These are signs that your body needs your attention and you probably need to change some things like the food you eat and the things you use for your body on a regular basis.
"You are not tired, you are toxic," I was told by a well known practitioner over 15 years ago. I had no idea what that meant.
At that time, I was a homeschooling mom and did not realize that the food I was eating contributed to my fatigue.
The cleaning products and skincare products I was using then were contaminating my home and my body.
The water I was drinking needed an upgrade. Drinking spring water was considered a luxury for me then.
My version of eating healthy was not as healthy has it could have been. Can you relate?
Some of the symptoms I was experiencing at the time included:
- digestive issues
- headaches
- brain fog
- disturbed sleep
- fatigue, as well as
- irritability and
- eczema
My liver was sluggish and needed my prompt attention.
How the liver detoxifies chemicals and hormones.
Furthermore, toxins affect hormone balance and your feeling of well being.
The number one lesson I learned the hard way was to connect the health of my liver to the health of my digestive tract.
It is important to focus on the health of your digestive system first.
This includes:
- the stomach,
- pancreas,
- liver,
- small intestine,
- colon,
- the gallbladder.
Start by increasing the levels of good bacteria in your colon (bifidobacteria) so the toxins will not recirculate but get excreted properly.
Chemicals and hormones get broken down via two phases of liver detoxification.
Your liver has spent many years breaking down hormones and toxins. These get excreted from your body via the feces, sweat or urine.
Phase 1 of your liver’s detox pathway depends on vitamins B12, B6, glutathione and NAC to prepare metabolites of toxins for phase 2.
Phase 2 of the liver detox makes the toxin water soluble for excreting through the bowels, kidneys and skin (your largest detox organ).
"Toxins affect hormone balance and your feeling of well being. "
luanaflacco.com
Protecting the Liver
However, antioxidants such as milk thistle, turmeric and sulforaphane are needed to protect your liver from free radical damage.
First, vitamin C is a good supplement to support your liver with heavy metal detox and is another powerful antioxidant. Always, have this vitamin stocked in the form of foods and supplements.
Secondly, milk thistle is a super herb to regenerate liver cells and is a key supplement when going through any detoxification protocol. You can find it in the form of tinctures, supplement capsule formulations or just milk thistles to make a tea.
milk thistle
orange trees
The Importance of NAC
Additionally, glutathione is a powerful antioxidant in the body which neutralizes oxidative damage.
I love to take NAC on occasion which is N-acetylcysteine. NAC is a precursor to glutathione and helps to detoxify mercury and acetaminophen from the cells through excretion in the urine.
Chlorella
One supplement that I started using every spring is chlorella. Chlorella aids in detoxing heavy metals and environmental pollutants.
This is a very effective food to use and it comes in the form of a green powder or small green tablets. Most health food stores carry this superfood.
Liver Friendly Foods
Furthermore, I learned how important cruciferous vegetables were for hormone balance such as broccoli, cauliflower, rapini, cabbage and kale.
Other liver friendly foods that help you to safely detoxify after 40 are garlic, Jerusalem artichokes, beets, onions, dandelion root, apples, grapefruit, berries, collard greens, green tea and lemons.
Probiotics
Good bacteria aka probiotics are also necessary for detoxification. Besides taking a probiotic supplement, you can also get diverse strains from foods such as kefir, sauerkraut, kimchi, miso, and yogurt. The lactic acid inhibits the bad bacteria and yeast from overgrowth.
The toxins from bad bacteria need to be eliminated. This is accomplished well by consuming antimicrobials.
Good bacteria strains reduce the amount of toxins going into the liver. And building up your own strains (residential strains) is what will help you in the long term.
sauerkraut with caraway seeds
You cannot work on liver detox health without simultaneously working on the health of your digestive tract. The better health of your digestive tract, the less toxins and problems affect the liver.
Little did I know at the time how connected my gut health was to the health of my liver’s function and my low energy problems.
The toxins from bad bacteria need to be eliminated. This is accomplished well by consuming antimicrobials.
So, what can you do? Spring time is the perfect season to lighten the load of toxins in your body. Another good time to look at your toxic load is after the summer when we tend to eat more BBQ and cold foods and drinks that may contain sugar.
The one thing you can start doing is eating more liver-friendly food listed above and giving your system a rest for a few days from heavy comfort foods and packaged products.
Part of detoxifying safely after 40 is to start increasing your water intake and colorful fruits and vegetables as well as eliminating refined sugar and the foods that contain them.
The Lymphatic System
Likewise, increasing your outdoor activity will also aid your cells in cleansing out toxins and stimulating your lymphatic system to do its job more effectively.
The job of your lymphatic system is to move out the toxins but it needs to be stimulated.
You can do this through:
- rebounding,
- dry skin brushing, or
- walking,
- jogging,
- biking
- swimming and
- hydrotherapy
I teach women over 40 in my Freedom From Fatigue Solution program how to detoxify safely.
Conclusion
In conclusion, there is a way to detoxify safely after 40.
You have accumulated years of build up in your digestive tract and your liver is constantly doing its job to eliminate chemicals and excess estrogen.
It is no wonder you feel your hormones are out of whack and you feel so tired all the time.
It’s time we change that. If you would like to start with the Ditch the Junk Challenge, you can subscribe to it above. This challenge will help you to start eating foods that are not processed and have no refined sugars.
References
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3306130/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34058235/
https://www.precisionnutrition.com/all-about-probiotics
