Spring Cleaning — Detoxify Your Body for Optimal Health

It’s no secret among my siblings and friends that I do not get a buzz or excited about spring-cleaning around my home. I’m thankful to have a home and blessed to have someone come in to clean for me. I will get jazzed, however, when my sisters and I plan our spring-cleansing regimen for our bodies.

After being in hibernation with comfort foods during the winter months; and deprived of the lack of sunrays for the season due to winter’s unforgiving temperatures; we become excited about tuning into our bodies to ‘detox’ and rejuvenate! It’s also how we rid ourselves of excess pounds as the toxins are being eliminated. That’s a win-win!

There are many benefits to cleanse our ‘temples’ as there are to clean our homes. Chemicals and toxins are the primary cause of illness, disease and obesity. Substances that are toxic to our bodies come at us from all directions: the air we breathe, the food we eat, the water we drink, the cleaning products we use, and the metabolic waste produced inside us. Toxins build-up in the body contributes to premature aging and chronic and degenerative diseases.

Dr. Steve Nugent, the past president of the American Naturopathic Medical Association, reported recently, “In the typical American home there are more toxins inside the home than outside the home! Your cells actually contain over 400 new toxins that didn’t even exist 45 years ago and we are losing the battle against toxins!” It’s a fact. There are increasing amounts of toxins and chemical agents in the water we drink, the food we eat and the air we breathe — they all contribute to the breakdown in cellular communication and disease. Studies have discovered various chemicals from our foods and environment that indicate man contributes 700,000 tons of pollutants into the air every day, ranging from everyday household cleaners to cosmetics and hair dyes. Chemicals and toxins accumulate in fat tissue. The more chemicals and toxins, the more fat the body manufactures.

Among the several therapies available for detoxification, some are more intrusive or more difficult to implement than others, especially for a busy working person. My sisters and I chose the Daniel Fast. Benjamin Franklin said, “The best of all medicines are rest and fasting.” Fasting is the world’s most ancient and natural healing mechanism. Fasting triggers a truly wondrous cleansing process that reaches right down to each and every cell and tissue in the body. This fast was chosen not only for its health benefits but also for its spiritual ones as well. When we are seeking a spiritual breakthrough that involves healing or miraculous manifestations; it is through praying, our faith and fasting that brings about the desired result. So “thine health shall spring forth” (Isaiah 58:8)—to gain a healthier life or for healing. ”Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank (Daniel 1:8). Also, “test your servants for ten days, . . . give us vegetables to eat and water to drink.” (Daniel 1:12)

Internal Cleansing

The first step in anyone’s health program is to clean and open up all the elimination organs.