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Detox symptoms during a cleanse or after going off sugar and processed foods are easily avoided with these seven simple recommendations for gently working with the body’s elimination pathways.
If you’ve ever done any kind of fasting or cleansing protocol for any length of time, you may be all too familiar with the various kinds of unpleasant detox symptoms that can manifest during the process.
Even just going cold turkey for a few days from things like drinking coffee, diet soda, eating refined sugar, or smoking tobacco can trigger such reactions.
Some of the most common detox symptoms when doing a fast or detox include headaches, nausea, body aches, nasal or sinus congestion, sore throat, constipation, diarrhea, skin rashes, or even full-blown flu-like symptoms.
Such symptoms are known by various names including healing reactions, cleansing reactions, healing crises, Herxheimer reactions, detox symptoms, or in some cases, candida die-off.
The Underlying Causes of Detox Symptoms
Many people who endure these sorts of disagreeable sensations want to know more about exactly what’s going on in their bodies when they’re happening, and what they can do to prevent them from occurring in the first place.
What’s happening when we experience these sorts of detox symptoms while we’re implementing a cleansing protocol is essentially threefold:
- Because we’re being proactive about cleansing ourselves, during this time, the cells of our bodies suddenly have an opportunity to release an even greater than normal quantity of stored toxins, pathogens, impurities, metabolic wastes and other materials that do not belong inside us.
- Several of the body’s innate pathways through which it normally and naturally eliminates such undesirable materials become overwhelmed, stagnated, and effectively incapacitated by the unusually large quantities of toxicity being released on a cellular level throughout the body. This puts undue pressure on the remaining pathways.
- In some cases, there may also be pathogenic microorganisms such as bacteria or yeasts that have been feeding on substances we’ve been regularly ingesting, (for instance candida that feeds on an overabundance of sugars in the diet) which may die when we deprive them of their preferred food, which releases toxic substances into the bloodstream.
Such a die-off can contribute to and exacerbate the problem of the already compromised and overburdened elimination pathways.
The Body’s Modes of Elimination
Our bodies are innately equipped with an ingenious and highly interactive system of organs and processes through which it has been naturally designed to mobilize and purge toxic materials from itself on an ongoing basis.
These are the body’s primary organs and pathways of elimination:
- Colon
- Liver
- Kidneys
- Lymphatics
- Lungs
- Skin
- Blood
Each of these pathways is synergistically interconnected with and interdependent upon the others, and if they’re all functioning properly chances are we’ll enjoy good health.
However, if one or more of these pathways become sluggish, congested, overwhelmed, or is otherwise functioning less than optimally, this puts an unnatural burden on the others, which often results in unpleasant symptoms.
For instance, if our liver is congested, especially during a cleanse, we may notice some skin eruptions like a rash or adult acne. Or if we’re experiencing constipation while doing a detox protocol, we may develop flu symptoms like swollen lymph glands, a sore throat, or perhaps a cough or lung congestion.
Supporting the Body’s Detox Pathways
The key to avoiding detox symptoms during a cleanse is to be proactive about supporting our body’s own inherent ability to cleanse itself. We can do this by employing various holistic methods that assist, empower and clear our natural detoxification organs and pathways to more effectively do their job of mobilizing and offloading toxins and wastes.
Here are 7 suggestions for doing so while on a cleanse so that detoxing can be attempted and completed with minimal to no discomfort:
1. Promote good regularity
Keeping the bowels moving during any cleanse is crucial. Two of the best ways to help get things moving if constipation is an issue are to take supplemental magnesium or a source of Vitamin C that is whole food based. Never use synthetic ascorbic acid.
2. Enemas or colon hydrotherapy/colonics
Many people are unaware of the powerful healing and detoxifying effects of doing a simple warm water enema, which is an age-old cleansing practice that can easily be done in the privacy of your own home (sources). Many practitioners are recommending coffee enemas as a way to cleanse the liver and gall bladder as well.
Another option is to have a colon hydrotherapy session, where the lower bowl is gently irrigated and flushed by a licensed professional using modern equipment.
3. Activated charcoal
Activated charcoal (AV) is known as the “universal antidote” which when ingested is renowned for its powerful ability to safely draw toxins, pathogens, and wastes into its massive surface area, hold them fast, and efficiently remove them from the body right along with the feces during a bowel movement.
4. Salt baths
Adding sea salt, magnesium chloride flakes or oil, baking soda, or a combination of these to a warm bath, and soaking in it for at least a half-hour is an excellent way to draw toxins out of the body via the skin. An Epsom salt bath is particularly helpful for this purpose as it both detoxifies and helps remedy any magnesium and sulfur deficiency that may exist.
