Detoxing for the New Year? 6 Detox Mistakes to Avoid.

 Blog by Tracy Southwick,

Owner & Founder of Heights of Health

Master MBSR-P, ND, HHP, CNHP, CNA, AMP

Detox is not a weekend project; it is a long-term partnership with your body’s biology, your nervous system, and your environment. When people rush or oversimplify detox, they often feel worse, not better, because toxins are mobilized but not actually eliminated. 

Mistake 1: The “Weekend Detox” Mindset 

A lifetime of environmental chemicals, chronic stress hormones, and metabolic waste products cannot be safely moved out of the body in two days. Rapid, aggressive protocols can mobilize toxins from tissues into circulation faster than your liver, kidneys, gut, and lymph can clear them, leading to headaches, fatigue, skin flares, or mood changes. 

• Think in terms of seasons and months, not days, especially if you have a history of chronic illness, stress, or chemical exposures. 
• Build daily detox habits (sleep, sweating, movement, hydration, bowel regularity) instead of relying on occasional “resets.” 
• Be mindful that your body cannot be in detox mode all the time, we naturally cycle through periods of detox and periods of build and repair.  

Mistake 2: Not Pooping Enough 

Your bowel movements are one of the primary exit routes for hormones, bile-bound toxins, and metabolic waste. If you are constipated, those compounds sit longer in the colon, where they can be reabsorbed into the bloodstream and recirculate. 

• Constipation is commonly linked to too little fiber, not enough water, low movement, certain medications, and nervous system imbalance. 
• Aim for soft, formed stools at least twice daily so the body can consistently move out what the liver has already processed. 

Mistake 3: Low Water and Low Fiber 

Water and fiber are like the conveyor belt and broom of your detox system—they move things along. Without them, bile acids, cholesterol metabolites, and other waste products linger in the gut and can be reabsorbed. 

• Inadequate fluid intake is a leading lifestyle cause of constipation, making detox attempts sluggish and uncomfortable. 
• Insufficient dietary fiber from plants means less bulk in the stool and less binding of toxins, which the body would otherwise prefer to escort safely out. 

Mistake 4: Ignoring a Dysregulated Nervous System 

Your autonomic nervous system decides whether your body is in “fight-or-flight” or “rest-and-digest,” and that directly affects gut motility. When you stay stuck in sympathetic overdrive, blood flow and signaling to the digestive tract decrease, often leading to constipation and incomplete evacuation. 

• A chronically elevated stress response can block bowel movements even if fiber and water are adequate, making detox frustratingly ineffective. 
• Practices that support a more regulated nervous system—breathwork, gentle movement, sleep hygiene, and downshifting throughout the day—help restore the rest and digest state your detox organs rely on. 
• Take our FREE Nervous System Assessment to see if you need to get regulated before you detox. 

Mistake 5: Continuing the Same Toxic Exposures 

Trying to detox while maintaining the same toxic inputs is like bailing water out of a sinking boat without fixing the leak. Persistent exposures—such as ultra-processed foods, alcohol, smoking, certain personal care and cleaning products, and “forever chemicals” like PFAS—continually refill the body’s toxic load. 

• Reducing exposures (water quality, air quality, food quality, and product choices) lowers the burden on the liver, kidneys, and gut so they can catch up on backlog. 
• Even small upgrades—cleaner household products, filtered water, fewer plastics—compound over time and make every other detox effort more effective. 
• The Environmental Working Group is a great resource for uncovering hidden toxins in your environment,  

Mistake 6: Not Knowing Your Genetics (MTHFR & More) 

Detox is not one-size-fits-all; genes like MTHFR, GST, NQO1, and others influence how efficiently you methylate, conjugate, and clear toxins. Variants in MTHFR, for example, can alter how well you convert folate into its active form, which is central to methylation and thus to detoxification, hormone metabolism, and cellular repair. 

• People with MTHFR or other detox-related variants may be more sensitive to environmental exposures and may need specific nutrient forms and doses to support their pathways. 
• Nutrigenomics testing can clarify how your own genes handle detox, inflammation, and nutrient metabolism so your plan is personalized instead of generic guesswork. 

How Nutrigenomics Testing Can Help You Detox Smarter 

Nutrigenomics testing analyzes how your unique genetic profile interacts with nutrients and environmental inputs, including detox-related pathways. It can reveal whether genes involved in methylation, antioxidant defense, and toxin processing need extra nutritional support so that your detoxification systems can work more smoothly. 

• With our nutrigenomics testing, you receive a customized roadmap that translates your genes into practical strategies: targeted nutrients, lifestyle priorities, and specific supports for pathways like MTHFR and other detox genes. 
• Instead of following generic detox programs, you can work with your own biology—supporting what your body does well and shoring up weak spots—so detox becomes sustainable, effective, and truly tailored to you. 

Call or Text our office to set up Nutrigenomic testing (full report is included in pricing) at 713-861-6777.