Fall Cleanse Alert: Gentle Steps to Boost Your Health Before Winter

The fall season is almost here, making for an ideal time to remove harmful toxins from your body. Traditional Chinese and Holistic medicine approaches both recommend full-body detoxification during autumn as it helps enhance immunity and vitality in preparation for the colder winter months. However, to have a successful cleanse, it’s essential to follow the right steps and ensure that you’re not detoxing too rapidly, which can lead to a “detox crisis.”

Detox Can Help You Feel Better… Or Worse

When attempting a fall cleanse, it’s not uncommon for many people to feel worse as symptoms may become aggravated. This is known as a detox crisis, and some people mistakenly believe that it is an inevitable part of any detox. However, this approach is flawed and can be easily avoided by utilizing the right supplements, diet, and exercise.

Take a gentle and gradual approach to detoxification. Toxins can take years to accumulate in our systems and cause problems, so we can’t expect to remove them overnight. By gradually cleansing the blood and circulatory system first with the right diet and supplements, we can achieve a much more effective cleanse.

The Importance of an Alkalizing Diet

Our fast-paced lifestyles and Western diets tend to be highly acid-forming to our bodies. Maintaining a proper acid/alkaline balance, commonly referred to as pH balance, is a vital aspect of any health promotion program. Many chronic and degenerative conditions are related to an overly acidic body. Increasing alkalinity by reducing stress and following an alkaline diet greatly enhances our natural detoxification capacities. Vegetables such as greens, cruciferous vegetables, and sea veggies are great examples of cleansing and alkalizing foods.

A Simple Yet Powerful Therapy: Lemon and Olive Oil Drink

One of the most effective cleansing drinks is the classic lemon and olive oil mix. It is simple, inexpensive, easy to prepare, and offers a significant boost to any cleanse program by providing support to the liver and gallbladder. Simply blend the pieces of one organic lemon (seeds removed) with about 1¼ cups of spring water and 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Strain the contents and drink on an empty stomach each night before bed. You may want to start with a smaller dosage and increase the amount each night. As an added bonus, many people find that this refreshing beverage also improves their sleep.

Digestive Support

Another critical part of any detox therapy is ensuring that your digestive system has the support it needs. You can optimize nutrient breakdown and toxin elimination, as well as support immune function, by providing your digestive system with extra vitality and “warmth” through the use of digestive-supporting herbs and nutrients as follows:

• Cinnamon
• Cardamom
• Ginger
• Pomegranate
• Tangerine peel
• Black pepper fruit
• Zinc
• Chromium
• Digestive enzymes such as amylase and protease

These natural digestive aids, when used together, can work to gently and effectively boost sluggish digestion, reduce harmful bacteria from the digestive tract, and relieve symptoms of bloating, nausea, flatulence, fluid retention, and indigestion. This support is critical during a cleanse when the digestive capacity needs to function at its best to ensure efficient elimination of toxins and complete nutrient assimilation.

Simple and Safe Chelation

One of the safest and most effective ways to remove toxins and heavy metals from the circulatory system is to use a clinically proven blend of modified citrus pectin (MCP) and modified alginates for one to three months. After the initial phase, the MCP/alginate formula is followed by a phase two detox formula containing herbs and nutrients that bind and remove heavy metals and toxins from deep within organs and tissues.

Clinical studies show that the combination of these two unique formulas reduces overall heavy metal and environmental toxin levels within the body by up to 74% in a gentle yet highly effective way. Both the phase one and phase two detox formulas remove harmful toxins and heavy metals without affecting essential mineral levels within the body, as many other natural chelation therapies do.

Pre- and Probiotics

It’s essential to take high-quality prebiotic and probiotic supplements during a cleanse since one of the goals of detoxifying is to rid the intestines of harmful bacteria, fungi, and parasites. Replanting and nourishing beneficial bacteria in the GI tract with pre- and probiotics significantly helps to reduce the presence of harmful invaders and improve the overall environment in your gut, leading to increased digestive capacity and vitality.

Treatments and Exercises

Make sure to keep active during a cleanse to avoid toxins being eliminated from getting stuck in transit and creating further areas of toxic stagnation. Engage in mild to moderate exercises (even just 15 minutes of walking) every day during your cleanse.

Additionally, specific treatments that promote the movement of vital energy within the body can greatly enhance the clearing process. Acupuncture, lymphatic drainage massage, micro-current therapy, homeopathic treatments, infrared saunas, yoga, Qi Gong, and breathing exercises are some of the top recommended modalities for ensuring the movement of vital energy within the body to support natural detoxification processes.

Colonic Controversy

Colonics and enemas are often recommended during a cleanse as a way to assist the large intestines in eliminating waste. Although these therapies may be beneficial for some people, it is important to understand that this method of detoxification is only one small aspect of a total body cleanse. A well-planned cleanse can be equally, if not more, successful in helping rid the body of harmful excess wastes and toxins than using a regular schedule of colonics or enemas. That’s because those treatments may offer some immediate relief from constipation and buildup but do not address the underlying causes of stagnant bowels or toxic body burden.