Cleansing is what you can do to help your body detoxify more thoroughly.
Covered in an earlier post, detoxification is the body’s natural process of eliminating and neutralizing toxic materials from cells, organs and the bloodstream. The body processes toxins through the kidneys, liver, urine, feces, breath and sweat.
Cleaning your Body from the Inside Out
It’s an odd concept, isn’t it? Well, not really, if you think about how much of our insides we clean on a daily basis:
- Mouths (talk to any dentist and they’ll tell you it should be at least 3 times)
- noses (kids love to pick ‘em but socialization has put Kleenex in our hands)
- eyes (nasty, crusty sleep in the morning, gunk throughout the day)
- belly button (fuzz, dirt, grime…all accumulate if not washed regularly)
- vagina (there’s a daily natural cleansing process, but some doctors also recommend regular douches and/or baths)
And these are only the parts we have access to! Our excretory system cleans our bodies every second of every day. Then, you might ask, why do we need to do more than what nature is currently doing? Basically, we need to cleanse because our bodies weren’t designed to handle the amount of toxins in the world today.
A Common Analogy: House Cleaning
Detoxification is like house cleaning. Most people budget a strict amount of time to a weekly cleaning schedule. They will only bother with the highly trafficked areas because they have better things to do.
But come Spring, you pull out the couch and T.V. stand and notice that the dirt has accumulated (where no one has even been!), creating a rather large dust bunny village. Cleansing is like spring cleaning.
Everyone has their own tolerance level to toxins but in any case, the body can only process so many toxins at a time. When a backup occurs and the toxins keep coming in, the body protects itself by storing the toxins in fat cells.
When the fat real estate is all used up, then we’re left with a bunch of poisonous material banging around our insides like teenagers at a rave. The partiers destroy everything in sight and cause major havoc internally. Negative symptoms are expressed and if the root problem isn’t addressed in time, what was once minor irritations turn into chronic and degenerative diseases.
The Benefits of Cleansing
So if life isn’t as easy as you remember it to be, then you’re probably experiencing a toxic overload. Here are just some of the benefits to cleansing:
- Improves overall health and vitality
- Increases energy levels
- Improves digestion
- Helps control weight (even weight loss in some cases – definitely mine!)
- Decreases risk of disease and chronic health conditions
- General ability to live lighter in body, mind and spirit!
The next article in the detoxing series is “How do I Know I Need to Detox?”
March 3rd, 2008 at 9:32 am
Well Put Boxer Girl!
Losing weight, btw, can cause the fat cells to release these toxins en masse, so cleansing is essential as part of a weight loss routine!
I get headachey and stiff during weight loss. (as i’m going through right now!) so massage, soaks and cleansing is all part of the process! and sweat! Sweat sweat sweat helps get the stuff out too!
March 8th, 2008 at 10:04 am
[...] those just tuning in, over the last week we’ve been talking about what it means to detox and cleanse your body. We discussed why we should detox and the signs of toxicity, where our bodies are [...]
March 8th, 2008 at 10:13 am
[...] few posts ago, we defined detoxing and body cleansing. We’ve also covered why we should detox and the warning signs our bodies show to tell us when a [...]
March 9th, 2008 at 9:30 am
Yes, Denise, thank you for pointing out that feeling awful during the detox process is part of it. Unfortunately, things tend to get worse just before they get better.
And doing more to help your body detox will help flush these toxins out more rapidly. Sweating is a super way to detox and only one reason why exercise is such an important part of healthy living.
Good job on the weight-loss front - keep up the great work!!!
March 10th, 2008 at 10:17 am
[...] Spring is right around the corner and it’s time for a new beginning. Yes, I know fellow Ontarions, Nature dumped on us this weekend (30 cm or 1 foot of snow here in Toronto). But really, I promise Spring is coming. And it’s the perfect time to clean out your closets AND your body with some detoxing and cleansing. [...]
March 12th, 2008 at 6:39 am
[...] you’ve been reading about detoxing, cleansing and think your body might be telling you it needs assistance in detoxifying. You’ve tried a few [...]
March 16th, 2008 at 9:55 am
[...] post is for those who have been following Live Lighter’s detox and cleansing articles and who are still unclear about the reasons why we should actively help our body [...]
March 16th, 2008 at 9:58 am
[...] as well as their dangers. The last post clearly defined the differences between detoxification and body cleansing, why we need to cleanse and some of its [...]
March 28th, 2008 at 8:22 pm
[...] Bodacious Beach Bod Series focuses on nutrition and fitness (leaving out the cleansing for those who don’t believe in it). This 6 step approach will help you shed the gigglies and firm [...]
April 2nd, 2008 at 10:57 am
[...] cleansing may be in order. But for those who lack the time or the initiative to do a full-out body cleansing , I highly suggest simply replacing a few meals during the week with green detox juice recipes [...]
April 8th, 2008 at 9:19 am
[...] diet for 4 – 6 weeks. They will experience detoxification and are encouraged to perform light body cleansing to help their natural detox processes. Elimination dieters will experience a range of detoxing [...]
July 18th, 2008 at 10:39 am
[...] litre daily, now some believe you need about 3-4 litres of water daily, depending on your size, to flush out accumulating toxins and keep well [...]