CLEANSING CORRECTLY FOR HEALTH AND WEIGHT LOSS

It’s that time of year! The time when we are inundated with people ready to make changes to improve their health, and to lose weight in the process.  Some people just want to take a pill, without making other changes. If you are one of these people, this article isn’t for you.  But if you are more serious and are willing to change your health from the inside out, which just happens to cause weight loss usually, or weight gain which may be needed in others, read on. This process ends up improving overall health, digestion and how well the body absorbs and utilizes nutrients—which all lead to better health.

Any changes in life begin with getting rid of the old to make room for the new, and cleansing your body can be a great way to start this process.  It is important to know some things before purchasing just any cleanse on the market.  There are many cleansing products, some which are very harsh, some which are gentle, and some that are more effective then others, depending on the person and their specific body issues.  Before choosing a cleansing product, it is important to know a few things, and to ask questions of the place where you are purchasing the products.

• How often are your bowels now?  This is very important.  If you are going three times a day, and the product being recommended is strong, it will not only make you go more, but could also just cause diarrhea, which isn’t really cleansing. It is just making your colon spasm. If your colon spasms, then its walls are not letting go of toxins or being scrubbed out. If you are going once a week and the product isn’t strong enough, or right for you, it may just clog you up more, instead of helping to release toxins.

Also, I have many customers that want to do parasite or fungus cleanses.  It is very important that your colon is moving a minimum of three times a day before one of these additional cleanses are started, otherwise, you are just killing organisms so that they can lay dead in your colon. It is important that your colon is moving so that these bugs can be moved out instead of causing more colon problems.

•  What health issues do you have that may be affected by a cleanse?  This can include, colon issues (like irritable bowel syndrome), high blood pressure, diabetes, or the like.  If you have any serious issues, cleansing can help considerably if it is done correctly and with support from your health professional who can help you as problems can arise that you may not understand or be able to turn around to your advantage in a timely manner.  When you have the help and guidance of a professional, you should get good results with your cleanse, and be able to get all your questions answered while seeing an improvement with your overall health.

Cleansing while fasting

The most beneficial cleanses are those which require you to fast. This can be difficult for some people and definitely not recommended for everyone.  Sometimes it may be required if someone is very ill. 

Fasting is good for so many reasons.  It gives your digestive system a rest, helps pull toxins out of your body, and many people find they have a ton of energy that they didn’t know they had when they fast.  It is important also when fasting to protect your heart, and to make sure that your blood sugar levels stay up so you have something to pull from during the fast.  The supplements you are taking should have nutrients or herbs to help with this support. 

Fasting in this case means no solid food whatsoever.  During the fast you can drink liquids like organic raw juices, organic chicken or beef broth. It is important to only use organic liquids; else you are just putting more toxins in your body, which just defeats the whole purpose.  Also, drinking juice helps to bring up your blood sugar levels.

A fast allows your body to let go of the toxins, plaque, and dead cells that are within. When you eat, the cleansing supplements you take attach themselves to the food, instead of the junk you are trying to remove. When you fast, the supplements attach themselves to the junk, and pulls out the toxins. 

It is also very important that you keep drinking lots of water during the fast as well to prevent constipation.  If you don’t you will just end up with a bunch of junk in your colon that won’t come out.  There are packaged cleanses you can purchase at health food stores that outline this in detail for you.  The fasts are typically done for 5-10 days, depending on the product, and how long the person can actually do the fast. 

Mucoid Plaque

After years of eating food, especially toxic food, it is common to build up a layer of 'mucoid plaque' on the inside walls of the intestines. This plaque greatly reduces our ability to absorb nutrition as well as leading to countless health problems. Doing cleanses properly can help absorb and pull this plaque from your intestinal walls and carry it out of your system.  After the cleanse, most people notice their food tastes better; their sense of smell is improved, and they have a ton of energy after removing this plaque from their bodies. 

