The Best Ways to Detox

Detoxifying is a holistic method of cleansing the body. It is useful for getting drugs (both prescription and recreational), wastes, toxins and debris out of your system. Alternative healers offer several ways to do internal cleansing, but it doesn't have to be a special regimen. It can be a part of your daily life.

Trying a Fast

• The idea of fasting to cleanse the body has been around for a long time. Fasting gives the body a chance to rest from the complicated and lengthy process of digesting food. With no food to digest, the body has less work to do. It can use this available energy for self-cleaning.

  While on a fast of one or two days, be sure to drink at least eight glasses of water daily. You can go a few days without food, but not without fluids. Fasting helps detoxify the entire body because most toxins come from preservatives and pesticides in foods.

Drinking Plenty of Fluids

• By increasing your fluid intake each day, you are able to literally flush out the wastes, chemicals and impurities that are in the cells and tissues of your body. Drinking eight to 10 glasses of fluids each day will keep you hydrated and also dilute any chemicals or toxins. In addition to water, fruit and vegetable juices are also good sources of liquids. These juices also supply necessary vitamins and minerals.

Cleaning the Colon

• The colon contains a large amount of fecal matter, toxins and debris that accumulate in the body and make their way into the large intestine. Frequent bowel movements are the only way to rid the body of these wastes. But if a person is constipated or has other digestive disorders that interfere with elimination, these wastes are reabsorbed.

  High-fiber diets and plenty of liquids help the elimination process. Another aid is a herbal colon cleanser. These products contain substances like aloe vera that stimulate the muscles in the colon to bring about bowel movements. Over-the-counter enema kits are also available. An enema fills the lower rectum with water to help flush away fecal matter. Another option is colonic irrigation. This is a medical procedure that involves a trained colon therapist inserting a small tube into the rectum with the other end attacked to a machine that pumps warm water into the colon, loosening up waste and debris. Another tube is used to extract the water and wastes. A clean colon goes a long way toward detoxifying the body and improving health