Kidney Detoxification
Did you know that you have a 1 in 10 chance of developing kidney stones in your lifetime? Each year, thousands of people suffer from renal failure which necessitates a kidney transplant or a dialysis.
The kidneys are located just below the rib cage, and they work together to remove toxins and waste from the blood. They turn these toxins and waste into urine, and that is how toxins leave the body. Healthy kidneys are key for a healthy body. (source)
These 2 small bean-shaped organs are vital to the process of eliminating toxins from your body. Even though small in weight, about the size of your fist, kidneys receive approximately 20% of all the blood pumped from the heart. Two hundred quarts of blood are processed daily in your kidneys, which sifts out almost 2 quarts of extra water and waste products.
Nephrons are tiny units which actually filter the toxins. There are approximately one million nephrons in each kidney. In the nephron, a tiny blood vessel, the glomerulus or capillary, intertwines with a tubule, another tiny urine-collecting tube. The process results in a complicated chemical exchange, as the water and waste materials are flushed out of the blood and into the urinary system.
How to Detox!
To detox the kidneys, fruit is necessary. Consume all sorts of fruit and naturally made fruit juices (including berries). You can also add ginger, turmeric, parsley, kale, and pumpkin seeds to your diet to increase kidney health.
A kidney cleanse or detox program has to involve intake of lots of liquid and eating a healing diet. An increased consumption of water and healthy diet will be enough. A juice fast incorporating lots of liquids is another form of the kidney cleanse. Another easy way to detox your kidney is purchasing a large watermelon and eating as much watermelon as you can during the day. Be sure to empty your bladder regularly.
Stomach/Colon/Bowel Cleansing and Detoxification
Bowel movements are an essential basis of great health. If you don’t have at least one each day, you’re likely walking your way toward disease. This might be a clear symptom of a toxic bowel. Fewer bowel movements are a possible fertile breeding ground for serious. Poor quality or infrequent bowel movements over a longer period of time is a sign of a toxic bowel and is detrimental to your health, causing serious problems of cancer and immune system dysfunctions.
Constipation is one of the colon or bowel movement problems which indicates that the transition time for toxic or waste removal is slow. Longer transit time allow toxic waste to stay in the bowel and eventually gets putrefied, fermented, and potentially reabsorbed. This increases your risk of developing serious disease. Our diet has changed so much and we ingest lots of terrible foods which cause a lot of harm to our bodies; white flour, refined sugar, antibiotics/hormone-filled meats etc. are continuously destroying our bodies. As a matter of fact, colon cancer is the 2nd leading cause of cancer deaths in the United states. This means that all toxins and congestion must be eliminated and this begins with colon cleansing.
The intestines move the food we eat through our bodies. Healthy intestines take the needed nutrients from the foods we eat and move along what we don’t need, until it leaves the body. The small intestine is where 90% of all food and water absorption happens. The large intestine absorbs water and pushes everything else out of the body.
Proper Colon Cleansing Program
When properly done, an effective holistic colon/bowel cleansing or detoxification program enhances your body’s optimal health and removes the mucoid plaque, which often weakens the body. Naturally, mucoid plaque should be sloughed off, but because of poor diet and stress, most people develop hardened layers instead of thin layers of mucoid plaque.
An effective bowel cleanse / intestinal cleanse / colon cleanse are all common terms used to refer to the process of cleaning the bowel. An effective colon cleansing and detoxification process can take 3 to 4 weeks or up to a few months and can involve the use of SPECIFIC supplements, foods, juices, teas etc and fasting for a few days. A comprehensive one will also include a parasite cleanse.
Stomach/Intestines Detox
Your stomach hugely determines the health of your whole body. Your health begins in your digestive system, which takes place in your stomach. It’s in the stomach where all nutrients from the food are absorbed and toxins expelled. It’s difficult to tell what happens in your digestive tract, but the tongue’s color can be the first warning sign. A yellow or white film on your tongue is a first-level indication of toxins in your stomach. Wow! I bet you didn’t know that!
How to Detox!
To detox the intestines, it is important to perform a colon cleanse. Foods that will help with the process include kefir, spinach, kale, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, garlic, apple cider vinegar, flax or chia seeds, green tea, fruit, lemon, and avocados. Water is also essential!
These foods will help the body get back into working order in no time at all.
