Toxins are the cause of a large number of illnesses. As well as toxins there are a number of other factors that can cause sickness: stress, troublesome glands, parasites, viruses, bacteria but also sugar, refined carbohydrates, processes foodstuffs, food preservatives, pesticide residue in food, heavy metals present in your body etc.

Your immune system naturally, instinctively, gets rid of toxins in your body through various methods that you will probably recognise although not be great fans of. The most famous and popular would be fever, sweating profusely at night, throwing up, and diarrhoea.

All of which you can bring up as a grim tale around the table at a particularly unpleasant dinner party, which you didn’t want to go to in the first place.

Most of the time these endearing methods of expulsion mean a few days in bed, then a couple of “feel  sorry for myself” days off work and then “back to normal”. However, there comes a tipping point where your body recognises that you are taking the piss. Your body at this point cannot get back to normal and gets its revenge by unleashing the equivalent of localised civil war.

The two opposing sides being you, and your lifestyle, against your body.

Your body then becomes a bit of a bastard and unleashes various weapons of mirth and merriment (from its point of view) such as …

• Diabetes
• Arthritis
• Asthma
• Eczema, Psoriasis
• IBS
• etc

If it gets really upset it can move on to use its big arsenal and play the Weapons of Mass Destruction Cards:

• Cancers (Various)
• Fibromyalgia
• MS
• Crohns Disease
• Etc

Eat a Healthy Diet

Avoid food that contains wheat, gluten, soya and lactose. In general these will cause your body to produce mucosa and could lead to sinus, chest, and other problems – that “bunged up” feeling. It’s about three years since I cut these factors from my diet and no longer have any migraines, sinus issues coughs or colds. All of which used to plague me beforehand.

Also avoid processed food, fried food or GM foods (genetically modified) all of which can lead to health problems in the long term.

The rest of the “No-No” list would include refined sugar, ANY sweeteners which generally contain aspartame and/ or ace-K, trans-fats and hydrogenated oils such as Canola.

Cutting down on caffeine and alcohol will also help to feel better on a day to day basis.

Try, wherever possible, to eat organic so that you avoid taking in toxins from chemically manufactured pesticides. Increase your intake of healthy fats (Omega 3) such as Coconut Oil, avocado, olive oil and nuts and seeds.

Invest in some kind of water purifying system for drinking and cooking water. For example, we have a distiller which takes out toxins, heavy metals, fluoride etc from tap water. At least we can be confident that we are just using water (H2O) and not H2O plus this that and God knows what. You could consider water filtration or reverse osmosis systems, but this always boils down to effort and budget, unfortunately.

Beware, when deciding, of the “I can’t be bothered syndrome”, for which the only known cure is a kick up the backside.

Finally, you could opt for an alkaline diet which is very beneficial for your health because in general terms these types of foods are weak in sodium but strong in potassium.

Clean Your Liver

Your liver is the organ which is most sensitive to toxins because it filters and treats your blood. In order to clear the liver of toxins you could try taking:

• Burdock Root
• Dandelion Root
• Milk Thistle
• Jerusalem Artichokes
• Garlic
• Turmeric
• Fermented Foods (act as a Probiotic)
• Organic eggs, fish, nuts and seeds

During a liver detox you should really drink carrot juice (made in a juicer from organic carrots – not bought off the shelf) and green acidic apples for a week to help get rid of any gallstones.

You should also finish off your liver detox with a spoonful of olive oil and a spoonful of fresh lemon juice just before going to bed. This will continue your detox action through the night.

Cleanse your Kidneys

There are certain herbs, plants and fruits that are particularly effective at cleaning your kidneys. In particular:

• Ginger, raw or more beneficially in a juice.
• Black cherries, again raw or in a juice.
• If you can get them horsetail and golden rod are really good kidney detoxers.

Easier routes to a kidney detox are:

• Drinking water with lemon juice on an empty stomach, first thing in the morning.
• Magnesium therapy (Epsom Salt baths etc.)
• Organic cranberry juice.
• Apple cider vinegar drinks.

Once again, avoid all foodstuffs treated with pesticides as in the long term some of the chemicals present could lead to renal failure.

Purify your Colon

I think that it is stating the obvious that to have a healthy colon you need to have regular movement. By that, I don’t mean continually flapping your arms about.

Without getting into the whole colonic irrigation / enema malarkey, there is a really good traditional Ayuvedic Herb called Triphala which is a very effective colon cleanser.

Other than that, try:

• Distilled water drinks.
• Aloe Vera Juice.
• Coconut Water
• Kefir Milk

Finally, eat lots of ginger, garlic and fennel to clear out toxins from your colon.

Eliminate Heavy Metals

There are certain heavy metals that can be present in your body such as mercury and lead, that are extremely toxic even in small amounts. They need to be removed quickly and efficiently on a regular basis.

From a food perspective the best foodstuffs rich in sulphur to do this job would include:

• Coriander
• Cabbage
• Onions
• Garlic
• Brussel Sprouts

Look after your Lymphatic System.

Your lymphatic system is essentially a complex sewer system. Unfortunately, unlike the heart it doesn’t have a pump. This is a fundamental design flaw in the human body and someone really cocked up at the prototype stage. As a consequence, it is up to you to keep the lymph moving otherwise (like a sewer it gets all clogged up and the results are not only messy but seriously damaging to your health).

By far and away the best way to sort your lymphatic system out is rebounding. That is to say, two or three minutes a day on a small trampoline. Failing that, saunas (Infrared or steam) yoga, Pilates, skipping (with or without a rope) deep breathing or dry brushing of your skin in the lymph area and Epsom Salt Baths would be effective.

As a general rule, any form of regular exercise that works up a sweat will help to get the lymph draining and eliminate toxins.

So…

Taking care of your body means taking care of all the key components.

Do this and have a hopefully happy and healthy life.

End of Message.