways the results were amazing. My food sensitivities went away and the weight loss was impressive. I lost 20 pounds, mostly of chronic inflammation from my body not being able to remove toxins effectively.
All of this was great, but I left an essential step out that kept the detox that kept me from REALLY feeling great long term.
And it's the one most people miss:
Why You Need To Detox + Restore Function
We went over the detox protocol and why you also need to focus on your detox pathways. It's a critical first step. Yet once the detoxification protocol is complete, there is a ton of benefit asking yourself this key question:
How can I restore vitality to my body so I feel 20 years younger?
That's a powerful question that sends people down a path to finding their Highway to Health.
One of the keys is restoring the peptide deficiency within the body. This is why we have some testimonials here that seem almost too good to be true.
How does this happen?
We have years of experience and 40 years of research on how to create wellbeing.
What does Restoring have to do with a detox Diet?
One of my biggest frustrations after first getting into detoxing was this: I still had trouble eating certain foods. I started to wonder if I would need to be dieting forever. Sure, clean eating was fun, but I still wanted to be able to eat a treat or consume a delicious cheat meal and feel GREAT.
After 6 months of trying, I FINALLY became aware of how to do this.
How?
By figuring out how to RESTORE my body's natural function.
Specifically, how to restore my digestion so it could handle foods that I loved but couldn't eat. You can read more about the protocol in my Highway To Health story.
What's amazing is for the most part, I can eat and drink whatever I want and don't have the crazy brainfog or stress levels.. And my body is able to absorb the nutrients from vitamins without feeling sick. When I have my favorite cup of caffeine I feel energized instead of needing to drink 6 cups to stay awake.
So now you're probably asking how you get the same benefits. The answer is really simple:
How to Identify what organ or bodily function that isn't as well
You may need to consult with a doctor or holistic medicine practitioner for support on this. The biggest challenge to doing this is linking symptoms to the actual cause.
Many times the symptoms are vague and not consistent. What people usually know is they don't feel healthy and vibrant. Another challenge is many symptoms can point to a whole host of issues.
If you're in the spot of vague symptoms, the first thing we always recommend is work to open your detox pathways! This will support the detoxification process and help your body start retracing in it's healing journey. It's also great if in general we just aren't feeling healthy.
As the toxins get out of the body, we see can start to focus on more acute issues. And sometimes opening your detoxification pathways will have all the mystery ailments go away.
Then you are ready to work on a detox protocol.
Some popular protocols are:
Parasite cleanse
Liver Detox
Kidney Detox
Heavy metal detox
Colon cleanse
Mold and candida cleanse
Some of the above detoxes use supplements, and some are done with simple foods or organic substances (like epsom salts).
Once you do your detox protocol you should feel better quickly.
Then the last step is just working on a restoration protocol to keep you feeling great.
One question people have after improving is this:
Do I Always Need To Be Living The Detox Lifestyle?
When people ask this our answer is emphatically - NO!!!!
The truth is, if you are always on a detox diet, you haven't dealt with the underlying problem. Detoxification is a tool to feel better, it isn't a lifestyle. Don't let anyone tell you that it should be. If you have to detox all the time, that can be dangerous to your health.
What we do recommend to maintain health is go through a maintenance phase every 6 to 12 months depending on your health and how you feel.
The maintenance phase may be a simple peptide restoration pack or following the cleanse protocol again.
That's it! That's all you should have to do to maintain your health after the cleanse.
Conclusion
Our life should be about doing the things you love with the people you love. We can't do that without great health.
As many people say - Health is wealth.
Once we understand how to restore our health through the detox + restore process, we can control how we feel.
Once we can control how we feel this lowers stress, makes it easier to lose weight, and improves our overall lifestyle. It's a core step to feeling 20 years younger again.
Keep things simple, and watch your life improve.
