Drainage Pathways: the not-so-cute side of healing

One of the biggest differences between the Foundational approach and everything else out there is the emphasis on optimizing elimination and drainage funnels.

Believe me, I’ve been there, done that with a lot of different diets, protocols, and supplements. For years, I chased symptom improvement with elimination diets that were so strict that I remember breaking down in the parking lot when my husband and I were dating because I couldn’t choose which restaurant I wanted to risk triggering symptoms at. He was trying to reduce my stress by offering to take me out to eat so I wouldn’t have to cook after working 12+ hour shifts at the hospital and studying for grad school papers. I was stressed to tears because I just couldn’t bring myself to choose when I knew whatever I ate, wherever I ate, I was going to deal with migraines, eczema, upset stomach, or some combination of all three. My diet was the only control that I felt like I had over my health.

Sound familiar?

The absolutely essential and un-cute side of healing that we have to normalize is talking about your body’s drainage funnel, a.k.a. its waste removal systems.

What are drainage pathways?

Your body has 3 main ways to eliminate toxic waste: sweating, urinating, and pooping. Each of these things need to be working well BEFORE moving into any type of detox, parasite purge, or gut protocol.

Suppose you’ve never addressed drainage pathways before and you start taking supplements to support the elimination of toxic junk that your body has been storing for a long time. In that case, you could be “stirring up dust at the construction site,” causing your body to express “symptoms” that could keep you from being able to progress through your treatment. 

This is one of the biggest pieces that we've been leaving out in functional medicine (which gets a lot right, don’t get me wrong). Drainage pathways and parasites are two of the biggest takeaways that I've had from learning about foundational medicine, and neither were taught to me in my functional masters program. 

Draining, like plumbing?

What if we considered these issues like plumbing in your house? Think about an efficient drain.

If you're taking in junk that cannot get flushed, regularly and completely, what do you think happens to that plumbing? Toxic junk begins to back up, first in the bathroom, then as time goes on it's coming up the sink. Then eventually it's in the kitchen and other bathrooms, maybe even your laundry room. Before you know it, your whole house smells, you've got sinks and tubs overflowing, and you might see, smell, or even hear different things in various rooms of your house, but they're ultimately all a sign of clogged pipes that started probably with just one toilet.

You could put a sign on your door saying "keep out." You could spray Febreeze everywhere to mask the smell. You could call a plumber and tell him you've got weird sludge coming out of your bathtub. You could bag up the junk coming up out of your washing machine and take it to the garage. You could even replace the appliances that were damaged or take out some of the pipes that were just too clogged.

But none of these things, although some may help temporarily, will address the real issue, the stopped up sewage system. 

You have different “expressions” of that drainage issue in different parts of the house. Some of your interventions may help alleviate those “expressions” or symptoms for a time. But the problems ultimately won’t quit surfacing until you take care of the sewage problem at the root.

How do we support the regular elimination of the body's waste removal systems?

Most often I see people having issues with pooping and sweating. If you are one of those people who prides themselves on not sweating much, this is actually a problem! And if your doctor told you that pooping once every 3 days is fine, they were 100% WRONG. This is what I was taught this in nursing school.

If this sounds like you, YOU NEED to prioritize working on your drainage pathways, or you’re simply spinning your wheels and recirculating toxins that have no way to get out of your system.

Are you ready to jump in and start supporting your body’s natural routes of elimination? I’d love for you to check out my brand new Detox Essentials Guide, which walks you through the 5 detoxification-promoting wellness practices that I believe are essential for you to get those drainage pathways flowing! If you want to heal from the root cause and you’ve been stuck chasing symptoms, this guide is for you!