Detoxing the body helps, goodness yes, but, the real key to eliminatory health lies in a consistently maintained healthy diet, consistently practiced moderate exercise, vigilant attention to stress reduction and adequate intake of pure water.
I encourage you to pursue health through positive lifestyle changes, as well as through detoxification programs.
Even the best detox program cannot replace healthy eating and living. Give yourself the precious gift of self-love and your detox experience will be a life-affirming choice. Detox to feel better about yourself and your life and you wil find it reinforces healthy decisions in other areas of your life.
On the other hand, if you turn to internal cleansing as a quick fix for a chronic problem or while continuing a lifestyle that does not support healthy diet and elimination, the results will be be temporary.
The choice is yours.
Learn how to detox and learn how to live healthy. Now, that's a winning combination!
The most powerful detox programI've ever personally used
© 2006-2008, Neva J Howell, All Rights Reserved
Everything you always wanted to know
about detoxing
but didn't know who to ask
As a wellness counselor of many years, and someone who practices what I preach, I have come to respect the healing effect of a good detox. Additionally, I've come to respect the need for detoxing safely. In general, anyone with any known kidney or liver concerns should not detox without clearing it with their doctor first and this is most important when doing any type of chelating cleanse, such as most that are aimed at cleaning out heavy metals. In addition, I caution anyone who has a compromised immune system or who is recovering from debilitating illness to carefully consider how fast and how drastic a detox is safe for them.
After cleansing, I typically experience improved elimination patterns, an increase in energy, better looking skin and hair, and better sleep.
If I wait too long between cleanses and let my body get overly toxic, I sometimes experience discomfort in the form of bloating, gas, flu-like symptoms and fatique, for the first few days of a cleanse.
I also have a harder time with detoxing if I have relapsed into unhealthy eating patterns (fast foods and chips are my comfort food choices), don't get good sleep or don't deal with stressful situations in a timely manner, emotionally.
Due to the high level of junk in the food we eat, the high level of pollution in the air we breathe and the high level of toxic material in most of our drinking water, detoxing on a regular basis is a no-brainer but deciding how to detox and what cleanse program to use can be a challenge.
The articles and faq's on this page address the cleansing process process, how to detox the body safely and get healthy through detoxing, how to choose the best detox program and what to expect when doing a cleanse.
Internal Cleansing
is not a cure-all:
Something I stress repeatedly is that detoxing, apart from making the lifestyle changes that may be needed to support a healthier eliminatory system, is not going to
give anyone the life-affirming benefits that can be available through internal cleansing on a regular basis.If you are serious about getting healthier through detoxing the body, learn to practice wellness on a daily basis in your daily life, for optimal results.
If you have a health challenge and are hoping detoxing will help the body address it, be sure you also look at other ways you may be able to assist your body in healing itself instead of expecting to get healthy through detoxing alone.
Detox Side Effects
How to Detox Safely
If you are under the care of a doctor for some known health challenge, and particularly any colon health issue such as IBS, diverticulosis, diverticulitis or Krohn's Disease, you should always check with your health care specialist before doing a detox or colon cleanse, to assess your body's ability to safely undergo a cleanse.
How much gas and bloating is normal during a detox?
Two of the more common detox symptoms a person may experience during a detox or cleanse are bloating and excess flatulence. But how much is too much during a detoxification cleanse? Find out what simple daily behaviors you might change to reduce gas and bloating, natural remedies for flatulence, and how to detoxify without suffering so much in the process of getting clean.
Do people really need to detox at all?
Is detoxing the body a good idea and does it actually provide health benefits? Or is the whole detoxing the body trend just a gimmick to part people with their money?
You may be like a lot of people: you may believe that cleansing the body by means of herbal remedies or homeopathics or some other form of detoxification program is not necessary but if you look at the big picture, you might change your mind.
Possible Side Effects from a Colon Cleanse:
In addition to gas and bloating, what other symptoms of detoxing might one expect during a colon cleanse? Prepare for your cleanse by understanding how the body processes toxic wastes and how the body can sometimes react to a sudden release of toxicity. Also learn how to reduce any uncomfortable symptoms during a colon cleanse.
Identifying unhealthy bowel movements:
Learning to recognized unhealthy bowel movements can help you in determining when your body needs internal cleansing. Are your bowel movements normal? What constitutes a normal, healthy movement? The answer to that question depends a lot on who you ask. Some believe one bowel movement a week is normal while others feel three per day to the norm. Find out how to assess your need for a colon cleanse.
