Detoxification is about simplifying life. When we establish simplified eating, lifestyle, routines, and social connections, we improve self-regulation. Getting rid of anything unnecessary or a potential source of stress is a good starting point. Simply reducing the amount of food we eat—for example, eating one or two meals a day, not snacking in the evenings, or fasting—can create positive changes within a few days. Simplification supports the most important part of Ayurvedic detoxification: flushing digestive waste from the intestines and restoring balance using the principle of opposites. Once we achieve good gut balance, we can reverse other imbalances in diet and lifestyle.
ARE YOU TOXIC?
Health is the perceived state of well-being determined by the balance in body and mind, the way dosha and agni interact with the tissues. Once this balance is disrupted, a range of symptoms can arise. You can use the agni (digestive fire) checklist to assess your symptoms and toxicity level, and the chart regarding faulty digestive agni to identify which qualities may be in excess. If any of these symptoms persist and begin to interfere with your life, it’s time to detox. Remember, regeneration is impossible without detoxification. Toxicity is usually systemic, affecting the body and mind. We can often improve gut health and strengthen agni (fat). A clean gut environment will also positively impact organ function, circulation, brain activity, and the healthy functioning of hormones.
Looking at the characteristics of Ama, it is sticky, wet, cold, mucous, and oily.
- It causes fatigue,
- A craving for the wrong foods,
- Heaviness,
- Whole-body aches,
- Gas/bloating,
- It can cause constipation or diarrhea,
- weight gain,
- weight loss,
- bad breath,
- a thick layer on the tongue.
- Overeating,
- Heavy foods,
- Cold foods,
- Frequent snacking before the previous meal is digested,
- Eating late at night,
- Extreme emotional states,
- Irregular eating habits
- Excessive consumption of dairy products
- Processed foods
- Foods left standing after cooking
- Emotional overeating causes
- Suppressed emotions also create toxins, or AMA
- Anger: alters the flora of the gallbladder, bile duct, and small intestine.
- Anxiety and fear: alter the flora of the small intestine, causing abdominal pain, gas, and indigestion.
AMA SYMPTOMS:
What might we experience when AMA levels rise in the body? Because it has a heavy, slimy, sticky, oily, cold, and wet texture, we can notice the following by carefully observing ourselves in our bodies.
- A feeling of heaviness,
- Numbness,
- Confusion,
- Mild aches and pains,
- Joint inflammation and pain,
- Skin problems such as acne, pimples, and redness,
- Bad breath,
- Foul-smelling gas, stool, and urine.
- Loss of appetite and taste
- Indigestion
- Excessive mucus and phlegm production
- Thick coating on the tongue (brown, gray, green, white in color)
- Candida albicans fungus
- High blood sugar
- High cholesterol
