Detoxification
Our bodies are incredibly well designed and build organisms that perform very well for long periods of time with simple maintenance. As long as we provide adequate nutrition, exercise, sunlight and plenty of rest, our bodies should last us well past 100 years, according to both scientists and the Almighty Himself. Unfortunately we are not receiving adequate nutrition, as we have seen, and what we have been eating has been making us sick. That is because our body’s natural defenses are overloaded, causing a backup in the system that never seems to get straightened out.
Think of it this way, every city in this country has major and minor arteries that move cars from one place to another. These roads work well normally, but as traffic increases and more people come to town, we discover that many of these cars don’t run as well as they should, and begin to breakdown in the middle of the street. Soon traffic is backed up and cars need to be moved so the tow truck can get by, but where do you put them?
Well, you move them off into a field for the time being, and get to work clearing the mess. Only by the time you’re done two more cars have broken down that need your attention, but what do you do about the cars in the field in the mean time? They sit there. They wait. Who knows how long this may take… I don’t. No one really does. Time goes by and they continue to sit there because no one has the time to get them out.
Now, imagine the cars are food. The city’s arteries were designed to handle a certain amount of cars just like our bodies were designed to handle food, real food, and they function well with adequate nutrition. But once our bodies are inundated with food that is not quite food, full of additives and preservatives, MSG and sugar (or aspartame!) we soon find our system overloaded, unable to cope with the overabundance of toxins. So what does it do? It finds a field (fat) where it stores the toxins that it doesn’t have time to deal with until later, only later never comes. We continue to carry these toxins around with us while we continue to overload our system, causing the storage of even more toxins. It’s a vicious cycle.
Our bodies actually have a wonderful waste removal system. Food goes into our gut where it is broken down into its many parts, which are absorbed into the bloodstream and sent throughout the body to nourish our cells. As the blood “drops off” the nutrients to the cells, it also picks up the cellular waste and takes it off to be eliminated. When this system is overloaded, it can no longer function properly until it is “cleaned up.”
That is what detoxification is, a cleaning up of our overworked waste removal system, removing the built-up toxins and other waste materials so that the system can flow freely again, allowing our bodies to function the way they were intended. When the system is blocked, so is the absorption of nutrients, which is why someone can eat regularly and still be malnourished. If we clean our bodies, removing the irritants and toxic substances, both natural and man-made, and replace the missing intestinal flora and enzymes that our bodies need, we will then be able to receive the nutrients from the foods we consume.
Our bodies actually have quite an elaborate system of waste removal involving multiple organs including our skin. This is why it is so important to wash after sweating; we need to wash away all of the toxins eliminated through our skin when we perspire. The Native Americans used sweat lodges for this purpose and it is the reason behind saunas and steam baths. Unfortunately, most people don’t know how to properly use them, thereby not receiving the full benefit of these facilities.
Many people make the room too hot for long-term usage, only staying in for a short time, which doesn’t allow for full toxin removal. The optimum temperature is between 110 and 120 degrees. This allows one to remain in the room for 45 minutes to an hour, allowing for constant perspiration without being uncomfortable. Once again, it is very important to wash the toxins off the skin as soon as possible, before they sink back in.
The saliva in our mouths begin the breakdown of our foods, and the task is not complete until all of the nutrients, and toxins, pass through the stomach, intestines, colon, liver, kidney, lungs and skin. Our bloodstream’s dual role of delivery of nutrients and removal of waste is a key element, but is only a small part of the entire system and is also overworked. Our lungs can’t release enough toxins, causing allergic reactions such as sneezing and excess mucus. It is all tied in together.
Our liver and kidneys work together to remove the toxins from our bodies. The liver changes the toxins into substances that the kidneys can easily excrete from our bloodstream. When there are too many toxins, the excess is simply stored in the liver and in our fat cells, causing liver disease. Our increased usage of Acetaminophen (Tylenol) only makes matters worse as it has been known to cause liver damage.
Just as there are many different parts of our waste system, there are also many different ways to detoxify, each addressing a different part of our bodies. One thing they all have in common is water, and lots of it. Good, clean water in abundance will go a long way towards detoxification and will give our body the ability to remove waste more efficiently. Ever tried to flush a toilet without water? The waste doesn’t go anywhere, but sticks quite nicely to the porcelain.
So, one of the first things we all need to do is to begin to consume more water. This will replace the water we release during perspiration and cause our stools to pass more freely. A good indicator of our body’s water content is the color of our urine; the darker the yellow, the more dehydrated we are. (Please refer back to the symptoms of dehydration listed earlier.) For those who are worried that drinking too much water will cause you to be up during the night, studies have shown that the opposite is true. When our body has plenty of water it can pause for the night while still removing toxins, storing it in the water rather than our tissues. With our system overloaded, it must work overtime in an effort to catch up. Also, when our stool is too dry and does not pass freely, the nutrients that should be absorbed in our intestines are not.
