The Guardian recently posted an online article titled, “You Can’t Detox Your Body. It’s a Myth. So How Do You Get Healthy?” The article claims that businesses promoting cleansing products are wrongly trying to convince consumers that they need to rid their body of toxins. According to Dara Mohammadi, the article’s author, the cleanse is a fad that has it all wrong. As someone who has studied alternative medicine, changed my diet greatly over the past decade and who LOVES a good cleanse, let me share with you what I know.
Our health is a direct result of what we put into our body, how we treat ourselves, not to mention the environment in which we live, and the ever-rising number of environmental pollutants that are present to us just by the fact that we breathe.
The word toxin, which gets freely used and which can conjure fear, is actually a pretty simple idea. A toxin is simply anything that changes the healthy balance of our body, degrades our health and promotes disease. Our bodies have been beautifully designed with a whole system to help us stay in balance and healthy. BUT, life on our planet is changing. Post-industrial revolution has brought vast changes not only to the way we grow and raise food, but to our everyday way of life. The more we move away from nature, the more our bodies will struggle to find their natural state of good health.
As we live in relationship to our own health, we understand that we can greatly affect that state of health and support our body even when it is healthy. The incredibly important part of a cleanse is that it can help you tune in and realign with how your body is functioning. In this way, the cleanse becomes an opportunity to listen to yourself and discover what areas of your health need more support.
The systems of the body can become weakened by many things.
A diet high in processed foods likely means you are struggling with a vitamin/mineral deficiency. The additives, preservatives and artificial ingredients that go into a majority of processed foods can accumulate and weaken your digestion. As a result the liver can become sluggish, affecting all other systems of the body. In Eastern medicine, a sluggish, unhappy liver contributes to many other health ailments. The health of our liver is vital to our overall health. A good juice cleanse can stimulate your digestion, support your liver and give your body the opportunity to find its natural balance.
Our health is dependent on taking in nourishment and eliminating what it doesn’t need.
If you are not fully nourishing your body and if your body is struggling to effectively eliminate all toxins, you are going to feel it. Take time to cleanse occasionally, while eating clean between cleanses, and decide for yourself.
Before choosing a cleanse ask yourself these two questions:
1. Is the cleanse I am choosing offering my body things that are completely natural and nourishing?
2. After the cleanse, how can I make changes to my diet that will continue to support my body and promote my health?
Your cleanse may be the most important challenge you ever take on! It has a tendency to open awareness and help us in ways we couldn’t understand without having gone through the process.
