How to Get your Energy Back – Do you need a Cleanse?

If it seems that you are dragging yourself around after the holidays or you experience that typical mid afternoon crash more often you are not alone. I often get the question “Why do I feel so fatigued?” Sometimes the issue is blood sugar regulation or related to food sensitivities. However we should also consider our bodies toxic load. When we are exposed to too much toxicity and our organs of elimination have difficulty keeping up we can experience symptoms like decreased energy, brain fog, headaches and decreased resistance to colds and flus.

It seems to be a recent fad to “detox” or “cleanse” for a short period of time once or twice a year.  You hear these buzz words in health food stores, clinics, sports magazines and on labels for supplements, teas and foods.  But…what does it really mean???

Detoxification is the removal of toxic substances from the body.  This can be accomplished either mechanically or chemically.  Our bodies do a pretty good job of detoxifying all on their own.  In fact this is one of our liver’s main jobs (along with about 600 others).  Other organs are also involved in detoxification including the lungs, skin, kidneys and bowel.  So why do we need to think about a detox or cleanse?  One of the biggest reasons is our modern overexposure to toxins in our environment, food and water supply, homes and personal care products.  On top of that, most of us are stressed due to the demands of this same modern life.  Stress places even greater demands on our bodies and reduces our ability to deal with toxins.

There are many products and kits out there that claim you can detox or cleanse for a short period of time and reap many benefits.  The benefits include increased energy, improved digestion, clearer skin, sharper thinking and better sleep.  Sounds great, right?!  These are things we all want more of!  The problem with some cleanses however begins when the main component is a laxative, even a natural one such as senna or cascara sagrada. This type of cleanse does nothing to support our organs of detoxification and so the results cannot possibly last.  This will be especially true if we go right back to eating and drinking and stressing the way we had before we began.  One of the problems here is that we cannot get health from a pill bottle.  We have to put a little more work into it than that. Sorry to burst anyone’s bubble. Also, if we take any type of laxative on a regular basis this trains the bowel to be lazy and dependant on it. This results in rebound constipation. Who wants that? 🙂

So, I think the question should be, not whether there is a difference between detox and cleanse but how to do it properly, whatever term you choose to use.  Doing it properly includes reducing exposure to the toxins that we can control and supporting our organs of detoxification.   What’s even more important is that it should be on ongoing process, not just a once a year tune-up.  The Culinary Cleanse Program will teach you how to do just that.  (read more about Culinary Cleanse here)

In short, we need to eliminate the things that place stress on our organs such as chemicals from cleaners or personal care products, alcohol, caffeine, dairy, wheat and excess red meat.  We need to give our digestive systems a break.  And we need to support our organs of detoxification with things like cruciferous vegetables, seaweeds, lots of green vegetables and lots of clean water.