Detoxification involves dietary, supplemental and physical interventions.  It usually focuses on one or more of the main organs of detoxification, the liver, kidneys, bowels, lungs or skin.  There is also a subsection of homeopathy called homotoxicology that focuses on cellular cleansing.  This article will focus on the major organs of detoxification.  See a health care professional for information on homotoxicology.  For information on heavy metal detoxification see the section on mercury toxicity.

General detoxification guidelines are given here.  Then specific interventions for each organ will be examined.

CAUTION: Cleansing can result in worsening of symptoms or an alteration of medication levels and is not safe for some individuals.  If you have serious health concerns, consult a health care professional before detoxifying.  You may experience some of the following symptoms during cleansing; flu-like symptoms, fatigue, irritability, headache, diarrhea or loose stools or food cravings.  These are signs that your body is mobilizing toxins.  They will diminish in severity as the cleanse progresses.  Taking in sufficient water and doing the physical therapies listed below will help your body to excrete these toxins.
_______________________________________________________________

Your body needs a variety of vitamins, minerals, and other molecules so that it can process and excrete toxins.  It is important for you to help your body by giving it a variety of fresh and nutritious foods.  These suggestions are intended as a guide.  Do not consume any food that you are sensitive to even if it is listed here.

AVOID: packaged or fast foods, coffee, black tea, chocolate, alcohol, white sugar, salt, condiments, tobacco, dairy products, fried food, preservatives or artificial sweeteners.

CONSUME: 2L of filtered water daily, herbal teas and 100% pure fruit juices.  Eat fresh or steamed fruits and vegetables, whole grains, lean meats, fish, soy products, nuts, seeds, cold pressed vegetable oils and spices.  Drink a glass of warm water with the juice of half a lemon each morning.  This simple act will regulate bowel and liver function.

PHYSICAL THERAPIES:

Moderate physical exercise increases circulation and helps the body to eliminate toxins.  Reduce your stress level because stress is an additional burden on the organs of detoxification.  Brush your skin daily (towards the heart) with a natural fibre brush.  This stimulates the immune system and increases circulation.  At the end of your shower alternate several rounds of hot and cold water (30 second to 1 minute intervals) always ending with cold.  This hydrotherapy treatment increases the immune system and aids in detoxification.  Sauna treatments will also increase the effectiveness of detoxification but make sure to increase your fluid intake to avoid dehydration.

Fasting For Health

Fasting has been performed for hundreds, if not thousands, of years as a treatment for many physical conditions.   Restricting food intake allows the body to redirect much of its energy away from digestion to focus on cellular regeneration and detoxification.

As fat stores are mobilized hidden toxins are released and can be processed by the body.  Fasting is usually done for a period of three to ten days.  Shorter durations cleanse the body while longer durations both cleanse and heal the body.

Prepare for fasting by eating only raw fruits and veggies for two days.  During the fast consume at least 2L of steam-distilled water each day along with diluted fruit and vegetable juices.  Up to 2 cups of herbal tea can also be added.

Come out of fasting by eating raw fruits and vegetables for another two days.  The use of supplements during fasting is up to the individual.  If you suffer from blood sugar problems include a protein supplement in your fasting regimen.

Recommended juices: lemon, apple, beet, cabbage, carrot, celery, cranberry, grape, green drinks.

Recommended herbal teas: alfalfa, burdock, chamomile, dandelion, echinacea, milk thistle, pau d'arco, peppermint, red clover, rose hips, slippery elm.

MILK THISTLE
Milk Thistle is great for cleansing your liver ...

Milk thistle was used historically as a digestive aid, to promote the flow of digestive juices, and as a tonic for nursing mothers, to increase milk supply. Nowadays it's popularity stems from its ability to detoxify and protect a very important organ, the liver. Our liver is responsible for filtering out most everything that should not be in our body and processing it so that it doesn't cause damage to other cells.

It also metabolizes hormones and fats, and makes sure that the transportation system for fats (cholesterol) is working properly. The livers secretions, called bile, carry metabolized waste products out into the intestine where they can be excreted. The medicinal activity of milk thistle is in a molecule called silymarin. It causes liver cells, hepatocytes, to resist toxic compounds and regenerate themselves. It also increases glutathione in the liver.

Glutathione is an antioxidant that the liver uses to catch damaging free radicals that are created when the liver changes toxins into harmless chemicals. Silymarin also blocks the toxic effects of drug overdoses and poisonings. Milk thistle is a bitter herb that causes the release of digestive juices and bile, thus helping with indigestion and intestinal cleansing. Natural health practitioners recommend milk thistle for liver toxicity, indigestion, poisonings, drug overdoses, hepatitis, jaundice, gallbladder dysfunction and high cholesterol.

