Ray Hogan, ContributorBY CLEANSING our systems, we get rid of unwanted toxins and chemicals. A bonus is that we
might identify foods we are allergic and addicted to.
There are myriad ways to go about detoxing our system, including simple shifts to a healthier diet, taking natural supplements, spending a few days on a juice diet or fasting.
"My perspective, as in anything, is that you have to individualise and no two people are the same," says Dr. Paul Epstein, a naturopathic physician working in Westport and Norwalk, Conn. "It's often helpful to see it in the context of what's right for me and what are my purposes. We're trying to do something to help us get well and promote health by giving the digestive system a rest."
According to Ann Louise Gittleman, author of The Fat Flush Plan and The Fast Track One-Day Detox Diet, 80,000 new chemicals have been introduced since the end of World War II. "We are living in a chemical soup and people are getting sicker at a younger age. To me it's frightening,'' she says. "In 2004, cancer took over from heart disease as the leading cause of death. Where do you think it's coming from?" So the air we breathe, the water we drink, the foods we ingest and the pesticides we pepper our lawns and gardens with put us at risk. But the ways to rid these harmful squatters aren't difficult, if done with some help.
"When you detox, you cleanse. Just like when you clean out the basement and there are toxic fumes down there, you have to be careful," says Epstein. "Our bodies weren't meant for a lifetime of Dunkin' Donuts or McDonald's. Keep it simple, but get some advice from someone who might know a little more. There may be something going on that requires an additional focus. "Diet plays perhaps the largest and easiest part of detoxification. The simplest way is to just eat a healthy diet," Epstein says.
WATER AN INTEGRAL PART
Water plays an integral part in the process. Gittleman believes that everyone should be drinking half their body weight in ounces of water daily. "People who think they are really hungry are actually thirsty," Gittleman says. Anyone with well water should have it checked for harmful toxins by a reputable company.
Other beneficial drinks are smoothies, an easy way to get a healthy supply of nutrients, particularly when made with a juicer. Carrots, blueberries, blackberries and bananas are among the recommended fruits and vegetables for smoothies. They should be mixed with non-fat yogurt. Gittleman also suggests adding ground flax seed.
Herbal teas also are recommended. Green teas are a source of antioxidants, and chamomile helps clean out the digestive system. Coffee, on the other hand, is a red flag.
"More than two cups of coffee a day is trouble," Gittleman says. "Caffeine is not only difficult for the liver, but if you're using it as a stimulant, it's producing insulin and cortisone, which make for a roller-coaster ride with blood sugar."
Gittleman suggests detoxing by eliminating anything white from your diet. That includes sugar, flour (including gluten wheat) and rice. "Those are foodless foods," she says. "They have very little nutritional value and no fibre. I would suggest that certain foods can be toxic. They add to a host of seemingly unrelated issues from bloating to cluster and migraine headaches, canker sores and drowsiness. Omit anything that is artificial." By depriving yourself of certain foods, it's likely you'll come to realise how addicted if not unknowingly allergic you've become to them.
Epstein says people might be surprised by the difference between brown and white rice. Brown is rich in B vitamins, which provide energy. "They're co-factors that help the body digest the carbohydrates to get the grains you're digesting," he says. "Nature made wheat to be wheat, corn to be corn and oats to be oats." Boyd, also author of The Cancer Recovery Plan, doesn't recommend specific regimens, but says "simply switching your foods can very quickly alter your exposures." He says organically grown brassica vegetables (plants in the mustard family) such as broccoli and cauliflower, along with onions, have inherent benefits.
"Organic foods do significantly reduce exposures," Boyd says. "It's the food that you want because a healthy, wide variety of vegetables have compounds that enhance the detoxifying system that you have." He also points out that something being labelled organic doesn't necessarily make it so.
As a naturopath, Epstein sees the cleansing process as one that includes body and mind. He finds yoga to be the best exercise to accompany a spring cleaning, but says even short walks are helpful in cleansing the brain.
The Los Angeles Times-Washington Post News Service
