vitamins to health

Herbal Cleanse - Bringing Your Body Back To Health

An herbal cleanse can aid the detoxification that is part of the body's normal metabolic processes. Our lungs, kidneys, liver, skin, lymph and bowel eliminate waste products from food, pollution from the environment, chemical contaminants in food, bacteria, drug metabolites, and more daily.

It can seem surprising that our food can contain either toxic contaminants, or traces of hormones, pesticides, and other things used in modern food production. But it does happen, and over time can weaken the body.

Neil Levin, of Now Food, says: "Adding minute doses of various chemicals together may not reveal the true body burden to an individual. If chemicals are difficult to detoxify and a person has a diminished capacity to do so due to inflammation, illness or nutrient deficiencies, the cumulative toxic effects could be dramatic."

In Europe, the EU has a food risk alert system (RASFF) that logs instances where member states have found food that is contaminated by toxins. One of the problem foods there have been nuts, where 18 separate cases (at the time of this report in www.nutraingredients.com) of contamination by the potential carcinogen aflatoxin were found.

Aflatoxins are a member of the mycotoxin group. They are naturally occurring toxins that are produced by some fungi in foods like nuts, dried legumes, dried fruits, apples, and cereals. Aflatoxins can cause cancer in the liver of lab animals by damaging DNA, so there are no tolerable daily intake levels. The concern is that with long term daily consumption, this could happen in humans.

Not all nuts contain aflatoxins, however. Nuts are very nutritious and generally very safe.

But we are exposed to environmental toxins, and an herbal cleanse can improve the pathways of elimination so that they are in a better position to deal with these external influences. We do better to make ourselves stronger, than by being always worried about the possible chemical or other contaminants in the food we eat, or the air we breathe.

Other environmental toxins include:

pesticides used in agriculture - the volatile organic compounds (VOC's) are fat soluble and can accumulate in the brain and body
they can interfere with one's normal metabolic processes. This can result in symptoms like a 'foggy' brain, tiredness, poor memory, problems with concentration, and others
hormones and antibiotics fed to animals
dyes used in food processing
contaminated food and water

Herbal cleanse supplements, combined with eating more fresh fruit and vegetables, and fiber, can improve our body's overall capacity to deal with things. This is especially true if someone has multiple chemical sensitivities.

Neil Levin says: ""the science of multiple chemical sensitivity. This is the science relating to the concept that at some point the total toxic load upon the body, which is mainly processed by the liver, may overwhelm the body's ability to detoxify and safely excrete excess chemicals, whether natural or synthetic. The use of certain nutrients to be utilized in these processes – notably antioxidants, minerals and amino acids - are ‘limiting factors' affecting an individual's detoxification capacity and chemical clearance rates. Detoxification is far more than just drinking tap water".

Simon Mills makes the point that if one of the body's elimination channels is overloaded, or not functioning as well as it could, it can affect the whole interrelated system. This is why skin problems are often dealt with by natural therapists by changing the diet of those affected, and giving them herbal cleanse supplements.

Other factors that can contribute to an overloaded body include:

poor diet
diet high in processed foods
poorly functioning digestive system
overeating, especially on a regular basis
diet high in fat
some medications, like antibiotics and others
stress, especially over long periods of time
lack of exercise

If food stays too long in the colon, it putrefies and produces more toxic by products. These can often be reabsorbed by the body, or at least produce irritation.

Erica Angyal cites these symptoms of an overburdened digestive system:

diarrhea
constipation
abdominal pain
bloating
gas
nausea
vomiting
burning sensation after eating
feeling very full after meals, especially if you haven't eaten much
rumbling noises except the normal ones when you're hungry

So, the benefits of an herbal cleanse, with an increase in fresh fruit and vegetables, is a great investment in your health. It's not really necessary to fast on juices or anything else. A long term, more gentle approach that encourages good eating habits and sustainable changes is better.

Herbal Cleanse - Bringing Your Body Back To Health

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