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Healing crisis through detox diet
I recently tried one of the detox diets recommended in one of your earlier What Really Works books and although, over two weeks, I lost weight, I also felt rotten and got a stinking cold. My GP told me I was an idiot and suggested detoxing is dangerous. Is he right?
It’s probably overstating it to suggest that detoxing is downright dangerous but I would agree with your GP that it is not something to embark on casually, and not least because there are always unpleasant side-effects as you have now experienced for yourself.
The cold you suffered and feeling rotten were all part of what natural therapists describe as a “healing crisis” and what this really means is that once you deprive the body of its normal intake of calories and stimulants, it can go into shock.
Anyone who has ever given up coffee will probably be able to tell you that after two or three days, they start to experience adverse side-effects including headaches and mood swings and low energy. If you stuck to a serious detox plan for two weeks it is not surprising you suffered too.
I think detoxing the body has a role to play in holistic health but only in the right context - by which I mean you should really make sure you are being monitored by a qualified health practitioner, you should only embark on a detox when your lifestyle can accommodate it (i.e. when you are not working or meeting all the normal deadlines of a busy life) and while most people talk about detoxing in January, the better time from the body’s point of view is Spring or Autumn in line with nature’s seasonal shift.
If you do detox again, it is also crucial to make sure you build back up to your normal intake of foods and calories and do not tuck into a heavy Sunday roast the day after the detox ends since this will also stress the body and prove counter-productive.