How to Detox Safely and Naturally

How to Detox Here are the ABC's of starting a detox program. Detailed information on how to create a detox program that's appropriate for your body.

Body Detox Pure and Simple

There is a lot of misinformation about cleansing and body detoxification perpetrated by the supplement industry. Body detox has become a big business. Cleansing our bodies shouldn’t be as complicated and expensive as it’s become. And the truth is, not everyone needs to detox their body and some people shouldn’t. Learn more about if you need to detox.

If you do need a detox and are dazed and confused by the enormous choices available to you, please read on. Body detoxification can be done very simply and inexpensively. You don’t need to buy any detox kits, and please don’t ever consider any detox products that contain senna laxative. Many detox kits are glorified laxatives and not worth the cost.

Your body is continuously detoxing itself, thanks to your liver, kidneys, colon, lungs, skin, blood and lymphatic system. This is why some people really don’t need to do a detox program at all. The value of a body detox is to stimulate the body’s natural detoxification process. Diets rich in preservatives and chemicals, toxic environments, dirty air and water, cleaning products and even personal care products overload our bodies with more toxins than it can filter and expel.

When this is the case, a detox cleanse is in order. Here’s how to detox your body safely and inexpensively (in three simple ways):

Give your digestive system a break. Some of the toxins our body has to deal with comes from the by-products of our digestive process. Indigestion from overeating or a gastro-intestinal condition can cause purification and an overabundance of toxic waste.

Encourage elimination. The kidneys, colon, lungs, and skin are organs primarily involved with elimination. Each of these organ systems can be gently stimulated and supported in the following ways:

• Kidneys: drink pure water, 3 – 4 quarts a day. If you’re urinating every hour, you know you’re hydrating and getting a gentle kidney cleanse.
  
  
• Colon: get your bowels moving at least a little every day. A water enema can help get you started. If you need to take an herbal laxative, we suggest cascara sagrada, Five Seed Teapills, Ma Zi Ren Teapills, Peach Kernel Teapills, or Rhubarb Teapills. (Purchase these Chinese herbs.) Do not take senna or over the counter laxatives.
  
  
• Lungs: cleanse your lungs with deep breathing exercises, morning and night. Protect your lungs from toxic fumes or cleaning products by wearing a protective mask.
  
  
• Skin: bathe daily, refrain from heavy lotions and dry brush your skin regularly.
  

Detox your diet. Fast food, junk food, sugary drinks and snacks, artificially sweetened, processed foods, fried foods and refined flours have to go (or be greatly reduced). Nourish your body with fresh fruits and vegetables and high quality superfoods like spirulina and chlorella. Making these dietary changes and sustaining them over time will prevent future need of detox cleansing.

Detox: What It Is and How It's Done:

Our team of researchers and writers have long debated a seemingly simple matter: what is detoxification? Two perspectives have emerged from our debates:

1. Detoxification consists in the removal or reduction of harmful substances from one's diet and environment, and the inevitable side effects of the sudden elimination of that substance. I'll give a few examples of this: a daily coffee drinker gives up coffee and suffers headaches (get this guy some yerba mate!), or a cigarette smoker finally kicks the habit for once and for all, but suffers unpleasant effects of withdrawal and battles intense cravings. A person who's eaten processed foods all their life will suffer some kind of withdrawal and headache-type side effect of the rapid elimination. The side effects and cravings are processes of the detoxification itself, this camp says. More on this in a moment. Let's check in on the other camp.

2. Detoxification is the gathering and elimination of toxic accumulations in the body. These folks believe that expunging the body of the toxins it already carries is the proper focus of detoxification. They advocate the use of herbs and even detox kits (a collection of herbs used in specific ways at specific times). One set of herbs purge cells, blood and tissues of held toxins (moving lymph and blood, AKA, toxin delivery systems). Another set of herbs encourage activity in the filtering organs (liver, kidneys). And a final set of herbs stimulate the eliminative organs (bladder, colon, perspiration). These combined herbal actions manage the entire detoxification (toxin removal) process from beginning to end.

If we take a moment to look at these two perspectives on detoxification of the body, we see that they are describing similar yet different approaches to detoxification. I tend to be the non-debater in our discussions, and my colleagues would probably say I take no stand on the detox issues we discuss. I'm a both/and type of person, not an either/or, for better or for worse.

Related information:

Detox Approaches: What Goes In, What Comes Out

There are two basic approaches to body detoxification:

The first detox approach emphasizes elimination of what goes in.
The second detox approach emphasizes elimination of what's already there.

Is one of these detox approaches better than the other? No! They're both essential to a clean, healthy body. The question becomes then, what is their proper relationship?

My 4-part answer:

Change what goes in. Begin with the elimination or reduction of what goes in. Do an honest and fearless search of the toxins you ingest on a regular basis, and make a plan for yourself this year to eliminate or reduce the worst offenders (smoking, processed foods, artificial foods and beverages, fried foods, fast food, trans fats, etc). Make a list, focus on one each month. Don't stop, just keep reducing, one by one. Within a year's time, you will have radically changed your diet from a toxic diet to a naturally detoxifying diet. You will have done it gradually, which is the best way to make change stick in the long term.

Support the side effects. As you're eliminating/reducing these offenders, pay attention to the side effects (headache, withdrawal, cravings, irritability, rashes, etc). The worse the side effects, the more harmful that toxic food or drink has been. Support this detoxification period with rest, lots of water (a gallon a day of pure unsweetened water), light exercise, saunas for sweating, fresh air, funny movies or friends (to keep your spirits up).

Gently cleanse. Now you're ready for the Camp 2 approach, get rid of toxins stored deep in your body. This inevitably requires some herbal assistance OR a liquid cleansing method such as the lemon detox (using lemon juice, maple syrup and cayenne). I can't emphasize enough to be gentle with these detoxification methods, especially if you are using a detox herbal kit that has purgatives and laxatives. I personally like the lemon detox over herbal kits. If you are doing an herbal kit, your side effects will probably be greater. Drink lots and lots of water to reduce the discomfort. You may also do well to have a colonic before and after this cleanse, whatever method you undertake.

Maintain the balance of these two detox approaches: reduce the incoming toxins and eliminate the accumulated toxins. If I had to chose one camp over the other, it would be the first because it is a preventative action. It's easier to detox a body with fewer toxins than more. You'll feel better, too, before, during and after at detox program. If you are having big side effects from a detox cleanse, it's a sign that you need to concentrate more on reducing the incoming toxins.