The second step in detoxification is to eliminate all toxic substances from our diet, as much as is possible, so that our body has a chance to catch up. If this were traffic we were trying to clear up, would we allow more cars to enter town? Of course we would not. So too, our body needs a break from toxic substances so that it can remove what has been left behind.
The average person on the SAD diet does not eliminate waste as normally as one who eats a more traditional diet. Toilet paper is only a recent invention… what do you suppose folks used 900 years ago? Do you think they had old newspapers? Newspapers didn’t exist back then. Neither did the need for toilet paper. When our bodies are functioning properly, the stool comes out easily without leaving residue behind. This only happens when our bodies are free of toxins and have plenty of water.
I cannot tell you what the next step is for you as each of us is different. I can tell you some of the different options available, but you must seek Adonai’s guidance as to which path to take. A good place to focus our attention is the colon, or the end of the large intestine. This area is often coated with old material, blocking our ability to absorb certain nutrients. This is largely due to the lack of fiber in our SAD diet.
There are many different kinds of colon cleanses available out there, but all involve high fiber and water intake. Raw vegetables, fruits and grains are the best source of fiber, but there are also things like psyllium husks that we can add to our diet to help push things through. Many people find Bentonite clay beneficial, as it is known to pull the crud off of our intestinal lining. This can be found at the health food store in both powder and liquid form and is actually volcanic clay that is edible. (It is amazing where you can find nutrients!) It is also known to remove intestinal parasites under long-term usage (2-3 months). If you’ve consumed a lot of pork, there is a good chance you have parasites, as pig meat is not clean.
Many doctors recommend a fruit and vegetable cleansing, abstaining from meat for a week or so and eating fruits, vegetables, rice and olive oil (as the primary fat source). The fiber in this diet will help to move things along without protein to slow it down. One does need to eat more often, every two to three hours, to maintain proper blood sugar levels. Once again, drink plenty of water, as constipation will result in the re-absorption of the toxins we are trying to remove.
Fiber-rich foods such as apples, broccoli, pears, sweet potatoes, peas, Brussels sprouts, corn, potatoes, carrots, greens including spinach, berries, bananas and strawberries all make things move along as they should. We need to include more of these foods into our diet, replacing those toxic foods like burgers and fries that tend to bind us up. This is a change we all need to make, regardless of how we feel. In fact, the worse we feel, the more we need to make the changes. Many cancer survivors credit raw fruits and vegetables for building up their immune system, enabling them to beat the cancer. Aloe juice, also available in most health food stores, is another good option because it not only helps to keep things flowing smoothly; it also has healing properties beneficial to our intestines.
There are deeper cleansings available that are recommended only under supervision. Metabolic cleansing involves a rice-based drink and plenty of fresh vegetables. It is recommended that anyone who is doing a metabolic cleanse stay away from the nightshade family of vegetables as they can contribute to joint pain. This includes potatoes, tomatoes, eggplant, and green and chili peppers.
Another option is the vitamin C flush, which is a great way to eliminate bacterial toxins, the effects of drug use, both prescription and non-prescription, environmental toxins and heavy metals such as aluminum and mercury. This involves saturating our bodies with vitamin C so that it can lift these toxins from our tissues. This involves so much vitamin C that it causes diarrhea, so you might want to only do this at home.
Quite often we tend to feel worse before we feel better. This is a result of the toxins leaving our body and is completely natural. During the first few days of detoxification one often complains of headaches, body aches or sore muscles, feeling weak or cranky, and trouble sleeping. Fortunately these problems don’t last too long and before we know it, we feel better than we have in years. I find that it is much easier to deal with an inconvenience when I know it is coming. Afterwards, when the head clears and sleep is returned to normal, it will all be worth it.
After cleansing, whether it be a colon cleanse, a liver cleanse, or a fasting cleanse, it is always wise to reintroduce foods slowly back into your system. This is the perfect time to check for food allergies, such as lactose intolerance or gluten issues. Some allergic reactions are delayed up to 48 hours, so it might be helpful to keep a food diary at this time. Mucus is a good indicator that there is a problem, so if you find yourself with post nasal drip all of the sudden, take a look at what you’ve recently eaten (usually symptoms will appear as quickly as 20 minutes after the food is consumed.)
