Feeling ‘Off’? Your Body Might Be Trying to Tell You Something

For years, I’ve had conversations with people who just feel… unwell. They aren’t sick in a way that shows up on standard tests, but they’re tired, their thinking is foggy, and they have these nagging aches. They often say, “Something just feels off,” after being told it’s probably just stress or getting older.

And while those things are definitely part of life, I’ve always been more interested in the deeper story. Is the body’s internal housekeeping system just getting overwhelmed? In my practice, we skip the vague, trendy term “toxins” and talk about something more concrete: systemic burden. Think of it as the total workload placed on your body’s amazing, built-in cleaning crew.

Your body is an absolute genius at managing waste. Every single second, your liver, kidneys, gut, and even your skin are working nonstop to filter and remove stuff that could cause trouble. But let’s be real, even the most high-tech system has its limits. When the “stuff” coming in is more than your body can handle, it starts sending out signals. This isn’t about some miracle juice cleanse; it’s a real-talk guide to understanding the signs that your natural systems are under strain, based on what we see in practice every day.

Your Internal Housekeeping Crew: A Quick Tour

Before we get into the signals, let’s quickly talk about the machinery. A lot of people mistakenly think the body is just a passive bucket that fills up with gunk. Nope. It’s an active, incredibly smart filtering system, and the liver is the undisputed manager of this whole operation.

Honestly, the best way to think about it is like taking out the trash at home.

The liver’s cleaning process happens in two main stages. Think of Phase I as gathering up all the trash in your house and putting it into garbage bags. During this phase, a special group of enzymes gets to work on substances that are fat-soluble (meaning they don’t dissolve in water). The catch? The stuff in these garbage bags is often more volatile and smelly than the original trash. They’re unstable and can cause damage if they hang around for too long.

That’s where Phase II comes in. This is the garbage truck that actually shows up to haul those leaky, smelly bags out of your house. This phase takes those reactive compounds from Phase I, neutralizes them, and packages them up so they can be easily escorted out of the body through urine or bile. If your garbage truck is running late (a sluggish Phase II), your house just fills up with stinky trash bags. Not good.

For this whole system to work, your body needs the right supplies. Phase I runs on B vitamins and antioxidants. Phase II is hungry for amino acids (from protein) and minerals like sulfur (think garlic and broccoli). If you’re low on any of these, you create a bottleneck. So when I see certain symptoms, I’m not just thinking “toxins,” I’m wondering, “Is there a traffic jam in Phase II?”

Listening to Your Body: Common Symptom Groups

In a clinical setting, we’re like detectives looking for patterns. None of these signs are definitive proof on their own, but when they show up together, they give us clues about where to look first.

1. Brain Fog & Moodiness

What it feels like: You can’t focus, your memory feels shot, you’re weirdly irritable, or you have more headaches than usual.

The inside story: Your brain has a VIP security system called the blood-brain barrier, but some things can sneak past it. For example, certain environmental compounds, like mycotoxins from mold, are notorious for causing neuroinflammation. I once worked with an accountant who was genuinely scared he had early-onset dementia. His memory was terrible, and he felt like he was living in a constant haze. All his standard tests came back normal. It turned out his office had a hidden water leak. A specialized urine test confirmed he had extremely high levels of mycotoxins. The problem wasn’t his brain; it was being bombarded. By changing his environment and supporting his body’s cleaning crew, his clarity came back. It’s a powerful reminder that brain fog isn’t always just “one of those things.”

2. Aches, Pains & Stiffness

What it feels like: You’re sore and stiff for no reason. Not the good kind of sore from a workout, but a generalized achiness in your muscles and joints.

The inside story: When the body’s systems are overburdened, it can trigger a state of low-grade, chronic inflammation. Think of it as your immune system being on a constant, low-level alert. This can make tissues feel tender and sensitive. We often see this in people whose diets are heavy on inflammatory foods (like processed sugar) or who have a lot of chemical exposure. The pain is just a messenger telling you that the immune system is fighting something. Supporting the gut and liver is often the key to calming things down.

3. Unhappy Skin

What it feels like: New or suddenly worse acne, eczema, psoriasis, rosacea, or just weird, itchy rashes that won’t go away.

