Body Cleansing
Body Cleansing
Toxicity has become a great concern in the twentieth century. Threatening our health are powerful chemicals, air and water pollution, radiation, and nuclear waste. We ingest new chemicals, use more drugs, eat more sugary and refined foods, and abuse ourselves daily with stimulants and/or sedatives. Cancer and cardiovascular disease are on the rise; arthritis, allergies, obesity, and skin problems are also rapidly increasing; and a wide range of symptoms such as headaches, fatigue, pains, coughs, gastrointestinal problems, immune weaknesses, sexual diseases, and psychological distress are being seen by physicians in record numbers. Although a connection between increased toxicity and increases in diseases is obvious, it is important to understand how it occurs so that we may avoid or eliminate it from our lives.
Toxicity occurs on two basic bodily levels-external and internal. We can acquire toxins from our environment by breathing them, by ingesting them, or through physical contact with them. Most drugs, food additives, and allergens can create toxic elements in the body. In fact, any substance can become toxic when used in excess.
Internally, our body produces toxins through normal everyday functions. Biochemical and cellular activities generate substances that need to be eliminated. These unstable molecules, called free radicals, are biochemical toxins and are considered a common factor in chronic disease. When these biochemical toxins are not counteracted or eliminated, they can irritate or inflame the cells and tissues, blocking normal functions on all levels of the body. Microbes such as intestinal bacteria, foreign bacteria, yeasts, and parasites produce metabolic waste products that we must handle. Even our thoughts, emotions, and stress can increase biochemical toxicity. The proper elimination of these toxins is essential. Clearly, the healthy human body can handle certain levels of toxins; the concern is with excess intake or production of toxins or a reduction in the elimination processes.
A toxin is basically any substance that creates irritating and/or harmful effects in the body, undermining our health and stressing our biochemical or organ functions. This irritation may result from the side effects of pharmaceutical drugs or from unusual physiological patterns. The irritating chemicals or free radicals in recreational drugs can also cause tissue degeneration. Negative “ethers,” psychic or spiritual influences, bad relationships, thought patterns, and emotions can have toxic effects on the body.
Toxicity occurs when we ingest more than we can utilize and eliminate. Homeostasis refers to balanced bodily functions. This balance is disturbed when we feed ourselves more than we need or when we abuse specific substances. Toxicity may depend on the dosage, frequency, or potency of the toxin. A toxin may produce an immediate or rapid onset of symptoms, as many pesticides and some drugs do, or it may have long-term effects, as when asbestos exposure leads to lung cancer.
If our body is working well, with good immune and eliminative functions, it can handle everyday exposure to toxins. The cleansing process encourages our immune system to handle the elimination of toxins and abnormal cells generated by the body.
Our body handles toxins either by neutralizing, transforming, or eliminating them. For example, many of the antioxidant nutrients, such as vitamins C and E, beta-carotene, zinc, and selenium may neutralize free-radical molecules. The liver helps transform many toxic substances into harmless agents, which the blood carries away to the kidneys; the liver also sends wastes through the bile into the intestines, where it is eliminated. We also clear toxins by sweating, either from exercise or heat; our sinuses expel excess mucus when congested; and our skin releases toxins as skin rashes.
Mental detoxification is also important. Cleansing our minds of negative thought patterns is essential to health, and physical detoxification can aid this process. Emotionally, detoxification helps us uncover and express hidden frustrations, anger, resentments, and fear, and replace them with forgiveness, love, joy, and hope. Many people experience new clarity of purpose in life during cleansing processes. A light detoxification over a couple of days can help us feel better; a longer process and deeper commitment to eliminating certain abusive habits and eating a better diet can help us change our whole life. Detoxification is part of a transformational medicine that instills change at many levels. Change and evolution are keys to healing.
Some people go to extremes with fasting, laxatives, enemas, colonics, diuretics, and even exercise and begin to lose essential nutrients from their body. This can cause protein or vitamin-mineral deficiencies. So, although congestion from over intake and under elimination is a more common problem in this