Natural Therapies for Spring Detox

Natural Therapies For Spring Detox Spring time is a traditional time for internal cleaning. According to folk history after a long cold winter of a sedentary lifestyle people would use sassafras tea for a period of one week as a way to clean and thin the blood. This practice is still in use today. Due to our fast paced lifestyle, it is vitally important to minimize the level of toxins in our bodies. With devitalized foods loaded with all the numerous chemical additives and preservatives not to mention the pollutants our own bodies produce it is even more important to maintain a clean blood system.

The average American consumes one gallon of chemical per year. Where do these chemicals go?

They go into our cell structures and reside there until our liver can detoxify them and eliminate them from our bodies. The liver performs approximately 500 functions in the human body. It is critical to cell life that the blood be clean and full of oxygen. When the blood becomes polluted it begins to affect digestion, energy production and mood and begins to set the stage for many degenerative diseases.

So what can we do about cleaning up our bodies?

First we must discuss diet – Here are a few dietary guidelines-

• Do not overeat · Eat high quality whole, unprocessed food
• Choose food suitable for your climate, constitution and work
• Eat more complex carbohydrate foods (whole grains and vegetables)
• Keep raw fruit to a minimum
• Reduce animal foods (meats, dairy, eggs)
• Minimize use of refined sugars
• Drink plenty of clean water.

Next we have to look at more specific cleansing programs.

• Blood purification is the first and it can be defines as a substance or methods that facilitate the elimination of waste and toxins through the skin, kidneys, breath and bowels. Blood purifiers also increase the activity of the immune function of removing organisms from the blood and mucus. Some botanicals for blood purifying are echinacea, chaparral, red clover, burdock.
• Lymphatic cleansing is often used during or after a chronic infection but can be done anytime. Lymphatic massage and cleansing teas are used for this purpose.
• Sweating therapy is excellent for overall purification and balance. Since the skin is the largest organ of elimination sweating is very effective. Diaphoretic herb (herbs that promote sweating) such as yarrow, elder, peppermint combo work well in tea form. Dry saunas, sweat lodge and exercise are some other ways of promoting sweat.
• Urinary cleansing is used to aid the kidneys ability to eliminate toxins from the blood. Mild diuretics herbal such as those found in our KB tea work well in toning and aiding this elimination process.
• Intestinal and bowel cleansing is what we most commonly use for situations of constipation or lower bowel irregularity. High fiber diet and bulking agents are used in many cases and are milder than the purge laxatives (which can be harsh). It is important to keep the bowels clean and moving.
• Liver and gallbladder flush is a therapy that has been used in conditions of congestion and stagnation of these vital organs. To do these it is important to follow detailed instructions to detailed to list here. Contact a health care professional for this information.

Fasting therapy is a great way to give our digestive organs a rest but it increases our elimination functions. Fasting is an age old therapy that is simple but you need to study the procedures so to insure adequate cleansing. There are some cautions that some folks need to be aware of before beginning a fasting program.

For more detailed information concerning any type of clean it is important for you to understand the proper procedures. Discuss this with a qualified health care practitioner or consult an authoritative resource. A good book is Foundations Of Health by Christopher Hobbs.

Article by herbalist Dave Hawkins, MH, CNC