Detoxification is something that our bodies do naturally every day; it is a bodily process through which the elimination or neutralization of destructive, natural toxins through the colon, liver, and kidneys occurs. Though it is something that will take place with or without consent, there are ways the body can be influenced to take the detoxifying process a few steps farther.
For starters, increasing the amount of water consumed per day to around 64 oz., varying based on weight, body fat percentage, etc., is the most immediately effective improvement that can be made to a person’s physical and mental wellbeing via detoxification. This is a simple and easily attainable task that helps retain the body’s hydration while flushing the body’s organs of toxins, and as a result can help to improve weight loss, clear up skin, increase energy, mend aches and pains, and resolve digestive problems just to name a few among a lengthy list of reasons why water is essentially the elixir of athanasia (immortality)… okay that may be a bit of an exaggeration.
Once 64 oz. of water is incorporated into an everyday nutrition schedule, detoxification can advance by minimizing sugar intake and adding juice. It’s important to keep the sugar consumption as low as possible (during detox specifically but also in general) because juice often contains high amounts of natural sugars. Seeing as society already exists in what seems like the age of diabetes, moderation of sugars is a must. Preferable juices should contain full servings of both fruits and veggies. Some such juices are available for sale pre-made but there are also recipes online for homemade versions. Obviously juices’ ingredients include water, so excessive consumption should be avoided, or else the 64 oz. of H2O should be decreased accordingly, so as not to risk being over-hydrated and triggering water intoxication.
After the body is adjusted to the sudden intake of liquids, fasting as a means of detoxification can be introduced. The idea behind juice fasting is to remove fiber, a goal that is only attainable via juicing, because though fiber is a good thing while eating, it should not be present during a fast. Without spending energy digesting fiber, the body extracts only pure nutrients that will not require the body to work thus resulting in its primary function being cleansing. It takes little common sense to realize that the human body can not survive off of the nutrients provided purely by juice; that’s why juice fasting is ideal to do only for a few days – any less and results will be minimal (though still beneficial), any more and the fast will soon become a risk.
Although many toxins are a result of what the body takes in, some are unavoidable by-products of things beyond our control such as stress and dead cells. Detoxification via altering what the body consumes may help to abolish these toxins but it may be more ideal to opt for therapeutic massage specializing in this process such as lymphatic massage or other detox massages. The lymphatic system is one of the primary systems the body uses for elimination of toxins; the lymphatic massage utilizes knowledge of this and uses specific massage techniques that encourage the system to more easily cleanse. Other detox massages such as the Swedish and Chinese massages normalize oxygen levels and improve colon drainage. Massage therapy is a special component of body detoxification in that it not only helps to restore the body to its natural state, but also promotes a better resistance to toxins in order to keep it that way.
It should be kept in mind that the idea of detoxification and fasting is not primarily to lose weight and it is especially not to starve yourself in order to do so but the idea is to remove toxins from the body, which can only be done by means of limiting what it takes in and managing the way toxins are ushered out. It is surprising to discover just how little the body needs, enlightening to unveil the power it has to sustain its being, and invigorating to return the body to its natural, optimal state.
W.J.Pilsak at the German language Wikipedia [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)], via Wikimedia Commons
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July 14-20, 2013 is EveryBody Deserves a Massage Week, sponsored by the Associated Bodywork & Massage Professionals (ABMP). During this annual event, ABMP members nationwide offer their time, money, and effort to help their communities, as well as promoting the benefits of massage.