The inside story: I like to call the skin the “third kidney.” When the main exit routes (liver, kidneys, gut) are backed up, the body will try to push waste out through the skin. There’s a very real connection called the gut-skin axis. For instance, I had a client with terrible chronic hives for years. Instead of just focusing on creams, we investigated her gut health. Turns out, it was a mess. We started simple, adding fermented foods like a spoonful of sauerkraut to her meals and a specific probiotic. Within a couple of months, her skin was the calmest it had been in a decade. It’s amazing what happens when you work from the inside out.

Quick Win for Today: Look at the ingredients on your daily body lotion. If you see the word “fragrance” (a sneaky term for a cocktail of chemicals), try swapping it for simple jojoba or almond oil for a week. See how your skin feels.

4. Digestive Drama

What it feels like: You’re always bloated, gassy, constipated, or dealing with bad breath that isn’t from skipping the toothbrush.

The inside story: Your gut is ground zero for detoxification. If you’re constipated, waste that was supposed to be eliminated sits around for too long, and some of it can get reabsorbed, sending it right back to the liver for processing. It’s like making your liver do the same job twice. Constant bloating and gas can be a sign that the less-friendly bacteria in your gut are having a party. It’s all connected!

5. Weird Weight Gain & Sensitivities

What it feels like: The scale won’t budge no matter how well you eat or exercise. Or you suddenly can’t stand the smell of perfume or cleaning products.

The inside story: This is a huge area of modern research. Certain environmental chemicals are known as “endocrine disruptors” because they can mess with your hormones, including the ones that control your metabolism and fat storage. The stubborn weight isn’t always about a lack of willpower; it can be about scrambled hormonal signals. And that new sensitivity to smells? It can be a clue. When the liver is working overtime, its capacity to clear other things—like the chemicals in fragrances—is reduced, making you more sensitive to them.

Practical Ways to Lighten the Load

Okay, so how do we fix this? The goal isn’t a punishing, short-term “detox.” It’s about consistently supporting your body’s natural systems. It’s a marathon, not a sprint.

First, Reduce What’s Coming In:

• Filter Your Water. This is a big one. A simple pitcher filter, like a Brita (around $20-$40), is a great start and will improve taste and reduce chlorine. An under-sink carbon filter (typically $150-$300) does a much better job with things like lead and other chemicals. The gold standard is a reverse osmosis system (costing $300-$600+), which removes nearly everything. Pick what fits your budget; anything is better than nothing!
• Clean Up Your Kitchen. Ditch the plastic food containers, especially for heating. Microwaving food in plastic is a huge no-no. Switch to glass or stainless steel. You can get a great set of glass containers for around $30 at Target or online.
• Be a Label-Reader. This goes for food and your personal care products. For food, the fewer ingredients, the better. For cosmetics and lotions, check out the EWG’s ‘Skin Deep’ database online—it’s a free tool that grades products on safety. And when it comes to produce, a great resource is the EWG’s ‘Dirty Dozen/Clean Fifteen’ list. It helps you prioritize which fruits and veggies are most important to buy organic, saving you money.

Second, Boost Your Body’s Capacity:

• Feed Your Liver. Give it the building blocks it needs! Cruciferous veggies like broccoli, cauliflower, and kale are superstars. Garlic and onions provide essential sulfur. And make sure you’re getting enough high-quality protein, which provides the amino acids for that all-important Phase II garbage truck.
• Support Your Gut. A happy gut makes everything better. Aim for a wide variety of plant foods—the pros say 30+ different types a week!—to feed your good gut bugs. A little bit of fiber from oats or psyllium husk can also help bind to waste and make sure it leaves the building.
• Sweat It Out. Regular movement gets your circulation going, and sweating is a legitimate (though secondary) exit route for some compounds. A brisk walk, a good workout, or even a session in a sauna can help.
• Guard Your Sleep. This is non-negotiable. While you’re in deep sleep, your brain runs its own cleaning cycle. Skimping on sleep is like telling the cleaning crew to take the night off.

