Cleanse
A body cleanse, or detoxification, means eliminating toxins from the body to improve overall health and well-being.
A body cleanse supports the body's natural detoxification processes and enhances its ability to remove harmful substances.
Some common body cleanses:
- Dietary Cleanses: To detoxify, eat clean foods, drink juices, or take herbs. Avoid processed foods, caffeine, and alcohol.
- Juice Cleanses: Drink only fresh fruit and vegetable juices for a while to supply nutrients and ease digestion.
- Water Fasting: Water fasting involves consuming only water for a time. It should only be done under the guidance of a healthcare professional.
- Herbal Cleanses: Herbs like dandelion root, milk thistle, and burdock root are popular for detoxification.
- Colon Cleanses: Colon cleansing involves flushing the colon with water or other substances to remove waste and toxins.
Cleansing is done briefly to help establish and reinforce good health. It can be used to lose weight and treat problems like bloating, acne, sugar cravings, etc.
The human body has built-in detoxification systems (liver and kidneys), efficiently eliminating toxins daily. Extreme or prolonged body cleanses can be potentially harmful, causing nutrient deficiencies, electrolyte imbalances, and other adverse effects.
Home Remedies to Cleanse Your Body
Before starting a body cleanse, consult a healthcare professional who can provide personalized guidance based on your specific health needs and goals.
Gentle Body Cleansing for Natural Detoxing
To support natural detoxification, try modifying lifestyle practices and home remedies. A gentle detox diet is good for you, and extreme cleansing methods aren't necessary for good health. A natural detox diet helps remove waste and harmful toxins from the body. Several effective detoxification diets include juices from organic fruit and vegetables.
Healthy Liquids
Staying hydrated aids in detoxification and supports kidney health. Drink at least 64 oz. of water daily to achieve this.
Herbal teas like dandelion root, green tea, ginger, and milk thistle are believed to help with liver function and detoxification. Talking to a healthcare professional before drinking them is important, especially if you have health conditions or take medications.
Avoid alcoholic drinks, coffee, soda, or drinks containing artificial flavorings or preservatives.
Healthy Diet
Eat organic whole foods, including fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, and healthy fats, to provide your body with essential nutrients and antioxidants for overall health and detoxification.
Adding fiber-rich foods to your diet to naturally help your body clean toxins. Fruits, vegetables, and whole grain grains high in fiber will also help relieve constipation and helps with digestion and toxin elimination. Vegetables high in fiber include carrots, celery, zucchini, and beets.
Practice mindful eating by savoring each bite, listening to your body's signals, and making better food choices for improved digestion.
Exercise and Stress Management
Regular physical activity like walking, jogging, swimming, or yoga can help detox your body by improving circulation, reducing sweating, and removing toxins through the lymphatic system. Try to do at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise most days of the week.
Reduce stress with meditation, deep breathing, yoga, or relaxing hobbies. Long-term stress harms your health and slows down detoxification.
Adequate Sleep
Get 7-8 hours of sleep each night for optimal health and detoxification.
Limit Toxin Exposure
Choose natural cleaning and personal care products and organic foods, and avoid alcohol and foods with artificial additives to reduce exposure to toxins. Both caffeine and alcohol burden the liver and impede detoxification. Consider reducing or eliminating your intake of these substances during your cleanse.
More Extreme Body Cleanses
A colon cleanse at home will help you get rid of toxins. You can also use vegetable broth, simple soups, herbal cleansing supplements, and fiber.
With any detox or cleansing program, it is important to drink lots of water. Water helps flush the waste and toxins from your body. You should drink at least 8-10 glasses of water a day.
Herbal cleansers and laxatives like turkey rhubarb, an intestinal cleaner, and cascara sagrada, a mild colon cleanser, act as natural laxatives and help to remove waste and toxins from the body. Other herbal supplements include flax seeds, worm seeds, senna, and olive leaf extracts.
Lemon Water Drink Cleanse
A lemon water cleanse is one of the most popular cleanses. This cleanse requires lemons, water, organic maple syrup, and cayenne pepper. This should be drunk first thing each morning and right before you go to bed. During the day, drink 64 ounces of water with lemon slices added.
To make the lemon water cleanse:
- Slice three lemons into thin slices, removing the seeds and leaving them on the skins.
- Put the lemons into a saucepan and add a bottle of water.
- Bring the water to a boil, and then pour the liquid through a strainer into a mug.
- Add two tablespoons of the organic maple syrup and a small pinch of cayenne pepper to the mug and stir with a spoon.
Juice Cleanse
Juice cleanses are a popular way to detox. Fruits and vegetables are high in antioxidants, phytonutrients, and fiber, and they clean out toxins and help generate cell renewal. While on a juice diet, it is important to drink lots of water to flush the toxins and build up from the body.
One juice recipe for colon cleansing:
- One bunch of grapes
- One basket of strawberries
- Three apples
- Four sprigs of fresh mint
- Water
Coffee Enema
Enemas can clean the intestines of toxins and waste. Before trying a coffee enema, take a week or so and reduce your consumption of meat, poultry, eggs, dairy, fried foods, processed foods, and refined sugar. Cutting back on these foods will make the home cleanse easier to complete.
How to do a home cleanse enema with coffee:
- Brew about 12 cups of coffee using filtered or distilled water and allow the coffee to cool.
- Clean the enema bag with filtered water and two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar. Once clean, run clean water through the bag and tubing several times before using.
- Fill the enema bag with a mixture of one part coffee and two parts filtered or distilled water.
- Lie on the bathroom floor or sit on the toilet.
- Use olive oil or another food-grade oil to moisten the tip of the enema tubing before inserting it into the anus.
- Slowly empty the coffee mixture from the bag into your intestinal tract.
- Sit on the toilet and pass the waste.
- Repeat the enema if needed. Be sure to clean the enema bag and tubing between each round.
- Clean the enema bag and tubing before storing it for the next use.
Psyllium
Psyllium is a very popular natural cleansing herb. It contains a high level of fiber known as mucilage, which helps to absorb water and trigger colon contractions, which is helpful in the elimination of waste.
Psyllium is dried and comes in a tea form or as psyllium seeds that can be added to food or taken separately and in liquid and capsule extract. Psyllium is often used in high-fiber cereals.
Cascara Sagrada
Cascara Sagrada is another natural cleansing herb. This ancient Native American remedy contains anthraquinones, a chemical that works as a laxative. Cascara Sagrada also helps strengthen and improve colon muscle tone. This herb will also stimulate bile production in the liver, which helps rid the body of toxins.
Cascara Sagrada is dried and brewed as a tea. You can also find it in liquid extract or supplement form.
Herbal Supplements
Other helpful herbs include cayenne pepper, ginger, fennel, senna, garlic, and aloe leaf. These can be directly added to the diet as seasonings. Cayenne pepper can be added to lemon water as a great cleansing drink. Others can be found in extract, tea, or capsule supplement form.
Cautions
Remember, home remedies are intended to support your overall health and well-being and are not a substitute for medical advice. It's best to consult a healthcare professional before significantly changing your diet or lifestyle if you have any underlying health conditions or concerns.
