Drainage vs. Detox - Understanding the Drainage Funnel

Detoxing has become the new “diet and exercise”, as people realize how essential deep cleaning is for the body to stay healthy. However, there is one part of detoxing that does not get talked about enough, and it happens to be the most important part – DRAINAGE. So let’s break down the difference and why you need both.

Detoxing is the process of grabbing onto all the harmful toxins, pathogens and chemicals found in the body and pulling them out. Whereas drainage refers to the different pathways in the body that support the elimination of all the toxins. As you can probably guess, drainage must come first. If the drainage pathways are not supported and are clogged, then the toxins have no way of escaping the body, and they can become more harmful and exacerbate present symptoms as they are pulled into the bloodstream with nowhere to exit.

What are the drainage pathways?

It’s helpful to look at the drainage pathways as a funnel, with the narrowest part on the bottom. The bottom part of the funnel is the most important drainage pathway, because if that’s clogged, then everything above it is going to be clogged too.

Colon

The colon is the most important part of the funnel. If the colon is backed up, so is everything else above it. While it seems normal to be constipated these days, it most definitely is a sign of dysregulation in the body. You should be having 1-2 bowel movements daily. This is the number one way your body eliminates toxins, pathogens, bacteria, hormones, etc. If you are not eliminating these toxins, they have no choice but to reabsorb back into your body.

Liver & Bile Ducts

The liver is responsible for performing over 500 functions in the body and is considered your major detoxification organ. It’s like a big vacuum filtering toxins all day long. If the liver becomes overburdened and bile ducts become stagnant, then toxins are not able to move out efficiently. Not only can this cause damage to the organ itself, but if the toxins are unable to flow down through the drainage funnel and out the colon, then the toxic bile is pushed out into the bloodstream where it can end up in other organs, such as the kidneys, lungs, and skin.

Lymphatic System

The lymphatic system is a network of vessels that drain fluids from bodily tissues, and is closely interconnected with the immune system. Think of the lymphatic system like the gutters on your roof that collect the rainwater (fluids) and transport it where it needs to go (blood). Only sometimes the gutter is full of leaves, debris, and other various things that accumulate over time (toxins). Because the lymph doesn’t pump automatically like your cardiovascular system, it has to be manually moved, or else stagnation occurs. Poor lymphatic movement can result in tissue swelling and lymph blockage from heavy metals, chemicals, bacteria, toxic byproducts, etc. that get trapped. 

Organs & Tissues

The brain has its own detoxification system, called the glymphatic system and it happens to be the key focus for drainage of organs and tissues. Through the brain’s waste clearance system, cellular and neurotoxic waste are eliminated from the body. This happens primarily while you are sleeping since the brain is busy processing information all day long. You can think of sleep as the little garbage trucks in the brain picking up any toxins so it’s empty the next day. Oftentimes, headaches, brain fog and poor memory/thinking are signs of poor brain drainage. Remember, that in order for this level of drainage to occur, all the above drainage pathways need to be open.

Cells

The top of the drainage funnel and the widest part is the cells. When referring to the cells, in particular we are looking at the mitochondria, the batteries of the body. They play a role in immune defense as well as DNA repair. You need mitochondria working well to support every step of detoxification, making mitochondria the key to truly healing from dis-ease. If the mitochondria are not working optimally or aren’t “charged up”, then your body won’t function well, you will feel awful and the toxin load will continue to build.

Now that you know the order of priority, check out the next post on lifestyle, supplement, and dietary recommendations to support each pathway of the funnel.

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