How to maintain your health and vitality
through internal cleansing
Each year the average American consumes 150 lbs of sugar and 566 cans of soft drinks (“liquid candy”) (1) . According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, that is equal to “52 teaspoonfuls of added sugars per person per day.” (2) Can you imagine yourself sitting at the kitchen table gobbling down 52 teaspoons of white sugar – every single day? Well, that's exactly what most of us are doing without even realizing it!
Toxins “stimulate neurons to death”
Junk foods and soft drinks contain dangerous additives, chemicals, and many are laced with excitotoxins “found in such ingredients as monosodium glutamate [MSG], aspartame (NutraSweet ® ), cysteine, hydrolyzed protein, and aspartic acid”. Excitotoxins are “substances added to foods and beverages that literally stimulate neurons to death, causing brain damage of varying degrees.” (5)
No one's put it better than nutritionist, Carol Simontacchi, in her best-selling book The Crazy Makers: “Food industries wantonly destroy our bodies and our brains, all in the name of profit.”
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How to maintain health and vitality?
Understanding that our quality of life is determined by our daily choices, we have the power to improve our health and well-being quickly and dramatically. Optimum nutrition is a key factor, but our health depends not only on what nutrients we eat, but how much of those nutrients are absorbed and how well and regularly the body's waste products are eliminated.
With the proper use of cleansing and detoxification we can maintain health and vitality, even as we age.
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The Role of Fiber
Our widespread colon problems begin with our unhealthy Western diet that is deficient in plant fibers. Fiber is indispensable in maintaining a healthy colon. A person with a healthy colon should in fact have two to three bowel movements per day. With the help of fiber, elimination should be complete, fast and easy.
Dietary fiber plays a crucial role in the proper function and maintenance of the colon. “Increasing the amount of fiber in the diet may reduce symptoms of diverticulosis and prevent complications such as diverticulitis. Fiber keeps stool soft and lowers pressure inside the colon so that bowel contents can move through easily. The American Dietetic Association recommends 20 to 35 grams of fiber each day.” (9)
For colon cleansing it is best to use a fiber supplement designed specifically for this purpose. Good-quality supplements contain both soluble and insoluble fiber and are formulated to loosen the stool, absorb and sweep away fat and toxins, reduce transit time, and make elimination effortless and complete.
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What to Expect During Cleansing
When we start using an effective fiber supplement, we can expect some startling occurrences within a few days. The fiber goes to work immediately by loosening the hardened feces on the walls of the large intestine and gradually sweeping it out of the body. If we are not repulsed to look at what's leaving our body, we'll be surprised to see a lot of mucus and all the different colors of debris. It's hard to believe that all these things could actually be lurking inside us. What's even more shocking is that among the different colors and shapes people often notice various forms of parasites.
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Are you carrying parasites around in your body?
This is unfortunately a lot more frequent than most would like to believe. According to United Nations data:
“Overall, about 1.5 billion people have roundworms, making it the third most common human infection in the world. Whipworm infects 1 billion people… More than 1.3 billion people carry hookworm in their gut, and 265 million people are infected with schistosomes.” (10)
It is true that most of these infections occur in developing countries, but the rate of parasitic-related disorders in North America is skyrocketing. An astounding number of people would test positive for parasites. This is from the Parasitology Department of the University of Cambridge, England: “Pinworm. An extremely common nematode infection, particularly in temperate areas such as Western Europe and North America… It has been estimated that the annual incidence of infection is over 200 million, this probably being a conservative figure. Samples of caucasian children in the USA and Canada have shown incidences of infection of 30% to 80%, with similar levels in Europe .”
“Parasites are the missing diagnosis in the genesis of many chronic health problems, including diseases of the gastrointestinal tract and endocrine system. Most individuals would be truly amazed if they knew the extraordinarily high number of Americans who are unknowingly infected by parasites…” – Dr. Hermann R. Bueno, Fellow of Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene of London
It is extremely easy to come in contact with parasites. Contaminated water, undercooked meats, improperly washed fruits and vegetables, are just some of the common sources of infections. Transmission from pets or other infected persons is also quite common. Overuse of antibiotics further adds to this problem as this can interfere with normal intestinal flora and lower the body's resistance.
