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Well Women Guide to Detox and Eliminating Toxins from your Body
Detox How can we rid our bodies of years of abuse and start afresh? Since our body contains heavy metals like mercury, medications, chemicals from our environment such as household and beauty product chemicals and pollutants from our atmosphere, fluoride from toothpaste and water and many other nasties, can we eliminate them and “begin again?” Well, yes and no. Many chemicals stay in our bodies, because things like mercury from dental amalgams remain for as much as 15 years. but there are things we can do both long and short term to reduce our exposure. As I have stated many times before, supplements are important to eliminate and scavenge free radicals. Many cancers and illnesses are on the increase including behavioural disorders in children and dementia. Our diet and toxic world is largely responsible as we absorb chemicals in our homes, beauty products, additives from our diet and others and we can take steps to “purify” our systems and kick start our immune systems. Will Detox help?
If you suffer from any medical condition but particularly a heart condition, autoimmune disease, liver or kidney disease or particularly diabetes, then please consult your doctor before embarking on any kind of detox. For diabetics, this will affect blood sugar levels so medical advice should be sought.
An excellent detox first thing in the morning is to drink hot water with the juice of half a lemon squeezed into it. Make it a daily occurrence.
Drinking beetroot juice at the start of the day is another option and this is wonderful for your liver and stimulates normal liver function. Beetroot juice should be diluted with an equal amount of water (never tap) as it is too strong to drink alone. Look after your liver. If you keep your liver in good condition, you benefit the whole body from head to toe. Please click here to read my page on the liver and kidneys and the best way to look after them for optimum health. Drinking pure fruit and vegetable juices are another way They should be from organic fruit you have juiced yourself.
Foods rich in sulphur are an excellent detox. Taking MSM supplements can speed this process. Fasting is not recommended as previously thought. You only need to increase your intake of sulphur rich foods like garlic, onions, cabbage and the like, drink plenty of natural mineral water, fresh fruit and vegetable juices and herbal teas and eliminate junk food and food containing additives to detox your system. Detoxing can also increase energy and vitality, increase immunity, improve concentration and improve sleep quality. Combine it with meditation for even more benefits. Chlorella is proven to remove heavy metals and toxins from the body and is excellent for overall good health maintenance including immune system enhancement, assisting in keeping you more in a more alkaline state which is essential for optimum health, assisting in a weight loss program, freshens your system so is like an internal deoderant which also keeps breath fresh, cleanses the bowel and digestive system. Also Green Clay helps to remove heavy metals from the body and is a brilliant bowel cleanser. Here is a list of benefits of Green Clay Well-regulated bowels - Relief from constipation or diarrhoea -Elimination of indigestion - Elimination of Ulcers - Improved digestion of food - Improved physical energy and stamina - Reduction of various aches and pains - Clearer skin (also makes an excellent face mask) - Whiter and brighter eyes - Improved alertness and clear-headedness - Emotional uplift, with reduced tension - Enhanced growth and tissue repair of gums and skin - Improved immune system - Improved nutritional status - Detoxification of toxins including those absorbed from food and the environment such as pesticides and heavy metals and Toxins produced by a body as the result of incomplete digestion (enzyme deficiency) and faulty or incomplete metabolism, e.g. under functioning and or over loaded liver.