The liver goes through too much stress trying to handle the toxic diet we have been consuming so now it need to rest and be refreshed. There are certain foods that we can eat that will help to replenish the nutrients the liver needs to function properly once again. These foods are often high in antioxidants, which is exactly what we need to combat the effects of the toxins in our system. Carrots and beets contain beta-carotene and beets and spinach both contain folic acid, especially needed for anyone considering pregnancy. Garlic and tomatoes are also good sources of antioxidants. Basically, any green, leafy vegetable is beneficial, and the greener the vegetable, the better it is for our liver.
We also need to re-establish the good bacteria to our intestines either through probiotics or through consuming raw dairy foods, like yogurt and kefir that are full of lactobacilli. It has been found that bananas, unlike many other fruits, will feed the lactobacilli but not the Candida, or yeast infection. Many who have battled Candida have found their body responded well to bananas, and in fact have stated that they “couldn’t get enough of them!”
We need to learn to pay more attention to our body’s signals. When we feel full from the last meal, we should wait before consuming the next meal as our body is still processing and we don’t want to overload the system. If the food we are eating is not sticking with us, causing us to feel hungry again in a short period of time, maybe we need to eat better food. Quite often the food we are allergic to is the very one we seem to always crave.
Fasting is an important part of our body’s detoxification process. Did you know that Adonai instructs His people to fast from yeast once a year? The feast of Unleavened Bread (Matzah) begins with Passover and lasts for a whole week, during which time no one is allowed to consume, or even own, any food containing leavening. Do you think this was to prevent yeast infections?
When fasting during detoxification it is very important to drink plenty of good, clean water. I can’t emphasize this enough, it is that important. Remember the dry toilet. We don’t want to be dry toilets, do we? No we don’t, and we also don’t want to have backed up sewers when we can have free flowing pipes, right? We can live for quite some time without food, but it is so precious we can only go a few days without water.
Our bodies can only communicate properly when they are functioning properly. They cannot function properly unless we feed them real food, unprocessed and full of all the nutrients God intended. But first we must clean out the toxic waste that has been dumped in them, and then we must keep them clean through occasional flushes and cleanses, as well as the occasional fast. I’m not just saying this because the scientists and nutritionist has decided that this is true, or because there are so many witnesses to the benefits of keeping our intestines as clean as possible, but because Adonai wants us to be clean, inside and out, physically and spiritually.
“'So if any of the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offerings should ever be eaten on the third day, he who offers it will not be accepted, and it will not be reckoned to his benefit. It shall be an offensive thing, and the person who eats of it will bear his own iniquity. Also the flesh that touches anything unclean shall not be eaten; it shall be burned with fire. As for other flesh, anyone who is clean may eat such flesh.
'But the person who eats the flesh of the sacrifice of peace offerings which belong to the LORD, in his uncleanness, that person shall be cut off from his people. When anyone touches anything unclean, whether human uncleanness, or an unclean animal, or any unclean detestable thing, and eats of the flesh of the sacrifice of peace offerings which belong to the LORD, that person shall be cut off from his people.'" (Leviticus 7:18-21)
We are not to ingest unclean flesh, or come into His presence unclean, for whatever reason and if we do, we will be cut off. Cut off from what? How about good health, for starters? More importantly, our spiritual life is affected because of the filth. We have to stop separating the physical and the spiritual because one affects the other, whether we want to admit it or not. We need to be clean within.
"Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from My sight. Cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, reprove the ruthless, defend the orphan, plead for the widow. Come now, and let us reason together," Says the LORD, "Though your sins are as scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they will be like wool. If you consent and obey, you will eat the best of the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword." Truly, the mouth of the LORD has spoken. (Isaiah 1:16-20)
Truly He has. He can make us clean within once again, if we will only obey His word. We need to return to the real food that He provided for us, instead of this fake food that modern man has created. Man’s food has made us unclean inside; how can we approach a Holy God unclean? Are we willing to make the changes needed?
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and sustain me with a willing spirit. Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, and sinners will be converted to You. (Psalms 51:10-13)
Once we’ve cleaned up our own act, and others see the results, they are going to want to clean up their acts as well. We will then be in the perfect position to teach them about Adonai, for the field will be fertile and the harvest will be plentiful. This is the true witness. Words mean nothing without actions behind them. Faith without works is dead. It is useless. To quote the late Rich Mullins, it’s like putting a screen door on a submarine.
Sure, it’s hard. Change always is. Some of us handle change better than others. Some of us need to fully rely on Him to get us through the difficult days of detoxification or we’ll never make it. It is vital that any time spent fasting must also be spent in prayer. Reading the word of God, aloud is best, will strengthen our faith and enable us to stand. It will also cleanse our spirit.