Are you struggling to tolerate antimicrobial/antipathogen treatments like wild oregano oil, garlic, or olive leaf extract? If so, I understand the frustration because for the longest time, neither could I! In this blog post, I want to share with you how I detox and prep to tolerate anti-pathogens.
Detox And Prep To Tolerate Anti-pathogens
In my blog post, Anti-Pathogen Treatment to Heal Your Gut, I reiterate how long-term healing relies on killing and detoxing out any overgrowth of bad bacteria, fungi, etc. in your system by consuming an anti-pathogen. Because of the benefits of anti-pathogens, when your body cannot tolerate them it’s really overwhelming and frustrating! This can lead to panic, as you really don’t want to have any future flares…
The reason I discuss detoxing so much is that its importance is often downplayed and overlooked. A lot of the time healthcare practitioners focus on prescribing supplement after supplement, but if the person can’t properly detox none of this does any good. You can put in as much good stuff as you want, but if the overgrowth of bad pathogens isn’t excreted properly through a normal detox process, none of that other stuff will be of any benefit!
If this sounds like you, I would spend my time, energy, and money on safe methods to detox rather than more pills to take.
What Detoxing Is NOT
When I used to hear the word detox, it actually triggered bad memories for me – so for many people, this word and idea may seem scary! The reason is, for someone with IBD, the word “detox” probably brings up memories of diarrhea and days stuck on the toilet from something we ate or ingested. So, the thought of purposefully making that happen again is just too traumatizing. I get that!
Intense fasts may come to mind when thinking of a detox, or weird un-researched/un-tested enemas people have done to create a flushing effect in the body – but this is NOT what I mean when I refer to detoxing. In my opinion, these negative and traumatic reactions happen when you push yourself and your body too hard.
What a proper and safe detox should look like, for example, is sweating from something like an infrared sauna, urinating often from high liquid intake, and perhaps a few more bowel movements than usual. Nothing extreme. A proper detox can feel good if done in the right way – you can feel cleansed, rejuvenated, energized, and even have glowing skin! Now who doesn’t want any of those things?
Keep in mind, however, that everyone reacts differently to detoxing. Perhaps for you, this means taking the day off as you implement your detox because your body is tired and needs to rest. In contrast, your energy could be through the roof! It really depends on the individual, which is why it is so important not to dive head-first into an intense detox at the risk of hurting yourself or making your condition worse.
When I first began to experiment with different detox methods, I was exhausted! I would get slight reactions such as body aches or headaches. I started low and slow, however, and as my body grew accustomed and could tolerate a higher intensity, I would slightly increase the detox (longer periods in the infrared sauna, high doses of wild oregano oil, etc). Slowly my reactions lessened, which told me the detox was doing what I needed it to do.
Detox Pathways
Before beginning a detox, you need to ensure the detox pathways are OPEN! So again this goes back to not wasting your efforts on detox products if your pathways aren’t open.
This blog post has a great breakdown of the 5 detox pathways our body has:
A major way our body keeps us healthy is through a built-in mechanism designed to filter harmful chemicals and eliminate what it doesn’t need. We can thank five major organs for this elimination cycle, otherwise known as our detoxification pathways — our skin, lungs, kidneys, colon, and liver.
Our body is so amazing that it has these 5 mechanisms built right in! When we suffer from chronic conditions, however, many of the detox pathways get blocked, so when we try to alleviate symptoms this may be one of the reasons why we are not seeing results.
Here are 5 reasons why our natural detoxification pathways might be blocked:
- Poor diet – Eating a diet full of processed foods, sugar, and excess salt.
- Exposure to toxins – The average person is exposed to over 100 toxins each day. These toxins are in the air you breathe, the water you drink, the food you eat, your home, your office, and even your beauty and personal care products.
- Stress and negative emotions –Stress and negative thoughts and emotions affect your body more than you think and lead to the accumulation of toxins that impact your health and bodily functions
- Poor lifestyle habits – Lack of exercise, lack of sleep, and a general lack of self-care have a big impact on your health. When you lack sleep, you lack energy and your body goes into fight or flight mode, which decreases or even stops your ability to detoxify.
- Dehydration – Proper hydration is key to your body’s ability to detoxify. Water transports waste products, efficiently removing them through urination, breathing, or sweating.
I would like to add a 6th possibility to this, which is our genes. Did you know that our genes can affect how we detox? We can be genetically predisposed to having a difficult time detoxing properly. One of my physicians mentioned this to me during a visit as we were chatting about why I may not be detoxing properly, and my mind was blown! It made so much sense because some of my family members have the same issues.
What Can You Do To Open Detox Pathways?
This post, How to Reduce Herxheimer Reaction & Detox Sensitivity, is a great place to start. It’s a video interview where Jini and I discuss HERX reactions, allergies, and detox methods. Definitely worth a watch, as this video, in addition to the detox suggestions below, can really help.
Liver Tone
Why is liver cleansing and support so important? With IBD, most of us have a leaky gut, so we may have some toxins floating around. The liver helps remove toxins from your blood, which is a lot of work – and this is why the liver can benefit from some support! The minerals found in this liver tone Jini recommends contains what the liver needs to boost its ability to perform.
Note, however, that Jini says: “If you have active IBD (inflammatory bowel disease), these herbs may be too strong for your gut and you may want to wait until you have had no bleeding for 2-4 months before using these. And then start VERY slowly and test for tolerance as you go. If you have no bleeding – only inflammation – then start with just a few drops once per day and gradually build up from there, if tolerated. Follow the instructions in Chapter 2 of my book, Listen To Your Gut, for introducing new supplements.”
