Benefits of Cleansing, Fasting & Mono-diets
Cutting-Edge News Room
What is cleansing? It is a process of eliminating toxins, internal toxins, from the body. Every day our bodies are presented with environmental toxins, including pollution, airborne viruses and substances from the foods we eat. Normally our livers help us process these pollutants, but it is impossible over time for our bodies to completely eradicate all of the poisons we are subject to.
Consider for example your home furnace. It has a filter you place in it. In the beginning the filter works fine. Over time however you must clean or replace the filter or it does not work as efficiently. Our bodies work the same way. Since we cannot replace our bodies we must periodically cleanse them. When we do not, we become sick, we fall prey to immune system illnesses or digestive illnesses. We catch colds more easily or have difficulty getting over them.
Many people do not realize a simple cleanse can help them with these problems. Some people are less likely to have trouble with toxins including individuals on raw food diets or similar diets because they do not put as much pollution in their bodies from the foods they eat.
This does not mean however that they do not need to periodically cleanse. Some simple ways to cleanse include ingesting certain herbs that help bind or chelate certain chemicals or heavy metals out of the body. Some health food stores offer herb combinations that you can buy that help your body purge toxins. Other ways to remove toxins from the body include by fasting and by mono-diets, described below.
Fasting
Fasting is an opportunity like cleansing to help detoxify the body and heal the body. For many it is also an opportunity to heal the mind or engage in a period of spiritual cleansing. People can fast for a period of 2 to 7 days or more, although this is not recommended unless someone is supervised. Not all people should fast including those with chronic health conditions unless they are supervised by a health practitioner.
Often fasts are useful for overcoming health conditions, so it may be helpful after all. Many find fasting helps boost the immune system, and decrease the side effects of many health conditions including arthritis and asthma. In many countries fasting is quite a part of daily life and religious life, and in others used to treat conditions like allergies. Fasting may help you detect certain allergies especially food allergies if you eliminate them from your diet.
To start a fast it is always best to start with light meals the day before. Many people begin with short two day fasts and work their way up to longer fasts. For many a fast consists of drinking water or diluted juices although the sugar in the juice is not traditionally a true fast, but may be useful for someone that requires more of a restricted diet than a full fast. Lemon and water may be more appropriate.
Some of the side effects of a fast may include:
- Headache
- Fatigue
- Nausea
- Anxiety
- Chills
How Often To Fast
You can fast as little or as often as you like, but you shouldn’t engage in it too often because you don’t want your body to go into starvation mode. A two day fast once four times a year will offer your body plenty of time to recharge and remove toxins. This will not place too much strain on your body. Some people refer to this as seasonal cleaning or spring cleansing. You can perform a fast once for each of the seasons for example.
The minimum fast to achieve a good result is usually 48 hours or two days. Fasting will help you look your best, avoid catching common viral illnesses as often, and will help you feel more energetic more often.
Mono-Diets
Many people have not heard of mono-diets. They are an optimal way according to some to help detoxify the body and lose weight. A mono-diet is sometimes much easier for someone that has enjoyed a raw food diet because they are used to not splurging on a bunch of processed and junk foods.
A mono-diet as the name implied means eating one food product only for a defined period of time. So, you may decide for a period of 7 days to eat just apples, bananas or pineapples.
This type of diet is not something that would be healthy for an individual to live on, because it would not provide the proper volumes of essential vitamins, minerals and nutrients to sustain life. However, for purposes of cleansing, or a pre-fast or pre-cleanse diet a mono-diet would be very appropriate.
Usually someone tries a mono-diet for just 3 days or thereabouts. This is a fine amount of time to enjoy a mono-diet especially if trying it for the first time.
Here are some ways to try the mono-diet:
- 2-3 days of vegetables of any kind eaten raw with no salt
- 2-3 days of fruits
- 2-3 days of one type of vegetable
- 2-3 days of one type of fruit
It is very important that you drink a lot of water during this time to help your body purge toxins and to help keep you hydrated. This will also stimulate your colon to relieve your bowels of any built-up toxins.
Sincerely yours,
Omid
Omid Jaffari
http://www.articlesbase.com/wellness-articles/benefits-of-cleansing-fasting-monodiets-710679.html
Natural Constipation Remedies
If you are suffering from constipation then you may be pleased to learn that home cures for constipation are generally much more effective than the expensive remedies you can buy over the counter from the pharmacy. Constipation is defined as when bowel movements occur fewer than 3 times a week. When someone is constipated, bowel movements are often dry, hard, small and painful to pass.
One way to help get things moving is to increase your intake of potassium through eating foods it naturally occurs in. You remember your grandmother telling you to eat prunes to relieve constipation, right? Well that is because prunes are high in potassium!
Potassium works wonders on the walls of the colon and helps to stimulate peristaltic action which makes your bowels move. It also helps to clean out layers of mucus and dried fecal matter that have built up along the colon walls.
