Detox

You know what's been on my mind lately? Detox.

Not the booze kind, the raw food lifestyle kind.

Do you know about that?

Ever since I started researching this way of eating, I read all the promises of glowing health (all true) and I read all the promises that detox would soon follow. Not just as a big, one-time deal, but at different points along the way.

Each time brings a new level of healing, and is the body's way of going further into glowing health. Detox manifests differently for all people, but means the same thing: You're getting healthier as your body cleans itself out.

So what are we detoxing from?

A lifetime of eating a cooked food diet, drinking alcohol, doing recreational drugs, eating junk foods, etc.

It can sneak up on you, occuring when you've been feeling really well. It can be surprising to feel unwell after you've been 'rawkin' along'.

So there you are, groovin' on raw foods, feeling better than ever, when suddenly you get a day or two or more, or low-grade, low-energy blahs, or a rash, or blemishes, or headache, etc.

Sometimes, detox symptoms hit you harder, because, after all, they are your body purging whatever has ailed you in the past. You may not remember everything that ever gotten you down, physically, but your body does...and there's nothin' like detox to remind you.

You may start to think, "What's this, then? Why now? I was doing so well! What's going on?"

Then maybe your thoughts turn darker as you think, "Hm. Maybe this way of eating is screwing me up. Doing me more harm than good. Maybe my *S.A.D. friends are right."

No! No! Stop that!

You are on the right track! This is your body purging!

See, we've got it all wrong! We think that when we get a cold, for instance, that we're sick and need a cure. I read a great thing about why there's no cure for the common cold...it's because the cold IS the cure. The cold is your body's way of detoxing, of getting rid of what's trying to get you down.

The best thing to do when you feel you've veered off the tracks with your health is to say YAY!

Yay?! Are you nuts? Why yes, yes I am. But that is besides the point. Focus. ;)

Yay because your body is getting rid of the stuff that has held you back from being your 100% vibrant, healthy self, i.e. your birthright! It's cleaning house! Once you let your detox pass, you will undoubtedly feel better than you did before it occured.

I say let it pass, because the last thing you want to do is suppress these symptoms, as this will only slow the whole process down. As a society, we're used to band-aid-ing everything from headaches to indigestion, which is like telling a crying baby to hush without finding out the cause. It's hissing in response to your body trying to talk to you, when it's actually a time when you need to pause and listen.

The best way to let it pass is to rest. I know we've heard this so long, we don't think it applies to us. Rest means a good night's sleep, staying in, reading, napping, meditating, bathing. All gentle ways of re-juvinating.

Beyond rest, drink water. I know. I know. There's another 'newsflash', right? But it's more important than ever, considering that the water is what will transport and eliminate the toxins. Juicing is also a wonderful way to support your system during this time.

Allow the detox to take its course, continue to eat nutritiously, and use the detox as a time to step back from sugar, as it will slow things down.

Above all, know that you're on the right track, and relax into it.
I've read that eating a raw diet doesn't improve you, it replaces you. I couldn't agree more.



*Standard Amercian Diet

More about detox here