Why detoxification is so important, and how to do it right

(NaturalNews) To many, the word detox is just one of today's buzzwords--not a means to gain health. Others think of detoxing as a form of starvation. Nothing could be further from the truth--not if you do it right.

We live in a world filled with chemicals. They are in our water, in our air, and in nearly everything we touch. Too many of us bathe and shampoo with products laced with chemicals, then use chemical laden products to shave, to smell good, to soften our skin, to treat our blemishes, and more. Our skin soaks up these chemicals every day.

We pick up parasites from our food and our surroundings that take up residence in our bodies. Our bodies store mercury, lead, and other heavy metals.

All of these foreign materials tax our body's resources and interfere with optimum health. The purpose of a detox is to cleanse the body of these foreign substances along with accumulated waste in order to optimize healthy bodily functions and healing.

We've been taught to regard our brain as the center of our universe. It would be more accurate to give this place of honor to our gut. If our gut is not working well, we do not assimilate vitamins, minerals, fats, carbohydrates or proteins. The focus of a detox is to clean up the gut first, and follow with cleaning out the storage bins (stored fat), the organs, the blood and the lymph.

Cleaning out the gut involves moving out debris while giving the body maximum nutrition that does not require the digestive system to do a lot of work. At the same time, we want to fill our gut with prebiotics, probiotics, and easy to digest foods. This is the reason detox plans ask you to eliminate animal protein (or most animal protein) during a detox. It is hard to digest.

Out with the bad, in with the good

For an optimum detox, we want to ensure our body is not overtaxed or over burdened during the process. This means focusing on easily digested foods and drinking copious amounts of clean water.

Excellent supplement formulas for cleaning out the intestinal tract will move out old waste along with parasites and other substances.

Smoothies, made with vegetables and high qaulity nutritional powders are an excellent means to flood the body with nutrients while allowing the digestive tract to rest.

Prebiotic foods (raw, organic vegetables!) help the good bacteria in the gut to thrive while probiotics also help increase their numbers.

How to help your body successfully detox

Many toxins are stored in the fat. As they are released into our bloodstream, our bodies deal with a new burden. Therefore, we must give the body a lot of fluids to help it dispose of these toxins. Spring water with lemon juice, cranberry juice, and cayenne powder sipped throughout the day is an excellent addition to your cleanse.

Hot and cold hydrotherapy gets the blood throughout the tissues. This simple, age old therapy is a huge aid to the body during detoxification. And last, but not least, we must get the lymph moving and cleaned out. Movement is a necessity, but you should take it easy during a detox and restrict your exercise to walking and rebounding. Both will help your lymph move. A lymphatic massage will also be a great aid.

Detoxing a minimum of twice a year is suggested. Whether you embark n a 3-day cleanse or go all out and cleanse for 2 weeks, your body will be grateful.

Detox with nutrition. You can make your own multivitamin/mineral powder here. Also check out How to Cure Candida and How to Kill Candida for intestinal health, which should be done with a detox. See the first two sources for more on detoxifying and check out Hot and Cold Hydrotherapy.

Sources:

http://www.organiclifestylemagazine.com

http://www.healingthebody.ca

http://truthwiki.org

http://www.naturalnews.com

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.