Be sure to buy human grade Epsom salt and avoid agricultural grades.
Adding powdered bentonite clay (brand free of heavy metals) to baths is also very beneficial. And if a whole body bath is not feasible, simply doing a foot bath can also be helpful.
This article provides much more detail on cleansing, detoxification baths.
5. Dry skin brushing
Dry brushing the skin of the entire body (except for face, neck, chest, and genitals) with a special natural bristle brush made specifically for this purpose is a fantastic method both for exfoliating the skin as well as stimulating and supporting improved functioning of the entire lymphatic system. This article contains directions for how to perform dry skin brushing properly as well as precautions for those with sensitive skin.
6. Castor oil packs over the liver
A clean cotton or wool flannel cloth, soaked with castor oil, applied over the liver, (and covered with an old, heavy towel) covered with a heating pad and left on for about an hour is phenomenal for encouraging improved liver function. A castor oil pack not only helps the liver to better do one of its main jobs, which is blood filtration/cleansing, but it’s also tremendous for catalyzing the lymphatics, which are integral to cleansing the body on a cellular level.
7. Rebounding
If you have access to a mini trampoline for rebounding, this piece of equipment is one of the best things you can do during a cleanse to support your body’s ability to naturally offload toxicity (sources). Even just bouncing gently without leaving the mat is beneficial, as this action directly stimulates and mobilizes the body’s entire lymphatic system, assisting it in the transport, processing, and elimination of wastes and pathogenic materials.
And finally, always be sure to drink plenty of the purest water available to you, which is absolutely vital for anyone following any detoxification protocol to help prevent detox symptoms, and be as gentle with yourself as possible during your process of inner purification.
More Information on Healthy Ways to Detox
How to Gently Detox in Preparation for Pregnancy
Top 4 Cleansing Myths to Watch Out For
Natural Deworming Methods that are Safe and Effective
Seaweed Wrap for Gentle Detoxification
Detoxification Using a Castor Oil Pack
Food Poisoning Remedies that Work Fast
How to Do a Hair Detox and Enjoy Healthy Locks Naturally
Juicing 101
This is the second time this week I have heard of dry brushing! It was recommended to me to get super soft skin but it’s a way to detox too!? Great info!!! thanks!!
This is the second time this week I have heard of dry brushing! It was recommended to me to get super soft skin but it’s a way to detox too!? Great info!!! thanks!!
Thanks for the information! I know I need to quit some of the garbabge foods I am eating, namely coffee and sugar. I was always afraid of the detox symptoms of going cold turkey, but reading this article has given me the info I now need to do it. So if I am to quit completely, how long should I do some of the proactive measures you suggest in the post?
I’d suggest listening to your body, choosing whichever protocols feel right for you, and continuing on with them for at least as long as you’re feeling any kind of symptoms you associate with withdrawal.
There are also plenty more ideas for avoiding detox symptoms in my book!
How timely this is for me. I dropped sugar and simple carbs last Thursday, and while I felt fine the first fews days by Monday I had lung congestion and swollen lymph nodes, and by Tuesday started having flu like symptoms. By Wednesday I was completely debilitated by them. I also was bitten my a tick on Sunday, and usually would not worry since I got it right away, but since my reaction came a whole four days after I dropped sugar thought maybe it was something I had caught from the tick bite and not a detox reaction. I have been bathing daily in salt baths, but by Sunday had noticed I had constipation. Then by Monday everything started to go downhill. I did go to the doctor and had blood drawn to make sure it isn’t tick related, but now I feel better knowing it probably is the detox. I’ll take some Calm tonite to stimulate a bowel movement and take some charcoal also for good measure and go from there. Thanks so much for the timely (for me!) information!
WONDERFUL INFORMATION! Thank you so much! I already do the Epsom/baking soda, so it was nice to know a few more ideas to add to it! Thanks!
Thank you! I’m so honored to have been invited by Sarah to share here on her blog with her readers.
BTW, my apologies for the duplicate responses above. I tried to respond to several comments yesterday, but they never showed up here and instead evidently the ended up in Sarah’s spam folder. I tried again to respond today and the same thing happened. Subsequently Sarah found them today and posted the whole kit and kaboodle. 🙂
I’ve removed the duplicates now 🙂
Very interesting reading. I am curious what you think of Diatomaceous earth? Is it safe for human ingestion? I have done some reading where it is suggested to take 1-2 tbsp/day everyday for a good detox/dewormer, etc etc.
