“Every night you can go to bed knowing you have made your cumulative load better, same or worse. The choices you make every day add to that total package. You are truly captain of your own ship.”
– Sherry Rogers, MD and author, Detoxify or Die
By now you’ve ideally taken the first step of getting mentally prepared. You know your reasons for thriving. You have stepped into your role as CEO of your own health and wellbeing. Perhaps you’ve hired a holistic doctor too. And, hopefully you’re surrounding yourself with positive people.
The next step is to get rid of all the triggers that are causing or perpetuating your autoimmune issues or that are blocking your healing.
Grab some large trash bags and get ready to clean out your kitchen, bathroom and laundry cabinets. You’ll want to toss the junk foods, recycle the plastic and paper packaging, and put any chemical-based products like medicines, household cleaners, sunscreens, etc. in a bag for a “hazardous waste” drop off location.
Toxins may be the big reason autoimmune disorders are becoming epidemic. Even babies are born today with an average of 287 chemicals in their umbilical cord blood!1 We must protect ourselves proactively from the onslaught. And we’re not just talking about toxins “out there.” We also mean toxic foods, negative thoughts, and people who drain your energy.
These products are engineered to hook you with their combination of man-made fats, ultra-processed grains, and sugar which is more addictive than cocaine. Studies reveal the causal link between ultra-processed “food” to early death from colon cancer, heart disease, and early death. This includes soft drinks; packaged snacks; commercial breads, cakes, biscuits; sweetened breakfast “cereals”; “fruit” drinks; margarine; and pre-processed ready-to-eat or heat products such as burgers, pastas, and pizzas.2
Take a break from the most autoimmune triggering foods: gluten and all grains, dairy, corn, soy, eggs, beans/lentils, coffee, alcohol, citrus fruits, nuts, and nightshade vegetables (tomatoes, peppers & eggplant). After 30 days, reintroduce each item one at a time slowly (2 days between foods). Closely monitor how you feel. If you have GI issues, brain fog, pain or other symptoms you may be sensitive to one of these foods, so keep it out of your diet for another 3 – 6 months and then, if you want, try reintroducing it again. Want help? Download my Eat to Beat Autoimmune Optimal Food Guide.
Replace chemical-based home cleaning and body care products. A good rule of thumb is to only use products with ingredients you can identify or would eat. For guidance on which ingredients and products are safe and which contain potentially toxic chemicals, consult www.EWG.org.
Get tested for chemical & heavy metal toxicity Doctor’s Data provoked Urine Toxic Metals is a good option; Vibrant Wellness, offers panels that measure direct levels of Environmental Toxins like glyphosate and plastics in your urine; Cyrex Labs offer antibody tests that measure how reactive you may be to chemicals with Array #11 Chemical Reactivity Screen. And explore having your silver mercury fillings removed by a holistic dentist. MS and mercury poisoning go hand in hand.3
Your immune system resides mostly in the lining of your small intestines – aka your “gut.” Most people with autoimmune disorders have a leaky gut and an imbalanced microbiome (gut flora). So to allow your immune system to do its job and heal you, you must heal and seal your gut. When you remove inflammatory triggers your immune system can stop overreacting too, and that’s essential for healing.
This is arguably the most important step in healing: REMOVE. In addition to removing processed foods, sugar, and your trigger foods (step one above), remove chemically-based home and body care products, stop storing water and food in plastic, minimize your use of prescription and over the counter meds, and last but far from least: reduce stress.
If you’re over 40 you are likely low in stomach acid and digestive enzymes. If you don’t have a gallbladder this is essential. Take hydrochloric acid with pepsin and digestive enzymes. My current favorite is Bio-Gest which includes HCL, pepsin, and ox bile. And, reinoculate gut flora with prebiotics — high soluble fiber called “inulin”-containing-foods like garlic, artichokes & onions, probiotics — contained in supplements and fermented foods & bone broth.
The first and most important step in gut healing is the previous step: REMOVE. Once you have removed the harmful elements it’s time to repair your gut lining with healing nutrients: L-glutamine, A, C, E, zinc carnosine, licorice root, marshmallow root, slippery elm, and aloe vera. A solid gut lining repair product is GI Revive.
A stressful lifestyle harms your gut. Do centering practices: deep breathing, prayer, yin yoga, and/or meditation. I meditate every morning and use a terrific neurofeedback device called a Muse headband. Chirping birds let me know if I’m calm and rain lets me know if my mind is overactive, which seems to be my natural state, sigh.
Detoxing is not a fad diet or colon cleanse you do twice a year. It’s an ongoing practice of assisting the body in clearing accumulated waste that can otherwise build up and back up into your bloodstream. When you minimize toxic triggers coming in and optimize detoxification processes, everything gets back to balance.
Drink warm or room temperature pure water with lemon on waking. Lemon contains compounds that help calm liver inflammation, reduce oxidative stress, and inhibit development of fatty liver disease.4
Bounce either on a rebounder (mini-trampoline) or on a cushy mat for 2 – 5 minutes each morning to flush your lymphatic system, the body’s waste removal system, which doesn’t move unless you do.
Binders grab and safely escort toxins out of the body, avoiding harmful re-toxification. Eat more fiber, which is the most natural and gentle binder. Other natural binders include modified citrus pectin, activated charcoal, chlorella, cilantro, and food-grade bentonite clay.
Work up a sweat every day to help eliminate toxins through your skin — your largest detox organ. Do some cardio. And, take regular saunas, ideally far or near infrared. You can find affordable sauna blankets, like LifePro. Make sure they are low in EMFs and that you clean them after every use. Don’t forget to take a cool/cold shower after to wash away the toxins.
What will your first step be? What have you already removed and what else can you to to reduce your body burden?
Take good care!
Image Credit: Edu Lauton
This comprehensive book is the first to explore all six of the critical lifestyle factors that are the root causes of autoimmune conditions – and the sources of regaining health. Foreword by Mark Hyman, MD
Palmer is a certified Functional Medicine Health Coach who has helped thousands of people reverse autoimmune conditions based on her own two-decade battle to successfully beat multiple sclerosis (MS). She’s the author of the Amazon #1 bestselling book, Beat Autoimmune, which has a powerful foreword by Functional Medicine pioneer, Mark Hyman, MD.
