NATURAL THERAPIES FOR SPRING DETOX
Article by herbalist
Dave
Hawkins, MH, CNC
Spring time is
a traditional time for internal cleaning. According to folk
history after a long cold winter of a sedentary lifestyle
people would use sassafras tea for a period of one week as
a way to clean and thin the blood. This practice is still
in use today. Due to our fast paced lifestyle in the
nineties it is vitally important to minimize the level of
toxins in our bodies. With devitalized foods loaded with
all the numerous chemical additives and preservatives not
to mention the pollutants our own bodies produce it is even
more important to maintain a clean blood system.
The average
American consumes one gallon of chemical per year. Where do
these chemicals go? They go into our cell structures and
reside there until our liver can detoxify them and
eliminate them from our bodies. The liver performs
approximately 500 functions in the human body. It is
critical to cell life that the blood be clean and full of
oxygen. When the blood becomes polluted it begins to affect
digestion, energy production and mood and begins to set the
stage for many degenerative diseases.
So what can we
do about cleaning up our bodies?
First we must
discuss diet. Here are a few dietary guidelines-
·
Do not
overeat
·
Eat high
quality whole, unprocessed food
·
Choose
food suitable for your climate, constitution and work
·
Eat more
complex carbohydrate foods (whole grains and vegetables)
·
Keep raw
fruit to a minimum
·
Reduce
animal foods (meats. Dairy, eggs)
·
Minimize
use of refined sugars
·
Drink
plenty of clean water.
Next we have to
look at more specific cleansing programs.
·
Blood
purification is the first and it can be defines as a
substance or methods that facilitate the elimination of
waste and toxins through the skin, kidneys, breath and
bowels. Blood purifiers also increase the activity of the
immune function of removing organisms from the blood and
mucus. Some botanicals for blood purifying are
echinacea, chaparral, red
clover, burdock.
·
Lymphatic cleansing is often used during or after a chronic
infection but can be done anytime. Lymphatic massage and
cleansing teas are used for this purpose.
·
Sweating
therapy is excellent for overall purification and balance.
Since the skin is the largest organ of elimination sweating
is very effective. Diaphoretic herb (herbs that promote
sweating) such as yarrow, elder, peppermint combo work well
in tea form. Dry saunas, sweat lodge and exercise are some
other ways of promoting sweat.
·
Urinary
cleansing is used to aid the kidneys ability to eliminate
toxins from the blood. Mild diuretics herbal such as those
found in our KB tea work well in toning and aiding this
elimination process.
·
Intestinal and bowel cleansing is what we most commonly use
for situations of constipation or lower bowel irregularity.
High fiber diet and bulking agents are used in many cases
and are milder than the purge laxatives (which can be
harsh). It is important to keep the bowels clean and
moving.
·
Liver
and gallbladder flush is a therapy that has been used in
conditions of congestion and stagnation of these vital
organs. To do these it is important to follow detailed
instructions to detailed to list
here. Contact a health care professional for this
information.
·
Fasting
therapy is a great way to give our digestive organs a rest
but it increases our elimination functions. Fasting is an
age old therapy that is simple but you need to study the
procedures so to insure adequate cleansing. There are some
cautions that some folks need to be aware of before
beginning a fasting program.
For more
detailed information concerning any type of clean it is
important for you to understand the proper procedures.
Discuss this with a qualified health care practitioner or
consult an authoritative resource. A good book is
Foundations Of Health by
Christopher Hobbs.
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