To Cleanse Or Not To Cleanse?
People often ask why we need to cleanse.
Shouldn’t our body do this naturally?
The body does cleanse on its own when it is in an environment that is not bombarded by toxins. Right now, we are taking in more toxins through our food and environment than ever before. Our stress level is generally higher than ever before. Stress increases the toxins in the body and decreases natural detoxification pathways. In addition to increased stress, our coping skills and support systems to deal with challenges have generally decreased, which adds to our toxic load due to increased stress.
In past times and in other cultures, family and neighbours share the workload of cooking, raising children or supporting sick or elderly loved ones. In our current society, many people do not have these supports, which increases our stress.
Our household and personal care products are generally more toxic and our environment is filled with more chemicals. These combined factors increase our toxic load and often it is too much for the body to natural detox effectively.
If you have a super clean, stress free lifestyle, you live in the top of a mountain with no environmental toxins and eat amazing organic food everyday, congratulations! Maybe you don’t need to cleanse. But most people don’t fit into this category. Cleanses are just a way to say thank you to our body for working so hard to keep us healthy.
If you have decided that you would like to thank your body with a cleanse, the next decision is to cleanse using food alone or to use a supplement to cleanse as well as food.
The reasons you may want to use a cleanse kit are:
*To increase the cleansing capacity of your body by using supportive herbs.
*To potentially increase weight loss over a short period of time.
*To increase detoxification by moving bowels more regularly.
*If you are not having a bowel movement every day, please contact me before purchasing a cleanse kits.
You Do Not want to add a cleansing kit if you are pregnant or breastfeeding!!
Please consult your pharmacist if you are on any medication before starting a cleanse kit.
The cleanse kit that I recommend is Wild Rose. I think that this one is the most effective. If you find this cleanse too laxative please contact me. You should be going to the bathroom more often but you should not be stuck in the bathroom all day. If you use a cleanse kit, days 3-5 can be the worst so plan for more restful days if possible. I suggest NOT doing any strenuous exercise for the first week of cleansing so your body can focus on removing toxins rather than building muscle. Yoga, walking or swimming are acceptable. If you find that you are getting headaches or major flu like symptoms, your body may be releasing toxins faster than it is able to deal with so cut the dose in half, if using the kit or reduce the amount of cleansing foods for a few days. You can also increase your water intake or have a hot epsom salt bath to help your body remove toxins.
These kits are available at most health food stores.
If you want to use food to cleanse, here are some tips (aim to do this for least 2 weeks)
Avoid or reduce highly processed foods, artificial foods, sugars (specifically processed sugars), gluten, dairy, alcohol (its only 2 weeks! ;), caffeine (if you need 1-2 cups a day of coffee that is fine- aim to have it black or with limited dairy or sugar)
Increase water intake
Eat lots of greens (spinach, kale, arugula)
Increase fibre
Keep food simple- the closer to the natural source the better. Cook for yourself with fresh ingredients. If it comes in a package, it probably has additives that are not as supportive for cleansing. If you need help making a cleansing meal plan, contact me!
If you are interested in cleansing, check out the resources on my Facebook page, Healthy Weight for Life.
You want want my support to guide you through a cleanse that is right for you, book an appointment online at Penticton Physiotherapy & IMS Clinic.