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To detox or not to detox? Science tells us that there is no need to because the body's mechanisms are naturally geared to detox. However, does this take into account modern living?
We live in a polluted world: Many of us live in accommodation supplied with water through lead piping. In Europe lead piping was still being used up until the 1980's. It is very important to run tap water for several seconds before using it for drinking water and you should never use the hot water tap for drinking water. What other pollutants are present in our drinking water? How many of us have mercury amalgam fillings? Quite a number I should think. Mercury like lead is very toxic. How much of our fruit and vegetables have been treated with chemical pesticides? What unnatural products have been used to fatten up the livestock we consume?
The point I am making is that science probably does not take into account all the body nowadays has to cope with. Taking into consideration the above, junk food and our sedentary life styles, it is likely the body could do with a helping hand and Mother Nature, as is usually the case, is on hand to help us out.
Some people are strong advocates of total fasting, but to me this seems extreme and probably dangerous. I'm of the opinion the body needs a daily intake of vitamins, minerals and any other micro nutrients that are found in food for it to function properly. It therefore does not make much sense to deprive the body of these necessities. However, if you want to cleanse your system then some temporary, if not long-term, change to the diet is required.
Some people as part of their detoxing regime eat nothing but fruit for two days and drink lots of water with lemon juice added. This seems far preferable to a total fast, but I do wonder what happens to the blood sugar levels during the diet. Adding cinnamon will help but a small amount of complex carbohydrate, such as brown rice or wholemeal bread, with some protein would probably be a good idea as well. The well known Lemon Detox diet is not recommended, but lemon juice does help the liver and is an important detoxing aid.
There are a number of herbs that will also help the body detox, which could be taken in conjunction with the above fruit diet or just used for a period of time, a couple of times a year:
- Milk thistle - assists the liver in its detoxing function.
- Raspberries - the juice is believed to cleanse the digestive system. Additionally it might be helpful in relieving rheumatism, indigestion and diarrhoea.
- Watercress - apparently speeds up the bodies detox processes.
- Cayenne pepper - an internal disinfectant, with added bonus that it speeds up metabolism, so is great for burning fat.
- Black Cohosh - it is claimed neutralizes toxins in the blood.
- Burdock root - a blood purifier.
- Red Clover - another blood purifier. Also is a tonic for the nerves.
- Slippery Elm - absorbs toxins and helps with excess stomach acid.
- Dandelion - helps the livers detoxifying processes.
Diarrhoea
I am a big fan of homeopathic cures and for this particular troublesome malady I highly recommend New Era's tissue salts, just copy and paste and you will find a supplier. It stops diarrhoea quickly.
Dessicated coconut is apparently useful in controlling diarrhoea in chronic conditions such as IBS. If you do suffer from regular bouts it is possibly due to anxiety or allergy. If you suspect the latter then try removing the suspect food from your diet for a while. You may need to try an exclusion diet to pinpoint your allergens. Take medical advice before trying an exclusion diet.
Slippery elm and aloe vera are useful aids in digestive ailments, so try adding these to the diet along with a pro-biotic product containing live bifidobacteria and L. acidophilus.
Diets
"Diets" do not work. The only diet anyone needs is a good one. Please throw away all those books you have bought. A good diet consists of a moderate intake of complex carbohydrates, fat and protein, plus large helpings of fresh fruit and veg.
Apart from a very small unfortunate group of people who genuinely have biological reasons for being fat, the root cause of obesity is over eating. We all have differing metabolic rates, which means that we have to become aware of how much food we need. If you gain excess weight it is because you are consuming more calories than your body requires and it has stored it as fat.
Eating complex carbohydrates means wholemeal flour products, potatoes, bananas, oats, brown rice and other cereals that have not been over refined. It means drastically reducing the consumption of white flour products, chips (french fries), crisps (potato chips), cakes, sweets (candy) and chocolate.
Fat is an important constituent of the diet, so even if it was possible it would not be recommended to remove it completely. The Atkins diet has been proven to work at shedding the pounds. It was a very controversial diet because it flew in the face of medical advice which is, that complex carbohydrates should form the major part of it, whereas Atkins favoured the consumption of protein and natural fatty foods.
The diet worked though, because those on it had stopped eating junk food. Gone were the Big Macs, cakes, chocolate, biscuits (cookies) and other confectionery goodies. Plus protein foods are more filling, so there is less of a tendency to over eat. However, the establishment was right in its criticism of the diet, because it is not sensible to remove one of the major energy sources from the body i.e. complex carbs, which release energy slowly. The diet Atkins now recommends is very much along the lines of mainstream thought.
You are probably thinking this sounds incredibly boring now that you cannot touch your favourite snacks, but hey I'm not that cruel. In fact one of the reasons diets fail is that they are boring. People will bravely follow their chosen diet slavishly for months, then crack under the strain and suddenly start binging.
All I suggest is that you eat sensibly and take notice of the first two paragraphs of this subject. You must allow space in your diet for the snacks you love, but you know just how much you can eat before the scales start to shout. So instead of buying that big bar of chocolate, which you know you will devour once you have opened it, buy a small bar instead. In fact buy all of your treats this way and ignore the two for one offers!
"Starvation" diets are a sure way to fail in your search for a leaner you. Biologically we have become attuned to times of plenty and times of scarcity. When we drastically curtail our calorie intake the body becomes more efficient in its use of the nutrients. This increased efficiency does not switch off when the diet finishes.
Increasing your metabolic rate is also important in shifting those excess pounds. Eating several small meals a day is recommended including breakfast, which kick starts the metabolic rate after its night time rest. Cayenne pepper is noted for its effect on raising the metabolic rate as are many fruits, veg and lean protein; and drinking plenty of water is recommended, iced water is apparently useful (let me know if you find this is true).
Of course the best way of raising the metabolism is activity and you will find a few tips here.
Please Do Not Reprint This Article
This article is copyrighted. Please do not reproduce this article in whole or part, in any form, without obtaining my written permission.Copyright © 2009 by Philip Bailey. All rights reserved. theapothecary.890m™ is a trademark of Philip Bailey.
Last updated: 16 April 2009.