How To Detox

By Matthew Sun

A report on the effects of detoxing, how to perform one, which program to choose, and what to expect during and after.

Are you feeling tired without reason, have unexplained headaches, migraines or the 'flu'. Is your stomach bloated and you have trouble digesting your meals, and get gas frequently? Then a detox may be what you need to get your health back in order.

Detoxing is something that our bodies do naturally, at any given opportunity. Even modifying your diet to include more fruits and vegetables, and less unhealthy foods, may trigger a detox within your system. It's the bodies own innate intelligence getting rid of the toxins and congestion, that cause so many of today's health problems. It is also something that animals do naturally, as it has been observed that sick animals will often lie by a stream and drink only water, with no food for several days when they are sick, or travel long distances to consume bentonite clay, which also has a strong cleansing effect on the body.

What Happens When We Detox?

The body can enter a detox phase at any given time naturally, or can be prompted to enter one by taking certain herbs, or consuming certain foods. During this time many toxins are removed from tissues and organs and deposited into the blood stream, where they are removed from the body, through the lymphatic system and into the bowels, or through the skin.

During a detox it is common for people to feel light, and invigorated, but sometimes they can also feel tired, have headaches, or even nausea. This happens when the body cannot remove the toxins from the blood quick enough, and the toxins influence the functioning of the organs and brain. This is why it is good to perform a detox using a special program that contains certain herbs, and especially bentonite clay, to absorb the toxins and remove them quickly.

How to Know if you Need a Detox?

If someone has never done a detox or cleanse before, and they have consumed the typical western diet for most of their lives, then it is advised that they do one detox every three months for a year. This is to remove the built up mucous residues, also know as mucoid plaque, from the bowels. Without removing this mucous buildup, it is difficult for efficient digestion to occur, which greatly affects your health.

The best diet for the human body is the plant base done (or vegan diet), as it contains abundant nutrition, adequate protein, and no saturated fat, growth hormones, toxic proteins, carcinogens and chemicals associated with the meat based diet.

If a vegan diet has been maintained, and 4 cleanses were performed within a year using a good detox kit such as this one, then one detox per year should be enough, assuming adequate fruits and vegetables are consumed on a daily basis. The fruits and vegetables help the body to cleanse itself everyday, and are absolutely vital for maintaining good health.

How To Start?

Before starting a detox it is important to increase the mineral reserves of your body by eating foods that contain more alkaline forming minerals such as calcium, magnesium, potassium and others. Most people consume too much acid forming foods such as meat, dairy, cooked grains, fried oil, salt sugar and chemicals, which are either high in acid forming minerals such as sulfur, or have a toxic effect on the digestion. Because the bodies healthy state is dependent upon mostly alkaline forming minerals, it is essential to eat mostly these kinds of foods, which interestingly enough are mostly fruits and vegetables. The food chart here, gives a complete list.

So in short, eat more fruits and vegetables, drink more water and get adequate rest. There are some excellent raw food recipes here that help a lot, and also consuming superfoods such as wheat grass, barley grass, and other edible green grasses and foods, are excellent.

Eliminating caffeine, alcohol, drugs and cigarettes is a must.

Which Detox Program to Choose:

Although the body will detox itself naturally, given the right environment, this can be slow, and often difficult, hence it is recommended to assist the process with a good detox program or kit.

Detox Methods:

Organic Detox Kits (with herbs, bentonite clay and psyllium) – There is several different detox kits that contain bentonite clay, but it is important that the clay is consumed separately to the herbs. Some kits mix the two together, but this is not recommended as the clay absorbs the herbs and renders them ineffective. Some of the best kits available are the Bio Cleanse Organic Detox Kit, the Arise and Shine Cleanse, the Blessed Herbs cleanse and Richard Schulze's cleanse. These kits contain instructions to guide you through the process, herbs to stimulate the bowls and organs, and bentonite clay and fiber, either as a shake or in capsules. You will either do a period of juice fasting, while taking the herbs and clay, or modify your diet to eat only alkaline forming foods. These kind of detox programs are considered the best quality and most effective. Cleansing reactions are minimized due to the clay and the herbs, and a lot of toxins can be removed in a short period of time
Juice Fasting – This is where the person consumes only fresh juice, and nothing else. Juice fasting is good for people who's bodies are already fairly clean, and they have been on a vegan diet for many years, but for most people juice fasting is difficult, as there will be strong cleansing reactions.
The Master Cleanse Lemonade Diet – The Master Cleanse is a detox program designed by a man named Stanley Burroughs. The person eats no food, and drinks water, lemon juice, cayenne pepper, and maple syrup together. Every day salt water is also consumed to move the bowels. Many people were attracted to this detox to lose weight, as several celebrities, such as Beyonce had success with it. The drinking of large amounts of salt water is difficult for some people and possibly not beneficial to building good health as it dehydrates the cells.
Water Fasting – Water fasting is exactly that, you drink only water, and eat no food. It is only recommended for people who have already done a lot of detoxing, and maintained a pure vegan diet for a long time. It should be performed under supervision.
Detox Kits (with herbs and psyllium) – These kind of detox or colon cleanse programs usually take some time, and are a fairly slow way of removing toxins. The person usually consumes a shake or two each day and some herbal capsules.
Acai Berry Detox Colon Cleanse Programs – Some acai berry capsules contain caffeine to help people lose weight, but the weight generally comes back again later, and caffeine is not healthy at all, so it's not really a true detox. There is some brands that sell pure powdered acai berries, but their detox effect on the body is not very strong.
Detox Foot Patches – Special patches are stuck to the bottom of your feet which absorb toxins being eliminated from that area. In Chinese medicine it is said that it is the only way to clean a certain part of your liver. Detox foot patches will not clean your colon though, which is where the majority of problems start from.

What To Expect During a Detox:

The effects of the detox will vary a lot from person to person, and it also varies according to which program you choose. But in general healthy people have an easier time, and people choosing a good detox kit, such as the Bio Cleanse also have an easier time.

Some possible effects during a cleanse are: