Detoxification and Recovery – What’s The Connection Anyway?

Toxins – our world is full of them! We eat, breathe, drink, otherwise ingest (inject) and create loads of toxins every day. They accumulate in our tissues and interrupt normal function causing symptoms like fatigue, muscle weakness, headaches, foggy head, poor sleep, aches and chronic pain, sensitivity to odours, tendency to drug reactions and more! What role does this play in your recovery? Read on…

In spring our thoughts naturally turn to detoxification. Spring, a time when we come out of our winter slumber and when mother nature provides all kinds of nutrient rich foods to get us back on track. The fallacy is that we only need to detox in the spring, or that a two week spring detox will clean us up for the rest of the year. Wouldn’t that be nice? The reality is that we RETOX every day of the year, so detoxification is a daily necessity – a strategy for health.

It is widely held that chronic health conditions are the outcome for those who do not eliminate them toxins efficiently. MS is no exception. Your toxic burden can produce neurological symptoms on its own, interfere with mitochondrial and metabolic function, affect gastrointestinal (GI) terrain and amplify issues that are already a problem for you.

Heavy metals are the oldest toxin known to (wo)man and they are directly connected to MS in the literature. Other toxins slow metabolism and normal liver detox and behave as endocrine disruptors. I gave a lecture at the Science Center in Toronto, Ontario a few years back on the importance of hormone balance an MS – it’s a big deal, and healthy detoxification plays a big role.

We can’t get away from toxic exposure, but we can do the best to reduce and  eliminate them – slowly. So let’s start to look at things you can do to safely incorporate regular detoxification into your life.

Three things to remember:

1. Reduce the amounts of toxins coming in – from food, drink, lifestyle etc.
2. Provide the nutrients the body needs to detox – it is an energy intense process.
3. Optimize the output – increase the body’s ability to detoxify.

The worst culprit of day-to-day toxicity is constipation and the GI milieu. If you’re not eliminating properly toxins sit around and cause damage to the GI tissues and promote things like leaky gut, SIBO and other digestive complications. Who cares about the gut? You do! The gut-brain axis is the most important aspect in MS recovery.

For years I have listened to people with MS tell me that constipation is just something they have to live with. Malarkey! Who told you that? And don’t believe it!

This is a HUGE topic to tackle in a blog but here are three simple things you can START today to improve your overall body function – via better detoxification.

• Reduce the amount of toxins coming in:

1. The big one here is the food choices you make. And the biggest offender is wheat, gluten and all nature of refined grains, gluten-free or not. What does that mean? Any form of baked good made with grain flour. Better options are almond flour and coconut flour.
2. Increase your veggie intake. Here are a couple of rules I like to follow regarding veggies.

i.     Something green with every meal. Always.

ii.     Begin with 6 portions of veggies per day. It’s easy!

1-2 at breakfast
1-3 at lunch
2-4 at dinner
1-2 as snacks

iii.     Lots of cruciferous – cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, brussel sprouts, kohl rabi, kale, mustard greens, collard greens, watercress, bok choy, rapini, turnip, arugala, radish (includes horseradish and wasabi) – lots to choose from. If you have thyroid issues lightly steam these.

iv.     Herbs and spices for detox: garlic, cilantro (a heavy metal chelator), turmeric, cayenne, dandelion root, burdock root (both these can be taken as tea or freshly juiced).

• Provide the nutrients needed for detox. It is a high energy process:

1. By changing your diet you should be getting most of these.
2. You may also add 1-2 portions of fruit per day. Pomegranate, blueberries – think deep dark colours – loaded with antioxidants.
3. Ensure that you get enough good quality protein in a day (chicken, fish, nuts/butters, a clean protein powder etc)

• Optimize the output:

1. Via the bowels – shouldn’t be a problem if you eat as recommended above and drink ample water.
2. You can also add 2 Tbsp of ground flax per day (fiber and detoxes hormones)
3. Drink ample liquids including green tea which contributes to detoxification and promotes elimination via the kidneys.

If you have any concerns at any time as you are implementing these changes please discuss them with your naturopath, nutritionist or other healthcare provider trained in nutrition. If you have questions…let’s start the conversation.

My detox recipe package will be going out soon to those who have joined me at terijaklin.com. If that is of interest to you – join us too!

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