Milk thistle can be purchased as encapsulated herb, dried herb, tincture or liquid extract. Milk thistle's active components are not soluble in water and therefore there is little medicinal value in drinking it as a tea. Concentrated extracts or capsules are the best forms to use. Milk thistle is found as a component of many cleansing formulas. In order to help with digestion, bitter herbs must be tasted, like when you take in a tincture or tea. Encapsulated herbs are swallowed, thus bypassing the taste buds, and will not stimulate digestion.

Milk thistle is a very safe herb but it does have detoxifying properties. Individuals with serious liver disease or high levels of toxic compounds in their body should use milk thistle under the guidance of a health professional.

PROBIOTICS
Probiotics are essential for digestive and colon health...

Probiotics, or friendly bacteria, are the beneficial microbial flora we all need for optimal digestive and colon health. We all have them – the first probiotics being given to us during the process of breast feeding from our mothers, with our need for them never waning throughout our entire lives. Without health gut flora, poor assimilation of nutrients, intestinal irritation or constipation can result. But, their effects go beyond those commonly associated with digestion.

Both naturopathic and medical doctors are recognizing the importance gut flora plays for overall health. Many normal, bodily functions require healthy gut flora, ranging from immune function to heart health. Certain strains of the Lactobacillus type have been shown to be crucial for producing important immune factors which the body cannot produce without them, while others have been shown to be crucial for the reduction of bad cholesterol.

The Types of Friendly Bacteria
In general, probiotics can be categorized by where they are used by the body. For example, there are friendly bacteria which are used only in the small intestine and those that proliferate only in the large intestine, or colon. But, believe it or not, beneficial bacteria exist in the mouth, urinary tract, stomach, and even on the surface of the skin.

What to Look For in a Probiotic
There are literally thousands of probiotic supplements available in health food stores today; with so many available it can be difficult to know which one is best for you or your family. A multi-strain probiotic is frequently the best way to go for most people. This type of probiotic can be considered the "multivitamin" of the probiotic category of supplements as they will usually supply you with at least 6, 8 or even as many as 10 or 20 different strains of healthy bacteria. Naturally in your body you have many, so it makes sense to take a supplement with as broad a spectrum as possible as this will give you the greatest coverage to replenish or maintain the natural gut flora.

That said, there are certain types of therapeutic probiotics which more specifically address certain health concerns. Saccharomyces boulardii is one that is particularly useful for those who have had chronic intestinal flushing from c. difficile infection or even from food poisoning. The homeostatic soil organism type of probiotic (such as the popular brand Primal Defense) contains healthy bacteria from soils. In years past we would have ingested these from root vegetables grown in the ground, but in our modern sanitized world where we purchase cleaned vegetables from supermarkets, it's difficult for us to get it from food unless we're growing them ourselves. This particular type of beneficial bacteria has been clinically proven to fight candida well.

Candida can be particularly stubborn and requires long-term use of a probiotic in addition to the use of one of the therapeutic version discussed above. The same can also be true for instances of food poisoning, which not only deplete gut flora, but can also cause damage to the intestinal lining; a high cell count, therapeutic probiotic is therefore appropriate if you've had food poisoning.

Another common use for probiotics is for preventing parasites and diarrhea while traveling. For these purposes, it's best to begin taking your probiotic two weeks to a month before departure and then also during. This allows you to build up the health of your gut flora, so that you're friendly bacteria are at their strongest if you come into contact with pathogenic organisms. If you do happen to pick up an intestinal concern from drinking water or other source, continue taking your probiotic for at least thirty days after your symptoms have abated to ensure that your intestinal flora has been completely replenished; it can take several weeks or even months for a full recuperation.

Detoxification and Probiotics
Doing an intestinal cleanse is beneficial for most people, especially if you've ever been constipated or had intestinal parasites. Encrusted waste matter in the colon creates an environment where yeast and harmful anaerobic bacteria can proliferate, so it's important to both cleanse as well as replenish friendly bacteria; parasites, candida, and other pathogenic organisms all compete for resources in the gut with our friendly bacteria. During a cleanse, probiotic supplements can perform a "rebuilding" function, helping to replenish friendly bacteria depleted by the harmful type, as well as the "flushing" that can occur during an intestinal cleanse or fast.

Unlike vitamins, minerals, and herbs, probiotic supplements are measured by active cell count rather than milligram weight. A high potency probiotic would be considered in the 10 billion cell count or higher. While they do have a shorter shelf-life than standard nutritional supplements, probiotics are generally more stable than what most people recognize. While it is best to store them in fridge, especially if you aren't going to finish the bottle very quickly, most healthy gut flora supplements will degrade only 5% of the total active cell count under normal cupboard conditions over the span of about thirty days.