Be warned Clearing toxins from the body can also cause side effects such as headaches, sweating, skin outbreaks, fatigue, stomach aches, general pains and aches, bad breath a coated tongue and mood swings as well as diarrhoea, sore throats and even vomitting. If you experience serious side effects, stop the programme and consult your doctor if you feel very unwell. Detox diets are not really all they are cracked up to be but will almost certainly help you lose weight. Small scale detoxes now and again will help. They also can deplete your body of vital nutrients so easy does it is best. Starving yourself will not help your body or looks. It is really just a question of eliminating alcohol, cigarettes, bad food, fats and sugars, caffiene, fizzy drinks and replacing with organic,healthy salads, raw foods, juices (both fruit and vegetable), clear home made healthy soups, herbal teas designed to help detox by eliminating toxins such as dandelion supporting the process with Milk Thistle which benefits your liver. Drinking plenty of water to keep the system flushed. Exercise can help you detox and anything aerobic such as brisk walking, cycling, running on a treadmill, rowing on a rowing machine and swimming will qualify to help toxins from your system. Yoga and pilates are beneficial too and a gentle option. Detoxing is hard and takes disipline and committment, especially if your need to cut down on things like cigarettes which when eliminated, will cause a detox purely because you are no longer smoking and all the side effects of this can be debilitating in itself. Detoxing should not be a punishment and many suggested plans sound just that. Hunger will be experienced, but starvation can be avoided by eating plenty of the suggestions above. Grapes are rich in magnesium and are a good snack as are Goji Berries and other dried fruits.
For this you need to completely cut out alcohol, cigarettes, caffeine, refined sugars, saturated fats, cut out on the use of household chemicals and chemicals in beauty and personal care products and all food additives. Reduce stress with meditation as this increases the accumulation of free radicals. You can also choose a day a week where you drink only pure water, but this is quite difficult. Following a detox day or days you then increase fibre by increasing organically grown fruits and vegatbles, brown rice, cabbage, broccoli, spirulina, chlorella, and seaweed. (Seaweed products not recommended for thyroid disease sufferers) Cleanse the liver by taking the herbs dandelion root, burdock, milk thistle and drinking herbal teas and green tea. Take large doses of vitamin C (1000mg +) to aid the process of eliminating toxins. Drink 2 litres of water each day. Practice deep breathing. Take alternate hot and cold burst showers. Hot water for 30 seconds then cold water and repeat 3 times.
Skipping for 30 minutes per day as an aerobic exercise (start gradually if you are not used to it and increase by 5 minutes a day. Dry brushing the skin with specialist brushes will help eliminate toxins from the skin. Brushes can be purchased from specialist shops. Best Liver Tonics? Dandelion and Milk Thistle. Best Herbal Boost for immune system? Echinacea, but Bee Propolis is marvellous too.
All in all, detox should be incorporated into your life as a complete benefit to your health in addition to supplements and ridding your body of chemicals by using natural products both for yourself and your home and eliminating additives in food.
Suggested products to help the detox process: AloePura Aloe Vera Colon Cleanse Dr Gillian McKeith 24 Hour Detox
Chamae Rose is one of the most powerful detoxifiers known and is a natural product taken from the roots of a sacred herb grown on the Eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in mineral rich soil containing special properties. The minerals in the white soil have electromagnetic properties which serve to enhance the herbs healing abilities. It is rich in anti oxidants and will strenghten the body rather than depleting it as some detox products do. Can be used as part of a program or taken daily to detox and strengthen the system.
Please click here to read more about Chamae Rose and other special minerals
Goals for Day one Positivity, positive self talk "This day will bring me courage, confidence, willpower and the self love to be successful in all my ventures" Feel: "Everything I touch will turn to gold"
Begin day with a refreshing cold shower, dry brush skin morning and evening and drink 2 litres of water throughout the day.
Write a thought journal throughout the day. Things you want to change, aims, mission, focus, drives, purpose. Think about relationships, friends and family, home, transport, body and health, finances, spirituality. How do you feel about these things, positive and negative and how can you change them. What do you want to change? How can you feel more at peace?