Fiber supplements help to get rid of parasites, but they are not enough. We need to use specific herbal formulas to deal with this issue. Some of the most potent herbs for parasite cleansing include Black Walnut hulls, Wormwood, Pau D'Arco, Garlic, Yellow Dock, Pumpkin seed, Male Fern root, False Unicorn, Fenugreek, Grapefruit Seed extract and Prickley Ash bark.
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Weight Loss Is Almost Guaranteed with Internal Cleansing
There's an important added benefit to internal cleansing that most people experience: weight loss. With a sluggish, toxic digestive system, metabolism slows down, the energy level drops and we're simply not strong enough to start burning off stored fat through exercise or other means. An internal cleansing program can help restore balance in the body and increase the metabolism, reactivating the body's fat-burning mechanism. Plus, after a thorough detoxification program, you'll find yourself much more inclined to make healthier dietary and lifestyle choices. Through a detoxified system, improved digestion, balanced metabolism and a healthier diet you will have no trouble maintaining a healthy weight.
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Other Benefits
High energy and weight loss are just some of the many benefits you can achieve through a comprehensive cleansing program. In her excellent book, The Detox Solution - The Missing Link to Radiant Health, Abundant Energy, Ideal Weight, and Peace of Mind , nutritionist Dr. Patricia Fitzgerald lists the following added benefits of an effective detoxification program:
- The Prevention of Illness
- An Improvement in Physical Appearance
- A Boost in Emotional Well-Being
- A Sharpening of Mental Capabilities
- An Enhancement in Digestion
- The Elimination of Unhealthy Food Addictions & Allergies
- The Attainment of Ideal Weight
- A Minimizing of the Effects of Aging
In my opinion, we are not going to change the catastrophic situation where every second person is chronically ill until we place as much emphasis on internal cleansing as we do on external hygiene, such as brushing our teeth or washing our hands. If you are middle-aged, you've taken about 15,000 showers in your lifetime, and you've brushed your teeth close to 30,000 times. Still, you won't stop doing that just because you've done it so many times. Here's an interesting question: If you have to keep cleansing your skin and teeth daily, then wouldn't you think it makes equal sense to clean the inside of your body at least periodically?
Of course detoxification should not be limited to the colon. It is just as important to detoxify the liver, kidneys, arteries, and in general, every cell in the body. But internal cleansing must start with the colon, because if this region is kept unclean, it will contaminate every other part of the system.
The importance of internal cleansing can best be summed up in the words of Dr. Paul Bragg, one of the “fathers” of natural medicine in the U.S. and the author of dozens of highly successful health books:
“The secret to great health can be described in three words: Cleanse Your Body! Engrave these three words permanently in your memory.”
Dr. Hardy is a Naturopathic Doctor and Certified Nutrition Consultant. Currently she is pursuing a degree in homeopathy. She is the Director of the Global Institute For Alternative Medicine and a member of the American Naturopathic Medical Association and the American Association of Nutritional Consultants.
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References :
(1) Marion Nestle, PhD, MPH: Soft Drink “Pouring Rights”: Marketing Empty Calories
(2) United States Department of Agriculture: Agriculture Fact Book 2001-2002
(3) Dr. Robert Osgoodby: Food For Thought
(4) New York Post: Arch Enemy, 01/22/2004
(5) Russel L. Blaylock, M.D.: Excitotoxins, The Taste that Kills; Health Press 1997
(6) Bernard Jensen, D.C., Ph.D.: Tissue Cleansing Through Bowel Management ,
ISBN 0960836071
(7) Linda Berry: Internal Cleansing; Prima Publishing 1997
(8) National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse,
part of the National Institutes of Health
(9) National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse,
part of the National Institutes of Health
(10) UNICEF: The State of the World's Children 1998
(11) Dr. Patricia Fitzgerald: The Detox Solution, Illumination Press, 2001
