Getting a Fresh Start for the New Year: Cleansing and Detoxification
by Thad Jacobs, ND, LAc
Each year, the most popular health related items on people’s New Year’s resolution “to-do” list are shed some pounds, get fit, be less stressed and quit various health-defeating habits. Unfortunately, the notion of change often overwhelms the psyche to a point where another year passes and you have yet to meet your health goals. This year, take charge and begin your New Year transformation with cleansing and detoxification.
Cleansing and detoxification is an extremely powerful, health promoting tool that encourages a break away from poor lifestyle choices. Periodically cleaning out the body, just as you might Spring-clean your home, helps keep the cellular machinery working properly to ensure optimal functioning of our nervous system, immune system and hormones. In addition, a healthy cleansing program allows you to successfully withdrawal from the unhealthy foods, caffeine, tobacco and other vices that only serve to deplete the body and add to its toxic burden.
It should be noted that not all cleansing and detox programs are safe and effective. The methods of 50-100 years ago do not necessarily apply today in our chemical laden environment. The nutrient-dependant detoxification pathways within our bodies need much heftier doses of nutritional support to accommodate heavier toxic burdens our bodies now carry. Consult with a qualified healthcare practitioner, such as a licensed naturopathic physician, to determine which cleanse is best for you.
Done safely, periodic cleansing and detoxification will add quality years to your life. If you have experienced chemical exposure or have health challenges, then look into a cleansing and detox program that is supervised and tailored to your needs. Augmented with healthy dietary changes, stress reduction techniques and a regular exercise regimen and you will be hard pressed to not live healthier and happier this New Year.
Tips to get you started:
- Drink a minimum of one quart purified water for every fifty pounds of body weight.
- Eat more dietary fiber in the form of legumes and whole grains.
- Increase your intake of vitamins and minerals by using dietary supplements and eating mostly organically grown foods, which are more nutrient-dense than foods grown using petrochemical fertilizers and pesticides.
- Practice relaxation techniques such as prayer, meditation, yoga and tai chi.
- Stimulate your body’s circulation and natural elimination pathways with regular exercise.
A Few Reasons Why Cleansing is Important:
- Yearly U.S. production of chemical-laced farm animal waste is in the trillions of pounds. Chemical air, land and waterway pollution is in the billions of pounds. This pollution does enter and can not be prevented from entering our water and food supply, no matter how pristine the farming practices.
- More than 85,000 synthetic chemicals that didn’t exist 100 years ago may be found both in and outside our homes. We are probably exposed to several thousand of these chemicals on any given day.
- Numerous human fat sample studies have never found a chemical-free specimen. A recent study at Mt Sinai School of Medicine revealed of the 167 chemicals found in the fat samples of nine healthy volunteers with no known history of chemical exposure, 94 of the chemicals are toxic to the brain, 76 are carcinogenic and 79 are linked to birth defects.
June 21st, 2008 at 5:24 pm
This article was good because it told basically what you need to do but wasn’t a salepitch for a particular product.
The stats on carcinogens found in human fat from healthy individuals was most interesting.
June 21st, 2008 at 5:25 pm
This article was good because it told basically what you need to do but wasn’t a salepitch for a particular product.
The stats on carcinogens found in human fat from healthy individuals was most interesting.