Why You Need to Spring Clean Your Body
Human cultures through the ages have instinctively cleansed themselves and their living environment upon the arrival of spring each year. The reasons are well founded from two perspectives. First, there is a natural need to cast off the winter blues and feel renewed. Second, according to Chinese medicine, the liver is most active in the detoxification process during spring, which has been confirmed by the science of Chronobiology. Toxins from the environment are the biggest cause of cancer, degenerative disease, birth defects and genetic changes. It is important for you to be proactive in minimizing your exposure, especially since we are learning more and more in the media about new exposures to cancer-causing substances in our environment and food supply, like the recent confirmation of the health dangers of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), which is found in all non-stick pans.
However, getting rid of your dangerous pots and pans will not make you immune to toxins because other toxins are still prevalent elsewhere in your life. PCBs from plastic containers, pesticides and herbicides from produce, dioxins from bleached paper products, and formaldehyde from carpets to eyeliners are all absorbed into your body and cause imbalance and harm to your health.
Typical symptoms and signs of toxic overload include:
- fatigue
- memory decline
- difficulty focusing
- allergies & infections
- irritability, anxiety and depression
- difficulty losing or gaining weight
- muscle and joint pain and weakness
- skin rashes, eruptions and outbreaks
- recurrent yeast and fungal infections
- constipation, diarrhea
- abdominal bloating, gas and indigestion
The necessity to rid your body of toxins on a regular basis is obvious. It is particularly useful for people trying to quit smoking, wean off drugs and lose weight. Many people have reported vast improvement in their symptoms and condition after going through a detoxification program. How then, do you begin an at-home Detox program or start a clinical Detox protocol? Below, I outline both.
At-Home Detox Program
(start with a one-day program and increase to one week or more)
Detox Diet: Eat mostly beans, brown rice, oat bran, vegetables, fruits, organic chicken or turkey
Vegetable Juice: 24 oz. juice made from cabbage, cucumber, carrot/greens, celery, turnip, asparagus, beet/greens, parsley, apple, aloe vera. Split up into 3 portions and drink
Vegetable Broth: 24 oz. broth made from as many of the following items: collards, swiss chard, kale, mustard greens, cabbage, dandelion, Brussel sprouts, daikon radish, watercress, seaweed, shitake mushroom, cilantro, garlic, leek, fennel, anise, ginger, turmeric. Divide into 3 portions to consume.
One lemon squeezed in 12 oz. hot water.
Take upon waking first thing in the morning.
Supplement with 1 tablespoon either flax seed oil or deep-sea fish oil.
Herbal Soak: 20-minute bath daily during intensive and weekly during Maintenance with infusions of eucalyptus, wintergreen, peppermint, fennel, cinnamon and epsom salt to help draw out toxins.
Clinical Detox Protocol
Early Chinese physicians have recognized that toxins are processed and neutralized by ones’ liver and gall bladder and are expelled from the body through the spleen-lymphatic system, skin, bladder and bowels. Detoxification and purification protocols were developed in response to naturally encountered toxins in food, the environment and microbial infections. At Tao of Wellness, we have worked with toxicologists and studied these and other clinical detoxification protocols to distill the best information into an innovative and comprehensive method that employs only natural modalities. We offer a One-Week Intensive and follow-up Maintenance Programs.
We invite you to discuss your detoxification needs with your practitioners. Spring may be the best time to cleanse your body and environment but you don’t have to wait until spring to start because detoxification and cleansing is for all seasons.