Many people decide to do detoxes or cleanses periodically, particularly after times of excess like the holiday season or as a "spring clean". How should one do this? Many of us have experimented with detox kits purchased from health-food stores and noticed huge changes. Some dropped weight, and others found their skin cleared up. Some had to spend the first couple of days in the bathroom until their bodies got used to the new regimen, after which they felt fantastic. Others felt ill during the entire cleanse and remained depleted afterwards. They probably would have been better off not doing the cleanse in the first place. Our primary organs of detoxification are the liver, gall bladder, kidneys and the skin, and all in all, they do a fantastic job considering what they have to deal with in this day and age. Every one of us has PCBs, mercury, BPA, flame retardants and a whole host of other very unhealthy chemicals in our bodies that are difficult to eliminate. Because of the overwhelming number of chemicals our bodies are now exposed to on a constant basis, it is not surprising our detoxification pathways may be having trouble keeping up. So, to deal with the backlog of toxins, the body stores them in our body fat so they can't easily access sensitive areas that would be harmed by them. Stored toxins can be a reason some are unable to lose weight, as releasing them may cause illness. Toxins, whether they are heavy metals or other chemicals, or whether they are bio-toxins from bacteria, viruses, parasites and fungi, impact cell membranes, deforming their shape and distorting their function, which wreaks havoc on body systems. Heavy metals and bio-toxins dissolve in fats, easily move through cell membranes and are attracted to fatty areas of the body like the brain and nervous system. This is why many that are chronically ill from neurotoxins can be diagnosed with a large variety of ailments, such as fibromyalgia, MS, ALS, depression, Parkinson's, Autism. Toxicity can also play a role in cardiovascular disease, stroke, diabetes without family history, IBS, infertility, and Rheumatoid arthritis. I think the best approach to detoxification is 1) preventing problems through reducing exposure to toxins as much as possible 2) supporting the body's detox pathways through nutrition and lifestyle 3) detoxification protocols if necessary. 1) Reducing toxin exposure: The fewer toxins we come in contact with, the easier it is for our bodies to cope. Although we can't possibly eliminate contact with all chemicals, we can reduce our exposure significantly by being picky about our personal-care products, cleaning products, paints and enamels, and our food, as well as avoiding omega 6 vegetable oils, plastics and unnecessary medications. 2) Nutrition and Lifestyle: Most of the time along with the capsules in a detox kit comes a suggested diet. I think the change in diet is key to the success of some of these cleanses, and to encourage better function of the detox pathways as well as to avoid negative reactions, starting the diet well ahead of the capsules is probably a good idea. Consider the diet alone to be the cleanse, and see what happens. Generally we have an easier time wrapping our head around eating clean for 10 to 14 days and we can easily commit to that timeframe. A cleanse diet would see the elimination of sugar, white flour, alcohol, caffeine, processed and packaged food. Continue reading the rest of this post about further detoxification tips here. Copyright 2010 / 2013 Vreni Gurdwww.wellnesstips.ca |
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