Body Cleanse Hub

You’ve done the reading and research and you understand what a body cleanse or detox is all about but there’s something that still rings in your mind.  How do you know you know if a body cleanse is actually something you need.  The good news is you don’t need a doctor or guru to tell you if you’re toxic.  There some easy indicators that you can pick up on for yourself that will suggest the overall health of your body and its toxicity levels.

1. Achey muscles and/or joints. Often a byproduct of dehydration, aches in muscles or joints mean the muscle tissue and fibers are not getting the nutrition they need, and are often overloaded with unnecessary chemicals or “nutrients.”

2.  Frequent headaches. Another dehydration signal and one associated with improper diet and exercise.  Headaches arise from problems in the blood-flow to the brain.  If there is a high level of toxic residue in your blood stream, it can cause frequent headaches.  This can also happen as a side effect when you body cleanse.  If you’ve ever had a caffeine addiction, you’re familiar with the headaches that arise from a sudden change in the blood stream chemicals, or lack thereof.

3.  Low energy or frequently being tired.  Your body’s vitality affects your mood and motivation levels.  When the body is busy trying to deal with an overload of foreign toxins, it tends to pull back on the abundance of life energy you are normally afforded.  A whole body cleanse can free up the body to give you more zest for your day instead of slaving away processing chemicals for you.

4.  Frequent colds or sickness. In a similar vein, a highly toxic bloodstream often results in a reduction of immune system agents that protect you from disease and foreign germs.  When your body is fighting to process toxins, it doesn’t have as many free resources to defend against invading agents.

5.  Coughs or a sore throat.  Mucus is a byproduct of toxic residue that accumulates in your breathing pathways.  An over-abundance of such residue can result in frequent coughing or sore throats.  Smoke-related pollutants are notorious for this effect.

6.  Runny nose or nasal/sinus congestion.  Many sinus problems are related to overall body chemistry.  Allergies and atmospheric pressure are only components of a larger sinus balance in your system.  If you’re toxic, meaning out of balance, your sinuses will let you know.

7.  Dense or yellow urine. You’ve surely noticed a discoloration or varying coloration in your own urine.  If not, you should check.  The more yellow or cloudy your urine is, the more contaminants and pollutants are being expelled from your body.  This means it’s time to take it easy and let things clear up.  You’ll know when they have because the color will begin to get more clear.

8.  Irregular, painful, or messy bowel movements.  Another touchy subject for some, but you can’t deny the overall digestive process we humans go through when we eat to survive.  If your digestive system is clogged up with toxins that it can’t process fast enough, it will malfunction.  If you have these bowel symptoms, it is sometimes best to perform a total cleanse to clear up the contamination.

9.  Acne or oily skin. Your pores are a key part of the body cleanse process, allowing toxins from your bloodstream to seep out through your skin.  This gets them out of the body where they just cause problems.  However, if this is happening in excess, as happens at adolescence when the body is dealing with a whole new set of hormones and chemical agents in the blood, it may mean you are overly toxic and could use a detox.

10.   Lack of food enjoyment or taste.  This one is a it less obvious but a major factor.  If you notice that regular and healthy foods aren’t satisfying your hunger, it may mean you have formed a dependency or addiction to the toxins you get from other, less healthy sources.  If you drink coffee for a morning jolt, but the caffeine is having less and less of an effect, then you’re reached a critical mass of caffeine in your bloodstream and it is having a reduced effect.  To compensate, perform a body cleanse to rid your body of caffeine (and your dependency on it) for a while.  Then, when/if you return to it, it will be a fresh stimulant to the body once again.

All of these symptoms are influential in self-diagnosing a toxic system.  Pay attention to the signals your body is sending.  It is a perfectly-balanced instrument capable of complete auto-pilot in the health department but you can easily throw it off-balance with poor choices.  Let your symptoms guide you to the root problems, which can often be taken care of with a total body cleanse to get you back on track with a healthy, fresh, clean start.

Periodic body cleanses are certainly a staple of a well-balanced lifestyle but what about eliminating the factors that necessitate such cleanses?  While the majority of Americans have awful diets full of saturated fats and processed supplements, there are those of us that want to clean up our dietary lifestyle for the long term.  Obviously, a person who makes healthier food choices on a daily basis is going to be far less toxic, and thus require fewer periodic cleanses.  But how?

It always seems like such an insurmountable task to “eat healthy” or “go on a diet,” right?  Even the phrase itself gives you shudders because you imagine getting sick of salads for dinner all the time and avoiding everything that you love to eat.  But, I assure you, there are subtle changes you can make to your lifestyle and eating habits that will have a large impact on your overall health without leaving you feeling deprived.

1.    Commit to three vegetarian dinners per week.
Meat is very dense substance that takes our bodies a lot of effort to break down and digest.  Certain proteins in most meats have a tendency to cause build-up in the colon.
2.    Use lighter, fat free salad dressing.
3.    Add fruit to your cereal.
4.    Switch to skim or fat free milk & dairy.
5.    Drink a glass of pure, organic 100% juice three times a week.
6.    Replace one beef or pork entrée with fish.
Fish is easier on the digestive tract and has helpful Omega-3 fatty acids that other meat does not.
7.    Replace fried foods with something baked or grilled.
Greasy fried food is accountable for a large percent of the trans fats and heavy toxins in the modern diet.  Try to replace 2 portions of fried food per week for starters.
8.    Drink 6-8 glasses of water per day.
Getting more water through your body helps in the digestion process and keeps your muscles and joints lubricated and working at peak performance.  Water is essential to any body cleanse as well.
9.    Eat Wheat bread instead of its bleached White counterpart.
10.     Eliminate that second cup of coffee or that soda refill.
Caffeine is a drug that does several physiological things to your system.  The excitation of the nerves is the desired effect but the crash afterward is the body running low on essential nutrients burned up in the caffeine rush.

Some of these will seem harder to do than others but they are all relatively easy ways to reduce your toxic intake.   Instead of a full multi-day body cleanse, consider implementing a small step to improve your health.  Whenever you think of it, check the list and keep one of the points in mind for the next couple days.  These subtle changes to your diet will have lasting impacts on your health and longevity.