There are several effective detox methods that you can use to improve your detox and prevent a fungus die-off reaction. You can use these in addition to the supplements listed above. We would recommend using a combination of the two. Again, these therapies can be used throughout your recovery.
Contrast Showers
Contrast showers are a very simple yet helpful technique that can augment your body’s detoxing capability. This is a technique whereby you purposefully cycle the temperature of your shower between warm and cold (typically timed in a 3:1 ratio) to encourage improved circulation. The temperature changes cause blood vessels to constrict and dilate, aiding lymphatic flow and optimizing detox pathways like the bowels and skin.
Here’s an example of how to do contrast showers. If you plan on spending 8 minutes in the shower, you would do 90 seconds warm and then 30 seconds cold, and then repeat for a total of 4 cycles. You don’t have to be exact in your timings -just approximate.
Although you don’t want your shower to be painfully hot or cold, a greater temperature differential will have a more beneficial effect. Experiment with what you can handle and note how you feel afterward. As always, listen to your body!
Sauna
Taking saunas throughout your detox will improve your circulation and assist your body in its task of toxin elimination. This is especially the case with infrared saunas if you are able to access one. Infrared saunas differ from traditional saunas in that they use infrared rays to penetrate more deeply into the skin and tissues.
This allows toxins to be dislodged from fat tissue and deep dermal tissues more readily than in traditional dry saunas. Because of this mechanism, infrared saunas do not need to be quite as hot as traditional dry saunas, which is great for those who are sensitive to heat and who may be prone to dizziness or fainting in traditional saunas. Infrared saunas are sometimes found at physician offices or health spas, so if you do an internet search in your local area you should be able to find one.
Infrared saunas are relatively affordable, so some individuals decide to invest in one for the long-term. In addition to toxin elimination, they are also helpful for weight loss, immune function, circulatory problems, and more.
You need good blood circulation to ensure the proper functioning of your liver and kidneys, which in turn assist you in eliminating efficiently. If these organs are not functioning properly, your body will be unable to process and remove many of the toxins from your bloodstream. Better circulation also improves the oxygenation of your cells and tissues, supporting more efficient purification of your blood.
If you cannot find an accessible infrared sauna and are unable to afford one, traditional dry saunas will still help, just not as dramatically as infrared. Note that if you have any medical conditions that might be triggered or worsened by saunas, you should consider speaking to your health professional first.
Saunas also help in the way that they affect your skin (which is actually the largest organ in your body). Sweating is the pathway that approximately 15% of toxins take when they are expelled from your body. It’s simple – if you sweat more, you will expel more toxins!
As little as 15 minutes in the sauna per day will open up your pores, assist toxin elimination, and reduce your fungus symptoms. Longer sessions can have even greater results. Just remember to avoid eating heavy meals for an hour beforehand, drink at least one glass of water, and wear light clothing or just a towel. Once you’ve finished, taking a cool shower after your sauna is a great way to wash away the sweat and toxins that have been released. The temperature change from the hot sauna to the cool water supports better circulation, exactly the same principle upon which contrast showers are also based.
Dry Skin Brushing
Skin brushing goes wonderfully well with contrast showers. In fact, we would recommend you do your skin brushing before you do your alternating shower to get the greatest benefit.
How does dry skin brushing work? It’s pretty simple. Purchase a soft bristle brush and, before you get into your shower, start by gently making circular movements across your skin. Always start at your extremities (i.e., your feet and hands) and move towards the heart. See the diagram below for the brush strokes that you should use.
Skin brushing will stimulate lymphatic flow, which again supports a more efficient clearance of toxins. Lymph is stimulated by gentle touch and pressure, so be careful in that you are not ‘scrubbing’ the skin but rather lightly caressing its surface as you move closer to the heart in your circular motions. Once you have covered the whole body in circular motions, you can start your contrast shower!
Oil Pulling
Oil pulling is a very traditional toxin removal method that has been used for centuries. Anecdotally, many fungus sufferers have found it to be a useful addition to their detox routine. All you do is find some coconut oil or extra virgin olive oil, swish it around it your mouth for 5-10 minutes, then spit it out. The theory goes that this both kills any oral fungus that you may have and ‘pulls’ out fat-soluble toxins from the rest of your body too (oils are, of course, fats themselves). This is a surprisingly effective treatment if you suffer from oral fungus infections. Best of all, it’s a treatment that you can do at home at your own convenience.
Light Exercise
Any type of exercise is usually great for your health, but fungus sufferers need to make sure that they are doing the right kind. A fungal infestation can leave your immune system under very great stress, and often leads to adrenal fatigue. Specifically, those with feminine fungal issues and/or adrenal fatigue need to avoid really strenuous exercise, particularly cardiovascular exercise. Although it might make you feel better in the short term, it will stress your adrenals further and worsen your symptoms in the long run.
Cardiovascular exercises particularly stress the mitochondria (the energy-making ‘power plants’ in your cells) which have to pump out a lot of energy during your exercise. In adrenal fatigue, the mitochondria have typically been considerably impaired and damaged due to stressors, toxins, nutrient depletion, and more. Doing anything that puts greater demands on them should be avoided as you try to give your body a ‘break’ and time to purge, heal, and replenish. Instead, consider exercises like light weights or resistance training, stretching, gentle pilates, yoga, walking, or cycling. These exercises will improve the circulation of your lymphatic system; enabling your body to push out those toxic fungus byproducts more quickly. You’ll feel great without putting your internal organs and mitochondria under too much stress.
