I have had a few questions lately regarding cleansing/detoxing and my first advise to most people is to ‘seek the advise of a professional’. Someone who is experienced with detoxing and will be able to check to see if you are taking any medications or have an existing medical condition that may interact negatively with the detox. Someone who can custom design the cleanse for you to best meet your needs. That said, there are some of us who are generally healthy, aren’t taking medications and have no allergies who feel they would benefit from a detox. For those clients I have simplified the stages of cleansing into six steps.
Step 1: Rebalance
Rebalance your diet and your lifestyle. This means removing the foods that increase your toxic load, are difficult to digest, potentially allergenic or have a high glycemic index. As well as including the foods the help nourish and alkalize the body. This also means learning to deal with stress, eating moderate amounts of health promoting foods in a slow and mindful manner and finding time for healthy exercise and enjoyments. Remove: wheat, dairy, red meat, eggs, soy, pork, meat by products, coffee, alcohol, sugar, additives/preservatives, known or suspected allergens/intolerances. Emphasize: fruits, vegetables, ancients grains, water and healthy fats.
Step 2: Get Regular
Healthy bowel movements are essential to a healthy gastrointestinal tract. Healthy bowel movements can be defined loosely as bowel movements at least 1-3 times per day, that are not loose, nor do they require you to strain, the stool should be well formed (ie. not rabbit pellets or pencil shaped), and should take approximately 18-24 hours to go from mouth to you know where!)
Step 3: Replace
Inadequate amounts of digestive enzymes, hydrochloric acid, pancreatic products and bacterial organisms should be replaced. These all help with nutrient breakdown and absorption. Proper digestion reduces the allergenic and inflammatory effects that can occur when digestion is low.
Step 4: Remove
Remove any offending organisms such as yeast, parasites, heavy metals etc with medical treatments or herbs when appropriate. Always ensure you have regular bowel movements before starting this part of the cleanse.
Step 5: Rev Up
Get your detoxification systems revv’ed up and working in high gear! The number one detoxification organ is your liver, other organs are your skin, kidneys, lungs and bowel. For most people I will start with the bowel and liver using Milk Thistle (standardized to 80% silymarin), probiotics, fiber and gentle and natural laxatives only if required.
I usually design my programs to last anywhere from 1 to 4 weeks, once again depending on the clients complete profile.