Detoxing After the Holidays

Feeling bloated, tired, snuffly, depressed and generally out of sorts? You could be experiencing the post-holiday blues. Over-eating, drinking too much, late nights and over stimulation can deplete the body and send the immune system into a downward spiral of toxic lethargy. When we over-do life for any length of time, our major organs become stressed and lose their ability to perform properly.

The build up of toxicity from holiday excessing causes the organs of assimilation and elimination to lessen their efficiency to the point where poisons begin to build in the body. Because it is winter and we naturally want to crawl into a cave and hibernate, trying to do a detoxifying diet can seem impossible. All we want to do is eat comfort foods, full of carbohydrates and sugar, and sleep. Yet it is so important to keep a healthy immune system in the winter because of the colds and flu that run rampant at this time of year. Things like vegetable soups, steamed vegetables, warm lemon water, herbal teas, and exercise all help to overcome the new year’s slump while building up the immune system.

Essential oils can also play a role in detoxifying and rejuvenating the main organs of the body. Massaging with essential oils, in a carrier oil, can increase the lymphatic system’s ability to cleanse the accumulated poisons out of the body. Baths with essential oils mixed in with mineral salts can also pull toxins out of the system. Salt scrubs with essential oils added can stimulate release of the body’s stagnant waste products, while adding essential oils to a moisturizer can revitalize the skin and help build healthy tissue. Essential oils can also be inhaled either by adding drops to hot water and the vapors inhaled, or using an aroma lamp, which also helps to cleanse the environment of germs. Keeping up the integrity of the immune and lymphatic systems can arrest colds and flu and alleviate winter depressions, allowing the body to cleanse and clear the excess toxicity from the holiday season.

Some of the essential oils that help with *detoxifying through the lymphatic system are:

  • fennel,
  • cypress,
  • garlic,
  • clary sage,
  • geranium,
  • rosemary,
  • helichrysum,
  • juniper, and
  • lemon.

Oils that ease intestinal bloating and *invigorate sluggish digestive organs are:

  • basil,
  • fennel,
  • marjoram,
  • thyme,
  • chamomile,
  • peppermint, and
  • ginger.

Tiredness and depression during these cold winter months can be buoyed up with:

  • melissa,
  • rosemary,
  • geranium,
  • elemi,
  • peppermint,
  • neroli,
  • jasmine and
  • pine.

Cold and flu symptoms can be reduced by using:

  • eucalyptus,
  • camphor,
  • sage,
  • rosemary,
  • pine and
  • tea tree.

Some oils recommended for *congestion, both digestive and respiratory, are:

  • sandalwood,
  • peppermint,
  • tea tree,
  • rosemary,
  • ginger and
  • lavender.

Oils that aid abdominal organ support and strengthening are:

  • helichrysum,
  • lemon,
  • cypress,
  • clary sage,
  • chamomile and
  • rosemary.

 

So if you are a little under-the-weather this month, a little excessed out, or just plain tired of winter already, try some essential oils to brighten up these cold, dark winter months and stay healthy!