Another alternative is ‘rebounding’ -a very simple technique that improves circulation and toxin clearance in the body. Rebounding is simply using a ‘mini-trampoline’ and bouncing up and down to encourage the elimination of toxins through lymphatic channels to the bowels and skin. This can be very gentle or more vigorous, depending on your balance, strength, and fitness level. However, even gentle bouncing where your feet don’t leave the rebounder surface can still be therapeutically helpful. Just 5 to 10 minutes, once or twice daily, can have a considerable, beneficial impact in detoxing for you. It is also a very good form of light exercise for those who are particularly tired or low in energy.
Be careful not to exercise too much, especially when it comes to cardiovascular exercise. So, that means no Cross Fit, no intense interval training, and no long-distance running! Straining your body aerobically can stress your adrenals, put high demands on your damaged cells to produce a lot of energy (which they’re not ready for at this point), and can weaken your immune system, leaving you vulnerable to fungus and other pathogens. Some exercise is good, but too much can definitely be bad. Don’t go too intense, especially with aerobic forms of exercise. Weight training and other exercises such as those listed above are safer as they don’t place such great demands on the production of energy via respiration. As a general rule, exercise should leave you energized, not exhausted.
Deep Breathing
One common denominator to therapies like yoga, tai chi, qi gong, and meditation is the close attention paid to the way we breathe. There is a very important reason for this, particularly in the context of fatigue and chronic illness. The physiological processes involved in the act of breathing form a connection between the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems. When we use the right techniques, this gives us a way to consciously regulate and balance these two arms of the ‘autonomic system’ for better regeneration and improved vitality. By reducing the stress on your body, you give it the best chance of detoxifying efficiently.
Breathing is one of those activities that can be controlled either consciously or unconsciously. Both our autonomic (unconscious) nervous system and our somatic (conscious) nervous system can engage with breathing, enabling us to exert influence over-breathing should we consciously choose to do so. chronic health conditions and fatigue are often linked to the overstimulation (and subsequent exhaustion) of the sympathetic nervous system, responsible for ‘fight or flight’ responses. Type A individuals tend to be much more prone to this, as being high-strung, aggressive and driven can wear out this aspect of the nervous system much more readily than those who are more laid-back and relaxed (type B).
Breathing allows us to reduce SNS activation and tone, and at the same time enhance PNS activity. Slow, controlled and regular breathing allows for a slower heartbeat and lower blood pressure and furthermore contributes to a general sense of calm. Studies of regular meditation and slow meditative breathing show considerable changes to circulatory patterns, brain waves, and even immune responses that are sustained over time, again improving PNS activity and our ability to regenerate.
Using the appropriate breathing exercises to support adrenal restoration can result in a number of benefits:
- Enhanced parasympathetic control and tone
- Improved lymphatic circulation, supporting better clearance of metabolic and environmental toxins
- Improved tissue oxygen saturation
- Improved musculoskeletal tone
- Improved balance between different arms of the ANS -i.e. the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems
A Simple Deep Breathing Exercise
A complete list of helpful breathing exercises would be extremely long. If you are looking for somewhere to begin, here is a simple and effective exercise to start:
- Lie down on your back on a comfortable surface. Ensure that your arms are slightly away from your body with palms facing upwards. Your legs should be uncrossed and your feet at shoulder-width apart. Your clothes should feel loose and comfortable and you should feel your body weight settling into the floor comfortably and fully. For those who have difficulty lying down, this exercise can also be done in a sitting position, which may be preferable if you are especially weak or exhausted. Typically as one gets stronger, lying flat or even standing is easier and more advisable.
- . Allow your eyes to close and your tongue to relax to the back of your mouth without obstructing your breathing. Ensure that your spine is straight and your shoulders are relaxed back and dropped.
- Exhale a breath completely through your mouth.
- Close your mouth and inhale quietly through your nose to about half-capacity (i.e.,50%). This should be done in a smooth, steady fashion while counting to four. At the end of the inhalation, you should breathe out naturally through your nose, without effort or force.
- As you begin to do this rhythmic, relaxed exercise, imagine that the air is entering your body through your left nostril and exiting through your right nostril. Your stomach area should be expanding naturally outward as you inhale. You can check that this is happening by simply placing your hands on your stomach, and seeing the way that they rise along with your expanding belly area. Imagine that your body is filling up with nourishing, oxygenating air from your feet up to your head. Pay attention as the air goes in and out of your nostrils, in through the left and out through the right, and don’t try and force any extra exhalation.
During this process, your abdominal muscles should be relaxed and free to engage with this natural breathing exercise. You will notice that your chest wall does not need to or will move much at all if done correctly. Inhalation requires the muscular engagement of the diaphragm, but exhalations are actually effortless as the elastic nature of the lungs pulls them back to a smaller size and releases the air.
There is no need to hold the breath at any point in this exercise. You should allow the inhalations and exhalations to happen at a natural, relaxed pace. Often times, the exhalation will last a little longer than the inhalation did {which should have been 4 counts or approximately 5 seconds).
You should complete 8 ‘cycles’ of this breathing exercise, taking a few minutes at most. This is all that is required to start shifting your body’s focus from SNS to PNS activity.
Notes On This Breathing Exercise
The beneficial effects of this exercise will grow over time. For those who are severely fatigued, it may take a number of weeks before significant benefits and changes feel apparent.
As you feel more relaxed and stronger, you may try increasing the volume of breath from 50% to 80%. Some individuals may feel comfortable doing this almost immediately, but others may require more time.