Detoxification

What is detoxification?

Among the more popular but nonetheless controversial topics both within and without the field of natural healing is the concept of detoxification. Whereas advocates swear by detoxification as a kind of panacea in the treatment all disease, skeptics dismiss as fanciful nonsense. In part both are right, and both are wrong – and I shall explain why.  Detoxification itself is a precise scientific word that can be used in a number of contexts – cellular detoxification, hepatic detoxification etc. Although discrete biological factors are at play in each separate process, the basic nature of what is meant by detoxification is nonetheless the same – the rendering of actively toxic compounds into relatively inert ones.  Once these compounds are so transformed they can be easily eliminated from the body, dumped from the tissues into the lymph and blood, and from there into the mucus, sweat, urine, bile and feces.

What is fasting?

Fasting is an important component of a cleansing and detoxification regimen, and many different forms exist, depending on the person, the nature of their health, and other factors such as the season and climate. There are several different kinds of fasts or cleanses, and they can be broken down into three basic regimens:

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Water Fasting

Water fasting is an intensive method of fasting that is really indicated for excess mucus (kapha) and inflammation (pitta), but is contraindicated in any kind of deficiency (vata). During a water fast the body is spared any nutrients, and will essentially begin to eat itself, breaking down muscle glycogen as glucose, and then when this is consumed breaking down fatty acids stored in adipose tissues, turning them into ketones, the body's alternate fuel to glucose.

Juice Fasting

Juice fasting combines the benefits of water fasting, with the introduction of alkalizing substances that help to buffer the blood against acidosis. Further, juice fasting provides somewhat of a psychological buffer since something of substance is being consumed.

Fasting on Simple Food

Another form of fasting is to consume a simple diet over an extended period of time. Unlike water and juice fasting, this method is better for individuals who are weakened by disease or age, in both children and adults. It is the best approach for those of vata prakriti and also anyone under any kind of stress, such as working or going to school. Eating simple diet avoids the consumption of complex foods or potentially problematic food combinations that can play havoc with digestion, promoting the creation of toxins.

Choosing the Fasting Method

It is important to properly discriminate between the different types of fasts, when to implement them and what type of people are more suited to the different methods. Implementing a fasting regimen on the observance of the doshas in Ayurveda is one way useful way to do this:

Herbs and Detoxification

The plant world abounds with helpful remedies, and no less so than those that help to remove toxins and restore health. Imagine the air in the busy downtown core of any city, and now contrast that to the crisp and delightful fragrance of a rainforest. It doesn’t take a biology degree to know that plants clean up the environment, even as governments and industry are using them for this purpose, from planting Gingko trees along polluted urban avenues to clean the air, to using the perfumed Vetiver grass in the bioremediation of industrial sites.  Please login or register to see the full article