What if the exhaustion isn’t you—but what you’re carrying? You’re eating better. Drinking more water. Trying your best to care for your body. And still…your energy is low. The inflammation lingers. The spark feels just out of reach. Sometimes, what drains us isn’t a lack of effort—but an unseen burden. Alcohol. Pesticides. Plastics. We’ve all heard these aren’t great for us—but what do they actually do once inside the body? These hidden stressors quietly disrupt hormones, damage the gut, block detox pathways, and drain the nutrients your body needs to function and heal. Understanding the science behind their impact brings conscious awareness—and with it, the power to change. This post reveals what these everyday toxins are really doing—and how their release can begin clearing the way back to wholeness.

Every single day, your body is working quietly and powerfully to protect you. With every breath you take, every bite of food, every sip of water, your cells are assessing, sorting, and transforming what’s needed—and what must be let go. This is detoxification: your body’s innate ability to process, neutralize, and eliminate harmful substances. But in today’s world, that natural process can become overwhelmed. The air we breathe, the foods we eat, the products we put on our skin—all contribute to a growing toxic burden. A Detoxification Diet offers a way to reduce that load while nourishing your body with the nutrients it needs to restore balance and resilience.

Your body has exquisite detoxification systems—your liver, kidneys, lymph, gut, and even skin are constantly working to eliminate what you no longer need. But those systems can’t function optimally when they’re overwhelmed by sugar, alcohol, pesticides, plastics, and synthetic chemicals. Remove what burdens the body and replenish what nourishes. This is the guiding principle in functional medicine and behind the "remove and replace" phase in our 12 Gifts of Health journey this year. Month 5 is about removing dietary and environmental toxins—a sacred pause in which we clear space for healing by gently and intentionally removing the substances that burden our bodies. And at the top of that list? Refined sugar.

What you put on your body is just as important as what you put in it. Your skin is your largest organ—and it absorbs much of what you apply to it. That means your daily skincare routine can either nourish your body…or silently increase your toxic burden. Over time, this daily exposure adds up—and can interfere with hormone balance, immune function, detoxification, and more. That’s where this homemade whipped body butter comes in. It’s incredibly easy to make and will deeply nourish your skin with healing fats and pure essential oils. The base of this recipe is raw shea butter, a rich, creamy fat extracted from the nut of the African shea tree. This body butter is not only a nourishing skincare product—it’s a simple, powerful way to reduce your exposure to everyday toxins while honoring your body with something lovingly homemade.

Beets in a smoothie? Yes—and when balanced with the right ingredients, the result is surprisingly delicious. The secret is using a small raw beet to avoid overpowering the flavor. Paired with dark sweet cherries, the color is stunning and the taste is vibrant and refreshing. One sip, and you’ll feel both grounded and uplifted. This smoothie is a beautiful addition to Phase 1 of the Elimination Diet. It’s also ideal during seasonal detoxification protocols or the postpartum period, when your body benefits from extra support in clearing excess hormones and metabolic waste. What makes this smoothie so powerful? It’s filled with whole-food compounds that support phase 2 liver detoxification, soothe inflammation, and bind to toxins for safe elimination.

After the richness of holiday meals and celebratory treats, your body might be calling for a reset. If you’ve had a bit more sugar, alcohol, or indulgent food than usual, your detox pathways may be feeling the strain. Symptoms like sluggish digestion, low energy, bloating, or inflammation can be gentle signals that your system is ready for a little extra support. This vibrant detox salad is more than just a bowl of greens—it’s a therapeutic blend of plant compounds that help your body rebalance. Cruciferous vegetables like kale and cabbage are rich in sulfur-containing compounds (like glucosinolates) that activate phase 2 liver detox enzymes, while arugula and broccoli offer bitter compounds that stimulate bile flow and support fat metabolism.

This flavorful green soup uses simple ingredients to create a nourishing meal that can help support natural detoxification. It is designed for Phase 1 of our Elimination Diet, but of course is a wonderful addition to your weekly meal planning even if you are not on the elimination diet! The Elimination Diet is not a diet that tells you what is good for you and what is not. It is a process that helps you discover what foods work best for you. We are all unique. There is no one way of eating or one perfect diet that is right for everyone. Even Hippocrates noticed this well over 2000 years ago.

Sometimes when the weather cools it is easy to get into the habit of eating more dense, cooked foods. For some people this is just what they need. But for others, a balance between raw and cooked is best. We each are unique, and so should be our diets. This colorful and nutrient-dense salad provides some key ingredients to support healthy detoxification. The dressing is delicious and can be used as a dip for raw veggies or used to top your favorite salads! I've even used it to top steamed vegetables! In functional medicine, detoxification is often considered "biotransformation" because our bodies will transform harmful substances into less harmful substances and then excrete them from the body.