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What the Detox Process is All About

Conceptualizing a successful personal detox program is very simple:  You must reduce the level of toxins coming in and simultaneously, increase your body's ability to process the toxins currently stored in tissue.

There are as many combinations of what can be done to achieve this as there are people reading these pages.  That's why we don't advocate a particular one.  You're the one who needs to decide what makes sense for you.  

The first step is to decide how you're going to reduce your exposure to toxins.  After reading Sea of Toxins and its connecting pages, you'll have a better idea of how to reduce the number of toxins that are coming into your body. Though you can start today and make rapid improvements, this is not simply a weekend project.  It should be considered an awareness that you gradually improve upon from now on.  

Then you need to foster your ability to process toxins.  There are three bottomline areas that you have to address, because all effective detoxification programs include these aspects.  They are a) improvement in diet (see healthy diet); b) moderate exercise (could be as little as 15 minutes of walking a day or gentle yoga); and c) balanced supplementation (see essential supplements).

Types of detox methods:

Water fasting which means just drinking lots of water and nothing else (this should only be done for a couple of days at most)

Juice fasting various juices or combination of juices such as fruit and vegetable or combinations of both.

Minimal eating this limits the diet to certain foods

Herbal detox this will involve ingesting certain herbs to clean out the body and intestinal tract.

Detox baths this will involve special baths which are often found in spa’s.

Colon cleansing this can either done by ingesting a colon cleanser or some spas and medical centers offer colonic irrigation (bascially flushing out the colon and intestines to remove fecal and other food matter) I am told it is not very pleasant but afterwards you feel transformed.

Caloric restriction this involves limiting your calorie intake for a set period.

Various detox diets there are quite a few:

Liquid Diets Raw Food Diet Healthy Diet The Hallelujah Diet The Ultra Simple Diet Martha's Vineyard Detox Diet Liver Cleansing Diet Mediterranean Diet The Italian Model

Some detox programs last for 24 hours to 3 days, others may be as long as 10 days to two weeks.

Within this basic framework there's room for lots of personalization in the areas of diet and exercise.  The area of supplements, however, is a basic. The supplementation aspect has to do with the biochemical needs of the body to process out toxins (see How the Body Detoxifies).  Still, within this area of the basic natural chemical ingredients that the body needs to change fat-soluable toxic substances into "excretable" water-soluable substances,  there is variation in the amount one should take, or can take. This is because, the amount of supplementation you need will vary based on your personal level of health, and the degree to which you're able to absorb the supplements will depend on the health of your digestion track.  You may find it helpful to consult a nutritionist or a holistic health practitioner to fine-tune this aspect of the program for you.  (See Finding Allies.)

Please remember that more gentle detox procedures will work for everyone, they just work more slowly. (See Master Chart.)  Taking a slow approach is good, because it's more likely to result in lasting lifestyle changes, and less likely to cause distressing and possibly damaging cleansing reactions.  (See Dangers of Detox.)