14/09/2025
Fantastic article about the importance of looking after your body.
🐟 Clean the Tank, Don’t Just Medicate the Fish
By Bianca Botha, CLT, RLD, MLDT, CDS
When you see a fish struggling in a dirty tank, the obvious solution isn’t to keep pumping medicine into the poor creature—it’s to clean the tank. Yet, when it comes to our own health, society often flips this logic on its head. We medicate symptoms, cover up discomforts, and patch problems temporarily, instead of asking the deeper question:
👉 What’s the state of my “tank”?
🌊 Your Body as the Fish Tank
Think of your body as a fish tank. The fish inside represent your organs, cells, and overall vitality. The water is your internal environment—the bloodstream, lymphatic fluid, and tissues that bathe and nourish every cell.
• If the water is clean and oxygen-rich, the fish thrive.
• If the water is stagnant and polluted, the fish struggle—no matter how much medicine you add.
💊 Theory 1: Medicate the Fish
Modern medicine is brilliant at crisis management. Broken bones, infections, and emergencies need quick fixes, and medication saves lives. But when it comes to chronic illness, the “medicate the fish” approach has limits.
• Constantly treating symptoms without changing the environment is like pouring antibiotics into a filthy tank.
• Relief may come, but the underlying toxicity, stagnation, and inflammation remain.
🧽 Theory 2: Clean the Tank
Here lies the power of a root-cause approach. Instead of only focusing on the sick fish (the symptoms), we look at the environment (your whole-body system).
How do we “clean the tank”?
• Support drainage pathways – Keep lymphatic fluid moving through gentle movement, deep breathing, and manual drainage therapies.
• Feed the system well – Anti-inflammatory, whole foods fuel healing instead of adding to the toxic load.
• Detoxify wisely – Remove environmental toxins, balance the gut, and support the liver and kidneys.
• Hydrate and oxygenate – Clean water, good sleep, and deep breaths oxygenate your “tank.”
When the tank is clean, the fish naturally heal, flourish, and thrive.
🌱 A Mindset Shift
This isn’t about rejecting medicine—it’s about changing perspective. Instead of asking, “What pill do I need to silence this symptom?” ask:
✨ “What in my environment needs cleansing, balancing, or nurturing so my body can heal itself?”
💡 The Takeaway
Your body is worth more than quick fixes. If you truly want wellness, look beyond symptom suppression. Clean the tank, care for the fish, and watch your health transform from the inside out.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always consult your healthcare provider before making changes to your health routine.
Bianca Botha, CLT, RLD, MLDT, CDS
