The Power of Detox

4 Common health problems that a bowel & liver detox will help! 1. Cardiovascular Disease Having a fatty liver (caused by excess sugar & carbohydrates in the diet) is a now thought to be a more potent risk factor for cardiovascular disease than smoking & high cholesterol (put down the chocolate bar now). Many people have a fatty liver & don’t even know it - a great way to clear it out is to follow a good detox plan, then ensure your diet is really high in vegetables (especially bitter salad greens) & low in sugar / carbs. Especially bad for creating a fatty liver are drinking fruit juices (even ‘healthy’ freshly squeezed ones - it’s just the big hit of sugar in one serve with no fibre to slow down the release). So if you’re headed for a heart attack or stroke genetically - ditch the cholesterol meds & get your fatty liver skinny again! A detox is a great way to start to kick the sugar habit. 2. Arthritis Your inflamed gut causes immune system reactions throughout your entire body & chemicals to be released which will damage cartilage. You end up with joint pain, so you take a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory pill (which will further damage your gut lining & also prevent your cartilage / connective tissue from healing) & the whole situation just goes rapidly downhill from there. Don’t reach for the quick fix for your arthritis pain - make the effort to fix your gut & clean your liver. Your immune system will settle down a lot & so will your level of inflammation. Did you know that the bacteria in your bowel (if it’s in good nick) actually manufacture anti-inflammatory substances (short chain fatty acids - google them) just by breaking down the fibre you eat? Pretty awesome design feature of the human body. 3. Acne Your skin is just the organ of your body that is clearly visible from the outside. It provides big clues to what is happening on the inside, & you can often influence skin conditions like acne greatly, just by working on the gut & liver. Your liver breaks down the hormones & toxins flowing through the bloodstream which can influence acne. It also metabolises fats (skin needs loads of good fats & the bad fats are a big skin no-no). The function (or dysfunction) of your gut & liver can mean either efficient excretion of hormones & toxins - or constant re-absorption & re circulation of ‘crap’ (quite literally) in to the bloodstream. Did you know that eating loads of good fats & fibre (& cutting your sugars, bad fats & carbs right down) is a great way to help support your gut-liver-skin system? Try it & see! 4. Depression, anxiety & mental illness We’ve all heard loads about probiotics - but what do you know about ‘psychobiotics’? Yep, it’s a thing, gut microbes are known to impact your mental state. Scientists are studying how different foods, exercise, sleep patterns etc can influence your moods via changes in the gut microbiota. If your diet is crap you’ll likely feel like crap emotionally too, & anyone who’s been constipated or suffered from IBS will know that your gut & your brain are linked very closely (50-80% of those diagnosed with IBS also experience some form of depression & / or anxiety). In Traditional Chinese Medicine, anyone who’s excessively cranky needs some treatment for their liver, & in Ayurvedic medicine, if you’re feeling nervous or anxious / un-grounded - you may well receive treatment aimed at your gut. Give your gut & liver some TLC - & observe the difference it makes to your mental state! The list really does go on! Almost any illness you can think of will benefit from some gut & liver support, all naturopaths will tell you this is true. ‘All disease begins in the gut’ is a famous quote from Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine. You can choose to jump in boots n' all with a detox plan - or you can just pay close attention to the foods you eat every day that will either help or hinder your gut & liver function. Check out this list of detoxifying foods to include in your diet :)