Time for Body Cleansing

As the celebrations have since subsided, it is perhaps time to give the body a cleanup. It would be a good way, as well, to start the year. Detoxification is a good jump-start for a year of health ahead.

Performing regular body cleanses and detoxes – more than only at the start of the year – are a good foundation for health and healing. What exactly is a detox? Dr. Edward Group DC, NP, DACBN, DCBCN, DABFM, writing at www. globalhealingcenter.com, explains detox as “a process in which a person makes lifestyle changes to clear the body of toxins.” The lifestyle changes that Dr. Group refers to typically involve abstaining from certain harmful things and optimizing body processes. Some of the changes, Dr. Group cites, are temporary, such as following a cleansing diet, but others are permanent.

What are “toxins”? Toxins are any substance that can be poisonous or cause negative health effects, according to Dr. Group, adding that the term refers to all the metals, chemicals, pollutants, artificial food ingredients, pesticides, and poisons that cause the body harm.

Most people’s concept of toxins is limited to artificially created chemicals – but, in fact, naturally occurring substances can be toxic, too. Arsenic is an example of a natural toxin, so is cobra venom. People are in constant contact with harmful organisms and pollutants, which “are found in our water, in our food, and in the air we breathe; it’s very difficult to get away from them.” Many health issues are caused by toxins that have built up in the body over the years.

While it is practically impossible to protect oneself from all the toxins in the environment, fortunately there are ways to counteract some toxins and pollutants. The body’s natural detoxification processes exist to deal with the toxins that can’t be avoided. The body has several systems in place for removing waste..

The excretory system plays the largest role in detoxification. The most obvious job of this system is defecation and urination. The main organs that compose the excretory system are the skin, liver, lungs, large intestine, and kidneys.

The skin lets toxins out through the sweat glands. The liver filters and excretes waste, hormones, drugs, and other foreign substances. The lungs help remove carbon dioxide, the waste gas resulting from breathing. The large intestine has several important jobs. It absorbs water and remaining nutrients from food. It also converts waste into stool to be expelled from the body through defecation. The kidneys filter the blood and help remove waste from the body through urination. Even the brain flushes out toxins during sleep.

The entire body relies on this system to live a healthy life. The body is detoxifying itself all the time, around the clock, 24/7. It’s essential to take care of these organs and allow them to do their job. And, Dr. Group says, regular body cleansing can help. He

suggests ways to do it:

Eat the right foods. One of the best things one can do to support his body’s detoxification process is to lighten its load and decrease the toxins he puts in his body in the first place. Choosing organic vegetables and fruits over fast food and other processed foods is a good move. GMO products and pesticide contaminated foods add harmful toxins to the diet, so these must be avoided.

Do exercise and meditation. Exercise and meditation help maintain a healthy body. Exercising helps a person to sweat, and sweating helps release toxins through the skin; studies have found trace amounts of arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury in sweat. Meditation helps clear the mind and reduce stress. Stress can be as toxic to your health as chemicals. A troubled mind can cause the physical body to function poorly.

Be diet-conscious. Detoxifying the body is not only about what to avoid, but also about what to consume. Following a healthy diet can go a long way. There are also many foods that aid detoxification – garlic, lemon, broccoli sprouts, mung beans, and raw vegetables.

Another option is to try a raw alkaline diet. It’s a temporary cleanse consisting of uncooked fruits and vegetables and raw nuts, seeds, and sprouts. It’s a great strategy for detoxing the colon and liver. A juice diet is also helpful and is centered around consuming freshly-made fruit and vegetable juice, preferably organic.

Purify the air you breathe. Breathing clean air is another way to reduce exposure to toxins. While it’s impossible to control the whole environment, the air in the home

The rich, greasy foods during the long holiday feasts had certainly loaded the body with more things than the nutrition it needs. And there were the drinking and smoking that often go with the gatherings. All these extras would have left excess baggage in the body system – toxins. By Jean Arong

can be controlled to a good extent. Smoke, fumes, pet dander, mold, mildew, and microorganisms can make the air in your home more toxic than the air outside. A high-quality air purification device is the best way to keep your air fresh and toxin-free. If not, a few house plants will do it; they’re nature’s air fresheners that help filter the air and remove toxins.

Purify the body with

water. Water is possibly the most valuable tool for detoxifying the body. The body’s most basic functions require water. The body needs water to produce saliva, help with perspiration, and remove waste. Those people that find the taste of water boring may try adding lemon or cucumber to their drinking water.

Have a complete body

detox. This is a step-bystep process that focuses on each organ involved in ridding the body of toxins. The program should focus on removing harmful organisms, chemicals, and toxic metals while cleansing the colon, liver, and kidneys. Cleansing the colon is an important part of any full body cleansing protocol. It helps open up the main route of elimination and maximize the body’s natural ability to cleanse itself.