A Simple Intro To Drainage Pathways: The First Step In Detox
If you've ever wondered why some detox regimens can make you feel worse before you feel better, we have a crucial insight for you: drainage always comes before detoxification. In this post, we'll guide you through the body's drainage funnel, revealing the essential sequence in which your body eliminates toxins. Keep reading to discover why this initial step is the cornerstone of a successful and symptom-free detox.
Drainage Always Comes Before Detoxification
We get a lot of questions about how to successfully detox or cleanse, especially from harmful biotoxins, chemicals, heavy metals, and parasites. Many people don’t know how important drainage is and often find out the hard way when they start a new cleanse or detox regiment and end up feeling way worse than when they started. Detoxing as fast as possible is not the right approach. It is important to support the body’s pathways for toxin elimination first, otherwise known as opening drainage. This prevents a lot of uncomfortable symptoms and leads to more effective removal of toxins from the body.
Stagnation Leads to Illness
A simple way to understand the importance of drainage is to picture a neighborhood where every homeowner took their garbage out to be collected except the trash man never came to take any of it away. It would start to pile up and create a toxic waste problem within the neighborhood. This same thing happens in the body if you start to detox but there is nowhere for those toxins to leave the body, they start to accumulate. This increases symptoms, leads to weight gain and sensitivities, and makes toxicity worse. Another analogy we use for clogged drainage during a detox is a shaken snow globe, where the toxins stay within the body, reabsorb into the bloodstream, travel to other organs, and overwhelm you. This leads to serious damage, sensitivities, reactions, and complex illnesses like MCAS.
Related Post: Sick and Tired? A Helpful Look at MCAS and How It May Explain Your Symptoms
The Body’s Drainage Funnel
To get the most effective detox, it is important to start any detox with making sure drainage pathways are flowing before ramping up detoxing. Below is a picture of the drainage funnel, which is the order the body moves fluids to remove toxins. Cellular waste products flow into organs and tissues, then to the lymphatic system, then the liver and bile ducts, and ultimately out of the body through the colon. There are other ways to excrete toxins, such as sweating and through urine, but the focus of this article is on the main drainage pathways in the funnel.
The Colon:
The large intestine is at the bottom of the drainage funnel. If you are not pooping enough, you will become constipated and everything upstream in the funnel will become backed up too. This means that you are unable to remove wastes and toxins efficiently and the rest of the funnel upstream will become stagnant too. It is important to be pooping formed bowel movements at least 2-3 times per day before pushing forward with a detox regimen. A backed up colon is like a garbage that is never emptied, or a bathtub that never drains despite you bathing in it all the time. Toxins and waste pile up if it can’t flow out of the body via bowel movements. A stagnant colon also leads to hormonal and cholesterol imbalances.
Read more about the Colon: A Simple Intro to Drainage Pathways: The Colon
Liver and Bile Ducts:
Next in the drainage funnel are the liver and bile ducts. Continuing the analogy, this would make it the reservoir that collects waste water from the neighborhood, where it separates water and wastes so the water can be cleaned and sent back to the homes for reuse, and wastes can be taken away by the garbage truck. The liver is responsible for filtering toxins from the blood and processes them for elimination by depositing them into bile. Bile is released through bile ducts into the small intestine during digestion, where some is eliminated through stool, lowering the level of toxins in the body. Sometimes the bile ducts get blocked, inflamed, damaged, or narrowed which leads to toxins becoming stagnate and to accumulate in the liver, which can cause liver damage. Stagnancy of bile is one of the major contributors of chronic illness and is caused most often by bacteria, viruses, medications, excess estrogen, parasites, and chemical toxins. If bile isn’t flowing, toxic bile acids are released into other organs like kidneys, lungs, and skin. This is often the root of Mast Cell Activation Syndrome and Histamine Intolerance. Low thyroid hormones can also impact the flow of toxins and bile acids and can increase risk of gallstones. Supporting the liver and bile ducts makes for a smoother detoxing experience.
Read more about improving your Liver health: What Impairs Detox & How to Improve Liver Health
Lymphatic System:
Next step in the drainage funnel is the lymphatic system, which is a network of vessels, glands, and nodes that works alongside your circulatory system to fight infection and drain fluids from body tissues and into the bloodstream to be purified by the liver and spleen. Before it returns fluid to the blood, lymph nodes filter out bacteria, toxins, and viruses so that immune cells can deal with them. The primary role of the lymphatic system is to cleanse the body of external sources of toxins and internal cellular waste and damaged proteins. Lymph can become sluggish and result in tissue swelling, fluid build up & retention, cellulite, lowered immunity, respiratory problems, sinus infections, swollen glands, rashes, colds, and infections.
Related Post: The Limbic System's Impact on Mast Cells
Organs and Tissues:
Above the lymphatic system in the drainage funnel are the organs and tissues. You might not realize that the brain doesnt have a true lymphatic system, but instead has something called the glymphatic system. This system functions mostly during sleep to clear cellular wastes and fluids, but also distribute glucose, lipids, and amino acids. The glymphatic system delivers wastes to the lymphatic system for removal from the body. Signs that your brain isn’t draining well include brain fog, headaches, and memory issues.
Cells:
At the very top of the drainage funnel are cells. Using the analogy of the neighborhood, the cells are the homes that create waste to be eliminated. Common sources of toxins and cellular waste products include air pollution, heavy metals, mold, and pesticides on foods. These toxins are a leading cause of mitochondrial dysfunction, which leads to fatigue and reduced ability to detox, since it takes a lot of energy to support. Making sure the mitochondria are functioning well reduces risk of disease and gives you the energy you need to detox and eliminate toxins throughout the entire drainage funnel.
Nurturing Drainage Can Reverse Stagnation
You should not focus on detoxification of things like mold, heavy metals, and Lyme until drainage is flowing well throughout the entire funnel. It would be like setting the garbage out several days before the trash man comes to collect it in the middle of summer. It would sit, stagnate, and stink up the neighborhood. People who are constipated, with a clogged liver, and sluggish lymph cannot detox well and feel awful as a result. Stagnation within the funnel leads to dysfunction and disease, but the good news is that getting everything flowing again can reverse these uncomfortable symptoms. It often takes multiple strategies to get the entire drainage funnel to flow, which is why working with an experienced Integrative Health & MCAS Specialist can make a huge difference in the success of your detoxification efforts.
Related Posts:
A Simple Intro to Drainage Pathways: The Colon
A Simple Intro to Drainage Pathways: The Liver - Part 1
The Liver - Part 2: What Impairs Detox & How to Improve Liver Health
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by sarah southerton
Certified Integrative Health Practitioner (IHP2) & Functional Medicine Health Coach
I specialize in helping people heal chronic illnesses and achieve optimal health. After my own battle with Ehlers Danlos Syndrome (EDS), Lyme disease, Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS) and Post Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS), I was thrust into the world of alternative medicine, herbal healing, and low-tox/low-stress living. I have since restored my health and no longer suffer with debilitating symptoms and I’m passionate about help other people who are suffering, so they can feel better a lot faster than I did. Learn more about my story →
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