Liquid Zeolite for Detoxing
Zeolite pebbles for detoxing indoor spaces and liquid zeolite for internal cleansing....what you should know.
Symptoms of Eliminatory Congestion:
Covers symptoms of heavy metal poisoning, candida (yeast overgrowth), parasites and intestinal congestion. Informative article on how to self-assess your need to specific types of cleanses.
What about Heavy Metal Poisoning?
Besides ridding the body of parasites and impacted waste from poorly digested foods, detoxing can also help the body get rid of harmful heavy metals like lead and mercury.
Symptoms of colon inflammation and cankering:
Health care information about colon inflammation. Learn the symptoms of intestinal distress, related health conditions such as colon polyps, and helpful tips for relieving the discomfort of a congested, toxic or inflamed colon.
How to identify an effective detox program:
Sorting out the so-so detox programs from the ones that really work is sometimes a challenge, especially when you have no one to ask about body detox information. Learn what a wellness counselor looks for in an effective detoxification program and you can find the best detox program for your needs.
Reducing the healing crisis effect:
A lot of people would like to detox but they are afraid of the infamous healing crisis. There are steps you can take, prior to a cleanse, to reduce this phenomenon.
How to avoid a toxic home:
Our organs are toxic, in part, because of the air we breathe and toxins we are exposed to in our environment. Most people don't really think of their home as toxic but the truth is that many building supplies are toxic and some can outgas toxic fumes for years.
How to do the Master Cleanse:
Information about the famous Lemonade Diet, why most people are doing it wrong, and how to do it for optimal detox and cleansing effect.
Ending Chronic Constipation:
Practical tips for those who suffer from chronic constipation. Restore healthy bowel movement safely and naturally. Learn simple dietary changes that can help you to maintain eliminatory health.
Detoxing Emotional Trauma:
It may sound odd to you to compare the healing of emotional issues with detoxification but I've seen that toxic emotions are just as damaging to a person's health, if not more so, than actual toxic waste within the body.Excess stress, unhealthy expressions of anger or supression of anger, operating from a place of fear, worrying excessively and other toxic emotional choices end up taking a real toll on the body over time. You cannot seperate the emotions from the physical body because everything you feel has physical impact.
Think about it. Can you really be in fear without everything in your body responding to that innate "fight or flight" impulse?
When afraid, your breathing will instinctively and automatically change, as will your muscle tension and thought process. It's impossible to feel a strong emotion without it affecting your body on a physiological level.
Detoxing your emotions makes at least as much sense as cleansing your body. Along with choosing and consciously completing the best detox program for your needs, see that you address emotional components for lasting results.
Healing Past Wounds of Trauma
Cleansing emotional trauma is every bit as important as cleansing the body. As a spiritual healing facilitator, I've often seen physical symptoms like constipation are linked with childhood emotional factor (involving some embarassment or fearful situation when going to the bathroom, for example).
One woman who was chronically constipated her entire life, finally got the to the emotional root of it when she remembered having to go outside to the bathroom at night and there being big spiders in the outside toilet. Her brothers would lock her in there. As a result, she tried never to go to the bathroom at night and she ended up chronically constipated into her adult years.
Healing Issues with Money
Are your beliefs about financial abundance toxic? If living in fear of not having money is causing undue stress for you, then physiological complications that are stress-related (including indigestion, insomnia and constipation or diarrhea) may eventually result. Heal your relationship with money and you can also reduce your day-to-day stress levels in a way that cleanses your mind and helps you become more healthy. Learn how to detox your mind of poverty consciousness.
Cleansing Toxic Anger Patterns
Toxic emotions like fear and anger drain the body. Anger is a particularly destructive emotion if it is suppressed. The person who continually suppresses their anger may eventually strike out or explode in anger or they may develop ulcers, high blood pressure, chronic headaches and other physical problems including constipation. If you are angry, you cannot digest your food as well. If you don't digest your food properly, you cannot eliminate well. Over time, you'll be congested in some way. Healing your anger helps to heal all processes of the body.
Detoxing Disclaimer: Do not begin a cleanse if you have diverticulitis unless your doctor says OK. These are educational health care articles on the subject of detoxification. They are not meant as replacement for any needed medical attention for conditions affecting the colon, including IBS, diverticulitis, chronic constipation or other concerns. Along with education on detoxing the body and emotions, be sure to get any needed medical tests because undergoing a cleanse in some cases will be contraindicated.