Detoxify

April, 2008

by Morella Devost

If you've been around me for a while you know that I talk about detoxification a lot! It just seems to have been the theme in my life this past year. It all started with the four-week cleansing program I designed last spring. Since then, I've had dozens of clients go through the program and I never cease to be amazed. Just this Friday a client said to me, "this has truly been a life-changing experience!" It is always incredible to see how quickly the body starts to self-regulate when you give it a chance to decongest from the stuff and sludge that weigh it down.

Now, you may be wondering why in the world one would need to cleanse the body. And the truth is that your body is removing toxins all the time! Your body naturally produces waste as the byproduct of all your metabolic processes. This waste is eliminated through the bowel, urine and perspiration; and behind the scenes of all this is your liver playing a major role in filtering toxins from your blood and converting them into substances that can safely be eliminated. If detoxification were a play, your liver would deserve a standing ovation!

In addition to the natural waste our bodies produce, we are now surrounded by an ever increasing amount of toxic material that we absorb. It is in the air we breathe, the household cleaners we use, the building materials in our houses, the fabric treatments in our carpets and upholstery, the personal care products we use on our bodies, and certainly the chemicals in some of the "foods" we eat. In fact, some statistics I came across recently state that there are over 30 thousand NEW chemicals introduced into our environment every year, and only a fraction of them are ever tested for toxicity. These are all substances that are absorbed into the body and the liver must deal with.

If you want to see a list of the more common chemicals we use and the type of health concerns they have been linked to, check out www.scorecard.org. They publish a list of 11,200 chemicals and the known and suspected health implications they are linked to. It is quite sobering.

The good news is you can do something about it. You can start taking steps to clean your environment inside and out. Here are a few pointers:

Start your day with a tall glass of water and the juice of half a lemon. This is the internal equivalent of your morning bath. The lemon, even though it tastes acid, has a powerful alkalizing effect on your body, and that is a good thing. Diets high in meat, fat and sugar make us too acidic; as does stress.
Drink more pure water. Make sure that your water is either from a spring or that you have a powerful filter. You do not want the fluoride, chlorine and trace prescription drugs in most city waters! Nonetheless, it's never a bad idea to test your water.
Eat green leafy veggies. Green is the color of spring, and in traditional Chinese medicine it's also the color of your liver. Not surprisingly, greens are incredibly healing to your liver, and the more you boost your liver function, the better you'll be able to eliminate unwanted gunk from your body.
Clean the clutter around your home and workspace. Clutter and dirt will make you feel sluggish and unproductive. Get rid of the things that don't serve you anymore. I know someone who gives away anything he has not worn or used in the past year. It can be a very healthy practice.
Start slowly weeding out chemical cleaners and personal care products and replacing them with natural ingredient alternatives. Note that natural ingredients don't necessarily mean that they won't be harsh on your skin, they can be. What it does mean is that their ingredients will be less toxic or even totally harmless to your body.
Give your body a restorative vacation by doing a thorough body-cleansing program, like my four week program. Click on the link to do a quick test to see whether you could benefit from a detox program, read a bit more about the benefits and see what others' success stories have been.

Enjoy glorious spring and love your body!