The mucoid plaque is best removed with a fasting cleanse, but can also be removed with other cleanses; it may just take longer.  Once your mucoid plaque is removed you may find that your body will crave only foods that are good for you, and that junk/packaged food doesn’t sound as appealing.

Cleansing while eating normally   

So, you want to cleanse, but you want to eat “normally.”  Well, that is like trying to clean out your garbage can while someone else keeps trying to put garbage in it.  So, first you should change your basic diet.  Make sure that you are eating foods that actually feed you: organic fruits and vegetables, organic whole grains (no wheat), and organic meats. No packaged foods. You can also start eating more raw food, which is any food that isn’t cooked.  This will also have a cleansing effect in your body.  Then you can do a cleansing product that will supplement you with this new healthy diet.  It won’t be quite as effective as a fasting cleanses, but you will see beneficial changes.  We have had several people pass their mucoid plaque while eating normally and taking cleansing supplements. 

Healing crisis

Many times when people cleanse they have what is often referred to as a “healing crisis.”  It is also technically called “The Herxheimer Reaction.”  The phenomenon was first described by dermatologist Jarisch Adolf Herxheimer (1860-1902) working in Vienna, Austria, and a few years later by his brother Karl Herxheimer (1861-1942), also a

Dermatologist, working in Frankfort, Germany.

This reaction, a transient, short-term immunologic reaction is commonly seen following taking quality supplements.  It can include, fever, chills, headache, and rashes. The reaction has been attributed to liberation of endotoxin-like substances or of antigens from the killed or dying microorganisms.

Simply stated, it is a reaction that occurs when the body is detoxifying and the released toxins either exacerbate the symptoms being treated or create their own symptoms such as headaches, body ache, joint discomfort, sweating, general malaise, sore throat, nausea and/or flu-like symptoms.

The reaction is caused by an immune system reaction to the toxins (endotoxins) that are released when large amounts of pathogens are being killed off and the body does not eliminate the toxins quickly enough.

Drinking LOTS of water can help eliminate or at least reduce many of these issues, by moving the toxins out of the body faster.

The Herxheimer brothers (who were mainly treating syphilitic lesions of the skin) noticed that in response to treatment, many patients developed not only fever, perspiration, night sweats, nausea and vomiting, but their skin lesions became larger and more inflamed before settling down and healing. Interestingly, they found that those who had the most extreme reactions healed the best and fastest. The patient might be ill for 2-3 days, but then their lesions resolved. Although the experience may not feel particularly good, the

Herxheimer Reaction or healing crisis is actually a sign that healing is taking place.

Some people re-experience issues that they had many years ago when cleansing.  An example is one woman who I worked with many years ago. She had a small tumor in her ear that the doctors said was inoperable.  Unfortunately she couldn’t hear out of that ear.  She was taking medication that she was going to be on for the rest of her life because of a replaced heart valve.  She believed that the medication was causing the tumor.  So we recommended a few items that she slowly started on to help her body eliminate the build of toxins caused by the drug and to prevent the build up causing the tumor, but not effect how the drug was working so her heart would remain healthy. After 2 weeks she called and said that she was hearing a crackling in her ear similar to the one she had when it started to get clogged up in the first place. After a month she called to say she could hear normally out of that ear.

Emotional Healing

Emotional releases also happen when fasting or cleansing.  Many people will be angry or sad, or cry for no apparent reason.  And afterward they feel great. This happens because we hold onto emotions in our tissues and cells. Our cells remember and help us to burry and hold onto emotions that we haven’t addressed.  Cleansing can release these emotions along with the dead cells and toxins.  

If you aren’t up for cleansing your whole body right away, you might start by cleansing your car, your home, or your selection of friends.  Making small changes around you also affects your health as well.

Regardless of your method of cleansing, or reason for cleansing, know that you won’t be just cleaning your organs, but that your whole body will benefit.

Here’s to a new year and a new healthy body for you!