Liver and Gallbladder Detoxification Program
The liver is a very important organ. It helps with digestion, stores energy, helps blood to clot, and breaks down medicines and alcohol so that the body can safely process them. It also makes bile that is stored in the gallbladder. This bile is used to help the gut digest fats. (source) It is easy to see that if something is wrong with one or both of these organs, the body will not function as it should.
There are plenty of available liver and gallbladder flushes or detoxes available. However, for those who are new to the detoxing, adding the fruits and vegetables listed below to your diet is a good start.
To successfully cleanse and detoxify the liver, there are some nutrients that are required. Key antioxidants must be in adequate supply in order to prevent liver damage. Selenium, milk thistle, beta carotene, vitamin C, vitamin E, and N-acetyl-cysteine (NAC) are all effective antioxidants important in the liver detoxification process.
The amino acid SAM-E also plays an essential part in liver health, besides helping with depression. Adding cruciferous vegetables such as; cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, and brussel sprouts, to your diet can enhance liver detoxification. The B vitamins, including niacin and riboflavin, also help in liver detoxification.
How to Detox!
For the liver, you can eat garlic, grapefruit, beets, carrots, green tea, leafy green vegetables, avocados, apples, quinoa, buckwheat, cruciferous vegetables, lemons, limes, walnuts, cabbage, and turmeric. See Supportive: Teas, Soups, Salads and Juices.
Your liver is a vital organ that helps to process and filter out food, alcohol, medications, and other substances that are ingested into your body. What you consume can cause numerous types of complications, including kidney stones, renal failure, hepatitis, and liver cirrhosis. Cleansing and detoxification programs utilizing natural foods and supplements are available. Eating the right diet and exercising are key to effectively cleansing and detoxifying your liver. See our Liver Cleanse
For the gallbladder, consume real apple juice, citrus fruits, unrefined olive oil, lemon juice, and lots of water. See our gallbladder cleanse and Supportive: Teas, Soups, Salads and Juices.
Pancreas
The pancreas is an important part of the digestive system. It produces enzymes and hormones that the small intestine uses to further break down food. It also produces and secretes insulin into the bloodstream to help the body regulate its blood sugar levels. (source) This organ needs to be in top working order at all times.
How to Detox!
For the pancreas, it is important to start the day with lemon, kiwi, papaya, or pineapple juice. Also, increase the amount of vitamin B rich leafy green vegetables in your diet. Hot baths and showers are important as well, along with reducing stress. See our Pancreas Cleanse and Supportive: Soups, Salads and Juices.
Detoxifying Your Mind
The saying, “you become what you think” is quite true. Your mind and thoughts have to be detoxified as well. Negative emotions, thinking, and attitude as well as toxic relationships are bad enough to your health and can trigger diseases in your systems.
One great way of thinking positively is through affirmations. This can be through positive daily affirmation statements about your health, body, peace, or any other area of your life that needs you to be positive. For example, people who suffer from anxiety can use affirmation statements like “I am at peace.” Just meditating on such affirmations over and over again, day after day, you can start reprogramming your mind.
On the other hand, if you are always negative, try and identify those negative thoughts and stop them, or reword them into more positive ones. If you do this daily, overtime, you’ll become positive. For instance, if you think so much about a certain part of your body that you dislike it such as your stomach, then start focusing on the good things your stomach does and how your body can’t function optimally without it. Change your thoughts about how saggy your stomach is to “My stomach is so helpful, it assists me daily to digest food and heal my body”. With a positive thought like that, you might become more conscious of your stomach’s health and even start eating more health food.
Toxic relationships can really take a toll on your overall health and should be avoided. If you can’t fix the problem, then eliminate it all together because it’s not worth it to keep unhealthy relationships that would eventually affect your health.
Detoxification and Weight Loss
One of the primary reasons why people detoxify the body is to lose weight. There are many holistic natural detoxification methods that are highly beneficial to the body, some of which play a vital role in weight loss.
- Research shows that exposure to synthetic chemicals cause damage to the body’s natural weight control mechanisms
- Heavy metals usually bind to both the thryoid hormone binding sites and the sex hormone binding globulin, slowing down metabolism. When a complete cleansing and detoxification program is done, these channels are opened up thus increasing metabolism
- During the Bowel / Intestinal and Parasite cleanses and the detox phase, 5 to 20 pounds (2.2 kg to 9 kg) pf p;d faecal matter may be eliminated
- The many toxins stored in fat cells are mobilised and burned to produce fuel during detoxification. Dur the process of detoxification of body fat, the toxic compounds stored in these cells are moved out and transferred to the liver for further processing and excretion.
