My Body Isn’t Great at Detoxing: How I Support It
When I first started this blog, I was in the very beginning of my gut healing journey. I had just started working with a functional medicine team who virtually held my hand as we started to narrow down what was causing my symptoms. Since then, we’ve uncovered (and healed) a few things my body was going through.
I had SIBO. SIBO stands for Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth. To quickly summarize, SIBO is a gut problem where the bacteria that are supposed to be in your large intestine are actually hanging out in your small intestine, causing symptoms such as gas, bloating, constipation, diarrhea, acid reflux. Read more about SIBO here.
I had leaky gut syndrome. Not to my surprise, my lab results showed leaky gut syndrome as well. This was most likely caused by the SIBO (thanks, bro). Leaky gut basically means your gut lining is not very strong and therefore, it allows things such as food particles and toxins to get into your bloodstream. This “leakage” into the bloodstream causes your immune system to go into attack mode, causing chronic inflammation. Research shows that chronic inflammation is linked to autoimmune issues and diseases. Read more about leaky gut here.
I was exposed to mold. Long story short, my body was full of two types of mold because at some point, I was probably living somewhere that had mold hidden in the walls. Not only was I exposed to mold but my body is also not great at detoxing. So, my body was struggling to detox the mold I was exposed and it chilled/grew there for I don’t know how long. Mold exposure wreaks havoc on your body and the symptoms of exposure differ from person to person. Read more on mold exposure here.
Since discovering all of the above, I’ve healed the SIBO and leaky gut through multiple protocols monitored by my doctor (yay!). I can also joyfully say that thanks to the detox regime my doctor provided (and my determination to stick to it), the mold I was exposed to is now gone.
So you might be wondering, what happens now? Now that the SIBO and leaky gut are healed and now that the mold is gone, how do I continue to take care of my body? For starters, I continue to meet with my functional medicine team. They’ve helped me so much and I’m never letting them go (lol). I meet with them several times a year, depending on if I’m having problems or not or if my routine bloodwork comes back with something they want to investigate further. For the most part, things have been going pretty well and everything in my bloodwork continues to improve.
The one thing I do know my body will continue to need support on is detoxing. Simply put, my body is not great at it. And we are exposed to toxins on a daily basis. Before I jump into the tools I use to help my body detox, let me explain the signals my body usually sends me when its in need of extra support. Keep in mind that symptoms will look different for each person.
Signs my body needs a detox
Digestive symptoms - these were my main symptoms when I started having major issues and these remain as my main symptoms when something in my body is off. My digestion will start to feel sluggish and I may even experience a little constipation and bloating. Now that I know what healthy digestion feels like, it is easy for me to know when something is off here.
Other signals my body sends me are symptoms such as brain fog, achy joints/muscles (not the post-working out type of aches but faint, flu-like aches), and overall fatigue.
My body may be needing a detox from traveling or from eating too many foods that it doesn’t love (for me, too many tomatoes can cause flu-like aches). Either way, I know that I can rely on my detox tools to help support my body. Depending on how I’m feeling, I up my detox game for a few weeks or a few months. For example, if I go away for a weekend, I might bring in the detox supplements suggested by my doctor for a few weeks and sweat at least five times a week. If I go away for longer, I might increase to a month or so depending on how my body is feeling. I mention traveling because it’s hard to know if where you’re staying is completely free of mold or other toxins. Below are the tools I use when my body is in need of a detox*.
My detox toolbox
Sweat activities
Spin classes & weight lifting (if my body is not too achy)
Walking outside
Extra support
Intermittent fasting - I’ve played around with my fasting windows, so I now know what works best for my body. To learn more about fasting, I recommend reading Intuitive Fasting by Dr. Will Cole.
Avoiding moldy foods such as rice, corn, oats, chocolate. More on “moldy” foods here.
Castor oil pack (I use Queen of the Thrones)
I tend to get annoyed when my body is in need of a detox (it’s currently sending me signals as I write this article). But I need to accept the fact that my body is not perfect and will need extra support sometimes. Having awareness of when our bodies are in need of something can be powerful if you listen to it and reach into your toolbox. If you need support in developing more awareness, send me a message or read more about my coaching programs here.
*This article is shared for educational purposes only. Please consult with your doctor to see if these tools are right for you, especially if you are pregnant, are taking medication, or have a medical condition.
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