How to Self-Cleanse

The purpose of a cleanse is to help restore your body to homeostasis. Diet, stress, and environmental conditions flood our bodies with toxins every day. A cleanse helps you release and eliminate toxins. The result is higher energy levels, increased mental awareness, and a calmer emotional state. The principles of a cleanse are simple: reduce and eliminate the toxic input and give your body time to clear out the waste. The process is more difficult, as it requires self-discipline with lifestyle changes and perhaps a fast of some sort.

Instructions

1

Choose the type of cleanse you want to do. There are several types to choose from. The Master Cleanser is a 10-day fast on a lemonade diet composed of lemons, maple syrup, and cayenne pepper. A fruit-juice fast is similar to the Master Cleanse but allows for a variety of freshly squeezed juices. There are other cleansing programs where you consume only raw foods and eliminate all processed products.

2

Prepare your body for the cleanse. This is most important if you will be fasting for any length of time. You should take a week to reduce the amount of processed foods you consume. The days before you should consume only fresh fruits and vegetables.

3

Quit smoking and consuming alcohol. There is little benefit to a cleanse if you will be ingesting nicotine or other toxins into your system.

4

Follow the directions of the cleansing program. If this is a fast, be aware of the common side effects such as headache, lethargy, and moodiness. Dangerous side effects include dizziness and drops in blood pressure. For a less stringent program such as a raw food diet or cleansing supplements/teas, be sure to follow the directions to get the best results. For example, this may mean having the milk thistle supplement prior to eating to help the liver digest your meal more efficiently.

5

Ease out of the cleanse in the same manner as you eased into it--only in reverse. Once again, this is especially true if this is a fast. You will want to begin introducing broths and then juices into your diet and slowly add fresh fruits and vegetables. You will probably want to make certain lifestyle changes at this point like using less salad dressing or eating fewer processed foods. This will keep you feeling energized and make the results of the fast last longer.