 Detoxification comes in many forms and refers to many different programs that cleanse the body of toxins.
Today, our environment is toxic and the foods we eat, even the air we breathe and the water we drink is laden with chemicals foreign to our system. Therefore, everyone is undergoing some type of detoxification to maintain life and health.
Although basic detoxification begins with diet, detox programs may include nutritional fortification for the liver, lungs, kidneys, bowels and blood.
We will soon see why these organs are so important in detoxification. Detoxification for the body may refer to the cleansing of the bowels, kidneys, lungs, the liver or the blood, since these are the organs involved in detoxification of chemicals and toxins from the body. The liver acts as an "in-line" filter for the removal of foreign substances and wastes from the blood. The kidneys filter wastes from the blood into the urine, while the lungs remove volatile gases as we breathe.
Website Disclaimer - for educational purposes only |
Frequent, unexplained headaches or back or joint pain, or arthritis, chronic respiratory problems, sinus problems or asthma abnormal body odor, bad breath or coated tongue, food allergies, poor digestion or chronic constipation with intestinal bloating or gas, brittle nails and hair, psoriasis, adult acne, or unexplained weight gain over 10 pounds, unusually poor memory, chronic insomnia, depression, irritability, chronic fatigue, environmental sensitivities especially to odors.
|
Liver: What it does: Its main function is to filter toxins for excretion. Blood that passes through the intestines can reach the heart and lungs only after passing through the liver.
How to detox it: detox plans for the liver can range from simple to advanced. A basic plan, for instance, includes milk thistle, dandelion (from health stores in capsule form), and a vegetarian diet with no alcohol for one to three weeks. You can repeat it every six months.
Kidneys: What they do: These are the other filtering organs that cleanse the blood of waste products. The kidneys contain millions of tiny filtering units called nephrons that separate nutrients from waste, then send waste into the urine.
How to detox them: Drink two cups of dandelion-leaf tea and one cup of nettle tea a day to flush out the kidneys and help with fluid retention. If that's too much liquid to take, stick to the dandelion-leaf tea. Take the mix for six to eight weeks, one cup twice a day.
Skin: What it does: Sweat glands carry waste products, primarily urea and ammonia, from the body to be excreted in the form of perspiration.
How to detox it: Ginger or marigold tea is a good remedy to try. Drink a cup two to three times a day for up to four weeks.
Intestines: What they do: The small intestine absorbs nutrients, leaving waste material to enter the large intestine or colon, then the rectum for elimination. The large intestine also absorbs needed water and minerals.
How to detox them: one teaspoon of psyllium husks (from health stores) mixed in 150ml of juice or water. Drink it before bed, followed by 250ml of water afterwards. Take the mix for six to eight weeks, one teaspoon once a day.
Gall Bladder: What it does: It stores bile - a fat-digesting and acid-neutralising liquid that is continually secreted by the liver.
How to detox it: Blend the juice of two grapefruits with one tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil. Drink this two to three times a week for six to eight weeks.
|
Detoxification Diets
Detoxification diets help the body to eliminate toxins in many ways. First, natural vegetarian diets include the fiber needed for stimulating good bowel eliminate. They also contain the proper amounts of vitamins that feed and nourish the bowels and the liver, as well as other eliminative organs. They also include a valuable source of enzymes since most vegetarian diets are eaten raw. The elimination of meat from the diet for a short period enhances detoxification because meat is so difficult to digest and requires many enzymes for its digestion. Therefore, vegetarian diets are cleansing diets and aid the body in elimination of toxins
Skin Cleansing
Detoxification should include some type of skin cleansing, because our skin it one of our best eliminative organs. Heavy metals are actually released through the skin's pores when we sweat. Sauna baths and steam rooms are great for removing toxins from the skin and regenerating one's health and energy. It has been documented that our skin's sweat glands when combined can perform as much detoxification as one (or both) kidneys. Therefore, it is very important to support our skin for detoxification to be maximal. If our kidneys are damaged, then helping the skin will help the kidneys ... indirectly, but effectively.
Detoxification Baths
Use 1/2 cup of baking soda or use 1/2 cup of Epsom salt or use 1/2 cup of sea salt. Soak for 15-20 minutes and then scrub the skin gently with soap on a natural fiber. Within a few minutes the water will turn murky and "dirty." The darkness to the water is heavy metals coming out of the skin (aluminum and mercury). Do this once a week during detox and once a month for maintenance.
