These symptoms
include headache, stomachache, cough, diarrhea, skin eruptions
(rash), clogged sinus, and fever, as well as feeling rundown and
irritable. The symptoms may be of short duration and slight
irritation, or they could last longer and cause you considerable
discomfort.
Because these
symptoms are the same as those that show up in certain illnesses,
changing your diet or lifestyle can result in misunderstanding: If
I am doing something that is supposed to be good for me, why do I
have these symptoms? Why do I feel worse, and not better?
Understanding this apparent contradiction is perhaps the first,
and most important, hurdle you must get over when making a dietary
or lifestyle change.
If you consider this
carefully, however, it is easy to understand. Think of how you
might have experienced this on a short-term basis. If you do not
get regular exercise, and then play some softball with your kids,
the next day you might feel bad-tired with sore muscles. This is
your body reacting to something that it is not used to doing. You
can see the same thing when you stop a regular activity; if you
are a soda drinker and have to stop for a while, you may notice
that you have less energy and may even have a headache. When you
change your diet or lifestyle, the same thing happens; your body
reacts to the change.
Why does this
happen?
As we live, toxins
accumulate in our body. Some of these are due to our diet and
others due to the environment around us. Of course, our lifestyle
also fits in-if you smoke or use alcohol you are accumulating even
more toxins.
When you make a
change in diet or lifestyle, through stopping a bad habit or
eating better, your cells begin eliminating the toxic substances.
Before finding the exit however, the toxins are released into the
blood stream and are carried through the circulatory system.
This transportation
and elimination may result in headache, diarrhea, or constipation,
and often toxins are eliminated through the skin, resulting in
rashes or skin problems (especially if you are prone to such
problems). You may also feel a lack of energy, especially if you
are eliminating meats from your diet (The protein found in meat is
more stimulating than that found in vegetables.) You may also find
that, with the absence of toxins, you absorb substances more
easily. Thus, the sugar and caffeine in a soda might really set
you off.
In a nutshell, we
could say that the body always goes for quality, and when the food
coming in is of higher quality (wheatgrass, barleygrass, and
living food) than the present tissue, the body will discard the
present tissue because it wants to make room for tissue created by
the higher quality food.
How severe are
the symptoms and how long do they last?
How long the
symptoms last and how severe they are depend on what your
lifestyle had been before making a change, and how quickly you
make a change. If you had a diet heavy in red meats, for example,
and become a vegetarian overnight, you might have severe symptoms
for a time. If your lifestyle changes are gradual, the symptoms
could be less severe.
The duration of the
symptoms might not be linear; there is a greater chance that they
will come in cycles. At first you may feel great and then
experience some detoxification symptoms. After the initial toxins
are flooded out, you will feel good again, if not better. However,
the body "goes deeper" and finds more toxins to
eliminate; the symptoms may reappear again, and after more toxins
are eliminated, you will fee] better yet as things progress, you
will find that the period of symptoms is shorter and that the
period of well-being is greater.
Some Possible
Detoxification Symptoms
-
Clogged sinus
-
Constipation
-
Cough
-
Diarrhea
-
Fatigue
-
Fever
-
Flu symptoms
-
Cold symptoms
-
Gas
-
Headache
-
Irritability
-
Moodiness
-
Skin rash
-
Stomachache
What can I do
during this period?
The hardest thing
for many people to do is to accept that they are not sick and
realize that the body is cleansing itself. Once you get beyond
this psychological barrier, the rest is easy. The most important
thing to do can be summed up in one word: Rest
Rest, and let the
body do what it needs to. If you have the luxury of staying home,
do so! If not, cut back social engagements and perhaps even cut
back on any exercise you are getting. Give your body as much
energy as possible to do its job. Eat light foods that are easy to
digest, consume fruits and vegetables and drink plenty of water.
Further Reading
Swope, Mary Ruth,
Ph.D. 1990. Green Leaves of Barley. Phoenix, AZ: Swope
Enterprises, Inc. Pp. 199-202.
Matsen, Jonn N.D.
1987. The Mysterious Causes of Illness. Canfield, OH:
Fischer Publishing Co. Pp. 134-157.
