Mikenessmonster
Raw Newbie
Hi all!
I have been eating 80% raw for the last three weeks (mostly fruits and leafy greens) during the day and a cooked vegan meal for dinner (usually baked tofu with brown rice and sauteed veggies).
I got into this way of eating due to my struggle with fibromyalgia, my weight, and general fatigue. I'm so excited I made this switch as I can already feel my energy levels climbing to places they haven't been in four years. Just for the record I am a 24 year old female. I've been experiencing some detox symptoms, and I'm just looking for some insight and validation that these will pass as they are worrisome.
My detox symptoms are:
My acne is so much worse! My skin was clear when I began detoxing, and since my face has broken out all over my chin and forehead. They are deep pimples that don't come to a head, and the same ones have been lingering for weeks!
I have a constant headache, which feels mostly like it's in my sinuses. I also have a lot of drainage down the back of my throat... my throat has been sore as well.
My chronically tight neck has become so much worse and is making my headaches worse! I'm having trouble abstaining from my ibuprofen habit. What can I do? They are keeping my up at night!
Also just general body aches in places where I have had issues in the past.
I'm also having heartburn after my cooked meal... I began taking apple cider vinegar pre meal and that seems to be helping.
How long will these symptoms last!? I feel like I've had a perpetual headache for the last two weeks! Is my cooked food dinner not allowing me to detox fast enough? I have been taking ibuprofen almost every day (cringe). I have been a smoker for the last two years and have finally gotten the patch and I'm smoking around one cigarette per day and will soon be off of them completely... I'm sure this is limiting my detox too!
What do you guys think? Thanks!!
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Answers
You may want to see a doc about the symptoms. Between quitting smoking and diet change, your body is going through many changes.
People do not realise that the skin is our largest organ of elimination and when we start to detox, there are normally all avenues of elimination used by the body to get rid of 'stuff' as quickly as possible. If your skin is clogged up, then the elimination of toxins cannot get out that way and so have to go through the normal channels liver, kidneys,gut, etc
Controversially, I suspect that years of face cream use is not a good thing for our skin, but thats only a hunch and I have no evidence for saying that. I think it might be an easier subsitute for healthy eating and good lifestyle but again, thats only a hunch and will be very unpopular with the women.
Dry skin brushing all over your body, arms, legs, back will help the skin get unclogged and get it working better and so will drinking a lot of water to aid flushing those toxins out through the kidneys, liver etc. Maybe a sauna would help too but not if you have high blood pressure or other health issues.
I went strictly macrobiotic (basically brown rice, pickles, miso, veggies) for 6 months and that caused a lot of elimination to occur too. I would say that as long as you drink enough and open up all the elimination channels, your body should be able to cope but it really depends on how badly you needed this detox ! If your body cannot get rid of everything quickly enough that it needs to, then there will be stuff trying to get out which cannot.
Since your original post was January 25 I would love to see an update.
I agree with MacGyver about the coffee enemas. They are excellent during a detox. In the past I have had to take ibuprofen for pain but have noticed that there are times that a coffee enema takes care of a headache.
I agree....unless I need emergency medical care. In that case the only person I want to see is an MD. I don't think that the practice of medicine in itself is bad. I just think that it has been abused and exploited by profiteers and the pharmaceutical industry to the point that it no longer has the trustworthiness that we really need it to have.
Wow good for you on changing your diet and eliminating cigarettes at the same time! I feel your struggle although I quit cigarettes about a year before I changed my diet to vegan and am just now transitioning gradually to more raw meals. I also have had an increase in skin breakouts since going vegan so apparently i have been detoxing slowly these last few years through the skin.
What I recently became aware of is the need to support the liver and kidneys as they are the filtering organs that do the hard work. Look into teas, supplements, or essential oils that can support these organs in particular (in addition to the intestines and skin).