Is detox a myth?

[futureboy]

I was talking about the raw diet with my coworkers the other day and they were teasing me that detox doesn't really exist, or at least in the sense that raw vegans claim it does. The longest stretch I've made at 100% raw was 30 days, and I certainly didn't experience any detox symptoms except feeling lethargic most of the time and wishing I was eating something warm.

So I guess I'm curious about both physical and emotional detox:

Physical
Most people claim that within a few days of being raw they feel more energetic, etc. I don't -- I usually feel tired. While I admit to losing an average of 0.8 lbs/day on the raw diet, I never wake up with this raw buzz that people talk about. I want to need no more than 5 hours of sleep. I want to have deep thoughts and clear thinking all the time. I must admit I do feel better on raw, but I don't feel like I could go out and win a marathon, nor do I feel like I have more energy than I know what to do with. And the cravings for carbs (bread and french fries) are terrible, but I'm holding the line.

Emotional
My primary reason for doing raw is emotional detox. I'm a firm believer that the body wants to heal itself, and I figure raw is the best way to release pent-up emotional issues. My siblings are all essentially depressed (I've talked about the depression before), so I'm hoping that by leading the charge with raw I might lead to a catharsis that would allow me to be super happy again like I was 10 years ago. I made it 30 days before, so I hope to make it 90 days now combined with daily if not twice-daily workouts to speed up this detox.


I would love to see everyone's thoughts on this. It's something I ponder frequently, and if that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow exists, and how long the rainbow is. (if the pot of gold exists and the rainbow is less than 3 months away, hell yeah)

[beppa66]

For the peeps at your office, let them try raw for 30 days, then they can give their opinion. Otherwise they can't possibly know.

I do. I have experienced transformation, detox and healing. Physically, mentally and spiritually. Here is a page from my blog. (http://www.rawfoodtalk.com/blogs/blog-12969/entry-5769/)

Keep going. It's worth it.
You are worth it.

I hope you find it inspirational.

[beppa66]

PS. Another great healing thing to try is Bikrim yoga.

[VeggieMel]

I've spent a lot of time with people who are new to raw. From my own experience and from their experience, detox is definitely not a myth. People usually feel worse before they feel better. At first they feel tired and sick. They may have flu symptoms, break out with acne or rashes, throw up or be really crabby and irritable. Detox isn't fun. But after the initial detox stage, you start to feel better, more energetic, clear headed and the skin gets better...

[sport]

I have not had any noticable detox symptoms but I put that down to the fact that I was healthy vegan and maybe not very toxic.
Neither have I noticed any great change elsewhere in my life (other than the loss of menopause symptoms) but who knows what is healing in the background.
I am in this for my future and not for the present.

[lavendarJ]

I think we all detox in our own way. The word is a germy toxic place and we are constantly inhaling (among other ways) toxins. I think that it depends on the person, your health, your body's current state of fitness and definitely your mentality (how you feel about it)...I think all of that determines the type of noticeable effects you have. Like with me and my sister, I have always believed in the healing power of herbs. I know that I feel better. I know that I have not had the flu since 1990 (Nov); I know that I have never had chicken pox, measles, any of that childhood stuff; and I also know that I by far did not eat healthy but I always believed in and used my herbs (we're talking before coming into the know about raw) and in doing certain things to promote detoxing (e.g. fasting). The thing is I don't have those amazing and dramatic experiences everyone else talks about and I'm like "aw man". My sister however, who just pretty much is eating what she wants right now, can do one of my detoxes and have to sleep on the toilet or something like that:D . She's always happy afterwards but I'm like "wow" because that never happens to me. I personally think though that the fact that she survived a domestically violent marriage for 12 years has a lot to do with why she has such big reactions...her body gets excited when reinforcements (e.g. cleansing herbs for example) come along to help remove some of the build up residuals from emotional stress. Okay, I'm chatting to much. Your post just got me to thinking.

I will tell you this. During the first few months of raw, the biggest thing was the weight loss. It seemed to fall off (about 40 pounds I think). Then I noticed other things; I was initially a little bit more tired than usual. That was the main detox for me. I still don't have that super BUZZ like some people do but hey, I know I feel good and look good and my body is happy when I'm 100%. Let's see, some other detox symptoms that I noticed was that my face went from being typically dry to oily (I must credit that too eating loads of yummy avocadoes...this is when I noticed it and when I went back down to eating about two a day, my face started balancing itself )...I guess my changes are gradual and not easily detectable but I tell you I do feel different, everyone says I look different. I really don't think you can speed it up; whatever needs to come out (emotionally) let it rip and hang on tight..mmm, a bit dramatic huh:o Sorry, I don't know...Sounds like you have a good grip on things...I say just give your self a hug, hold on and enjoy the ride. It's not a race, it's your journey.

