Spring Cleaning - Detox For Summer


by Jerry Ryan, Ph.D. - Date: 2007-05-13 - Word Count: 693 Share This!

It's that time of year again. Time to blow out the dust and cobwebs that have gathered during the slow, dreary winter season. Time to start gearing up for the invigorating summer that lies ahead. What better way to prepare than by doing a little cleaning.

Although giving your home a good, thorough cleaning can have many benefits to your health, the best way to get ready for the active season approaching is to clean up our bodies. I'm talking about detoxifying our bodies of all the junk that we put in it every day, taking a day or two to help ourselves work at our best. You'll discover a new person inside you under all that fast food and packaged products that you've consumed.

The key to really cleaning out your system is self-discipline. What? No purges? No enemas? That's correct. Our bodies are designed to eliminate toxic substances by several methods. Obviously, we get rid of waste products in our urine and bowel movements but we also expel them through our lungs and skin. This is another reason why deep breathing techniques and good skin care are essential for optimal health. Practice those long, slow breaths and use a soft bristle brush on your skin every day or two. Both of these techniques will help you get rid of waste material by breathing it out or by removing dead cells from the skin's surface. In addition, these two practices can elevate your oxygen level in the blood and get more of that important nutrient to every cell in your body.

The self-discipline aspect I spoke of has more to do with our digestive system and how it eliminates toxins. Think of the digestive tract as a big sponge sitting inside you, sucking up everything that you send its way. When we overeat, the sponge gets overloaded and the waste products stay in our systems for longer periods of time. This accumulation of toxins in our bodies can get repeatedly reabsorbed in our intestinal tract, leading to chronic diseases. The answer to the dilemma is fairly simple - we need to wring out the sponge every now and then.

The digestive system requires an enormous amount of energy each day. Much of the energy derived from what we eat and drink is used to break the foods down and transform them to easily assimilated basics, like vitamins, minerals, essential proteins, carbohydrates and the like. Imagine how much energy you could save by simply reducing the size of your portions at each meal. Or how much more efficient your body could run on fruit and vegetables which are easily digested as opposed to a meal of heavy meat, cheese and gravy which are much harder to digest.

Now think of how badly your overworked digestive system needs a well-deserved break from all the constant labor. A day of fasting gives your body a wonderful chance to slow down and get rid of some toxic build-up. Drinking plenty of fluids, in the form of water, fruit juices or vegetable juices, helps flush the garbage out of the body. Remember that this is not a process to rush into; you must take it easy and not shock your system.

Start slowly by reducing your daily meals on Day 1. On the second day, eat only fruits and vegetables. Day 3 will be the fasting day - with water or juice only. Reverse the process to come back to your regular diet. That means Day 4 would be fruits and vegetables and Day 5 returns you to small portions of your regular diet. This 5-day program keeps your nutrition level up while slowing the work of the digestive system. It really allows the sponge to wring itself out.

Detoxification can sometimes make a person feel a little ill when all those stored toxins dump back into the bloodstream. Antioxidants (fruits, veggies, vitamins C and E, and other supplements), along with plenty of fluids, can help flush the waste out and relieve any discomfort. Of course, anyone with serious medical problems or on a variety of medications should consult with their health care provider before undertaking any major dietary changes of this type.

Related Tags: fitness, health, wellness, nutrition, diet, eating, stomach, detox, fasting, digestion

Jerry Ryan, Ph.D. is a Natural Health Coach who teaches individuals and group classes on the scientifically documented benefits of natural health techniques. He is also an internationally published author and has been a guest speaker at such places as NIKE World Headquarters. For more information, his website is www.JerryRyanPhD.com.

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