Holistic Cleansing and Detoxification for Alcohol and Drug Recovery
Sometimes, cleansing and detoxification means treating a person for drug and alcohol dependence and this normally uses a different procedure that relates to substance withdrawal. Remember, this post focuses on a natural body cleansing and detoxification program for overall health recovery and maintenance.
As a matter of fact, a combination of a holistic cleansing and detoxification program and nutrition plan for substance abuse are in most cases the missing links in many drug and alcohol rehabs.
Craving-Free Detox
This cleansing and detox approach is a favourite for most celebrities and supermodels from across the globe. The detox plan focuses more on avoiding foods that are acidic, allergic, refined, and related to food intolerances like red meat, alcohol, wheat, potatoes, and diary produce.
The main idea behind this approach is to alter the body’s PH balance from acid to alkaline. Naturally, this will help the body to flush out toxins that are potentially harmful to the system, helping in restoring energy levels while helping you lose weight. This detoxifying process is also about ‘cutting down’ on specific foods instead of ‘cutting out’ and totally changing your palate so as to prevent cravings. With this detox plan, a three week program and subsequent maintenance course is sufficient to help you shake off the numerous strains of life’s pressures, giving you the kind of body and energy levels we always yearn for.
Important Action Steps:
As you start your holistic detox program, be sure to:
- Drink lots of clean spring / borehole water to help the body flush out toxins
- First start and complete a bowel / intestinal and parasite cleansing process and where possible, include a candida detoxification
- Eat healthy foods, including vegetables and fresh fruits, legumes and whole grains
- Eliminate bad foods and substances from your diet such as sugar, alcohol. colourants and food additives, non-prescription (OTC) and recreational drugs and anything that may put extra strain on your liver and/or kidneys, this INCLUDES supplements, except those recommended by your DBM Physician.
- Do moderate exercises to improve lymph and blood circulation to help promote easier elimination of toxins
- Support the major detoxification organs such as the liver, kidneys, intestines and the skin using Supportive: Teas, Soups, Salads and Juices.. Take adequate multi-nutrient juices and soups to help nourish and support the body systems during the colon cleansing and detox process
Other Simple Ways of Getting Rid of Toxins
- Drink a glass of warm lemon water every morning; this will help your stomach to flush toxins, allowing it to gain strength and easily eliminate ore waste from the body
- Fling the junk away! Detoxing your pantry will be one step toward detoxing your body of carbonated drinks,pre-prepared dinners, snack foods and other toxic foods. Follow our Eat To Live Program.
- Say NO to processed foods and eat whole foods only. These include whole grains, seeds, fruits, veggies, nuts and whole grains.
- Take Chamomile to help reduce your cravings. A study revealed that chamomile helped smokers to quite the habit.
- Left-overs should be ditched. Heaing and reheating cause food to lose their nutrients over time. This eventually affects the quality of your food intake. Food should be eaten ONLY when it’s freshly prepared.
Download the PDFs on our Eat To Live Page which has wonderful recipe and menu ideas.
When to Avoid a Holistic Detoxification Program?
- A natural holistic body detoxification program is an effective modality for boosting, regaining or maintaining health. However, it should NOT be your #1 remedy when you are sick. Fact is if you detox when your body is already emaciated, extremely run down or when your immune system is already compromised, then you will feel weaker and your body may become overwhelmed during the process of eliminating toxins. This is why if you have a chronic disease such as cancer for example, you should ONLY CLEAN under the guidance of your DBM Physician.
- If you are pregnant or nursing, you should avoid detoxing your body. However, a detox program prior to conception or a colon cleanse can be a great way to cleanse and prepare the body for the pregnancy.
A holistic body detox is beneficial to your body, but if you choose to undertake the program under these two circumstances, be sure to consult a qualified licensed health professional first.
References:
http://www.doctoroz.com/article/28-day-holistic-health-overhaul
http://www.theglobalconversation.com/blog/?p=4557
http://www.healingdaily.com/colon-kidney-detoxification.htm
http://www.livestrong.com/article/129799-detox-cleanse-kidneys-liver/
http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/health-fitness/trends-fads/how-to-detox-your-liver-and-kidneys
http://www.healingdaily.com/liver-detoxification.htm