[justinesmith]

It's true everyone is different. Detox is absolutely not a myth, it's just different for everyone. You mentioned that the longest stretch that you have been raw was for 30 days. It will take longer than 30 days to clear out decades worth of crap. Best of luck to you on your journey, I hope you find what you are looking for. :)

[StarFire]

Noooo... detox is NOT a myth...

but... detox is as individual as we are. There is no one path - no one pattern of symptoms ---

for some that are very toxic (like I was) detox can be brutal at times. For others who are younger, healthier, and had a pretty decent diet all along - detox may be minimal, less severe!

but first ... when you begin to feed your body raw vibrant foods- your body will heal anything that needs to be healed -- from deep within.... once healing has taken place - then rebuilding begins... it is an awesome process!! both physical and emotional healing... yep... it's real!

http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s43/FireStar_830/dancing-6.gif ... so tell you SAD eating friends to try it for 30 days before judging! by the end of the 30 days - more than likely they will be so blessed by the benefits they are experiencing that they will convert to a rawbie lifestyle! ;) :D

[beppa66]

Yep. That's true. I was a hard drinking, coffee loving, junk food craving, stressed & sick girl before raw. So someone who was vegan probably wouldn't have the same amounts of detox...plus psst...i'm a little older too.
Don't spread that around, ok? LOL

[sfdreams]

I didn't have much detox symptoms either (that I noticed! LOL!) Just a headache for the first three or four days, and lethargy for awhile. And other than weight loss, which was very dramatic, my benefits have all been subtle. BUT! I have noticed that I seem to have more energy, have been sleeping better, my joint pain has almost disappeared, and people at work tell me that I "glow". (I THINK that's a good thing!:D )

Before raw, I had been vegetarian for 15 years, albeit a junk food lacto-ovo vegetarian. Never thought I could give up the dairy, and I think now that giving up dairy is probably why I feel so much better.

So, no, I don't think detox is a myth, I just think we are all different, and thus all detox differently.

[hibisanpo]

I just detoxed!

When I started raw I felt... basically the same. But my previous diet included alot of raw to begin with. After a month and a half, I thought, detox, smee-tox.

But two days ago I woke up with red inflamed burning armpits! I attributed this to my Tom's deodorant...but it probably had someting to do with the glands and nodes that are located there. Then that night I spent pretty much on the toilet and had a strange red rash on my chest. I was able to sleep for a couple hours in the morning and woke up and made a green smoothie.
I felt so good... like i was floating. My body had just totally cleased itself.
i am a detox believer!

[Marcus]

I've been mostly raw since August and have noticed more energy & weight loss. I also get a runny nose & cough that lasts for a couple weeks at a time. This didn't happen to me before. There's no loss of energy (physical or mental) during this time, so I'm guessing that my body is choosing that route to clean some stuff out.

Emotionally, I had a week or two where I was highly irritable, and then I was OK. In fact, my mind has been generally calmer the last couple months, which is nice.

Yes, detox is real & sfdreams is right that we'll all experience it our own way.

Futureboy - You sound a little like me in that you want to speed up the process with twice daily workouts. I couldn't do that without burning out. I used to try to lose weight by hard diet & exercise, and I always wound up exhausted. Eating mostly raw and getting mild exercise is helping me physically and mentally more than anything else I've tried in the past.

[WannaBraw]

Detox is real my friend. I have never had eczema and it is all over my face right now. According to Gabriel Cousens, M.D. this is the body expelling toxins. So please do not listen to people who have not begun to cleanse their body of toxins from the SAD diet and daily living.

Embrace the detox. Go through it with gratitude knowing that you will not have to go through it again once your body is healed and all of the junk is kicked out of your system.

Blessings,


Ellyn

[RawHeaven]

But two days ago I woke up with red inflamed burning armpits! I attributed this to my Tom's deodorant...but it probably had someting to do with the glands and nodes that are located there.

Oh wow I just experienced the same thing a couple of weeks ago while I was on the master cleanse. I thought the burning under my arms was attributable to trying out a new brand of Tom's deodorant! Thanks for shedding some light on this. :D

In regards to the original question, my body says "Nope, detox is very much a reality, but it can certainly take on mythical proportions!" :p