Detox Your Body – Part 1

If you were looking to purchase a used car, and I, as the seller, told you I had never changed the filters since I bought it new, would you want to buy it?  Why not?  Would you think it would perform as well?  Well what’s the difference in the filters of your body?  They need to be cleaned occasionally too so that you perform well and absorb the nutrients you take in daily.  If you don’t, all those supplements you’re taking to be healthier may be wasted.  In this first part of detoxing your body, I will give a high level overview of my journey with cleanses, how to determine if you need to cleanse, how often, and improvements you may see.   

My cleansing journey…

When I started losing weight, I didn’t learn about cleanses until about two-thirds of the way through my weight loss goal.  I started with a parasite and colon cleanse, completed two liver cleanses, and moved on to a Candida cleanse.  Everyone is different as to how they may feel during and after a cleanse.  For me, when I was on  the Candida cleanse, I lost 20 pounds in two weeks, and I didn’t do anything differently.  That’s how big Candida was affecting me, but that may or may not be the same for you.  It’s all about finding what works for your unique body.  Now when I work with clients, I discuss starting cleanses at the beginning while they are working on changing their diet so that their foods are processed and absorbed easier.

How do you know if you need to cleanse your body?  

In my opinion, everyone over the age of 18 needs to cleanse their body at least 1-2 times a year.  Depending on what types of foods you eat regularly, if they’re organic, and the type of environment you live and work in, you may need to cleanse more or less often.  Only you can determine how ‘toxic’ you feel, and any chronic symptoms you may have.  Here is a list obtained from www.DrNatura.com (as of 8/22/10) listing some of the classic symptoms of people who need to detox.

—  Frequent fatigue and low energy

—  Flatulence, gas & bloating

—  Excess weight

—  Impaired digestion

—  Irritability, mood swings

—  Bad breath & foul-smelling stools

—  Recurring headaches

—  Constipation

—  Protruding belly ("pooch")

—  Powerful food cravings

—  Skin problems

—  Allergies

What can you expect to see if you cleanse your body?

Everyone is different as to how their body responds as it is being cleansed.  It may take several iterations of a cleanse depending on how toxic you are.  Because I had eaten poorly for 20 years, I felt I needed to do 3 months of the colon/parasite cleanse from www.DrNatura.com.  Start with one iteration and evaluate how you are feeling.  Some of the improvements you may see when you cleanse your body are:

—  Increase your energy levels

—  Reduce/Alleviate symptoms and allergies

—  Reduce belly size

—  Process foods properly and lose weight easier

—  Remove ‘sludge’ from intestinal walls

—  Remove parasites

In the next issues of Detox Your Body, I’ll discuss what some of the filters of your body are, which cleanses to do first, some of the different cleanses I’ve used, possible detox symptoms, and how to handle them.   Until next time…Namaste!