It’s almost spring, which is a great time to cleanse.  Although I have never done this exact cleanse before, I’m about to go for it.  I usually wait until it’s a little further into actual spring to begin, but I’m headed to Mexico in about a month, and want to be in the easiest phase of the cleanse while I’m traveling.  This happens to be the parasite cleanse phase, along with some heavy probiotics.  Nothing against Mexico; I love every trip I have ever taken there (I think this is the 10th or 11th time–I seriously love it).  I have always had great food, (OK, except once) and leave feeling like I can’t wait to go back again.

 

Why cleanse?

 

Even though I eat a pretty healthy diet, I’m not perfect, and I live in a toxic world.  I do my best, but I do eat out, drive a car, live indoors with my 2 adorable pets, shower with municipal water, occasionally have a cocktail, and breathe.  This is the air where I live in winter:

 

(image: Deseret News)

 

This is about 1/2 a mile from my front door.  Not exactly conducive to healthy living.  And this is on a “yellow” day, meaning it gets worse (“red”).

 

 

So, for many reasons, I cleanse, and I suggest you do too.  Since you are only as healthy as what you absorb, cleaning out your system makes it easier on your body to do its job.

 

 

This particular cleanse starts out with the colon, moves to the liver/gallbladder, and then onto any yeasts/fungus/parasites.  A pretty thorough house cleaning.

 

 

(photo: cancer.gov)

 

 

Phase I: Cleaning the colon first gets rid of build-up that we don’t normally flush out in waste.  The cleaner the colon, the more you are able to absorb nutrients, and push out the waste that would otherwise sit and rot in the gut. This creates a place for good bacteria to thrive, which is vital to our well-being.  Did you know that about 70% of your immune system is in your intestines?  If your immune system isn’t working at capacity, it leaves you vulnerable to colds, viruses, and very serious diseases. So keep it clean.

 

(Note:  I do believe in colon hydrotherapy, and have done them many times.  However, we’ll save that subject for another day. I’m planning one post-Mexico.)

 

 

 

(source: cancer.gov)

 

 

Phase II:  Liver + Gallbladder.  The liver is such an under-appreciated organ.  It serves over 500 functions. If the liver is clogged, you can experience blood sugar issues, allergies, fatigue, trouble losing weight, ear infections, ulcers, bladder problems, puffy eyes, and more.  Some of these symptoms can show up with gallbladder issues as well.  Symbiotically, the liver creates bile, which is stored in the gallbladder. The bile is secreted, as part of the digestive process, traveling to the intestines.  If the gallbladder is sent too much fat from the liver being overloaded, gallstones can form, which can cause a blockage in the bile duct. Many people live their entire lives with gallstones, without incident, but I don’t want to chance it.  I still have a lot of years left to live in this body.

 

 

 

 

 

Phase III: Parasite cleanse.  Everybody has parasites, in varying degrees, including yeasts, fungus, and parasitic worms. These nutrient-stealing creatures expel their own waste into your body. This means that your body is trying to fight off not only the pathogen, but the waste of the pathogen, creating toxic burden and overload.  Getting them out, and getting your healthy bacteria to to thrive is crucial for good health.

 

 

 

 

So, maybe a better question is: Why not cleanse?  What I love about cleanses is that there are so many different ways to go about it.  For many people, just switching to a plant-based diet is a cleanse.  Juice cleanses can be amazing, if you watch the sugar content of the juices (they should be more vegetables than fruit).  There are even some great detox teas for quick mini-cleanses.  I walk clients through varying degrees of cleanses, depending on where they are beginning from.  I think this is incredibly important to take into account, since doing too thorough of a cleanse can be miserable if you haven’t stepped into it.  As long as you are prepared for it, physically and mentally, the process and benefits are so rewarding.

 

I’ll post about each phase of my cleanse, so stay tuned for the good, the bad, and the ultimate results.