In my health practice I have seen a large number of clients with debilitating illnesses such as diabetes, arthritis, allergies, lupus, IBS, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, asthma, and so on. In most cases I felt that internal acidity and toxicity contributed to their unwellness, so I would recommend a thorough internal cleansing to them to cleanse out waste from their intestines. I would suggest brief juice fasts, colonic irrigations, or diets rich in natural fibers, to help regulate the bowel function and cleanse out accumulated waste matter. Like garbage that is not disposed of, internal "garbage" begins to decompose and putrify in the body, raising the body acidity to unhealthy levels.

It was surprising to see the blank - or muddled - stares when I suggested thorough bowel cleansing. "But I go to the bathroom a few times a week!" they would protest. What they did not know, was that bowel eliminations alone do not cleanse the colon or accumulated waste. In fact, diets high in sugars, dairy products and gluten can create a stickiness in the colon which attracts and adheres to other waste matter. Over time, this creates a thick lining in the colon, making it even more difficult for other waste to completely pass out of the body. The colon becomes a cesspool for sludge, which slowly but gradually acidifies the bloodstream and weakens the immune system.

I've read in some health journals that John Wayne's colon weighed over 70 pounds at his autopsy! This is shocking, but it makes the sobering point that we cannot rely on bowel eliminations alone to keep our intestines clean and free from disease-producing waste matter. That was my rationale in recommending frequent cleanses to my patients, and it's much easier to do than one would think.

Detoxifying, or cleansing, can be done by means of juice fasting, complete fasting except for water, herbal detoxes, colonic irrigations, and a variety of other healthful regimens that can be found on the shelves of a local health food store. It is the most potent step toward in health prevention that one can take. Sadly, it is our nature in this society to turn to natural therapies such as detoxifying only after we are already ill. By then, our liver, immune system, digestive system and blood circulation are already impaired to a degree that will take many months, if not years, of special care and repair.

We know that the liver is the primary organ involved in blood detoxification. Its job is to filter impurities from the blood which are then transported to the lymph system to hopefully be passed from the body. In this day and age of processed packaged foods, polluted air and water, toxic building materials, synthetic fabrics, medications, over-the-counter drugs and hectic lifestyles, the liver has its work cut out for it! Over a period of time, excess toxicity can result from the unhealthy daily choices that we make, and place an overload on the livers functioning.

Its the liver that protects us from getting sick. But we dont do much to help it do its job, and then we become miserable simply because we have not taken care of it. Keeping the body cleansed by proper diet, fasting, nutrition, and use of detox pads and detox supplements can go a long way toward restoring ones health and taking undue strain off the liver, which is struggling to protect us from ourselves.

You wouldnt dream of not taking out your household garbage for months and years on end, would you? But when is the last time you cleansed your body from inside out? Many of us probably take better care of our cars than our bodies! And consider this shocking fact:

Every year our air and water are exposed to 4.5 BILLION POUNDS of cancer-causing chemicals. Not to mention toxic materials in building supplies, processed and irradiated foods, exhaust fumes, etc. With that in mind, it seems absurd to NOT consider doing a thorough intestinal cleanse on a regular basis!

When I was in acupuncture school we were taught that it would take roughly one month of proper and thorough treatment for each year of illness that the patient had suffered. So three years of suffering from arthritis would require at least three months of treatment. Given that we spend our lives in a toxic environment, applying that same philosophy to a detox protocol adds up to many months for all of us! Doing a thorough cleanse at least once a year is a good start to maintaining healthy habits.

Life is a miracle and a blessing but it is also toxic! And the easiest way to health is by prevention, not intervention. We can start by preventing the inevitable toxins in our lives from wreaking havoc on our immune systems. We need to prevent what ails us now, from doing so again in future.

In a nutshell, cleanliness is essential to health. The cost of one visit to the doctor is now about $100, and the cost of one day in the hospital now averages $6,000, and an average surgery will run you about $10,000.

Wouldnt we rather just invest a tiny fraction of this money in a good five-day cleanse?