One of the things you’re bound to encounter along your raw food faerytale is detox. In this article I’ll explore the concept of detox, the common symptoms, and even the magick that happens during a detox.
Raw Food Detox Video
(Click here if you can’t see the video.)
Is Detox a Myth?
Take a look at this fictional scenario: You increase your intake of raw food or cut out certain things like processed sugar, processed starch, and/or meat and dairy.
Suddenly, you can feel yourself getting edgy. It’s as if someone took away a drug addict’s stash. All you can think about is food, and you crave a spoonful of that sugary cereal, pretty please.
That’s detox. That’s withdrawal.
Okay, Nathalie, so where does the myth come from? The truth is that sometimes people use detox as an excuse to ignore their body’s signals.
For example, maybe your skin breaks out because you’re eating nothing but dates and raw sweets. (They’re good, but you still need to balance sweets out with other stuff, like greens.) The danger creeps up when someone brushes off these signals as a sign of detox.
Common Detox Symptoms
Here is a short list of possible detox symptoms to help you recognize detox when it happens.
- Skin breakouts
- Bloating, stomach pains
- Headaches
- Food cravings
- Trouble sleeping, nightmares
- Diarrhea and constipation
- Fatigue, drowsiness, low energy levels
- Irritability
- Congestion or Mucus that feels like a cold
Detox Madness
The short version of detox: when you eliminate or cut back on certain foods, your body eliminates toxins. Your body will try to expel toxins in any way it can: from your liver, via bowel movements, and through your skin’s pores.
While you are detoxing, your body focuses on releasing toxins, so you might feel under the weather because you have all of this garbage traveling throughout your body.
Think of it as deciding to clean a very dusty house for the first time in years. When you start sweeping the dust, it’s going to get into the air and make it hard to breathe. You’ll feel better when you’ve gotten all the dust out, of course.
The same goes for trying to brush away toxins in your body, you will feel the ill effects of drudging toxins up and out. Once they’re out you’ll feel better, but the process is not so peachy.
Why do we need to Detox?
You might be wondering what it is you need to expel exactly?
If you’ve been eating a fairly processed diet for many years, you might be surprised to find that a lot food might have gotten stuck, turning toxic.
In addition to left over food matter in the body, we are all constantly bombarded with modern day chemicals and toxins in the air, water, and products we use.
I believe every one of us could use a little detoxing.
Caution: I do want to caution against getting “detox fever” and constantly wanting to fast, cleanse, and detox. At some point you need to give your body a chance to rest from eliminating toxins.
Detox Magick
Now that I’ve thoroughly scared you, I’ll put on my Good Witch’s hat and discuss the magickal aspects of detox.
If detoxing is so uncomfortable, why should you do it? The simple answer is because you’ll feel so much better afterward.
Going through bouts of detox really makes you grateful for those times when you’re just humming along. Plus, every time you detox, you reach a new level of cleanliness. Imagine a car running on the cleanest fuel without any impurities slowing it down.
Assuming you don’t revert your detoxing efforts, you’re going to continue to operate at such a higher level of energy and cleanliness, you’ll be grateful for detox.
Benefits of a Cleansing Detox
- Clearer sinuses
- Weight loss
- Clearer skin
- More energy
- Regular bowel movements
- Mental Clarity
- Emotional stability / eliminated depression
Every time you detox, you peel away one layer of the onion. If you’re not ready to experience a full on detox, simply add a bit of the foods you’re cutting out.
For example, if the headaches of your detox are killing you, just add back a bit of cooked grains or dairy, if that’s what you cut out. It will slow down the detox, and make it easier for your body to adjust to the changes you’re making.
You can control how fast you want to detox. I recommend you detox slowly, unless you give your body the support it needs to eliminate toxins: with hydrocolon therapy, dry skin brushing, or a supportive system for detoxing.
Read my follow-up article full of tips to stop detox, or speed up detox so you can get back to feeling good again.
What Detox Symptoms have you Experienced?
I’d love to know if you’ve ever had a bout of detox, and how severe it might have been. Let me know in the comments!
