Detox Cleanse for Health & Longevity

The human body is like a sponge that absorbs everything with which it comes into contact.  Everything that we put in our mouth, apply to the skin, breathe, and touch becomes a part of us.  This is how each human being obtains the resources and energy to continue the processes of life.  Optimistically speaking, most of what we take into our bodies has the intended beneficial effect of increasing our life span in both the short-term and long-term.  When we eat food, drink water, and breath air, we are promoting and sustaining all of our numerous metabolic processes that result in us being alive for another day and perhaps another year.

In our modern society, everything has been tainted with chemicals and other deleterious substances which are harmful to the functioning of the human body on many levels.  Our food, water, and air has been polluted with thousands of different substances that come from the machinery of modern living.  All of the chemicals, drugs, pesticides, industrial waste, petroleum products, heavy metals, and radioactive substances that we create and distribute throughout the world end up in our own bloodstreams.  Furthermore, many of the non-food items which we consume, apply to our skin, inhale as vapors, or otherwise ingest are unhealthy unto themselves.

Toxins come from many different sources.  We absorb toxins directly from the poisons to which we are exposed.  Chemicals in the workplace, cleaning solvents, car exhaust, and bug repellant are just a few out of many common examples.  Drugs, illicit, over-the-counter, and prescriptions are all toxins to the body.  Alcohol, caffeine, tobacco, sugar, food additives, processed foods, chlorinated and fluorinated water are toxins which most people consume regularly on a daily basis without even thinking about it.  An undiagnosed food allergy or intolerance can be a significant source of toxins, wheat and dairy are the most common allergens.

All of the cosmetics, soaps, perfumed laundry detergents, deoderants, antiperspirants, toothpastes, lotions, and creams that we put on our skin have varying degrees of toxicity.  What we put on our skin is absorbed directly into our blood.  Depending on what particular food you are eating, where it was produced, and how it was processed will result in some level of toxin exposure.  Lifestyle choices and habits such as smoking, drinking, drug use, and other addictive behaviors only compound the toxin load that a person must contend with every hour of every day, until steps are taken to detoxify.

The body does whatever it can to detoxify itself and remove the chemical that have no use and no place within the human physiology.  Unfortunately, there are just too many toxins.  The body’s own detoxification mechanisms become overburdened and the only way the body can handle the excess toxins is to put them into storage.  Over time, we accumulate more and more of these chemicals in our organs, tissues, and cells.  The consequences of these built-up toxins in our system is disasterous.  Each individual must personally deal with the results of toxin exposure on each and every day of their life.

Each person has a unique relationship with toxins.  This depends on the particular sources, amounts, frequency, and life-time accumulation of the substances in question.  How many toxins and of what variety depends very much on the behavior, awareness, and lifestyle of the individual.  Every person responds differently to toxins.  Some people get very sick, others gain weight, and some lose weight.  In generally, it is considered a healthy endeavor to take steps to reduce the levels of toxins in the body and to eliminate as much as possible the exposure to new toxins.

Detoxification

The first step in the detoxification process is to identify exactly which toxins are most relevant to a person.  Make a list of all of the toxic chemicals that you knowingly put into your body.  Maybe you have got some ideas about this from the first section of the article.  For just about everyone, the biggest source of toxic chemicals is from the food we eat.  Processed food such as fast-foods, snacks, chips, soda pop, candy, vending machine food, and convenience store food are among the most toxic items we consume on a regular basis.  Beyond this, our habits such as smoking, drinking, caffeine, and sweets are next in line.

For some people, licit or illicit drugs are the major source of toxins.  Others have a high degree of exposure from the workplace.  People who have amalgam fillings or eat tuna fish regularly will have a degree of mercury toxicity.  Those who use an aluminum-based anti-perspirant will likely have an accumulation of aluminum in their system.  The toxic contribution by cosmetics, laundry detergents, and household chemicals cannot be overstated.  Unfiltered tap water is definitely a source of toxins.  Only breathing the stale air in your house without going outside or opening a window can be a source of toxins as well.

The second step is to choose several toxins that you wish to eliminate from your body, and then stop taking them in.  For example, if you wish to detoxify from coffee and cigarettes, it is absolutely necessary that you break the habits of drinking coffee and smoking cigarettes.  In order to detoxify from the effects of processed foods, it is necessary to stop eating these types of foods and to find a more nutritious alternative.  Detoxifying from any kind of drug can present some unique challenges.  Depending on the particular substances involved, it may be best to have the assistance of qualified personel. 

Once you have committed to detoxifying from these substances, make a plan for reducing and eliminating them from your life.  Find suitable alternatives.  Get help with your addictions, if that is what you need.  Address any problems with exposure to chemicals at work.  Be pro-active because no one else is likely to do these steps for you.  Buy health & beauty aids from a natural food store.  Buy Organically grown foods.  Drink only filtered water.  Use natural remedies such as herbs, homeopathy, acupuncture, and massage instead of over-the-counter medications.  Put a filter on your shower head.

The third step for detoxification is the use of natural vitamin supplements to improve the efficiency of the body’s natural detoxification mechanisms and also to directly remove harmful substances from the tissues.  Vitamins that act as anti-oxidants are the most beneficial for this task.  Buy only quality vitamins from a natural health food store or legitimate vitamin outlet.  Do not buy vitamin supplements from the supermarket, drug store, or discount store.  When you are using vitamin supplements to promote detoxification, it is important that the vitamins are in a form that is absorbent and usable by the body.

Most people will benefit from taking a high-potency multi vitamin every day.  (Hint: a good quality multi vitamin will have much more than 100% RDA of the vitamins and minerals.)  In addition to this, it is necessary to take extra antioxidants such as vitamin C with bioflavanoids, vitamin E, grape seed extract, selenium, and zinc.  Vitamin C with bioflavanoids can be taken in doses of 1000mg, two or three times per day.  Vitamin E can be taken in doses of 400 to 800 IU per day.  Grape seed extract can be taken at doses of 100 to 200 mg per day.  Selenium can be taken in doses of 200mcg per day.  Zinc is taken at doses below 100 mg per day.