Dive into Detox

It always seems that the start of a new year really provokes the desire to examine my life and make changes where they are needed.  This January we made detoxing the focal point of our Wednesday herb classes so I thought I'd blog a little and share some of the things we have gleaned from our studies.  First of all, detox is a very vague term that is over used and not really understood.  The fact is, our bodies are the catalyst of our detoxing. Your body actually is trying to get the toxins out of itself all the time via your digestion, liver, kidneys, lungs, and skin.  Your body is always trying to rid itself of toxins to it back into balance.  Bringing your body into balance is really the whole point.  So we started our dive into detox with learning about our own personal constitution.  We created a survey to help us as individuals learn whether we are too hot or cold, too wet or dry, to tense or relaxed, and too superficial or deep.  Knowing this about ourselves greatly helps us to understand the physical difficulties that we go through and helps us to choose the right herbs for us because the goal is to bring our bodies into balance.  For instance, if I am a chronically dry and hot person then using drying and hot herbs might not be the best choice for me, or at least they should be paired with more moistening and cooling herbs.  

Then we dove into herbs and the therapies they provide.  Stimulating herbs like ginger, cayenne, and pepper help to get things moving, increase circulation and metabolism, and break up obstructions.  This is extremely important when thinking about assisting your body with detoxing because they stimulate your detoxing organs and help give them a boost to work more effectively.  Chai tea and fire cider are both great herbal formulas for this!  However, if you are an extremely hot natured person with a hot constitution you would proceed a little more cautiously with these herbs because you want to help bring the body back into balance.

Demulcent herbs are very soothing herbs.  They sooth irritated tissue and which is very important when thinking in lines of detoxing.  They sooth and coat your digestive tract lining.  They can sooth the gripping effect that other liver stimulating laxatives might cause.  They are also wonderful for the chronically dry constitution.  Marshmallow Root is one of my all-time favorites. 

Nourishing herbs are also extremely important because they help to nourish the organs that are doing all the work!  Herbs like Raspberry, Nettle, Alfalfa, Mullein, etc.  My RepleniHer Tea is an excellent nourishing blend.

Of course your liver stimulating herbs are invaluable!  The liver is considered the 'master organ'.  Traditional herbalism teaches that if you start with the liver, everything else will fall into place.  This is because your liver has to breakdown almost every single thing that enters your body through your lungs, skin, and digestive tract.  That's a lot!  Plus, it has over 500 other jobs!  Moral of the story, take care of your liver!  Some good nourishing and protective herbs for the liver are dandelion and burdock among countless others.  Milk thistle is the most prized of liver herbs because not only is it protective and nourishing, it also promotes liver cell regeneration.  

Last but not least would be your laxatives diuretics and emetics.  Putting it frankly, you can't detox if you don't poop!  Bowel movements are important for many reasons but  especially when thinking about detoxing.  After the liver breaks down harmful toxins, it pushes it into bile which is sent to the small intestine and then exits the body through feces.  Other toxins  are sent to the kidneys where you pee it out!  One of my favorite laxatives is triphala which is not habit forming, is very nourishing and strengthening to the digestive tract.  There are many diuretics to choose from but one of my favorites is dandelion because it is very nourishing and doesn't leech potassium out of the body.  I guess this is a good spot to mention that even though coffee is a great laxative and diuretic, it is not detoxifying and is not a tonic herb.  It is too acidic and therefore harmful to the digestive tract when overused.  Sorry about that, I know it stung a little.  After all, I own a coffee and herb shop!

This is just a little taste of the complexities of detoxing.  Just a little taste of all the fun we've had learning this month when we gather together on Wednesday afternoons.  We carry all of the herbs that I have mentioned plus many more if you are interested in helping to support your body with what it is already trying to do using the plants that your body easily recognizes.