Why Your Body Needs to “Cleanse” (& the Surprising Signs that it is Cleansing): Part I

Would you like to look younger, have more energy, lose weight and prevent disease? Then Body Ecology’s Principle of Cleansing is an essential practice to understand, practice and master. Cleansing (often called detoxification or “detox”) is a necessary and much misunderstood way to improve your health, your appearance, and your immunity.

Toxins, Toxins Everywhere

While we may not even know it, we face an onslaught of toxins every day. In the past 60 years, we’ve seen more toxins enter our environment than ever before. Toxins lodge in cells, tissues and muscles until your body is completely overwhelmed.

Of particular concern for us here at Body Ecology is the effect of decades of toxins that have been accumulating in each successive generation.

In other words, many of the toxins in our body were inherited from toxins that were stored in the cells of our parents. This has been happening for many decades now. Tragically, today the body of almost every tiny fetus (human and animal) is formed with inherited toxins accumulated in the egg and sperm cells of its mother and father.

In July 2005, a new study shattered the long-held belief that fetuses in the womb were protected from the dangerous chemicals and poisons that the mother was exposed to¹.  Samples of blood taken from the umbilical cord of newborns contained an average of 200 chemicals that can cause cancer, brain damage, birth defects and other serious illness.

Many of these problems may not show up until years after birth.  This is why we can’t stress enough, the earlier you make lifestyle and diet changes, the better.

The American Chemistry Council quickly spoke out against the study arguing that chemicals are often found in blood and should not be a concern.  So you can decide for yourself on this one!

From our own work here with children at Body Ecology, we know that a fetus is not magically protected by the placenta from these toxins. We also know that a fetus may inherit the infections (systemic yeast and viral infections) found in his/her mother’s blood.

Because each successive generation is inheriting the toxins of the previous generations, we are seeing earlier and earlier cases of diabetes, obesity, ADD, autism, cancers, and early pre-term labor.

Toxic parents may have toxic children, and the pattern continues until we make the choice to stop it.

There is an interesting phenomenon with toxins. When you add one plus one, the answer is two. With toxins, however, the combination of two or more is often as much as ten times more dangerous.

All this being said, focusing on removal of toxins is essential to your goal of becoming healthier. And if you are planning on creating a baby someday, it is essential to the survival of the human race.

Here are just a few examples of the toxins in our world today:

• Pollution – in the air and water
• Non-stick chemicals – non-stick cookware, stain resistant fabrics
• Xenoestrogens – insecticides, lubricants, adhesives, paints, personal care products (red dye no. 3), weed killer, sunscreen lotion
• Human growth hormones fed to cows to increase milk production
• Plastics – containers, water bottles, baggies
• Food – pesticides on fruit and vegetables, processed foods, refined oils (read: Why the Processing of Consumable Oils Has Devastated America’s Health)
• Drinking water – chlorine, heavy metals, chloroform, etc.
• Personal care products – anti-bacterial soap, perfumes, creams, shampoos, lotions and other similar products have a range of toxins like artificial fragrance, benzaldehyde, benzalkonium chloride and sodium laureth sulfate
• Amalgam dental fillings (source of mercury) and dental sealants
• Household cleansers
• Prescription, recreational and over-the-counter drugs
• Dry cleaned clothing

Is it possible to escape these toxins? While you certainly can greatly reduce your exposure by making conscientious choices – like avoiding non-stick cookware, or using non-toxic home cleaning methods – you can’t escape all of them. Everywhere we go in this day and age, we will encounter toxins. Staying healthy takes more planning and commitment to removing these poisons than ever before.

The good news is that you CAN increase your immunity so that you are not as sensitive to toxins. By making the right diet and lifestyle changes, you have a better chance of surviving these difficult times until we can clean up our environment and can live safely in the world once again.

Even more good news – when all life was created, the ability to discharge these toxins in an attempt to remain pure was embedded inside of us.  Nature has no choice but to cleanse, and we humans must do the same. Animals, too, must cleanse if they are to stay alive. In other words, all life has this ability to push out toxins and this is something to be very grateful for. In fact, stopping the cleansing when it happens inside your body is a serious mistake… a mistake that far too many people are making.

Suppressing the Ability to Cleanse Can Lead to Disease

Cleansing is your body’s natural process of detoxifying. Your lungs, liver, colon, kidneys and skin all help to purge your body of toxins through your breath, bile, urine and pores.

Most of the time, your body goes quietly about its cleansing process, but other times, you may feel uncomfortable symptoms of an illness, like a fever, cold, rash, the flu – even emotional releases of anger, sadness and fear.

When toxins build up over time, your body resorts to more extreme measures to force those impurities out of the cells and organs in an effort to remain healthy.

As these symptoms manifest, many people jump to the conclusion that they have caught a ‘bug’ and take medicines or antibiotics to stop the uncomfortable symptoms of detoxifying.  But, medicines that stop the natural cleansing process can actually suppress your immune system and drive toxins further into your body.

After years and years of toxic overload and then suppressing your body’s own natural cleansing cycle, your major organs will simply give up the struggle and become “diseased”. Your body, lacking the life-force to fight, may then succumb to illnesses like cancer, chronic fatigue or acute candidiasis that can kill you.