What Is Detoxing?

When my health crashed in 2004, I didn't know what "detoxing" was. People in the health arena talk about it all the time, but it took a while for me to learn what it really involved.

In simple terms, detoxing is getting rid of "toxins" - which can be anything your body sees as unnatural or harmful to it. But the detoxing process itself is not a simple one. So I'm going to do a series of posts to hopefully help you better understand detoxing, since it is a vitally important component for everyone's health!

This first post is one I wrote a few years ago, and I think it's a good place to start. =)


Understanding the Detoxing Process - Part 1

For years my body has been in a detoxing/healing process. I never dreamed it would take this long, and I had no idea about all the strange experiences I'd have along the way.

Often when I'm telling someone about my latest detoxing phase, their eyes glaze over like they have no clue what I'm talking about. If I hadn't lived through the last several years, I wouldn't understand it either.

So I thought it'd be helpful to explain a little about the detoxing process. Hopefully it'll help you in your own situation or at least give you better understanding and compassion for others.

When I first started detoxing, I was extremely ill. I couldn't speak or move off the couch. I had so many things wrong with my body that it seemed I'd never find a place to start. Thankfully, after we started doing the lymphatic massage and detox baths every day, my body began its own healing process.

Here are some things I've learned since then:

1) The body usually detoxes more recent toxins first.

One of the first things I detoxed was asphalt. I'd had a terrible exposure to asphalt a few months before we started the massage. So after a couple weeks of the massage, I noticed that my clothes and hair smelled like asphalt. That was the first thing I detoxed.

Many months later I was detoxing things I'd been exposed to in childhood.

For me the detoxing process has mostly worked backward (sometimes called "retracing") - detoxing recent exposures first then gradually working back to earlier toxic exposures.


2) The body detoxes through the lungs, liver, kidneys, bowels and skin.

While the lungs and liver are somewhat "invisible" detoxing organs, the kidneys, bowels and skin usually show more noticeable signs of detoxing.

As I said, my clothes and hair smelled like asphalt while I was detoxing it, because it was literally pouring out through my skin. This is one reason detox baths can be so helpful.

If you never have any changes in your urine, bowels, or skin, you're probably not detoxing effectively. There should be rather obvious signs that your body is getting rid of toxins. 


3) The body is extremely thorough in its detoxing process.

I have been astounded at how many things my body has detoxed in the last several years! Everything from mercury, formaldehyde and pesticide, to immunizations, viruses, and bacterial infections, to perfume, shampoo, lotion, and much more!

When the body deems something as unhealthy or over-abundant, it detoxes it. Praise God that this is how He has created our bodies! When we provide the assistance the body needs (lymphatic massage, detox baths, herbs, supplements, deep breathing, etc.), it is very faithful in "cleaning house" and getting rid of the bad things that have accumulated.

Sometimes I wish I could "turn off" this detoxing process for a few days and take a break. =) But really, I'm very thankful my body continues to work on detoxifying and healing every day.

Well, I think this post is long enough for today. =) There's more to share, so tune in next week for Part 2 of understanding the detoxing process.


Any questions so far? Do you have any insights to share about the detoxing process?