5 Reasons It's Time to Clear Out With a Cleanse
Posted on February 17, 2021 by Allison Samon, One of Thousands of Health and Fitness Coaches on Noomii.
Your body has tell-tale signs when it becomes overloaded with toxins or congestion. Periodic body detoxification can work wonders for digestion.
Imagine your digestive system is a kitchen garbage can protected by a liner bag. Every week, you throw away the garbage and replace the bag. Now the can is clean and smelling fresh! Well, what if you stopped changing the bag, and instead just dumped the contents?
Week after week grime and food residue build up on the sides of the bag. The garbage is gone, but a stinky yuck remains. There’s not much detoxifying going on with so much stuck muck. Your body ends up working over time to clean up the mess, gets backlogged and you feel sluggish. Sound familiar?
We’re inundated with toxins in the air, water and food supply, chemicals in furniture and cleaning products. Our immune systems become impaired and we’re now at risk for illness. Thankfully, there are dozens of cleansing options out there, like “The Master Cleanse,” various whole food and nutraceutical cleanses, fasts and many combinations in between. It’s easy to find a detox method that works for you and gets you health results.
Here are 5 reasons to Clean Out with a Cleanse.
1. Cleansing Can Help Identify Food Allergens.
Common culprits are: soy, dairy, eggs, wheat, shellfish, caffeine and nuts. Systematically removing allergenic foods will give you the opportunity to notice allergy symptom improvement. If the symptoms resolve, the foods can then be re-introduced one at a time to see if those symptoms reappear. Keeping a food diary is highly recommended to keep track of what you ate, when, and how you felt. It’s too easy to forget the minutia!
2. Nature Calls!
Whether or not you feel one with nature, human beings are quite in-tune with the universe. Our biological rhythms in sync with nature; and Spring is the season of renewal and re-birth! Look out the window and see the budding leaves and flowers, new baby birds and animals? This is perfect time to detox from all the heavy, warming foods we ate over the winter. Key foods for cleaning out mucus and detoxifying your system are dandelion greens, burdock root, and sprouts. Most roots are readily available in spring; nature’s remedy to rid the body of excess heat and waste. By following these cues, we’ll cool down just in time for summer!
3. You May Even Lose a Few Pounds!
Although not the intended purpose of a cleanse, losing a couple of pounds is an added benefit. When you have a congested lymphatic system, you tend to see bloating around your belly, hips, butt and thighs and even hold on to belly fat. Getting rid of all that stagnant and toxic fluid will help you feel lighter and more energized!
4. Keep Things Moving!
The National Institutes of Health estimates between 60-70 million people suffer from digestive disease. A cleanse can help things move in the right direction, steering clear of complication. While every body is different, going one to three times per day, preferably within an hour of waking up, is normal. If you feel your system is off, or you’re not going “number two,” you now know what to do.
5. Give Your Body a Break!
Lighten the work load for the body by restricting hard to digest foods for 10-30 days. Freeing the liver, colon and kidneys of sweeteners, alcohol, animal products and processed foods increases the likelihood of moving the waste out! Likewise, if you have excessive stress, your body will hold on to free radical waste products that actually make you toxic. These waste materials get stored in our fat tissues (another great reason to lose body fat!) Hit the re-set button to give your digestive system and adrenals a break!
Our bodies are magnificent, self-reliant machines. With the right tools, the body will heal itself, by itself. So set yourself up for success with health supportive cleansing two to four times per year. Cleansing with the seasons can help you keep track. Pick a week where you have control of your environment, stock your fridge, prep your kitchen, and organize daily activities to support your cleanse. When you follow through with the commitment, your body will thank you!