Hi Arlana, Food grade Diatomaceous Earth is safe to ingest and is great for parasites. There is one thing I would suggest you consider. I had been using DE ongoing for parasite control in my dogs. Everything I have read says it is fine to use ongoing. I had one dog start to have “seizures” it wasn’t a true seizure in that she didn’t loose any cognitive abilities, only a loss of control of her limbs. She would struggle to stand and not be able to. These episodes would last a minute or so then she would be able to stand but would be emotionally shaken up for a little while. Out of laziness I had stopped supplementing her for 6 or 8 months when I realized she hadn’t had an episode. Thinking there may be a connection I again started her on the DE. About a month after she had an episode. After doing some research I learned DE is about 89% silica, which is a great mineral our bodies need. It’s great for remineralizing teeth and bones. I also read you should supplement with Thiamine (B1) if you are taking a silica supplement such as horsetail. When I looked up symptoms of Thiamine deficiency I found it affects nerve function including weakness and locomotion. Right now I have our dogs on nutritional yeast to increase their B vitamins. I will try the DE again soon to see what happens. I can’t be positive this was the cause of her episodes but it did seem to correlate. Neither of our other two dogs had any issues. Anyway, all that said, you may want to consider a B supplement if you take the DE. If anyone else has any insight into this I hope you will comment.
Wow, thank you for sharing that, SoCalGT! I hope your pup is over those spells and that it wasn’t the DE that was causing them.
arlana, I’ve taken DE myself, and my understanding is that yes, it is safe for human ingestion.
DE is a very different substance from clay, and I don’t think that DE is nearly as effective as an internal detoxifier/cleanser. However I have heard a number of very interesting anecdotal stories from people singing DE’s praises saying that taking it has benefited them in various different ways and even helped them to recover from a variety of different ailments.
It’s important to mention here that only food grade DE is safe for use both by people and on/in pets. There’s another type of non-food grade DE that’s made for use in swimming pools, which should never be ingested by or used topically on either humans or animals.
Why would you want to take a chance for your dog to have a THIRD episode? If it’s happened twice, it makes sense that that’s what’s causing these very dangerous symptoms.
Great information, what do you think about ingestion of bentonite clay? Many primitive cultures used clays to absorb toxins.
Yes! Thank you for mentioning that.
I’m a HUGE fan of both internal as well as topical use of all kinds of different clays, especially including bentonite.
In fact I’m so impressed with the healing and cleansing properties of clay, that I’ve designed an entire class focusing on the benefits of both clay and activated charcoal. I’ll be giving that class in a few weeks June in Tacoma WA.
Linda and Sarah, thanks so much for this excellent post. I’ve been researching rebounders and would welcome any advice on features or brands to look for or avoid.
After researching the subject I decided to purchase a JumpSport rebounder.
It’s very beefy and sturdy, has a nice comfortable bounce, and maybe best of all, is virtually silent to use. Because it’s made with bungee cords instead of metal springs, it makes none of those distracting squeaking noises when used.
Some of the other brands I also considered were Rebound Air, Needak, and Urban Rebounder.
There are some decent videos on YouTube you might want to check out which are helpful for comparingi the pros and cons of some of the major brands.
Yes, in my experience the best rebounders are ones with bungee cords. I tried an inexpensive one from Dick’s Sporting Store and would up hurting my back and neck after a few weeks. Then I researched and bought a Bellicon. It is really the Cadillac of Rebounders. Having had many chronic health issues this is the one I was able to tolerate the best. I would highly recommend. They come in great colors, have a great website, and are the healthiest for you. Good luck, rebounding is the single best exercise I have been able to do with limited capacity for any kind of physical endurance.
Thanks, this has some really good tips! How much activated charcoal is safe to ingest? I was also wondering about the castor oil. I guess that I am not sure I understand how a topical application can effect the liver.
Oils are readily absorbed by the skin into the blood. Some midwives recommend castor oil rubbed on the belly to facilitate labor. Cod liver oil is absorbed by the skin – a good approach for children who cannot or will not take it orally.
With regard to AC, follow the directions on the bottle.
I have taken bulk powdered AC many times stirred into purified water as a slurry, and have experimented with some relatively high doses – perhaps two heaping tablespoons at a time – and suffered no ill effects whatsoever.
However I have noticed that such large doses of AC can have a tendency to cause some slowing of digestive transit time, so it’s a good idea to be aware of the possibility of constipation caused by the larger doses if you do take them.
As Sarah points out, castor oil when applied topically or as a castor pack is absorbed through the skin into the blood and underlying tissues transdermally.
Besides providing liver support and improving lymphatic function, castor oil packs are also very helpful for reducing inflammation and relieving pain.
This is a great comprehensive article Linda. I’m interested in trying out the sea salt bath tip. Thanks for sharing and making this helpful article to everyone 🙂
Yeah, I agree with you, Jerry.
I like the last paragraph as well. There’s really no better way than to drink pure water to avoid detox symptoms.