Change of seasons is a good time for reconstruction and renovation. As winter comes to its end, you should consider a detoxification program for your body. This will help the body not only to remove toxins accumulated during cold winter months, but also to shed pounds and prepare the immune system for the coming spring when many allergy sufferers are affected by the pollen released from the plants coming back to life.
When life throws you lemons... make a detox lemonade
You might already have your own detoxification routine, but if this is your first time, take special care not to be too harsh to your body. Do your detox as gently as possible in order to avoid the so called healing crisis. The healing crisis occurs when the body is detoxifying too rapidly and toxins are released faster than the body can eliminate them. Nausea, headache, vomiting and overall malaise are the most common symptoms. To avoid such reactions you should prepare your body for your detox program. More about it later.
In our daily life we are exposed to thousands of man-made chemicals and the number is on the rise. Our environment, our food and water supplies are flooded with damaging compounds that negatively affect our bodily functions, suppress our immune system and disrupt our hormonal balance. Most health problems are related either directly or indirectly to toxicity and hyper-acidity of the body. The food we eat and the water we drink regularly may not be supplying our bodies with alkalizing nutrients necessary for detoxification. The body, unable to process and detoxify all the noxious substances, is storing them in our fat tissue. Often, weight gain is the result.
Detoxification begins with nutrition. Now is the time to scrutinize your eating habits. To avoid the healing crisis you should gradually remove sugar, caffeine and alcohol from your diet, as well as all the unnatural and processed foods that contain additives and preservatives. Choose organic produce whenever you can and add more fresh fruit and vegetables to you diet. Especially when consumed raw, fruit and vegetables contain vitamins, alkalizing minerals, and enzymes necessary for the proper function of all bodily systems, as well as fiber necessary for the stimulation of the bowel elimination. Regular bowel movement is important and necessary for the elimination of toxins via the digestive tract. Depending on your condition you may want to consider a colon cleansing program that includes colonic water irrigation sessions performed under the supervision of a qualified therapist.
When you introduce alkalizing foods into your menu and remove everything that harms you, your body will initiate a detoxification process. You may want to test your body pH every day to see the changes. Such test can easily be performed with special pH stripes. Samples of urine and saliva can be tested twice daily. Body pH fluctuates during the day. The healthy pH ranges fall between 6.8 and 7.4. Once you achieved the optimal alkalinity of your body, you may want to begin your detoxification. The entire detox program may take three to four weeks depending on your condition. You may want to replace solid foods with freshly made fruit and vegetable juices to speed the elimination of toxins from the body.
To help the kidneys function properly, increase your water consumption. Drink 10 - 12 glasses of purified water. Start your day with the Master Cleanse: a glass of warm water mixed with the juice of half organic lemon, one teaspoon of organic maple syrup and a quarter teaspoon of cayenne pepper. This will activate your liver's detoxifying function and help alkalize your body. Herbal infusions made of detoxifying herbs such as dandelion, ginger, goldenseal root, peppermint, and sage, will further activate and support the body's detoxifying processes.
During your spring detox program you should eliminate as much medication as possible and only take what is absolutely necessary for your condition. You may consider taking natural supplements to support and stimulate your body's detoxifying processes. Because the liver is your most important detoxifying organ, you may want to take liver supporting supplements during your spring detox. Amino acids such as L-cysteine, L-methionine, and L-glycine taken together with zinc, selenium, and the vitamins B3, B6, C, and E, are best suited to activate the production of glutathione which is an important component of vital detoxifying enzymes.
While on a detox program, it is also vital that you examined what you are putting on your skin. Unless certified organic, most personal care products contain dozens of harmful, often cancer-causing chemicals. Check the labels carefully and discard everything that may cause more harm than good. If unsure, visit Skin Deep Website to find out how safe the products you are using really are. There are also excellent organic household cleaning products and detergents that will help you reduce your exposure to harmful chemicals in your own home.
Skin brushing, sauna, steam baths, alternate hot and cold showers will help your blood circulation. To get your lymph moving some form of exercise is necessary. Refrain from heavy workout during your detox program. Try yoga, Tai Qi Chuan, Qi Gong, or walking, instead. Jumping on a mini trampoline is considered to be the best lymph flow stimulating exercise. Be gentle to your body during the detox program as it is working hard to remove and eliminate the toxins that were stored in the tissues for too long.
To support the detoxification process and help eliminate the healing crisis, you may want to use the foot detox patches. This is an excellent non-invasive product that removes toxins from your body while you sleep. It is a well known detoxification product in Asia, especially popular in Japan. Based on the ancient poultice formulas, foot patches combine ancient knowledge with modern research. The product stimulates blood circulation and the lymph flow and draws the toxins out of the body. In order to show some considerable effects, the patches should be used every night, on both feet for the course of three to four weeks.
Remember to relax and get adequate amount of sleep. Detoxify your mind from all the negativity and stress. Stress is one of the most misunderstood toxic factors. An unnatural tension that is present in the body over extended periods of time has negative side effects like hyper-acidity and toxic colon, that are felt throughout the entire system. Proper relaxation is necessary for your body to perform the detoxifying action. The importance of sleep during your detox program cannot be underestimated as all body systems regenerate while you sleep. Detoxification program is a great opportunity to detoxify your emotions. Anger, hatred, and jealousy are destructive emotions that negatively affect your body pH. Meditation, personal journal, or if necessary, a psychotherapy, may help you find emotional balance and deal with difficult emotions.
Good health is attainable and it is within your rich, but you have to commit yourself to supporting your own body and make some lifestyle changes. Detoxifying and cleansing your body from inside out on regular bases, at least twice a year, will help you rejuvenate and eliminate many ailments. You will also be able to lose weight if you need to. The results can be seen almost immediately: increased energy, improved cognitive function, strong immune system. You will not only lose some unwanted weight, but you will also look and feel younger. Your skin will shine with a new glow and will have a better tone. Allergies, skin rushes, wrinkles, and impurities may disappear after your body becomes more alkaline. You will not only look better, you will become more resilient and have more energy to enjoy your outdoor activities.
By Dominique Allmon
*This article was written for educational purposes only. It is not meant to diagnose or cure a disease. Please, consult a certified health care provider before beginning your detox program.
Spring Detox Program by Dominique Allmon is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
