by Nancy Mehlert, MS
Cleaning. Not really a word that conjures up warm feelings of joy or love for most of us, but still an essential in life. We bathe often, vacuum our floors, scour our sinks, wash the car and change the oil, mow the yard and take out the trash, and all in the spirit of keeping things generally clean. It is part of taking care of what we have, protecting ourselves from germs, and keeping our lives uncluttered and smelling good. But did you ever think about cleaning the inside of your body?
The truth is, the human body struggles to keep up with the ever-increasing cleaning burden caused by the explosion of chemicals used in our society today. Our world, especially in the last five decades or so, has become dramatically more toxic. Every day the body is exposed to a vast array of man-made chemicals including pesticides, preservatives, antibiotics, hormones, over-the-counter and prescription drugs, additives, petroleum -based fertilizers, heavy metals, fire retardants, and most of the products we use to clean our bodies, homes and clothing! They are in the air we breathe, the water we drink, the clothes we wear, the food we eat, and the things we touch.
Think about it another way. Recall how you felt the last time your “to do” list was miles long, your inbox was full, and everyone wanted something from you. Overwhelmed, you found it hard to get everything done and done well. Maybe the quality of your work suffered, maybe you made a few mistakes, and most likely you crossed a few things off the list and did not do them at all. This is a good analogy for the body. At some point, your body becomes overwhelmed with too many toxins. There is too much trash to take out. The body cannot keep up with removing the trash and begins to store it in tissues and fat cells. The crowding and congestion makes it much harder for the body to do everything it needs to do, do it well and avoid making mistakes. Toxins can wreak all kinds of havoc in there – causing inflammation, promoting disease, preventing weight loss, disturbing hormone balance, and hosting any number of symptoms from fatigue to brain fog. They can cause congestion and roadblocks in your liver and colon just like an accident on a busy freeway system at rush hour.
In our society today, more and more people are finding the marvelous benefits of devoting time every year or seasonally to clean the inside of the body, often called detoxification or cleansing. Best done under the guidance of a nutritionist, the process involves reducing exposure to toxins, supporting the detoxification pathways in the body, while stimulating toxin elimination and providing sufficient supplementation to attack free radicals resulting from the process. At The Woodlands Institute for Health and Wellness, we offer numerous approaches for detoxification and cleansing from a Total Body Cleanse, 3-5 day Juice Fasting or a Yeast Detoxification plan. Plan to start your New Year with an option that can increase your energy, support maintenance of a healthy weight, clear the mind and often eliminate any number of unwanted, irritating symptoms. It is a great way to make your good health a priority, get on the right track in the New Year and promote wellness rather than disease in the body.