Flora
Our bowel flora is also important for detoxification and normal health. Probiotics is the term given to the normal bowel flora, which are taken as supplements. It has been found that these normal flora actually defend our body from the pathogenic species of bacteria and perform many vital functions, such as detoxification of toxic chemicals and making valuable vitamins (mainly the B vitamins). When our normal flora are present they secrete mediators in which the pathogenic forms cannot grow. But the reverse is also true, that when the pathogenic forms take over, they will exclude the normal flora with their toxins.
Antioxidants
The use of antioxidants, like vitamins A, E, and especially C, are very essential for detoxification since they are involved with the detoxification of toxins. Antioxidants are involved with helping cells to neutralize free radicals that can cause mutations and cellular damage. As these free radicals are neutralized, the antioxidant vitamins will be used and exhibit low levels. Vitamin A and E are fat soluble and will be found in our fat tissues/stores, but vitamin C is water soluble and will be found mainly in our skin (between the cells according to Reams). Vitamin C is also involved with many other important bodily functions, like collagen formation, wound healing, energy production and fighting off colds (viruses).
Enzymes
The use of enzymes in detoxification is important, because the body needs an adequate supply of enzymes, not only for digestion, for also for detoxification.[iii] Enzymes are best obtained from fresh raw fruits and vegetables, but may be taken daily with meals as nutritional supplements of multi-digestive enzymes. Enzymes in our food helps us to digest that food, but many foods today are processed, refined, heated (cooked), radiated and stored, which destroys enzymes and leaves it non-vital.[iv] Foods with enzymes destroyed will have a longer shelf life, but will not give one health when it is eaten.
Fresh raw fruits and vegetables are the best source for enzymes and help to give one vibrant health. Enzymes are also used by the body in detoxification of toxic substances. The liver is the source of most detoxification enzymes, which it must make, or store. To aid the body in removing and eliminating wastes and toxins, enzymes are best taken in between meals. This way they do not get involved with digestion, but go to the liver and to the blood for detoxification.
Bowel Cleansing
Keeping the bowels clean and moving is a major step in regaining our health since the bowels are crucial in the elimination of toxins, especially those processed by the liver. [The liver dumps in to the bowel via the gall bladder.] This is why one hears a lot about the bowels, and bowel cleansing. In severe cases, enemas and colonics may be needed to breakup and washout long-standing bowel encrustations. Diet may do the same thing as an enema or colonic, it will just take longer. Also, one should be very diligent in repopulating after a total washout of the normal flora and probiotics will be necessary to restore that balance.
Constipation is a national pastime and slow bowels are more common today than years previous. For one thing, people not only ate better 100 years ago, they were more active and got out doors more. When the bowels slow down, toxins are not eliminated and are reabsorbed and carried back to the liver for recycling and elimination. Reabsorbed bile salts have been linked to increased cholesterol levels; therefore, cholesterol is a major indicator of constipation. Also, when the bowels get slow and toxin levels increase, the pathogenic microorganisms grow to out-number the normal flora causing dysbiosis. Although flora is needed to correct this, it is the clogged bowels that are the major problem. When the bowels move again, everything else will fall into order.
Our endocrine glands that control metabolism are also involved; since it is our thyroid that controls metabolism and metabolism affects how our bowels are functioning. In this way, constipation can be seen as a symptom of hypothyroidism. Low body temperatures (a symptom of hypothyroidism) are very common today ...although they are not "normal" ... as many authors have reported. One major factor in low body temperatures is the suppression of thyroid function by heavy metals, like mercury, which binds to our thyroid hormones and renders them inactive. Eliminate the mercury and the body temperature is likely to return to normal.
The easiest way to get the bowels moving is by using a high fiber diet consisting of fresh fruits and vegetables. Sometimes, one may add extra fiber during the day by drinking a glass of water (juice) with psyllium husk powder. The extra fiber adds to the bulk of the stool and decreases the bowel transit time, which means better toxin elimination and better health. It makes sense that if one can eliminate toxins their health will improve.
Probiotics, the supplement of the moment, can also give your intestines a boost. Look for those that contain 15 billion organisms per capsule. "Take them for four weeks, then give your system a break for one to two weeks. This is to allow your digestive system to build a conducive environment for the good bacteria to thrive in. You can continue the course for half a year.
Notice: This site has been created purely for educational purposes only. It is not our purpose to offer or render medical advice or professional services. If you feel that you have a health problem, you should seek the advice of a certified Physician or health care Practitioner. If you have information that may help us improve this site please contact us immediately. If there is information on this site that infringes on copyrighted material please advise us. The information on this site is made up of student and website visitor submissions. For more information please read the full Website Disclaimer Notice. |
