Organic Buying Club of So. Fla.

Cleansing: Gateway to Health And Vitality

By Nadine Tanis and Jayne Rosenbaum
Detoxification/cleansing is essential to good health. It involves dietary and lifestyle
changes that reduce the toxic loads that are contributing to the sluggishness of our
organs, glands and the systems of the body (digestive, nervous, immune, etc). There
are many ways and reasons why detoxing/cleansing is important for our well being.
Christ, Paramahansa Yogananda, and many other religious figures and teachers have
advocated fasting for health and spiritual renewal. It has been advocated by many as a
way to move our energy from our lower centers of digestion and elimination up into our
higher centers of consciousness. A cleansing program should begin in the colon, the last
portion of the digestive system. The colon’s job is to compact digested food, absorb
water, and absorb B-vitamins that are produced by healthy intestinal bacteria. Of course
detoxification should not be limited to the colon. It is just as important to detoxify the
liver, kidneys, arteries, and in general, every cell in the body. But internal cleansing must
start with the colon, because if this region is not kept clean, it will contaminate every
other part of the system.
Many herbs support detoxification. Garlic is a blood cleanser, lowers blood fats and is a
natural antibiotic. Echinacea, a lymph cleanser, improves lymphocyte and phagocyte
actions. Dandelion root, a liver and blood cleanser and a diuretic, filters toxins. Ginger
root stimulates circulation and increases perspiration. Goldenseal cleanses the blood,
liver, kidney and skin. Water consumption is essential during any type of detox program
to help flush the system safely of toxic wastes. It is the most important detoxifier. It helps
cleanse us through our skin and kidneys. Eight to 10 glasses a day (depending on our
size and activity level) of water are recommended. Drink water 15 minutes before each
meal and again in the evening to help flush toxins during our body’s natural elimination
time.
Our body handles toxins by neutralizing, transforming, or eliminating them. Antioxidants
like alfalfa, barley grass, wheat germ oil as well as walnuts, broccoli, kale, mushrooms,
garlic and onions neutralize free-radical molecules. The liver helps transform many toxic
substances into harmless agents, while the blood carries wastes to the kidneys; the liver
also dumps wastes through the bile into the intestines, where much waste is eliminated.
Skin cleansing is essential to the detox/cleanse process since it is imperative that we
wash our skin of the toxins that are released and to open our pores to facilitate toxin
elimination. Saunas and steam rooms are commonly used to help purify the body
through enhanced skin elimination. Another effective way to eliminate toxin from the skin
is dry brushing. Brushing the skin with a stiff, natural skin brush before bathing is
especially recommended during detox, to cleanse the skin of old cells and to invigorate
it. Also useful are massage therapy and exercise because they stimulate the lymphatic
system to get rid of toxins. They promote relaxation, resulting in a more complete
detoxification. An important added benefit to internal cleansing that most people
experience is weight loss. With a sluggish, toxic digestive system, metabolism slows
down, the energy level drops and we’re simply not strong enough to start burning off
stored fat through exercise or other means. An internal cleansing program can help
restore balance to the body and increase the metabolism, reactivating our fat-burning
mechanism. After a thorough detoxification program, you’ll find yourself much more
inclined to make healthier dietary and lifestyle choices. Other added benefits of an
effective detoxification program are: the prevention of illness, an improvement in
physical appearance, a boost in emotional well being, a sharpening of mental
capabilities, spiritual renewal, etc… It is important to remember that a detoxification
program is much more than elimination. The actual cleanse phase should be followed by
rebuilding healthy tissue. So after a detoxification/cleansing period, eat only fresh and
simply prepared foods for a while. Your diet should be a very non-toxic diet. If you do
this regularly, we will have less need for cleansing in the future. A non-toxic diet consists
of eating organic foods; drinking clean filtered water and eating a natural/seasonal
cuisine. This includes fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts and seeds. For
those who consume dairy and meat, some dairy products (raw whenever possible),
fresh fish (not shellfish), grass-fed meat and pastured-raised poultry are recommended.
Cooking should be done in iron, stainless steel, glass, or porcelain utensils. Avoid or
minimize the consumption of cured meats, refined foods, canned foods, sugar, salt,
saturated fats, coffee, alcohol and nicotine. You will know your body is detoxifying if you
experience a short period of headaches, fatigue, body odor, bad breath, diarrhea or
mouth sores. However, digestion usually improves right away as do many glands and
nerve functions. It is wise to begin a detoxification program – or for that matter, any new
diet or lifestyle changes – with a few days at home. Most of us can maintain a regular
work schedule during a cleanse (we may, in fact, be more productive), but it may be
easier to begin a program on a Friday, as the first few days of detoxification are usually
the hardest. Beware of over-elimination or overdetoxification – some people go to
extremes during detoxification, cleansing, or fasting by excessive use of laxatives,
enemas, colonics, diuretics and even exercise. This leads to loss of essential nutrients
from their body. A negative balance can be created in this manner, such as protein or
vitamin-mineral deficiencies, though congestion from over-intake and under-elimination
is a more common problem.
Cleansing is a means to address the systems of the body while focusing on the
reduction of the toxic loads that are contributing to the sluggishness of that organ, gland,
or system. A cleanse does not treat any medical condition; however a cleaner body
should experience a change in, alleviation of, or improvement in symptoms of a disease.
The importance of internal cleansing can best be summed up in the words of Dr. Paul
Bragg, one of the “fathers” of natural medicine in the U.S.: “The secret to great health
can be described in three words: Cleanse Your Body!”