I agree with Jini wholeheartedly on this. It is powerful, but it can also really help people who are having reactions to clean everything out. I started with just 1 drop and worked my way up to 3 drops. One time I did 4, and that was too much for my body – so for right now, 3 drops are plenty sufficient for me. I can literally feel my body detoxing when I use it, which is great in prep for anti-pathogen treatments or other things that I know may potentially cause a reaction!
The only other thing I would add to Jini’s recommendations is don’t mix this liver product with anti-pathogens, even on the same day. Because in my opinion, BOTH cause the liver to work so tremendously hard, and taking both in 1 day – even when separated by food, etc. – may be too much detoxing, especially with IBD flares. But of course, this is my own experience, and you should always listen to your own gut.
Nebulized Glutathione
Jini has created a whole protocol for lung infection and other lung issues, but did you know that nebulized glutathione can be an incredible form of detoxing? It helps to detoxify and clean out any poisons or toxins, and it can even help eliminate heavy metals from the body. It is not only great for acute situations, but also to detox the lungs and the entire body. Follow Jini’s instructions on nebulized glutathione here if you want to give that a go!
Infrared Sauna
Jini explains her use of infrared saunas here, as well as 3 juices you can make for detoxing. The benefits of infrared saunas are that they create heat from inside your body, not outside. This, in turn, causes you to sweat – and we can release toxins by sweating!
Quercetin
Quercetin actually affects our gut, as it has been known to inhibit the growth of certain bacterial species. Quercetin also can help support the liver, so it’s a powerhouse in the detox realm! Jini recommends Quercetin Plus, which you can find here in our Shoppe.
Annatto-E
This is a great product if you have detox issues or mast cell activation syndrome (like myself.) With mast cell activation allergies, antibodies like IgE are on high alert and send heaping drones of cells and chemicals through the body, which in turn can cause undesirable symptoms. I actually found out years later that I had this after tons of research and testing.
Vitamin E is especially good for mast cell activation, but it can help with a lot of other issues too. One thing you can try is using an Annnatto-E product before antipathogens because it’s an amazing antioxidant. Vitamin E is a fat-soluble antioxidant, so it can help to break down things and provide an anti-inflammatory response.
Homeopathics
With the help of a homeopathic professional, you can take homeopathic anti-pathogens if you are extremely sensitive to everything else. Or, you can take homeopathics before anti-pathogens to prep and/or shift the microbiome terrain in order to avoid/lessen any HERX response. I actually have done both – I used homeopathics as my anti-pathogen, and I also took them in between my anti-pathogen rounds to help settle or prep for the next round.
If you are finding a hard time tolerating any anti-pathogen, or you just need more support before during or after, see Dr. Juliet (Jini’s doctor) to work with homeopathic. She also offers online sessions. 🙂
Another Anti-pathogen Alternative
In my experience, I also found that Cat’s claw and Monolaurin/Coconut also had anti-pathogen qualities. These are really awesome herbs and, for myself, assisted in clearing out toxins and pathogens.
My Detox And Prep for Anti-pathogen Protocol:
I have found the below options helpful for people with IBD and sensitive tummies. Each of the remedies below target one of the detox pathways, so you are really hitting every angle:
- Take Jini’s recommended liver tone product, 1-3 drops a day (or whatever works for you) for 3 days PRIOR to anti-pathogen consumption. You need to cycle on and off anti-pathogens because bacteria/fungal hybrids have dormant/active life cycles. So when you decide to go on anti-pathogens and do a cycle, this is when you can prep ahead of time and do a mini liver cleanse to ensure your liver is unblocked and clear to process the antipathogens. DETOXES: Liver
- Daily nebulized glutathione. DETOXES: Lungs
- Infrared Sauna as much as you can tolerate before and during anti-pathogen rounds. DETOXES: Skin
- Quecertin daily. DETOXES: Colon
*Please note it’s not necessary to do all of this! You may need only one of these remedies to assist with the detox before anti-pathogens so your body can handle it, or you may need all of them! Start slow and with one modality at a time to see how your body feels.
Binders
During my anti-pathogen rounds, I also take binders! With every anti-pathogen dose, I follow up with a binder 20 minutes after. I switch between bentonite clay and GI Detox, with my favorite being GI Detox.
Since my body was so reactive to antimicrobials, I did all of the things listed above. The one that helped the most was the liver tone, and using that a few days before consuming anti-pathogens made a huge difference. With it, I was cleansed out and strong enough to handle an anti-pathogen round.
Here are also some additional ideas from Jini on detox treatments:
In some hot water or herbal tea in the morning, add:
- 30 drops Milk Thistle tincture or combination Liver Detox tincture
- 30 drops Adrenal Support tincture like Ashwagandha
- In the afternoon or evening (or on alternate days), add to either 8 ounces of filtered water, or to one of your juice blends: 1 teaspoon liquid chlorophyll
Your Emotional State Is Important
As we conclude, I also want to touch upon how important your emotional state is when considering a detox. Stress and negative thoughts/emotions can lead to the accumulation of toxins that impact your health and bodily functions, so you need to release that buildup!
Mind/body healing techniques, such as Jini’s Lazer Tapping, can help with all of this! I practice tapping daily and it has helped me tremendously along my healing journey – so I highly recommend it! You can join Jini for a free session here.
I hope you can take this information and apply it to your own healing journey in order to tolerate more treatments – and get you closer to full healing. For anyone who has tried their own detox, what is your favorite? Have you found success in detoxing, or have you had any bad experiences? I’d love to hear from you.
And of course, if you have any questions for me feel free to drop a comment below. Until next time, happy healing – and remember to always listen to your gut!
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