Dr. Valerie Nelson
Board Certified Natural Integrative Doctor
Remember Detoxification is a good thing!!!!!!!!!!
Detoxification symptoms commonly crop up when a person is undergoing cleansing. When the toxins are tucked inside the cell, they interfere with cellular chemistry and decrease energy production. When they come out of the cell, the toxins are back in contact with nerves where they cause symptoms because they irritate the nerves. These symptoms may manifest as pain, headaches, nausea, fatigue, post-nasal drainage, runny nose, behavior changes, muscle pain, muscle weakness, gastrointestinal disturbances, and sleep disturbance. Often a person goes back through old symptoms they've had in the past and in the reverse order of the original presentation of those symptoms. It's similar to cleaning out a drawer, what goes in first, comes out last. Therefore if your body was trying to tell you something was wrong and originally gave you a headache to call your attention to the problem and you still didn't understand, then it's going to give you another symptom and yell even louder.
God has designed our bodies with warning signals before things get too bad, but often times we either ignore these signals or go to the doctor and the doctor will give you something to cover up the symptoms. Remember, in natural health, we like to attack the real problem and solve it so that your life can be way better for the long haul. So, if you first had sinus congestion, later developed a headache, later developed right elbow pain, and later developed chronic constipation, then as you detox you will probably first have a return of chronic constipation, followed by right elbow pain, followed by the headache, followed by sinus congestion. This is called “Herring’s Law of Healing" or Herxheimer Reaction.
Other detox symptoms included chronic muscle tension or spasm, backaches, neck aches, aching muscles, and painful joints. Some individuals will have pain in the lower back on both sides, this is the kidneys. The body will release toxins from the cells and put them in the kidneys to filter (urinate) out. Drink more water!! These examples are to help you understand detox symptoms and not to panic if you experience some of these symptoms. Headaches, nausea, fatigue, even depression can be part of detox symptoms also. If they occur, say, “Yeah, my body is getting rid of this toxic old junk” and take more Superfoods, drink more water or schedule another footbath to quickly get more stuff out.
Again, of course, REST – your body is going through some changes so give it a break and rest.
The fat tissue in the body seems to detoxify last and was probably the first tissue to become toxic. Since fat stores are not vital organs the body probably figures that’s the best place to store toxins, thus protecting the vital organs from damage. The body seems to store the worst toxins (most likely to cause damage) in the fat. So you may experience stronger detox symptoms toward the end of your body purification process, but not necessarily.
Some individuals go through detox without any symptoms. Actually, they may automatically feel much better when starting a new program while others will struggle with some of the above-mentioned symptoms. Just work with your body in the process – help it along by resting, drinking more water – adding a high mineral complex, like Superfood Greens because it helps to bind toxins or another footbath to remove more junk. This is one of the main reasons that we suggest a series of footbaths, especially in the earlier part of your program.
If necessary, you can adjust your plan to introduce things more slowly in order to work with your body and make the changes more gradual. For instance, start with 1/2 of your supplements and gradually increase them if you are a person who is very toxic or are very sensitive to detoxification. If your bowels slow down for some reason (more unlikely during a detox, but it can happen), be sure to pick up some Triple Magnesium/Triple calcium complex or aloe capsules to help things along.
Some of this article is pertaining to internal herbal cleansing and parasite cleansing. If you experienced this after your first footbath, it almost never happens the 2nd time, so don’t be discouraged and keep the detoxification going – it is a process.
It may be necessary to set up a 15 - 30 minute phone consult with Dr. Nelson to help give you very specific guidance through how your plan needs to be adjusted to help you through this process.
To start this process, go to phone appointment link and pre-pay for the appointment and the office assistance will email you times. Be sure to pick adequate time to review everything thoroughly.
Valerie Nelson, ND, MH, CNHP, CNC
Board Certified in Integrative Medicine