What Most People Get Wrong About Detox and Healing – Exclusive Interview with Jade Mackie
- Brainz Magazine
- 9 hours ago
- 8 min read
Jade Mackie believes the body is designed to heal when given the right conditions. In this interview, she shares her personal journey through chronic illness, the philosophy behind The Detox Academy, and why true detoxification is about restoring the body’s internal terrain rather than chasing symptoms.
Jade Mackie, Founder of The Detox Academy
Who is Jade Mackie?
Jade Mackie is a best-selling author and root cause healing specialist who has dedicated her career to helping people self-heal from chronic symptoms. She is the founder of The Detox Academy, an online platform that teaches a clear, step-by-step method for becoming your own self-healer, rather than relying on endless practitioners, protocols, and tests.
Jade’s work is deeply rooted in her own story. After years of battling chronic health challenges and finding little lasting relief through conventional routes, she made the decision to take healing into her own hands. Navigating the ups and downs of natural healing showed her just how confusing and fragmented the information can be. Once she recovered her health, she channelled that experience into creating a structured roadmap that simplifies the process for others and addresses the true root causes, not just the symptoms.
At home, Jade is mum to two beautiful children and lives with her husband in the countryside, where life is intentionally slower than the online world she serves. Time in nature is non-negotiable for her; walks in the fields, fresh air, and being grounded outdoors are some of the main ways she regulates her own nervous system and recharges, so she can show up clearly for her clients and audience.
Something people often find interesting about Jade is that the framework behind The Detox Academy began as her private “survival notes” during her sickest years – the patterns, experiments and insights she documented while trying to get well. Those pages eventually became the curriculum that has now helped thousands of people transform their health.
What inspired you to start The Detox Academy, and how does it stand out in the wellness industry?
The Detox Academy was born directly out of my own long, frustrating journey with chronic symptoms. I experienced first-hand how confusing it is to try to self-heal when you’re determined to get to the root cause rather than just manage symptoms. Most of what I found online was either a half-truth or one small piece of a much bigger puzzle. It left me overwhelmed, still unwell, and wondering what I was missing.
I created The Detox Academy to be the resource I wished I’d had: a clear, structured process that works with the body instead of against it, and shows people exactly how to create the conditions where the body can do what it’s designed to do – heal itself. I’ve always believed the body is highly capable when given the right environment; this programme is the practical expression of that belief.
What makes The Detox Academy stand out is its genuinely holistic, systems-based approach. Rather than chasing one suspected cause at a time, we look at how detoxification, gut health, nervous system regulation and nutrient status all interact, and we address them together in a logical order.
From this, I’ve developed a signature method designed to ignite the body’s own self-healing mechanism. Instead of endlessly chasing the next practitioner, test or “perfect” diet, we teach you how to change your internal terrain so your body can identify and resolve what’s wrong from the inside out. This is why we see results across a huge spectrum of chronic symptoms – skin, digestion, hormones, fertility, energy and more. You don’t need a different protocol for every label; you need to know how to build health so disease has nowhere to live.
The Detox Academy radically upgrades the body’s internal environment so that vibrant, resilient health can replace chronic dysfunction. And we don’t ask you to do it alone: everything happens within a supportive community and is overseen by qualified practitioners, so you’re guided safely through the roadmap from start to finish. I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve built, and even more proud of the lives it continues to change.
Can you explain what detoxification is and why it’s important for overall health?
Detoxification is not a fad or a quick fix; it’s a built-in, 24/7 process your body already runs. Your liver, kidneys, lymphatic system, colon, lungs, and skin are constantly working to transform and eliminate waste, chemicals, and metabolic byproducts so your cells can function properly.
When these organs are “serviced” regularly – the way you’d maintain a car – they cope well. When they’re overworked and undersupported, they start to struggle. That reduced function often shows up first as subtle symptoms: fatigue, dull skin, breakouts, feeling puffy, restless sleep, headaches, constipation, brain fog. These are early, gentle messages from the body that it needs help clearing its load.
Now layer on our modern reality: we’re exposed to more chemicals and pollutants in our food, water, air, skincare, cleaning products and homes than at any other time in human history. We were simply not designed to process this volume or variety of synthetic compounds every single day. Some of these substances aren’t even properly recognised by the liver, so if they can’t be converted into a safer form and excreted, the body has to store them instead – often in fatty tissue, stones, cysts or other “out of the way” places. Over time, this creates a slow buildup of toxicity and waste that can eventually tip us into chronic symptoms and disease.
Our ancestors intuitively supported detoxification as part of life: periods of fasting, using anti-parasitic and cleansing herbs, sweating regularly, seasonal eating, and simple, less processed environments. We’ve largely lost those practices while dramatically increasing our toxic exposure – and we’re now seeing the consequences in rising rates of chronic illness, especially in children (eczema, behavioural issues, learning difficulties, ADHD and more).
Supporting detoxification today means consciously helping those natural pathways do the job they were designed for: reducing incoming toxins where possible, and gently enhancing the body’s ability to process and eliminate what’s already there. If there’s one powerful step you can take for your health and your family’s health, it’s to start working with your body’s detox systems instead of ignoring them. Over time, that can translate into more energy, clearer skin, better sleep, better moods, and a far stronger foundation for long-term health.
