Why should you do a 30-day Cleanse?

Have you ever done a detoxing 'cleanse'? 

If you do a search on the internet, you'll find many sites saying there is no scientific proof that they work.  Nutrition experts don’t buy into the idea that we need any additional help eliminating toxic substances. “Our bodies naturally detox themselves every single day,” says Keri Gans, RDN, owner of Keri Gans Nutrition in New York City and author of The Small Change Diet. “That’s why we have a liver and kidneys.” In other words, every time you pee, poop, or sweat your butt off at the gym, you’re getting rid of waste products that could otherwise harm your body. Not to mention, no randomized controlled trials — the gold standard for scientific research — have ever found that giving your gastrointestinal (GI) system a break from digesting food is beneficial in any way.

However, when I cleanse, I notice a huge difference!! To me that says a lot. I agree that our bodies do naturally detox themselves, just as they naturally heal themselves.  But we can also get overloaded too, and maybe even stagnant.

The good news is your body has built-in protections and filters help you manage the toxins you encounter. But if your toxic load gets too heavy for your body to handle, things can become burdensome, especially because your body actually is less efficient at managing toxins as your toxic load increases. When functioning properly, your body is an incredibly powerful toxic load–minimizing machine.The goal is to minimize exposure to toxins you have control over, making your toxic load lighter! You can’t control every toxin you come in contact with, but you can control what you bring into your own home.

If you stop to think about, we are eating way too much (and not enough true nutrients) and using too many products full of petroleum-based chemicals, and then not giving our body enough time to deal with what we are piling in and on it. If you've never done a cleanse, that stuff does pile up and clog the plumbing, creating imbalance and and an environment for dis-ease to thrive. 

Think about water in nature.  If it sits in a pond, it can get stagnant, right? Especially if someone is dumping sledge in there on a daily basis.  Bacteria grows easily in a pond.

Now compare that pond to a river.  The water in a river stays cleaner much longer than the pond because it's flowing, picking up oxygen and keeping it's boundaries clean. 

Do you want to be a stagnant pond or a flowing river? The choice is yours and yours alone. 

Nature experiences cycles of releasing and renewing. Our bodies also benefit from seasons of cleansing and focused detox for renewal. Supporting your body's natural pathways of detoxification by cleansing will

• enhance mood 
• enhanced metabolism
• support healthy weight
• improve digestive function
• improve elimination and natural detox processes of the body
• improved skin
• less joint pain
• support nervous system
• increase energy

Your health truly manifests itself from the inside out!

When should you cleanse?

Signs that you might need to cleanse are easy to see: joint pain, headaches, skin problems, 

Most people cleanse at least once a year.  Some people say to cleanse every time the season changes.  I prefer to use cleansing essential oils and epsom salt baths all year long, and do a deeper cleanse 1-2 times per year.

What kind of cleanse should you do?

There are many ways to go about it:

• Fasting
• Drinking only citrus juices
• Eating only certain foods
• Using dietary supplements or other commercial products
• Using essential oils or herbs
• Cleansing the colon (lower intestinal tract) with enemas, laxatives, or colon hydrotherapy (also called “colonic irrigation” or “colonics”)
• Reducing environmental exposures
• Using a sauna

I have done several types of cleanses and this is what I have experienced personally with each kind:

Epsom Salt Bath - similar to a sauna, bathing in magnesium-rich epsom salts is a great simple detox that anyone can and should do often. I notice that the more I bath in epsom salts, the softer my skin is. And essential oils are easily added for calming and detoxing benefits. 

Essential oils only - citrus oils are very cleansing, as are Celery Seed, Cilantro, Citronella, Juniper Berry and other oils.  I put citrus oils and Celery Seed oil in my water everyday, and the others on the bottoms of my feet. When I do this at night, I always notice a good mood in the morning!

Fasting - it's hard but sometimes it's worth it.  Don't do it too long (I don't like to do more than 14 days) or you'll disrupt your body's rhythm.  But short fasts (3-4 days) are extremely beneficial as a kind of "reset" for your metabolism and I always notice that. My favorite for weight-loss specifically is protein-assisted fasting. I lose about 1/2 to 1 pound a day with fasting.

Colon cleanse -   I've never done an enema and don't plan to. I have, but prefer not to, used commercial, off-the-supermarket-shelf cleanses. This was before I found essential oils. Sorry for the visual, but some of these contain senna herb which is quite harsh and makes everything come out all at once. I lose 2-4 pounds with this type.

doTERRA's Cleanse & Renew Program - this is my once-a-year 30-day cleanse.  It works, and it's gentle.  It combines whole-food herbs and essential oils. I always feel great at the end, and usually lose 5 or 6 pounds too. 

In addition to all of that, the biggest thing I always notice with each one is increased energy by 100%, and clearer thinking. 

What can you expect when cleansing?

If you are in 'toxic overload', some weird things can happen that might make you want to stop, especially if you've never done a cleanse before.  Some people call this a 'detox crisis'. But don't stop! They will not last. These are not bad side effects, they are good signs that your body is releasing those toxins! 

• increased acne or pimples
• headaches
• diarrhea or intestinal cramps

These can be reduced by increasing your water intake.

Take all this information as you will and make your own decision if cleansing is right for you!! If you are interested in doing a cleanse, consider my 30-day Cleanse & Restore workshop, starting on April 21st. You'll get tons of education and accountability, and there's even weekly prizes! We have so much fun cleansing with each other too. Check out these testimonies from our last cleanse workshop:

Aren't those amazing? What are you waiting for? Click the button below to join us for our next cleanse workshop!