Sometimes our bodies need a little cleansing and detoxifying. It is natural to accumulate toxins from avenues in our life like stress, poor diet, inactivity and environmental pollutants. Over time, these toxins leave you feeling low-energy and can create frequent bouts of illness. Chronic inflammation can also result if these toxins are not dealt with.
It is important to do a full body detox every year or so to clear your digestive tract and lymph nodes, and get your body back in optimal shape.
What To Eliminate Before The Cleanse
If you want to take this cleanse seriously, you will need to eliminate some food products from your diet, first.
To start, stop consuming all dairy products. Dairy clogs up the intestinal tract, and creates unwanted mucus production. It is also full of antibiotics and hormones, like recombinant bovine somatotropin, a popular artificial growth hormone that increases milk production (1). It is illegal in Canada and many European countries, but is still legal in the USA.
Secondly, cut back on your meat consumption (or completely cut it out) during the cleanse.
The World Health Organization made headlines last year when it declared processed meat a “carcinogen” that increases your risk of colon or rectum cancer by 18 percent (2).
Meat, dairy and fish also contain dioxin, a highly toxic and carcinogenic compound, which can cause reproductive and developmental problems, damage to the immune system, and can interfere with hormones (3).
I would also suggest steering clear of refined sugar, processed foods, as well as caffeine and alcohol.
The Cleanse
The night before you start this cleanse, drink a cup of herbal laxatives (like senna tea) to flush out the intestines and give the body a fresh start.
Below are the steps that should be followed each day, for three consecutive days. This will give your body ample time to clear toxins throughout your whole body.
Drink 1. On an empty stomach, drink 4 cups of water mixed with the juice of 2 lemons.
This will help your body clear out any waste products your body was processing while you were asleep, and it will also fire-up your digestive juices so that you can properly digest your breakfast and detox your liver.
Drink 2. Drink 1.5 cups of fresh pineapple juice with your breakfast.
Pineapple contains the digestive enzyme bromelain, a protein-digesting enzyme that helps your body break down proteins and better digest and utilize protein and collagen (4). It is also a major anti-inflammatory, and helps fight cancer.
Drink 3. Between breakfast and lunch, drink 1 cup of fresh carrot juice.
Carrots contain a cancer-fighting compound called falcarinol. They also contain high levels of vitamin A, which will work to form and maintain healthy mucus membranes in your digestive tract (5).
Drink 4. Next, blend, or juice, 3 ribs of celery, 1 bunch of parsley, 3 carrots and 2 cups of packed spinach. Drink this with your lunch.
This potassium-packed juice will help your nerves and muscles communicate. It will also help move nutrients into cells and waste products out of cells (thereby promoting detoxification). Potassium is also great for those suffering from high blood pressure, as it offsets the harmful effects of a high-sodium diet.
Drink 5. One hour before dinner, drink 1 cup of tummy-soothing tea made from 1 tbsp. ginger, 1 tbsp. rose hips and 1 tbsp. peppermint.
Rose hips are naturally very high in vitamin C, which supports the immune system. Peppermint is a great alternative to drugs like Buscopan for reducing colonic spasms (6). It is also great for relieving pain and stress. Ginger is another great herb for promoting blood flow to the digestive tract. It is also a great anti-inflammatory (7).
Drink 6. In the evening, about two hours before bed, drink 1 cup of pure cranberry juice (not the stuff with sugar in it).
Cranberries are great for getting rid of bacteria found in the urinary tract. It can prevent bacteria, such as E.coli from clinging to the cells along the walls of the urinary tract, which can normally cause infection. Cranberries have also been found to reduce the ability of H. pylori bacteria from living in the stomach and causing ulcers (8).
According to the Medical Medium, you should not mix celery juice with anything else including water. Your drink number 4 suggests you mix celery with other veggies.
Yes, because the information I am providing is my own, not the advice of Medical Medium. I do not agree with him when he says it needs to be juiced on its own. Adding in other herbs is not going to make it work any less, it will simply provide your body with more nutrients and vitamins/minerals.