Probiotic supplements are usually best taken on an empty stomach, as this helps more viable bacterial cells to pass through the stomach to reach their destination in the small or large intestines than taking them with food. Powders and lozenge form probiotics help to inoculate the mouth and esophagus with millions of helpful bacteria.

Some probiotics may contain dairy, so if you are sensitive to milk products, there are many alternative friendly bacteria supplements which are dairy free. Most products of the dairy-free type are easy to identify as manufacturers clearly label them.

NAC
Aging is a natural part of life that can go smoothly with the help of NAC ...

N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) is a derivative of the amino acid L-cysteine and is a more stable form of this amino acid for supplementation. NAC is a precursor to the important antioxidant, glutathione. Glutathione works in the liver to change chemicals and metabolic byproducts into harmless substances for excretion from the body. NAC is also an antioxidant in its own right. It detoxifies heavy metals like mercury, cadmium and lead.

It protects all cells of the body from damage due to aging, helps immune cells kill invading microbes (especially viruses) and stops cells from being harmed by radiation and chemotherapy. NAC is recommended by natural health practitioners for conditions such as frequent colds and flus, asthma, bronchitis, acetaminophen toxicity, heavy metal toxicity, side effects of cancer treatment, AIDS and decreased liver functioning. Supplementation of NAC has been shown to improve the body's glutathione levels.

NAC is available as an encapsulated powder. Large NAC doses may cause diarrhea. NAC may inactivate some antibiotics and insulin.
_______________________________________________________________

Bowel Cleansing

A back up of fecal matter in the colon allows toxins to be reabsorbed into the system.  Therefore cleansing of the colon itself is important but colon function is also important when you are cleansing any other organ.

Follow the general guidelines for detoxification and consider the appropriateness of a fast.  The following supplements can be used during colon cleansing.  Adult doses are given.

Herbal teas: To heal use calendula, fennel, peppermint, slippery elm, To detoxify use burdock, horsetail, To flush use barberry, cascara sagrada, senna, triphala, To remove mucus use elecampane, fenugreek, yarrow, To eliminate parasites use clove, garlic, wormwood.

Kidney Cleansing

The kidney has vital functions with regards to the processing and excretion of water-soluble toxins and heavy metals.  Poor kidney function affects the cardiovascular system through blood pressure because of fluid regulation.  It can also affect joint health through the build up of irritants such as uric acid.    

Follow the general guidelines for detoxification and consider the appropriateness of a fast.  The following supplements can be used during kidney cleansing.  Adult doses are given.

Juices: blueberry, cherry, cranberry, garlic, parsley

Herbal teas: To heal – birch leaf, goldenrod, horsetail, slippery elm, To flush – birch leaf, dandelion leaf, hydrangea, To eliminate bacteria – bearberry, buchu, garlic, goldenseal.

Liver Cleansing

The liver processes the majority of toxins in the body.  It excretes most of the processed toxins through the bile and into the intestine.  Most medications are also processed in the liver.  If you are on prescription medication consult your health professional before cleansing the liver.    

Follow the general guidelines for detoxification and consider the appropriateness of a fast.  The following supplements can be used during liver cleansing.  Adult doses are given.

Herbal teas and juices: To heal – milk thistle, To detoxify – artichoke, dandelion root, milk thistle, To flush – beet juice, lemon juice, black radish, dandelion root.  

Lung Cleansing

The lungs are responsible for filtering out particulate matter from the air.  Their fragile surface is constantly exposed to microbes and toxins.  When the liver, kidney and bowel are overwhelmed with toxins the lungs are used as an excretory organ.

Follow the general guidelines for detoxification and consider the appropriateness of a fast.  The following supplements can be used during lung cleansing.  Adult doses are given.

Physical therapy – deep breathing exercises

Inhalation therapy – lavender or eucalyptus essential oil, myrrh

Herbal teas and juices: To heal – coltsfoot, ginger, lungwort, peppermint, slippery elm, To detoxify – chickweed, cordyceps, gingko biloba, goldenseal, To remove mucus – elecampane, horehound, hyssop, mullein.

Skin Cleansing

The skin is the body’s largest organ.  It acts as a barrier to the environment.  It does normally perform some excretory functions but it can easily become overwhelmed by toxins that are unable to be processed through the major detoxifiers, the bowels, liver and kidneys. 

Follow the general guidelines for detoxification and consider the appropriateness of a fast.  The following supplements can be used during skin cleansing.  Adult doses are given.

Topical therapy: To remove infection – calendula, tea tree, colloidal silver, To heal – aloe vera, calendula, vitamin E

Herbal teas: To heal – borage, fennel, calendula, nettles, To detoxify – burdock, dandelion, horsetail, sheep sorrel