5 ways to get clean
ORGANS TO CLEANSE
©Wild Oats, Inc. 1996
COLON This is the starting point for getting clean. In a constipated colon, toxins and waste overtax other eliminative organs and circulate through the whole system. Putrefying wastes also encourage the growth of harmful bacteria. In a healthy colon, the balance of bacteria is 85% "friendly bacteria to 15% "bad" bacteria. Acidophilus and bifidus, two types of friendly bacteria also known as probiotics, severe functions; they manufacture vitamins B and K, produce digestive enzymes, and protect the immune function. Most people’s bacteria balance is the opposite of what it should be. That causes immune difficulty and candidiasis, among other problems. (Note: our fiber intake is one-fifth the amount we ate 100 years ago [and fiber is the colon’s natural cleanser].)
SKIN Did you know that your skin is your largest organ of elimination and cleanses over one pound of impurities a day? Sweat and urine are very similar chemically; thus, your skin is like one huge kidney. Your skin also breathes! Like your lungs, it absorbs life-giving oxygen and "exhales" carbon dioxide; in fact, your skin performs one-seventh of your body’s respiration. A person whose skin is covered entirely with spray paint will actually suffocate.
What is one requirement for allowing your skin to breathe and eliminate? Clear and opens pores! If your pores are clogged with dead skin cells and wastes, toxins lodge in your skin tissues and cause an unhealthy sallow or mottled appearance. These toxins continue to circulate in your blood, pollute your entire body and tax your kidneys. Cellulite is another sign that your skin is not eliminating properly. Cellulite is dismissed as a beauty problem by American doctors, but Europeans know that cellulite is actually toxic waste that has lodged in the skin’s fatty tissues because of improperly flowing lymph fluid. Traditional Chinese doctors "read" the skin to discover which internal organs are weak. Skin problems like acne and eczema, for example, are often signs that the liver isn’t functioning properly.
KIDNEYS Your kidneys work to filter waste from your blood and excrete up to 2-3 pints per day through the urine. You can keep your kidney's functioning properly by avoiding excess protein, especially animal protein. Too much protein forces your kidneys to work overtime in ridding your body of excess uric acid. Painful kidney stones result when inorganic mineral wastes get backed up and are not flushed from the kidneys. These problems are quite preventable with proper cleansing. If either your skin or colon are not kept clean and clear, your kidneys will suffer.
LIVER The word "liver" comes from the words "to live." [The liver’s functions are] So complex and important that if people built a factory to represent it, that factory would cover 2,000 acres! Your amazing liver makes antihistamines that keep your immunity high; cleanses your blood; neutralizes and eliminates poisons; metabolizes fat and cholesterol; makes and stores red blood cells; sends wastes into bile; helps digestion; and balances hormones. Modern life places a heavy burden on your liver by forcing it to handle ever-increasing amounts of pesticides and environmental pollutants. Because toxins from the colon cycle back through your liver, the health of the two organs is powerfully intertwined.
LUNGS Our lungs provide us with a nutrient even more vital than food and water: oxygen. Every second, you breathe in life-giving oxygen that floods your cells with nourishment and burns waste products. With each exhale, you banish toxins from your system. Breathe deeply to the bottom of your lungs!
HERBS & THERAPIES FOR CLEANSING
COLON A cleansing diet combined with herbal formulas and fiber supplements, will purify a colon of old, and accumulated wastes. Or prepare your own formula using bulk herbs with the recipe in the article "Make Your Own Cleansing Formula". Avoid using laxatives, enemas and colonics, which only move your last meal through, but do nothing to address the old layers of wastes. Fiber is key: you need a balance of soluble & insoluble fiber. Food sources of fiber include oat or wheat bran, ground flaxseeds, beans, and vegetables. Start slowly with fiber supplements as they can cause abdominal discomfort and gas. Try guar gum, psyllium, pectin, and glucomannen. To break up gas, supplement with ginger, flaxseed, probiotics and FOS. For extra drawing power, take papain and bentonite clay with lots of extra water. [CKLS is a New Body Products herbal formula that does the trick for thousands.]
