Cleanses, Fasting, and Detox for Good Health

Continue or begin your journey to health, hope, and healing in a natural, drug-free way, through cleanses, fasting and detox. Your body will come into balance and you'll feel encouraged. It may even change your life.

Get ready to take care of your body in ways that have been proven over and over again. People have done cleanses, fasting, and detox since the beginning of time. Your body is your "temple" and something of incredible value; not just to yourself, but to others.

We have researched and summarized it all here for you from books, best therapies, and treatments.

Let's move ahead.

The Basics of Cleanses, Fasting, & Detox

In the body, we need to detoxify the skin, lungs, kidney, liver, and colon.

There are a number of ways to do this:

1. Brushing (using a loofah to brush the skin---always away from the heart)
2. Drinking pure water
3. Exercising and moving
4. Breathing pure air
5. Juicing (ingesting whole foods)

Do I need to cleanse?

Well, ask yourself these questions:

Do I drink enough water throughout the day?
Do I sleep well?
Do I over-eat or have "night eating syndrome" (eating late at night)
Do I lack exercise?
Do I eat a diet heavy in sugar and fat?
Do I go to the bathroom regularly?

We'll get to the cleanses and fasts in a minute, but for now, check out a great skin cleansing bath.

TOXIN ELIMINATING BATH

1 C Epsom salt
2 T Ginger (stirred in a cup beforehand)

Bath opens pores, eliminates toxins, AND eliminates pain. Stay in no longer than 30 minutes.

To cleanse the lungs, you need cleaner air. HEPA filters work great! You've probably seen them or at least heard of them.

Also, monumental health practitioners, such as Joseph Pilates, believed that at the root of poor health was inefficient breathing, among others (bad posture and modern lifestyle). Many health problems (such as exacerbated asthma) can be alleviated by practicing simple techniques.

Get familiar with this simple breathing technique to help expand the lungs:

BREATHING TECHNIQUE

1. Stand with feet apart, spine tall, shoulders down, chin surface with floor.
2. Spread fingers and place them on belly, middle finger matching up with navel.
3. Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth.
4. Focus on the air coming in through your nose, down the esophagus, and filling up the left and right bronchii. Notice your fingers spreading apart.
5. Reverse the visualization as you exhale. The fingers come closer together as the air trickles up to the collar bones out through the mouth.
6. Perform 5 cycles then 10 after gaining familiarity with the exercise. Take in bigger breaths every time, without force. Take in air when you've let out every drop of it.

While we're on the subject of breathing...

MEDITATION TECHNIQUE

1. Sit cross-legged, or lie comfortably.
2. Close eyes gently, relax muscles from head to toe.
3. Inhale through your nose, exhale through your mouth.
4. Allow each breath to match the length of the other.
5. Let out every drop of air before inhaling.
6. Count "1" on every exhale, and count "2" on every inhale.
7. Perform 10 cycles.

Cleanses and Food Cures

Eating live foods and juicing is an important part of every person's diet. If you're on a typical American diet, try eating live foods 2-3 times a week, then slowly adding it 1 time a day then twice a day. Juicers can be found at, among other places, Target, ebay, or if you're like me, search the classified section of the newspaper. I found a juicer regularly priced at $259 for $75...and it was in GREAT condition!

5-Day Juice, Live Foods and Liver Cleanse

Each Morning for 5 days on an empty stomach, put 8 ozs. of fresh squeezed citrus juice in blender.

Add:
· 8 ozs. Distilled water
· 1 clove garlic
· 1 tablespoon olive oil
· Piece of ginger the size of the end of your thumb.

Liquefy and drink. As you can tolerate it, increase the olive oil to 4 tablespoons and the garlic to 4 cloves. It might help to chase this down with a few ozs. of fresh citrus juice. Fifteen minutes later: drink 2 cups hot Liver-Detox tea or Peppermint tea to help move any waste materials from your liver.

Days 1, 2, and 5
One hour following peppermint tea for the next 6 hours, drink 8-10 ozs. fresh raw live juice every hour. Nothing from a can or bottle. Get the juicer out and juice raw vegetables and fruits. More vegetables than fruits, especially carrots.

Days 3 and 4
One hour following peppermint tea, eat 1 plate of fresh raw live fruit. 4-5 hours later eat 1 plate of fresh raw vegetables or a salad. 4 hours later 1 large glass raw juice or fresh fruit. Drink plenty of water during this cleanse.

It is recommended to do this cleanse once every 90 days. For anyone with a serious disease, Dr. recommends to do nothing but juicing for 30 days. One glass every hour for 8 hours a day, along with plenty of water and herbal teas.

Internal Cleanse

In my family, every 3 months we do an Advocare Herbal Cleanse, a fiber cleanse that contains Probiotics. For those of you who know nothing of them, they are essential in fighting candida or any fungal infection. They are mainly friendly bacteria that are crucial in keeping your immune defense in good working order. This herbal detox is an internal car wash for your digestive system. And, if you've done quality cleanses in the past, you'll see that the price is a steal.

Cleanse for arthritis:

Day 1-5 add the juice of six freshly squeezed lemons to one quart of water, and drink. Add enough honey to make it drinkable. Use no more than 2 or 3 T of honey. Sip this every half hour throughout the day.

The next 5 days, eat only raw fruits, any kind, as long as they are fresh, not frozen, and make sure they are ripe. You can eat as much as you want. Stay on this for the full 5 days.

Then , the next week, eat only fresh fruits and raw or lightly steamed vegetables. Also, supplement with vitamins specific to your needs.

After this week, the above will make up to 75% of your total diet. You will add small amounts of lean protein…this should be found in nuts from the health food store. Almonds are the best. Make sure they are unsulfured. Also get protein from your raw vegetables.

Talk to your doctor, especially if you have significant health problems. A cleanse could be right for you. Keep in mind that some doctors will turn their noses at natural methods and would much rather offer you a pill.

Sources:

Natural Health Remedies, by Janet Maccaro, PhD, CNC
I Cured My Arthritis, You Can Too, by Margie Garrison
Cedarbook Wellness Center, a healthy living experience, located in Auburn, CA (www.cedarbrookhome.com) Thanks Grandma!
Heinerman's New Encyclopedia of Fruits and Vegetables, by John Heinerman