Cleansing Toxins From Your Body
This article provides an overview for cleansing toxins from your body – or “detox”.
Three steps are involved:
- You need to determine whether you need a detoxification program.
- You need to decide which one.
- You follow that program.
However: many people will benefit from the general program outlined at the end of this article. You should still read about the risks and cautions before starting, but be assured that you don’t need to have all the answers before starting to cleanse yourself.
Do I need a detoxification program?
The glib answer is, “Probably”.
Since you are reading this article, you already have an idea that cleansing toxins from your body might be helpful.
You might not have any symptoms, but know that you are at risk because:
- You live or work with environmental hazards:
- Factory effluent (dust, runoff into waterways, smells, smokestacks)?
- Heavy metals in your drinking water?
- Working with chemicals?
- Fast food or junk food?
- Smoking? Drinking? Other drugs?
- Chronic infections? Overweight?
- Digestive problems (gas, bloating, indigestion)
- Fatigue
- General aches and pains
- Hair or skin problems
- Muscle weakness
- Poor sleep
- Swollen lymph nodes
- Environmental, non-living (eg: heavy metals)
- Food-based (eg: growth hormones in non-organic meat)
- Living (eg: fungus or parasites), along with their waste chemicals, or your allergic reaction
- Your own waste chemicals
- Children (under 12)
- Pregnant or breastfeeding women
- Which program for cleansing toxins from your body has fewer
risks?
- Which program are you more likely to follow?
- How much will the program cost?
- First, discuss all your planned changes with your doctor – especially if you are taking medications or are under treatment for any known conditions
- Avoid known allergens and toxins
- Cut back on alcohol, or quit
- Cut back on caffeine (coffee, tea, caffeinated sodas), or quit
- Drink water (about 8 glasses a day)
- Eat a better diet (see more details below)
- Exercise (start slow and short, if you aren’t already exercising)
- Reduce non-prescription medications if possible
- Stop smoking
- Try to get enough sleep
- Use herbal supplements (but you should choose ones that address your symptoms)
You know that your diet or habits or health put you at risk:
You might have symptoms or health problems, but following your doctor’s advice has not helped. Or, of course, your doctor may have explicitly diagnosed a toxin.
Many of those who find relief through a detox program had tried standard medical treatments first, but without success. This does not mean that your doctor is useless. It means that it can be difficult to diagnose and treat a person with toxins.
Many kinds of toxins can cause problems. Some vastly different toxins cause similar symptoms. Some toxins present different symptoms in different individuals.
If you have very specific symptoms, you might want to search for those symptoms and cross-reference for toxins. However, here are some of the general, nagging symptoms you might have (and for which you have not received a helpful diagnosis from your doctor):
These are the main kinds of toxins:
Some people should generally not go through a detox program (although acute cases, such as acute lead poisoning, do require immediate treatment):
Consider discussing your symptoms with your doctor before deciding about cleansing toxins from your body. Consider these conditions, taken from a list dealing strictly with liver detoxification: anorexia; current or ongoing medication; diabetics; prior diagnosis with autoimmune disorders, cancer, heart conditions, kidney disease, liver disease or liver damage.
Generally, cleansing toxins from your body will add more stress onto your body. You might have to consider a trade off: wait to recover from one illness before starting a detox program; or start a program in the hope you are strong enough to handle it and reap the benefits.
Which program should I follow?
You need to research, or consult a practitioner – preferably someone who actually uses different remedies for different people. A naturopath is a good choice when you are searching for a practitioner who can help with detox. You need to verify that the symptoms actually may be caused by the toxins that the program is supposed to cleanse.
If your research suggests some specific toxins, it may be time for some tests – now that you have something specific to target.
If there are still choices – if several programs promise to cleanse the same toxins, or to relieve your symptoms – then consider:
Follow that program!
You’ve probably seen a movie where the comic hero tells a taxi driver, “Follow that cab!” – but our hero doesn’t get in before his taxi races away.
So, if you’ve found the right detox program – or if you’ve decided to just try one – good luck with your efforts.
A General Approach to Cleansing the Toxins from your Body
Many detox programs include these steps:
The better diet usually includes fresh fruit and vegetables, lean meat (including fish and poultry), low-fat dairy products, whole grains including bread and oatmeal. This diet avoids fatty or deep-fried foods, refined sugars and simple carbohydrates (white bread and white flour, soda pop, candies and pastries), and saturated fats.
You also should exercise “portion control”: eat smaller amounts at shorter intervals, rather than binging. Ensure you eat enough fiber to feel full; along with the water and exercise, you will probably have regular bowel movements (if you didn’t already – and some people do need help here).
You may experience withdrawal symptoms if you give up caffeine or sugar. You may need to start slowly on some of these changes.
Be careful starting an exercise program. You might find a slow, five-minute walk to be a big accomplishment. Whatever you can safely do at the start, you may be able to increase the time or distance as you progress. If you can, exercise enough to work up a sweat.
Your body will try to cleanse the toxins through your perspiration, your stools and your urine.
The general program might not relieve your specific symptoms, but it might help...a lot. So if you've decided to work on cleansing toxins from your body, this site should be a big help in determining how to go about it.
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