SKIN Eliminate wastes and helps your skin glow with body brushing, a Japanese bathing ritual. Body brushing clears your pores and pushes out toxins by stimulating your blood and lymph circulation. Body brushing also boosts immunity, breaks up cellulite and increases your skin’s elasticity. You’ll need a body brush with natural, stiff bristles. Body brush for five minutes a day before your morning or shower or bath. Start with the soles of your feet and brush in small, circular, and vigorous motions. (It tickles at first!) Work up your legs and then your arms, brushing toward your heart. Brush every inch of your body. Work up to a firm pressure gradually over a couple of weeks. The goal is to stimulate and invigorate your skin but not damage it. For tender areas, like your breasts and neck, use a gentler tool like a sponge.
Saunas, baths, and daily exercise also encourage your skin’s cleansing capacity. Hot baths open the pores and help draw out toxins through your skin. Combine aromotherapy, herbs or sea salt or epsom salt with your water. Essential oils for detoxifying include fennel, juniper, garlic, and rose. For a cleansing ginger bath, add this strong tea to your bath water (1 cup fresh grated ginger simmered with 1 quart of hot water for an hour). Working up a sweat during exercise helps carry more wastes out through your pores. You can also produce a good sweat by drinking herbal teas like ginger or yarrow before bathing. Since your skin and your liver are so closely connected, blood-purifying herbs for your liver (see below) will help with acne, eczema, and other skin problems.
KIDNEYS During a cleansing program help your kidneys with diuretic herbs like dandelion, parsley, or cornsilk. Natural diuretics should not be used for long periods of time, but unlike over-the-counter diuretics, their high potassium content will keep the system balanced in the short term. [Dandelion is used for anemia, iron deficiency, etc. and can be used regularly. Parsley is good for digestiona dn halitosis and can be used regularly.] Upon waking, drink the juice of ½ lemon; 2 Tbsp. Cider vinegar or unsweetened cranberry juice concentrate diluted in warm water. The water from cooking adzuki beans is also said to cleanse the kidneys. Cleansing teas include chamomile, rosemary, and rosehip. Cleansing foods include aloe vera juice and cholera. Cleansing supplements include ascorbate vitamin C, cranberry, green foods, digestive enzymes, and products. [CKLS will also do the job.]
LIVER Start your day with a tonic drink. Blend ¼ cup fresh squeezed lemon juice, ¾ cup fresh-squeezed orange juice, a pinch of cayenne, 1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil, and 1-2 cloves of raw garlic. Herbs for liver support include for cleansing, dandelion root, and burdock root. Oregon grape root, and "Swedish Bitters;" and for rebuilding damaged liver tissues, milk thistle seed or extract. Supplements to prevent fatty build-up include phosphatidyl choline and inositol (or lecetin, which contains them); chromium; and L-carnitine. Supplements that protect the liver include vitamins C, E and beta-carotene; coenzyme Q-10; germanium; the amino acids cysteine, glutathoine, and methionine; and omega-3 flax or fish oil. Supplements that aid digestion include hydrochloric acid (HCI); full spectrum digestive enzymes, particularly lipase; and probiotics. [CKLS cleans the liver.]
LUNGS To increase lung power and stimulate your lymph fluid to remove toxins, exercise daily for fresh, clean air. Consider joining a yoga class to develop conscious awareness of your breath through daily deep breathing exercises. Breathe through your nose, instead of your mouth, to filter air before it gets to your lungs. Strive to make every breath a vital, life-giving one that dissolves your body’s toxins and your mind’s stress! [Your body knows how to breathe. Use the "pay attention to your breathing while being quiet and still for up to 20 minutes twice every day" meditation. All that striving will give you stress. Your breathing is supported by your spleen. CKLS cleanses the COLON, KIDNEY, LIVER, & SPLEEN.