Drainage vs Detox: What's the difference and why we need both
Drainage vs Detox. Both are important for your health. But there are differences, and it’s important to know before you jump into detox work so you can avoid some of the major pitfalls of detox.
The basic differences: Detox is grabbing chemicals and pulling them out of the body. Drainage is addressing the normal pathways of the body that move fluids throughout and eventually out of the body.
Most of the focus in the health and wellness realm is on detox. It seems to be more exciting and we’ve definitely gone through many different phases of trends within detox throughout the years. Detoxing will often use thinngs like binders (zeolite, humics and fulvics, clay, charcoal, etc), DMSO, cilantro, chlorella, etc are used. But, and this is huge, you want to make sure you’re supporting your drainage systems before you jump into the detox process.
Our drainage systems include the digestive system, liver, gallbladder, kidneys, lymphatics, lungs, and skin (our largest organ!). Because of our current overload of toxin exposure from our environment, much of which is unavoidable but not all, out drainage system gets congested. A few things to ask yourself to assess your drainage system:
Are you having daily bowel movements? (colon)
Are you able to sweat? (lymphatics and skin)
Are you able to digest fats easily or do they go straight through you or cause stomach cramping? (gallbladder)
Do you have pain on the right side ribcage area? (liver/gallbladder)
Do you react easily to caffeine or alcohol? (liver)
Do you get hangry easily? (liver/blood sugar imbalance)
If your drainage systems are stagnant then a detox protocol may cause more issues by moving the toxins around without an efficient pathway out. This is why a lot of the detox reactions occur. Things like headaches, rashes, extra fatigue, sleep disruptions, etc.
Some binders and zeolites are more gentle on the body and can be moved out of the body even with a clogged drainage system. The problem here is that you’ll forever be dependent on these products because your natural system of moving waste out is backed up. I believe the goal of any detox protocol should be to clean the system up and support the body so it can get back to taking care of things how it is so brilliantly designed to do!
Supporting drainage is a key aspect for health and detoxing! If you want some guidance getting started supporting your health foundations and getting your drainage system cleaned up check out my Foundations of Health Guide here!
You can also utilize tests like the Oligoscan Mineral and Heavy Metal Scan to give you an idea of where your basic nutrients and toxic metals are at.