Alternative Medicine

Tips for Effective Body Detox

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by Sandy Halliday

Your body is assaulted everyday by a wide range of environmental toxins. They come from the food that you eat, the water you drink, the air that you breathe and from the things that you put on your skin.

Although the body has its own detox system that is constantly working for you it is likely that the level of toxins that you subject your body to is more than it can cope with. In fact many people derive great benefits from a periodic body detox.

Spring, according to the Chinese system of Medicine, is the best time to start a body detox. After the long cold winter months the warmer weather brings the new shoots of fresh spring vegetables and bitter leaves that help cleanse the liver. A new selection of lighter, more cleansing produce starts to appear in the shops.

A good body detox diet helps your body clear out those unwanted and unnecessary compounds that your body has stored away throughout your life, perhaps as a result of an unhealthy lifestyle. This cannot be done with a 24 hour detox wonder supplement or even a 7 day cleanse although these short cleanses can help break the cycle of poor eating habits.

Cleansing or body detox is a gradual process that can be accomplished over time with a good body cleansing diet that builds the principles of healthy eating into your daily routine and helps your body renew and refresh.

A great deal of research has proven that by increasing the amount of fruit and vegetables you eat every day, you can maintain the health of your body and protect against many of the common diseases we are seeing today. Degenerative diseases such as heart disease, arthritis diabetes and cancer are on the increase.

Fruit and vegetables are valuable sources of vitamins and minerals that are involved in the detoxification pathways of your body. They are also rich in a number of antioxidants which help protect against the free radicals generated by toxins.

Fruit is more cleansing than vegetables with citrus fruit being more aggressive. Take care if you have arthritis or joint problems as citrus fruit and juices are likely to aggravate it. Vegetables provide the nutrients that help repair and rebuild.

Fast TrackTips for Effective Body Detox

* Start the day with a glass of hot water with a generous squeeze of or slices of organic lemon.

* Rest the digestive system from hard to digest foods like wheat and foods that deplete vitamins and minerals from your body like alcohol, sugar and coffee. They either interfere with absorption or use your precious vitamins and minerals up in extra detoxification processes.

* Avoid all artificial substances and processed foods.

* Reduce animal produce and reduce red meat unless you know your Metabolic Type and need it.

* Drink more pure water and have at least 6 -8 glasses a day. If you don’t like water try flavoring it with lemon, lime, ginger, mint or herbal teas.

* Eat 5 - 9 portions of fresh fruit and vegetables both raw and gently cooked - the richest sources of live nutrients for great cleansing power.

* Eat organic produce where possible to avoid pesticide residues.

* Introduce more raw food if your digestive system can handle it.

* Eat more non gluten grains like wholegrain rice, millet, buckwheat and quinoa.

* Juice some fresh fruit or vegetables for their cleansing and healing power. Start with 3 x 8 oz juices a day until your body gets used to them. Increase to 6 a day for more effective cleansing. Do not mix fruit and vegetables except for apple and carrot juice and the juice of half a green apple can be added to green leaf juices to improve the flavor.

* Take a heaped tablespoon of whole or ground up flax seeds (linseeds) every day to provide fiber to keep your bowels moving to prevent reabsorption of toxins being excreted. You can also slowly, carefully and thoroughly chew a tablespoon of whole flaxseeds everyday rather than dirtying your coffee grinder.

* Take a good multistrain high potency probiotic during the cleanse and for 3 months afterwards. The bowel bacteria or flora have a complex relationship with the liver and are thought to enhance detoxification.

* Support your liver, the body’s major detox organ, with a supplement of Milk Thistle, a herb which helps detox and repair the liver.

* A body cleansing diet is not complete without cleansing the lymphatic system. Consider taking a supplements containing a combination of lymph cleansing herbs such as Cleavers, Pokeroot, Wild Indigo Root, Goldenseal or the Ayurvedic herb Triphala which cleanses the lymph through its blood and liver cleansing properties.

* Look for specialised nutritional supplements that can help support liver detoxification pathways in addition to your diet.

* Be sure to increase aerobic exercise — try brisk walking, gentle jogging away from traffic areas or rebounding on a mini trampoline. Also, it’s important to take time to practice deep-breathing exercises to help pump the lymph with fresh oxygen.

A thorough 30 day body detox diet with a continued healthy eating program with periodic cleanses is the key to long-term and efficient weight loss, living without pain and great health.

Do not attempt a full cleansing diet if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, underweight, have diabetes or other serious illness. Seek the advice of a nutritionist, herbalist, naturopathic doctor or a practitioner who has experience in body cleansing and detoxification.

For a lot more information about body detox get a brand new free report at www.thedetoxspecialist.com

(C)Sandy Halliday 2007

About the Author:

Sandy Halliday, a former nurse, is a nutritionist and health researcher with over 20 years experience with many different types of detoxification. She is passionate about the role of nutrition and detoxification for the prevention of illness and aging as well as the improvement of many health conditions. http://www.thedetoxspecialist.com http://www.superfoodpower.com

Buy the book: 7 Day Detox Miracle

Image Source: http://flickr.com/photos/mikedefiant/2367384394/

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