Day One "Breakfast to Beautify" This is a great winter juice to boost your immune system. Try to use organic ingredients 3 oranges 1 pink grapefruit 1 lime 1 lemon 2cm of ginger root (crushed) 1 teaspoon of bee pollen Method: Extract all the fruit juices using a hand juicer then add all the ingredients to a blender. Make sure you use all the pulp from inside the rind too as this is the location of beneficial bioflavanoids which have exceleent curative powers. Lunch (serves 2) 8 - 10 leaves of Romaine lettuce torn into manageable pieces 1 medium green onion 1 cup of parsley, minced 1 cup of chives chopped finely large handful of rocket leaves 3 tablespoons of organic apple cider vinegar 50g walnuts broken into pieces Dressing 2 cloves of garlic Black pepper to taste teaspoon of set manuka honey 4 tablespoons of hemp oil 2 tablespoons of tahini Method: Mix all the salad ingredients in a bowl, pour over dressing and mix Evening (Serves 2) 2 tablespoons of extra virgin organic olive oil 1 medium sliced red onion juice of 1 lemon 1 small red chilli pepper 25g creamed coconut, shredded 4 large vine ripened tomatoes 30g sun dried tomatoes 250mls of fresh filtered water or spring/mineral water Splash of hemp oil 50 grams of rocket leaves Method Saute the red onion, chilli in lemon juice and olive oil until soft Add the creamed coconut, water and both types of tomato. Simmer for about 3 minutes Then pour all the ingredients into a blender and puree Pour into a bowl, add rocket and a splash of hemp oil
Day Two This day will be emotionally charged. Do not lets these feelings take over. Use meditation to focus on your objectives. Begin with the cold shower and dry brushing as day one. Drink 2 litres of water throughout the day. Breakfast: (serves 2) 200mls organic apple juice taken from organic fresh apples using a juicer preferably a masticating type or otherwise a centrifugal one.
1 tablespoon brewers yeast 1 teaspoon crystal manna or spirulina algae 1 tablespoon lecithin granules 1 teaspoon ginseng granules
Add the juice and other ingredients to a blender and whizz for a minute. Lunch (serves 2) 1 large bunch of kale 1 large bunch of baby spinach Handful of rocket One diced cucumber 50g cabbage 20 sliced red grapes. dressing 50g cashew nuts (soaked) 20g pine nuts (soaked) Milk of baby green coconut 2 tablespoons of hemp oil 1 teaspoon of ground flaxseed 1 teaspoon of maple syrup Method Mix the salad ingredients together. Whizz the dressing ingredients together in a blender until smooth Toss the salad in the dressing.
Evening (serves 2) 50g each of chopped spinach, cabbage, beetroot and chopped cucumber 1 teaspoon of dark miso dissolved in 2 cups of water Juice of 1 lemon 1 teaspoon of black pepper Pinch Cayenne pepper Method Steam spinach cabbage and beets until soft and add the miso water. Pour ingredients into a blender and whizz until smooth Add cucumber black pepper and cayenne pepper and blend again Evening Footbath A powerful method to calm and soothe also strengthening liver, spleen and glands. You will need the following: Hot water Sea salt such as celtic or other mineral rich slat. Several drops of pure organic eucalyptus essential oil Fill bowl or tub with hot water (not boiling) so that is ankle deep Add sea salt and eucalyptus oil Sit with feet in water and massage feet for 3 minutes Then sit and relax for 15 minutes or more. Remove feet dry and massage with the oil again
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Detox means “cleansing the blood” The body has it’s own way of eliminating toxins and this is through the liver, kidneys, lymphatic system, lungs, skin and intestines. When our natural detoxification system is compromised, every cell in our body is affected and toxins build up in our bodies, our organs have to work harder and our immune system suffers.
However occasionally a really good “purge” is beneficial and this can be anything from 3 to 10 days!!.Many detox programmes suggest that you “fast” only drinking fruit and vegetable juices and water for a period of two days, followed by a special programme to allow the system to rest while purifying itself. Cleansing packages are available and these range from powders and drinks to suppositories. The longer the detox, the greater the benefit.
Take a weekly sauna or steam room treatment as toxins will be eliminated through perspiration.
Try this 48 hour detox (taken from Natural Health magazine March 2008 edition) Use Organic ingredients throughout where possible Do not use chemical cleaners throughout the 48 hours. Use natural and organic bodycare products and non fluoride toothpaste. No toxins should be present.
