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If you follow any health accounts online, you likely hear a lot about cleansing and detoxing.
Social media will have you believe you need separate “cleanses” for everything:
In reality, our bodies need the same big things in order to detox from ALL of this naturally:
- Copper (our ANTI everything mineral- should we call her Auntie Copper maybe? Anti-parasitic, fungal, bacterial, viral). Copper needs healthy adrenals and a healthy liver to be utilized correctly so it’s not just about taking a bunch of copper supplements! Check out my copper post here.
- BILE: bile takes the trash to your colon for removal. Bile is recycled in the body- so if you do not have enough FIBER to clean your bile, your bile remains sludgey and full of toxins. Our liver makes the bile, gallbladder stores it to use as needed.
- FIBER: Removes toxins from the bile and takes it out of the body in stool. Read my entire post here to learn about the relationship between bile and fiber.
- Good Gut bacteria: We need this to keep our bodies healthy! This helps to balance the “bad” guys out more. We need varied amounts of fermented foods as we need a lot of different strains of good bacteria. Taking 1 probiotic forever is not going to solve a gut imbalance as this is not varied enough. Here are some simple ferment recipes to get you started.
So the next time you think you need a “cleanse”, ask yourself if you’ve worked on any of these 4 things first.
It’s also crucial that our nervous system is regulated in order to heal from anything. That is often the big missing link in ALL healing these days. Read my post on where to start here.
How to Properly Detox From Anything
BILE + FIBER + GOOD BACTERIA are key!
This the trifecta for detoxing ALL major toxins.
We have little need for expensive “binder” supplements if you’re actually working on real health. Binders will bind to the toxins but they don’t guarantee REMOVAL from the body. This is why we’re so huge on foundational care- fixing the body from the ground up, not just adding in bandaids.
What is BILE?
Bile is a clear yellow (or orange or green) liquid that is created in the liver and stored in the gallbladder. A healthy liver will create 1 quart of bile per day- that is quite a bit of bile! Most of us have not been very loving to our livers though, and when we are healing we need a LOT of focus on liver health and bile flow.
In a healthy person, bile is made in the liver with no issue. But for those that are deficient in crucial nutrients or overloaded with toxins, it is hard for the liver to keep up with the demand to produce bile. Why exactly is bile so crucial?
We need bile to digest and assimilate fats and protein, to help alkalize the intestines, and to help us absorb fat soluble nutrients like vitamins A, D, and E.
How to Support BILE Flow
Anything that supports the liver will help with increasing bile flow.
My favorite items include:
- Dandelion root tea (quadrules bile flow!)
- Beets
- All Bitter Herbs
- Artichokes
- Castor Oil Packs
- Apple Cider Vinegar
- Healthy Fats
- Sunflower Lecithin
- Bioray Liver Life (one of the strongest liver healers we’ve been able to find)
How to Support FIBER
Ideal daily fiber intake should be at least 30-40 grams. It’s best to spread this out through the day in smaller amounts. Some say our ancestors ate up to 100 grams a day!
- Medium Apple with skin- 5 grams
- Medium Banana- 4 grams
- 2 medium dried figs- 3.7 grams
- 1 cup of raspberries- 6.4 grams
- Oatmeal, 1 cup- 12 grams
- 1 cup of black beans- 14 grams
- 1 cup garbanzo beans- 6 grams
- 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds- 4 grams
- 1 avocado- 12 grams
- A cup of cooked carrots- 5 grams
- 1 medium sweet potato- 5 grams
- Olipop Drinks- 9 grams
The Relationship Between Bile and Fiber- Our NATURAL Binders
Fiber and Bile are basically a tag-team when it comes to detoxification. They both help with binding or flushing out a lot of the gunk that our bodies are trying to eliminate.
Without enough fiber, our bile can become thick and almost like sludge. If this continues, the possibility of developing gallstones becomes higher because the bile will solidify in the gallbladder and runs the risk of getting stuck . Fiber essentially is the key to “cleaning” our bile as bile is technically recycled. Because of our imbalances and toxicities, it is common for the body to recycle the same bile over and over again (up to 17 times! The missing link for cleaning bile is FIBER.
How to Support GOOD BACTERIA
Some of the best fermented foods include:
Kombucha, kimchi, sauerkraut, organic grass-fed yogurt, kefir, Gut Shots from Farmhouse Culture, Bubbie’s brand pickles or kraut, Inner Eco You Gut This water kefir, or make your own at home.
Bioray items like Belly Mend, Tummy (for kids) or Cytoflora help your body to hold onto good bacteria better.
You do not need large amounts of fermented veggies each day- a few tablespoons is a good goal. Gut bacteria is crucial for many reasons: creating certain vitamins, keeping harmful pathogens under control, and plays a role in keeping many illnesses at bay, especially colon cancer. If you do not tolerate fermented foods right now then you can hold off until your gut and liver heal more.
Fermented foods are MUCH better than probiotics. With food you will have a more synergistic effect, plus many other benefits. The key is bacteria diversity- if you’re taking the same probiotics for years you’re only getting a few strains. With foods, you get a LOT more!
The Best Ways to Balance Copper
The ideal place to start would be to work on an HTMA plan with us so you know exactly what you need to work on first- gut, liver, adrenals, etc. But these are common items we use that can help you to get started.
- Bioray Liver Life
- Dandelion root tea
- Vitamin C from whole food forms like Earthley’s or Perfect Supplements Acerola
- Cod liver Oil
- Earthley’s Oyster Min (once you are ready for a good food based zinc source)
The body is a whole and we must treat it as such! I have my Bachelor of Science in Natural Health Sciences, certificates in Herbal Studies from Herbal Academy, and I am constantly learning more about health to help my clients and followers.
My goal is to help you unleash your own inner healer! You already hold the power to heal inside you. My role is as a guide to help you realize this potential.