How important is to maintain a healthy detox diet these days, in light of what the government tells us that it is doing to make our world a safer and healthier place to live?
Well, consider this...
Let's say you have cleared your diet of as many foods as possible that contain artificial additives, and are actively detoxing your body, yet as you sit reading this story there are toxins all around you. They could be in the toothpaste and antiperspirant you used this morning, in the furniture you are sitting on, the carpet under your feet, and the cleaning products, paints and varnishes you have used all over your home.
In the garden, they are in the pesticides that stop slugs eating your plants as well as the creosote on the fence. You may not be able to do much about the toxins in the air you breathe - but the good news is, for all the rest, there are safer alternatives which can have a positive impact on your body's natural detoxification system.
Playing with chemistry
Twentieth-century chemists were extremely proud of themselves when they invented brand-new chemical compounds that could dissolve even the toughest dried-in grease in our ovens, make our laundry whiter-than-white, penetrate and plump out ageing skin cells, kill all known germs, and keep us odor-free all day long.
Synthetic materials, like rayon and nylon, were all the rage; carpets were treated to make them virtually indestructible, and timber was sealed so that it would never rot.
Alternatively, you could buy brand-new particleboard products made of wood fiber and held together with synthetic resin. Life was getting better and better for us all - or was it?
None of these products make you keel over gasping and wheezing on first exposure (except perhaps the oven cleaner) but the toxins they contain have a cumulative effect with long-term exposure that scientists are still investigating today.
They are only now finding Trauma Therapy out that cosmetics and personal care items containing parabens seem to be linked to breast cancer - although it is hardly surprising, since parabens mimic the action of estrogen in the body.
It was long thought that mercury could not leach out of fillings once they were in place, but autopsies are finding a direct correlation between the amount of mercury in the brain cells and the number of fillings that a person has in their teeth.
Dry-cleaning solvents containing perchloroethylene (perc, for short) are excellent at removing stains without damaging the fabric, but they have now been linked to cancer, liver and nervous system damage, infertility and hormone disruption.
So as you can see, with all these toxins in our environment, our body's natural detox system has a lot of work to do to keep them at bay. More and more people are realising that in order to keep ourselves free from as many of these toxins as possible, it's vital to ensure you detox regularly, and try to maintain a healthy detox diet as much as possible.
What is 'natural'?
Maybe it is time to cut the chemistry and go back to nature in our quest for good health. But what does 'natural' mean? The truth is that it is virtually meaningless when used on a product label. By law, only a small percentage of the ingredients need to be 'natural' for this term to be used.
You will find some confusing phrases used on packaging. The term 'derived from natural coconut oil', for example, can actually refer to cocamide DEA, a foaming agent used in some shampoos, which is extracted from coconut oil by the addition of a solvent known as diethanolanine, which is widely thought to be carcinogenic.
What is 'organic'?
Can you trust the term 'organic'? Some manufacturers have played with the word in the past, for example claiming to use 'organic herbs' in a product that is otherwise entirely composed of synthetic chemicals.
In theory, the unscrupulous could even claim that a toxic petrochemical preservative, such as methyl parabens, is organic, because it comes from leaves that rotted thousands of years ago to become crude oil, which was then used to make this preservative.
But, in fact, the organic market is controlled very carefully. Organic standards boards only grant organic status to those products that pass stringent testing procedures. To be on the safe side, look out for organic kitemarks and certification if a product claims to be organic.
The word detox is used to describe the removal of poisonous substances from the body. Detox often describes the elimination of alcohol or drugs from the body in a rehabilitation facility, but the detoxification of free radicals from the internal system can be achieved through diet modification, colon cleansing kits, a master cleansing juice regime, and herbal cleanses.
A good way to cleanse the colon is to fast for a couple of days, eat raw vegetables and fruits, drink lots of water and add herbal tea to your diet. Eliminate process foods and avoid alcohol, tobacco, sugar, and reduce the amount of caffeine you consume. There are colon cleanses on the market that cleanse the colon fast, relatively speaking, which means in a week or ten days, but these store bought cleansing kits may not be effective long term unless there is a change in the daily diet.
A healthy detox of all the internal organs is the first step in jump starting the natural detoxification process. A healthy cleanse includes at least four thirty five minute workouts per week and hydrotherapy to enhance blood flow and dry-skin brushing to invigorate the skin. The skin is another important organ to cleanse especially if you are interested maintaining a clear complexion. Cleansing fast means cleansing and detoxing effectively through a body detoxification program that includes essential vitamins, vegetables and fruits, lots of water and juice, and some sort of body and mind exercises. Health is wealth when you detox the body naturally.