When You Might Need a Guide

Look, the steps above are fantastic for everyone. But sometimes, you need a more targeted approach, and that’s when it’s wise to bring in a professional, like a qualified functional medicine or naturopathic practitioner.

They can help guide you with targeted supplements like milk thistle for liver support or specific probiotics for your gut. But using these without a plan can sometimes backfire. Pushing the liver to dump waste before your gut is ready to handle it can make you feel even worse (sometimes called a “healing reaction”).

A pro might also suggest specialized testing. For example, an Organic Acids Test (OAT) can give an incredible snapshot of how your body is functioning. A heads up: these tests are rarely covered by insurance and can cost between $300 and $500 out of pocket, but the insights can be priceless. And please, NEVER try to self-treat for something like heavy metals. Done wrong, it can be seriously dangerous.

The most important thing? Be kind to yourself. Your body is always working for you. By learning to listen to its signals and giving it the support it needs, you become its greatest ally.

Inspirational Gallery

To support the liver’s two-phase “housekeeping” process mentioned in the article, think about stocking your kitchen with the right tools. For Phase I, focus on cruciferous vegetables like broccoli and cauliflower, and alliums like garlic and onions. For Phase II, your body needs sulfur-rich foods like eggs and kale, and amino acids from quality protein sources like lentils or wild-caught fish.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has found that concentrations of some pollutants are often 2 to 5 times higher indoors than outdoors.

This means that something as simple as opening windows for 10-15 minutes daily or investing in a quality air purifier can significantly reduce the workload on your body’s filtration systems before you even think about diet.

Feeling sluggish and foggy? The answer might be in your water glass.

Proper hydration is fundamental for kidney function, which is a cornerstone of your body’s waste management system. When you’re dehydrated, your kidneys have to work much harder to filter blood and excrete metabolic byproducts. Aiming for half your body weight in ounces of water per day is a common guideline that gives this vital organ the support it needs to perform optimally.

• Reduces the burden of pesticides on your liver.
• Minimizes exposure to synthetic hormones often used in conventional farming.
• Increases intake of certain nutrients and antioxidants.

The secret? Choosing organic, especially for the “Dirty Dozen.” If a fully organic shop is out of budget, start by prioritizing the 12 fruits and vegetables most contaminated with pesticides, as listed by the Environmental Working Group (EWG).

Hot Sauna: This practice induces deep sweating, allowing your skin—your body’s largest organ—to help excrete certain compounds and take some pressure off the internal systems. It’s an intense, heat-driven purge.

Dry Brushing: A more gentle, daily ritual. Using a natural bristle brush on dry skin before a shower stimulates the lymphatic system, which is crucial for transporting waste to your organs of elimination. It’s less about sweat and more about flow.

Both are excellent ways to support your body’s external clearing pathways.

Beyond the liver and kidneys, your gut plays a starring role in managing your body’s overall burden. The gut-liver axis is a two-way street; a healthy gut microbiome helps process compounds before they even reach the liver. You can support this team by including:

• Prebiotic fibers: Found in foods like asparagus, bananas, and chicory root, they feed your beneficial bacteria.
• Probiotic-rich foods: Think fermented options like kefir, kimchi, or a quality yogurt like Wallaby or Siggi’s to introduce helpful microbes.

A key point often missed: not all stress is emotional. A high-sugar diet, chronic low-grade infections, and exposure to environmental chemicals from plastics or cleaning products are all physical stressors. These factors trigger inflammatory responses and demand constant attention from your body’s cleanup crew, contributing just as much to that “feeling off” as a tough week at work.

A 2022 study in the journal *Toxicology* highlighted the presence of microplastics in human blood, suggesting they can travel throughout the body.

While research is ongoing, these foreign particles represent a new and modern type of systemic burden. Reducing exposure by avoiding single-use plastics, choosing glass or stainless steel containers, and not microwaving food in plastic can be a proactive step in lightening your body’s load.

Think of sleep as your system’s nightly deep-clean cycle. During deep sleep, the brain’s glymphatic system is up to 10 times more active in clearing out metabolic waste that accumulates during waking hours. Consistently getting 7-9 hours of quality sleep is non-negotiable for preventing the buildup that leads to brain fog and fatigue.