Detox vs. fasting - which one should you choose?

(NaturalNews) There is a huge difference between detoxification and fasting, and yet the words tend to be used interchangeably. To detox is to facilitate the removal of toxins from the body whereas fasting is a severe restriction of calories. A fast may be a water fast where no nutrients are consumed, but the typical fast is to eliminate all solid foods while drinking a lot of fluids, including juices, to flush out the body. The Master Cleanse lemonade diet is a well-known example. The Master Cleanse does help to detoxify the body, so it is both a detox and a fast.

People often wonder if a beet juice fast, or a watermelon fast, or some other kind of fast is right for them. Be sure to do specific research for any program you try, or develop your own based on your needs.

Benefits of fasting to detoxify

• Whether it be a viral, bacterial, fungal, or a parasitic infection, not eating is the easiest way to ensure you do not feed the infection.


• Fasting quickly resets the taste buds, which can make it easier to enjoy healthy foods when the fast is over.


• Not eating for a while can reset the appetite, allowing someone to come off of the fast more able to restrain from overeating.


• Fasting can break or adjust psychological barriers with weight loss and food.


• Fasting can kick start a weight loss diet by shedding pounds quickly.


• For people with a severely compromised digestive system, juicing only, or exclusively consuming fruits that are very easy to digest, is often the best way to quickly facilitate healing.


• When taking certain tinctures and other herbal formulas, fasting can ensure that no foods or herbs are eaten that could reduce the effects of the formula.


• It is difficult for a toxic body to detoxify without supplemental support, even with a very healthy diet. Fasting can overcome this, especially when lots of fluids are consumed, flushing the body.
  
  

Benefits to detoxifying without fasting

I highly recommend eating while detoxifying. When made right, salads have amazing medicinal benefits. Try one with as many different vegetables as possible, from dandelion leaves to collard greens, and add a bunch of fresh garlic, lemon, and apple cider vinegar. Salads are the easiest way, in my experience, to digest a lot of raw garlic at once. Even if you don't care for salads, after a fast this sort of vegetable medley can be very appetizing. Check out the second source for a salad recipe.

• It's possible to sustain a detoxification regimen longer when eating, which is imperative for ridding the body of many serious health afflictions.


• Many foods are actually well known to aid the body in detoxification. Great examples are cilantro, garlic, turmeric, and cabbage.


• Vegetable, spice, and herb health benefits often have accumulative effects when eaten together.


• It's easier to get a lot of nutrition and a lot of garlic into the body.


• When the intestines are healthy, nutrition is better absorbed as food.


• Enzymes, found in fresh food, also help the body detoxify and rebuild.

It's true that the body is always expelling waste. A healthy person who has practiced eating a truly healthy diet that focuses on fresh produce and eliminates toxic food almost always eliminates more toxins than accumulated. These are the people who do detoxify every day, all day. Some assistance via supplementation, every now and then, can increase the body's ability to detoxify from environmental toxin accumulation.

Regardless, get nutrition

Restricted calorie programs don't have to restrict vitamins and minerals and other important nutrients. We recommend a good multivitamin/mineral formula regardless of whichever detox protocol you choose. Especially while fasting, a nutrition powder can significantly affect the results in a positive way.

Make sure any detox you do addresses candida (third source). If you're looking for an inexpensive, and easy detox, click here, see the first source, and see Make Your Own Nutrition Formula for a recipe, or check it out to see some of the best ingredients to look for when shopping for yours.

Sources:

http://ww.organiclifestylemagazine.com

http://ww.organiclifestylemagazine.com

http://www.organiclifestylemagazine.com

http://www.naturalnews.com

http://truthwiki.org/Vitamin_D

http://truthwiki.org/Garlic

http://truthwiki.org/Turmeric

About the author:
Allene Edwards first became interested in alternative medicine and holistic treatment modalities when she successfully used diet therapy to manage her children�s ADHD. Later when she became chronically ill with an auto-immune disease that multiple doctors could not identify, much less cure, she successfully treated both the symptoms and the cause through naturopathic treatment and nutrition. She is the Managing Editor of Organic Lifestyle Magzine and a regular contributor.