Detoxification For A Great 2021

Have you ever thought about detoxifying for your health? What’s the best way to go about it?

Detoxification is an increasingly popular word. It can mean a range of things, starting with the most common idea of getting rid of toxins in your body. In naturopathic medicine, our approach is to treat the whole person. Detoxing from the perspective of your whole self may not only include the possible toxins in your body, but also letting go of clutter and assessing potentially toxic relationships.

What if the foods you are eating are toxic for your body? What if they contain substances that hinder, rather support, your body’s systems? It might be time for a detox!

Let’s say you are eating a fast-food cheeseburger every day for lunch. You may find it delicious, though also have an instinctual sense that it is not very supportive of your health, and even feel guilty afterwards. This kind of food can be unhealthy due to a variety of reasons, including added hormones in the meat and cheese, hydrogenated cooking oils, a lack of high-quality nutrition, and self-reproach. There are various solutions for this. You can cut down on your fast food lunches to say, 3 times per week. You can practice mindfulness when eating the food to change your relationship to it. Or you can stop eating it all together.

Do you have clutter stacking up in your garage? Are your closets overflowing? Are your kitchen drawers a mess? When you think about this, or walk by the drawer in your kitchen that is crowded and disorganized, do you feel your energy decrease? Are there parts of your home that are not uplifting? If you’ve answered Yes to any of these questions, this may be an opportunity for a detox.

This doesn’t have to take a lot of time. Start by designating five minutes to clean up that drawer or closet. Set a timer. For the things you are considering getting rid of, ask yourself, Do I love this? Do I use it? If your answer is No, let it go. You may want to put your clutter into a labelled box and limit the amount of time you see it by storing it away for 6 months, and then reassess whether you need it. You could change your relationship to the clutter by reassessing the meaning you place on it. Or you could simply let it go and make room for new, wonderful things in your life.

What does it mean to detox from a relationship? IF you feel down, depressed, or less than who you know yourself to be, perhaps it’s time to reevaluate the impact or your relationships. It may be that some time away from the relationship is the right thing for you, if only for a while. This could be a family member, a friend, a coworker, or your barista. You could limit your time with this person, change your relationship to this person, or you could seek some guidance or perspective from a professional about the relationship .

Sometimes life is about focusing on ourselves. Here’s to setting ourselves up for a great 2021 by letting go of the things we don’t need to make room for the life we really want.

Chris Ballantine, ND is a resident physician at Yellowstone Naturopathic Clinic and Cancer Centers of Montana St Vincent Hospital.