What makes your approach to detox different from others in the industry?
Our approach to detox is fundamentally different because it is rooted in long-term healing, not quick fixes like rapid weight loss or a short-term energy boost. Many “detoxes” on the market are short, aggressive protocols that can create temporary changes at best and, in some cases, add more stress and toxicity to the body.
What we do instead is teach a very specific, sequenced order to detoxification. The order is what makes the process both safe and deeply effective.
We always begin by laying solid foundations: drinking clean, high-quality water, remineralising the body to support cellular function, eating in a way that reduces inflammation, improving sleep, and stabilising daily habits. Once those basics are in place, we support the body’s drainage pathways. For us, it is always drainage before detox.
From there, we follow a structured progression:
Colon
Kidneys
Liver
Harmful organisms
Toxic metals
The colon, kidneys and liver open and strengthen the primary routes of elimination. Only once those are functioning well do we move into parasite cleansing, first in the gut and then systemically. Many practitioners don’t know how to safely target parasites in places like the eyes, brain, and other hard-to-reach tissues, but this full-body clean-up is crucial for real transformation.
After that, we address heavy metals, and from there we can go even deeper into mould, candida, viruses and other burdens, if we feel it’s necessary. Each layer is approached in the right phase and with the right support in place.
A major issue I see in the wider industry is standalone parasite cleanses given with no preparation. When parasites are killed, they release highly toxic waste products. If the body’s drainage and detox pathways are not open and supported, those toxins – and even the dead parasites themselves – can accumulate in organs and tissues, worsening symptoms and potentially causing cellular damage.
We also recognise that parasites are part of our internal ecosystem. In balanced levels, they can actually play a role. The real problem is overgrowth, which tends to mirror the overall internal toxicity. So the true root cause is the terrain, not “the parasite” alone. Killing parasites without addressing the underlying toxicity is short-sighted and, in some cases, harmful.
In summary, our approach is different because it is structured, phased, and terrain-focused. We prioritise safety, foundations and sequence so that detoxification becomes a genuine healing process, not just another stressful protocol your body has to survive.
What are the top 3 detox tips everyone should know to improve their health immediately?
My top 3 detox tips are simple, but powerful when done consistently:
1. Reduce daily inflammation with basic food swaps.
The fastest way to support detox is not another supplement, it’s removing what keeps your body inflamed in the first place. As long as you’re constantly triggering inflammation, your system will prioritise “putting out fires” rather than deep repair and detoxification.
Start by ruthlessly cutting back on:
Refined sugar and sugary drinks
Processed foods (especially those with long ingredient lists)
Excess coffee and energy drinks
These are some of the biggest day-to-day drivers of blood sugar swings, gut irritation, and systemic inflammation. When you lower this constant background stress, your liver, gut and immune system can finally redirect energy back toward healing and clearing waste.
You’ll often notice very quick wins here: more stable energy, fewer crashes, clearer skin, less bloating. It sounds basic, but getting inflammation under control is a non-negotiable first step in any effective detox process.
2. Prioritise minerals every single day.
Most people focus on vitamins and forget minerals, yet we need minerals for almost every cellular function: energy production, nervous system regulation, hormone balance, hydration, and of course, natural detoxification.
When you’re mineral deficient, detox and hydration both suffer. The body struggles to move toxins, balance fluids, and keep organs working at full capacity.
Instead of thinking “what supplement do I need?”, ask “where am I getting my minerals from?” Some of my favourite practical ways to increase mineral intake are:
Cooking with homemade broths and stocks (using bones and/or vegetables)
Including high-quality raw or minimally processed dairy, if tolerated
Making daily fresh juices from mineral-rich plants (like celery, cucumber, herbs, leafy greens)
Over time, better mineral status often shows up as improved energy, fewer cramps, better sleep, stronger hair and nails and a more resilient response to stress. You’re giving your detox systems the raw materials they need to do their job.
3. Never go a day without a bowel movement.
This is not glamorous, but it is absolutely essential. Your bowels are one of the primary exit routes for toxins, hormones and metabolic waste. If you’re not having at least one complete bowel movement per day, you are, quite literally, holding on to what your body is trying to get rid of.
To support regular elimination:
Eat enough fibre from vegetables, fruit and some whole foods
Include healthy fats (olive oil, avocado, quality animal fats, nuts and seeds if tolerated)
Hydrate properly throughout the day, not just in one big hit
Add fermented foods if your gut tolerates them (sauerkraut, kefir, yoghurt, etc.)
Move your body daily – even walking and gentle stretching support gut motility
When bowels move well, everything upstream works more efficiently: the liver has somewhere to send its waste, bloating and discomfort often ease, and you reduce the likelihood of reabsorbing what you’re trying to excrete.
If you did nothing else but clean up the obvious inflammatory foods, consciously increase mineral-rich whole foods, and prioritise daily bowel movements, you would be giving your body three of the most powerful signals: “You are safe, you are supported, and it’s okay to let go of what you no longer need.” That’s where real detox begins.
If you’d like a full root cause healing process that’s broken down into a clear step-by-step roadmap, grab a copy of my best-selling book and I’ll walk you through it.
Read more from Jade Mackie
