What causes drainage pathways to become sluggish?
Now we’ve learned all about what drainage is in this prior post, but what causes drainage to become sluggish in the first place?
Now this definitely varies based on the individual, like anything when it comes to your health, but there are a few key factors that prominently lead to sluggish drainage in most people I see.
These heavy hitters that lead to sluggish drainage are:
STAGNATION- As Leonard Sweet said "stagnation is death". Although it is so common to work behind a desk all day, the more stagnant we become, the greater the decrease in overall health. Movement is key to help the optimize the flow of almost all of our drainage pathways.
NSAIDs and ANTIBIOTICS- Over the counter drugs and antibiotics can have a huge impact on overall health. While sometimes necessary in the short term, they are greatly over used and over perscribed in our society. The overuse of these drugs has been known to overburden the liver and lead to leaky gut ,which can impair the colon pathway. If we are decreasing the effectiveness of our two bottom drainage pathways, that impacts how effectively toxins are being removed from the body.
STANDARD AMERICAN DIET- Eating a diet full of processed foods, refined sugar, and refined carbohydrates often leads to decreased health and quality of life. The standard american diet has been known to be the cause of leaky gut and to impair liver function. Getting a diverse diet full of fibrous and colorful fruits and vegetables has been known to optimize overall health. Some fruits and vegetables have even been directly linked to helping certain organ functions.
STRESS- When the body is in a state of stress it elicits a cortisol spike. This cortisol response voluntarily turns off other functions (like hormone production & digestion for example) so the body can use all of it's energy to address the stressor at hand. So in order to optimize things like digestion, which is a key component of the colon drainage pathway, we must reduce chronic stressors.
HIDDEN INFECTIONS- When underlying infections go unaddressed in the body for too long they can often have an impact on our organs. These infections can cause the liver to become overburdened. When this happens, the body often improperly filters toxins which can impact their removal from our body.
Want to learn more about drainage? Download my free Ultimate Drainage Guide here!