Guava with seeds, due to its roughness, can give relief to constipation. Giving bran cereal to infants and children can help in safeguarding them from constipation. Drinking of milk with extra sugar or honey can also help in elders. Daily exercises are important in preventing constipation. You do not need to exercise vigorously; walking 30 to 40 minutes daily will be enough.
There are many natural laxatives available in the market to cure constipation. These laxatives make the bowel wall muscles relax, and reduce anxiety and tension. They also enhance liver and gall bladder functioning, and promote bile flow, which improves digestion of food.
Apple pectin is very rich in fiber and can aid the passage of food through the digestive tract. This is available from health food stores and some pharmacies.
A deficiency in folic acid can contribute to constipation so taking a daily supplement can help
A good natural treatment for constipation is to drink plenty of fluids. Around 8 glasses of water or diluted fruit juice is an ideal amount.
Stay Natural with Natural Laxatives
There are several natural laxatives that function as stimulant to bowel movement; hence they can be effective natural remedies for constipation. The names under this list may include Cascara sagrada, Rhubarb, Aloe, Senna, and Buckthorn. These herbs are indeed effective for short term usages, but in most of the cases the dependency problem over these herbs has been encountered as a serious issue under consideration. Most of us have a tendency to make a prolonged usage of these herbs in order to clear bowel movement on a daily basis.
Take Advantage of Biofeedback Therapy
Considered as one of the most effective natural remedies for constipation, Biofeedback therapy offers a better coordination of muscle movement in order to defecate. It is mostly effective in case of pelvic floor dysfunction, in which constipation comes as an inevitable side effect. Several scientific studies recommended that biofeedback therapy is much more beneficial compared to laxative, even in the long run.
Make sure you use natural fiber as is found in fruits. This is balanced fiber and your body knows what to do with it. If you use drug store fiber products that are synthetic, your body will not know how to use them and treats them as toxic matter.
Use the constipation remedies that help you with constipation, such as all the different fruits available to you. The nice thing about fruits is that they contain around 70% or more of water. This water is distilled water and this means that it is the cleanest water you can drink and also that you don’t need to drink as much supplemental water.
Tom Smith
http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/natural-constipation-remedies-717756.html
Top Tip to Reduce Stress, Anxiety and Boost your Spirits
Though stress is an evitable part of daily life, stressed out does not have to be. We all need an outlet for stress. If we can’t vent out our emotions in a healthy way, we may completely deplete ourselves by turning all that negative energy inward. There are lots of ways to do it. Here is a tip you may wish to consider to adopt to relieve your stress, enhance your vitality and energy sooner than you can imagine.
There are many natural supplements that can reduce anxiety and boost your spirits, which are all sold over the counter at health food stores and pharmacies. If the simple solutions do not work for you, you may want to try Kava, a wonderful, soothing supplement that is particularly good for people who are under a great deal of stress. If you are feeling stressed out or anxious, it is recommended that you include the following supplement in your daily plan for at least ten weeks, if not longer.
For thousands of years the herd kava has been used in the South Seas as a mood enhancer and treatment for anxiety. Today, kava is growing in popularity in the West, and kava teas and capsules are sold in health food stores and pharmacies. Kava contains biologically active compounds called kavalactones that have been shown to be effective against stress, anxiety, and muscle tension. Unlike tranquilizers, kava will not leave you feeling groggy or drugged; instead, it promotes a feeling of tranquillity and well-being. Even better, kava is non-addictive.
The kavalactones in kava have a profoundly positive effect on the region of the brain that controls emotion. There have been more than eight hundred studies of the benefits of kava as an anti-anxiety agent in Europe, and most of them have verified that kava works as well as, if not better than, many prescription anti-anxiety drugs.
Kava is also an important part of social life of South Sea residents. The kava ceremony, which involves drinking a strong kava drink, is reserved for honoured guests. Dignitaries who have visited the South Seas from Pope John Paul II to Hillary Clinton have participated in the kava ceremony. What a nice way to relax your guests and make them feel at home!
If you feel anxious and stressed out, it is recommended that you take 60 milligrams of kava daily. Like many other herbs, kava has a cumulative effect, which means that it will take about four weeks to notice an improvement in anxiety. You should feel better long before you have completed your own health routine, and if kava works well for you, you may want to continue on it for as long as you need it. If you are currently taking a prescription drug for anxiety, work with your doctor to wean yourself off it slowly and to start kava.
By: Raymond Lee (Download Natural Treatment for Anxiety Now!)
About the Author:
Raymond Lee is one of the foremost experts in the health and fitness industry and is the Founder of Bodyfixes Group specializing in body health, muscle development and dieting. He is currently the author of the latest edition of “Neck Exercises and Workouts.” Visit http://www.bodyfixes.com for more information.












