Liver & Colon Cleanses

Your body can play host to a multitude of chemicals, parasites and bacteria that could potentially harm you. These products are ingested every day in the food that we eat and the air that we breathe. As these products build up our body is no longer able to work at its full potential. One of the best ways to restore your body's potential is to do an organ cleanse. Two of the most popular organs to cleanse are the liver and colon.

Function

• The liver and colon both have specific functions within the body when it comes to detoxification. The colon is responsible for processing and expelling the food that we eat to provide energy for the body and disposing of the waste that is produced from creating that energy. If the colon does not work properly, waste full of harmful substances can back up inside it. If left there long enough, this waste can lead to future problems, from small problems like upset stomachs to severe problems such as colon cancer. The liver is also responsible for detoxifying the body. The liver does this by eliminating harmful biochemicals (such as bilirubin and ammonia), as well as filtering out harmful chemicals that we ingest (such as alcohol, drugs, and man-made chemicals). With such important detoxifying functions provided by both of these organs, it is important to keep them clean and healthy. One way to do this is through a cleanse.

Phase One Liver Detox

• Your liver works in two different phases to detoxify your body. As such, splitting your liver cleanse into two phases will increase the effectiveness of your cleanse. Phase one of the liver involves the organ processing the toxins that are in your body, and transforming them into substances that will no longer harm the body. However, this process creates by-products called free radicals. These free radicals attack the liver and can increasing liver damage. The best way to combat these free radicals is through eating foods high in phytochemicals and antioxidants. These two substances help to fight off the free radicals that are produced during the filtering process. Foods high in phytochemicals and antioxidants include carrots, pomegranates, tomatoes, and most other fruits, whole grains, and vegetables.

Phase Two Liver Detox

• The second phase of the liver cleanse involves adding substances to these now harmless toxins that cause them to become water-soluble. Once the substance is water-soluble it can be passed back into the digestive system and expelled either through a bowel movement or urination. The best tool for helping in this phase of liver detoxification is sulfur. You can tell most foods that are high in sulfur by the way they smell when they are cooked. The most common high in sulfur foods are cabbage, eggs, broccoli and cauliflower.

Other Liver-Cleansing Foods

• There are a host of other foods that can be added to the diet to help cleanse the liver. The most common of these foods are lemons, walnuts, and soy beans. According to many natural food advocates, lemon works as a natural cleanser for the entire body. Its high acidity and bitterness is supposed to help "reset" your liver's processes. Walnuts have substantially more nutritional backing as they are high in arganine, a substance that is responsible for helping to detoxify the ammonia that we ingest. The neutralized ammonia is then expelled when you urinate.

Colon Cleansing Diet

• You can also cleanse the colon by changing your diet. The best way to start this cleanse is by switching to raw foods only. Raw food are high in natural vitamins and minerals that are diminished when cooked or processed. Many raw foods, such as fruits and vegetables, also provide the necessary natural fiber that the colon needs to process waste correctly. Switching to these raw foods will help scrub the colon walls of excess plaque, while providing the health vitamins and minerals that it needs to heal and work effectively.

Fasting

• Periodic fasting is one of the greatest ways to cleanse both your liver and your colon. Fasting helps to cleanse your liver by giving the liver a break from detoxifying the food you intake. This break can be a beneficial time for your liver to heal. Periodic fasting (for example 12-16 hours once a week) can give your liver the time that it needs to cleanse, heal, and work better during the other times of the week in which it has to work. Fasting helps the colon auto digest, or "self digest." This means that your body turns to digesting the unwanted materials left in the body since there is no intake of new food. This allows the colon to process much of the build up that has occured over the many years of eating diets too high in protein, and not high enough in fiber.

Water

• Water is the most important aspect of any cleanse. This is no different for a liver or colon cleanse. Water is the substance that helps to dilute the toxins in the body, as well as lubricates the system to be able to expel waste easier. The higher the water content in your body, the more diluted the toxins will be. The more diluted the toxins in your body, the easier it is for your liver to filter the toxins out, and the easier it is for your colon to process and expel the toxins through your waste.