Healing Symptoms

Cleansing symptoms or healing symptoms can become a concern because we expect to feel amazing and full of energy from the moment we begin eating as close to our natural diet as possible.  We are putting in the daily effort, so why do we still feel awful at times? I’m supposed to feel great all the time aren’t I?

The body goes in cycles.  The ups and downs happen periodically as the body heals and cleans itself, it’s part of the wellness process and the timeframe for healing is different for everyone depending on several factors.

What are the typical, and most common cleansing symptoms that people experience when they transition over to a raw food diet?

•tiredness, lethargy

•weakness

•dizziness

•Skin dryness

•phlegm/mucus

•cold flu like symptoms

•weight drop

•kidney pain (lower back or unexplainable knee pain).

•headaches

•change in taste & smells

All of the symptoms that I listed above are completely common symptoms that indicate that the body is expelling wastes.  The body expels mucus and phlegm which works its way out of the body –  it’s a process that I’ve experienced a lot of! I had days in the past where I would wake up and small amounts of mucus would periodically come up out of my throat, I would get a bowl because I couldn’t stand by the toilet or sink and within an hour of mucus continually coming up my throat the bowl would be filled, and this occurred on a few occasions.  The body stores waste in mucus, so as the body eliminates this mucus,  toxins are also eliminated with it.

Dry skin typically occurs when acids are being eliminated through the skin. It’s a process that we must allow the body to go through.  Focus on adequate water intake, and our natural raw food diet which will help with diluting the acids and hydrating the mucus for ease of elimination.  In time the dry skin should resolve itself.

Tiredness is not uncommon, especially when we return to our natural diet or lift enough burden for the body to start cleaning itself, but the tiredness seems to freak people out because we feel vulnerable and useless when we feel weak and tired.  Most of us have busy schedules and daily obligations that don’t accommodate our need to rest.  Healing requires nerve energy.  Either our energy is being directed towards healing, or it is being used for digestion or external pursuits.  If the body is using its energy towards cleansing and healing, we often feel tired and lethargic.  In an ideal world we would take the time to rest when we feel this way.

Kidney pain is something that I personally dealt with periodically for approximately 2 years.  I believe that my past heavy pharmaceutical use contributed to the excess acids and wastes that burdened my kidneys during the  healing process and because I wasn’t aware of the importance of adequate, daily water intake, I believe I caused more strain on my kidneys that resulted in unbearable pain.  The key is to dilute the acids through adequate water intake so that they cause less strain on the kidneys.

Dizziness can be somewhat of a scary symptom.  Yet it is common, feeling dizzy causes us to feel out of control, and that feeling is something that we fear lasting longer than a few seconds.  Dizziness is caused by waste backing up in the inner ear and head area.  When wastes become backed up and the inner ear fills with fluid that fluid can interfere with the body’s normal functioning.  The body will often use the ears as exit points for waste elimination.

Our change in taste and loss of it is also a detox symptom.  Our nerves can become irritated by the acids in circulation which impedes their ability to operate normally.  People can experience loss of taste or smell, or change in tastes.

I dealt with recurring headaches for as long as I could remember, not a week would  go by where I didn’t suffer terribly for my poor choices in life.  Headaches are indicative that there are high levels of toxicity in the bloodstream which causes damage to the cells that results in pain.  Headaches are often the result of dehydration, so as Lauren Whiteman says “The solution for pollution is dilution”.  Such a simple solution and yet long ago I didn’t have that awareness. Looking back I realize that I could have minimized my suffering if only I hadn’t believed that my high fruit diet was enough to meet all of my hydration needs.  The water  helps to hydrate and dilute the acids and serves as compensation for our past unnatural choices.  The water helps to dilute the acids and wastes that periodically come into circulation for elimination by the body.  I foolishly believed that water wasn’t as important as it turned out to be.  Rehydration can stop or lessen headache pain which also assists the body to help dilute the overall toxicity throughout our system which helps to also protect our cells.

I believe that dehydrated people, those who need the water the most are often the ones that reject the water, I know because I was one of these people. I was “hydrophobic”! I suffered from an early age, I also didn’t drink very much water throughout my entire childhood and adult life.  Sometimes we reject that which can be of most assistance.  When I finally did learn about the importance of water, I could hardly drink a liter of water without great struggle, I slowly worked my way up but even today, I struggle past the 3 liter mark, but I can tell you that hydrating the body is the single most effective practice that helped me, I am so thankful for clean water!

As I mentioned, my past headaches were frequent and severe for 20 solid years (age 15-35) and my poor grandmother suffered terribly having been diagnosed with skull cancer, she also suffered with head symptoms from dizziness, ringing in the ears, tumor, and headaches.

Here’s a quote written by Lauren Whiteman 👇

“Headaches are a pretty big red flag and should be taken as a very serious warning sign.  They are not a localized issue, they are communicating that the entire body is in distress due to its waste load.    People with chronic headaches have a very high risk of cancer and should heed the warning early and get their body back to suitable operating conditions before it is too late”.- Lauren Whiteman

Timeframes for healing are different for everyone depending on several individual factors.  Times a funny thing because if you know that you’re going to become healthy eventually, is there any point in focusing on how long it will take? It is what it is, no point in stressing ourselves out about it.  When certain health issues do heal overtime, it’s not as if you can pinpoint a specific time & date that your healing occurred, it’s more of a gradual occurrence where you just realize at some point that you feel better, and that- that particular symptom is no longer, yet you can’t really say when exactly it healed, at least that’s the way it was for me.  We can go through pain and discomfort for years, and later on, it will feel like a distant memory.  So just know that you’re fortunate enough to have cut through all the misinformation, noise and confusion when it comes to needing this herb or that substance to heal because we don’t require any of it, all that is required is a commitment to a healthy life for health to result. Simplicity.

Treat yourself well, be patient with yourself and continue striving to make optimal choices for yourself, your health and vitality deserve it!

Mariah 🍊 Heal Thyself

                 Healthy Self …