Cutting-Edge News Room
What is cleansing? It is a process of eliminating toxins, internal toxins, from the body. Every day our bodies are presented with environmental toxins, including pollution, airborne viruses and substances from the foods we eat. Normally our livers help us process these pollutants, but it is impossible over time for our bodies to completely eradicate all of the poisons we are subject to.
Consider for example your home furnace. It has a filter you place in it. In the beginning the filter works fine. Over time however you must clean or replace the filter or it does not work as efficiently. Our bodies work the same way. Since we cannot replace our bodies we must periodically cleanse them. When we do not, we become sick, we fall prey to immune system illnesses or digestive illnesses. We catch colds more easily or have difficulty getting over them.
Many people do not realize a simple cleanse can help them with these problems. Some people are less likely to have trouble with toxins including individuals on raw food diets or similar diets because they do not put as much pollution in their bodies from the foods they eat.
This does not mean however that they do not need to periodically cleanse. Some simple ways to cleanse include ingesting certain herbs that help bind or chelate certain chemicals or heavy metals out of the body. Some health food stores offer herb combinations that you can buy that help your body purge toxins. Other ways to remove toxins from the body include by fasting and by mono-diets, described below.
Fasting
Fasting is an opportunity like cleansing to help detoxify the body and heal the body. For many it is also an opportunity to heal the mind or engage in a period of spiritual cleansing. People can fast for a period of 2 to 7 days or more, although this is not recommended unless someone is supervised. Not all people should fast including those with chronic health conditions unless they are supervised by a health practitioner.
Often fasts are useful for overcoming health conditions, so it may be helpful after all. Many find fasting helps boost the immune system, and decrease the side effects of many health conditions including arthritis and asthma. In many countries fasting is quite a part of daily life and religious life, and in others used to treat conditions like allergies. Fasting may help you detect certain allergies especially food allergies if you eliminate them from your diet.
To start a fast it is always best to start with light meals the day before. Many people begin with short two day fasts and work their way up to longer fasts. For many a fast consists of drinking water or diluted juices although the sugar in the juice is not traditionally a true fast, but may be useful for someone that requires more of a restricted diet than a full fast. Lemon and water may be more appropriate.
Some of the side effects of a fast may include:
- Headache
- Fatigue
- Nausea
- Anxiety
- Chills
How Often To Fast
You can fast as little or as often as you like, but you shouldn’t engage in it too often because you don’t want your body to go into starvation mode. A two day fast once four times a year will offer your body plenty of time to recharge and remove toxins. This will not place too much strain on your body. Some people refer to this as seasonal cleaning or spring cleansing. You can perform a fast once for each of the seasons for example.
The minimum fast to achieve a good result is usually 48 hours or two days. Fasting will help you look your best, avoid catching common viral illnesses as often, and will help you feel more energetic more often.
Mono-Diets
Many people have not heard of mono-diets. They are an optimal way according to some to help detoxify the body and lose weight. A mono-diet is sometimes much easier for someone that has enjoyed a raw food diet because they are used to not splurging on a bunch of processed and junk foods.
A mono-diet as the name implied means eating one food product only for a defined period of time. So, you may decide for a period of 7 days to eat just apples, bananas or pineapples.
This type of diet is not something that would be healthy for an individual to live on, because it would not provide the proper volumes of essential vitamins, minerals and nutrients to sustain life. However, for purposes of cleansing, or a pre-fast or pre-cleanse diet a mono-diet would be very appropriate.
Usually someone tries a mono-diet for just 3 days or thereabouts. This is a fine amount of time to enjoy a mono-diet especially if trying it for the first time.
Here are some ways to try the mono-diet:
- 2-3 days of vegetables of any kind eaten raw with no salt
- 2-3 days of fruits
- 2-3 days of one type of vegetable
- 2-3 days of one type of fruit
It is very important that you drink a lot of water during this time to help your body purge toxins and to help keep you hydrated. This will also stimulate your colon to relieve your bowels of any built-up toxins.
Sincerely yours,
Omid