Some folks may debate the benefits of detoxing by cleaning out the digestive tract, but almost no one denies the necessity of defending yourself against the toxins running rampant in our contaminated environment. For my own health, I have two reliable methods for detoxing.
The first is my basic, paleo diet. By eliminating processed food, I cleanse my meals and my digestive system of the troublesome chemicals food companies love to inject into addictive junk food. I also avoid grains, soy, legumes (peanuts and beans) and dairy products.
Clean Feeling
The second detox I use is my occasional saltwater flush. It’s easy, relatively quick and very effective. Makes me feel cleaner: If there are toxins clinging to my intestinal walls, they’re gone by the time the flush is over.
The basic procedure is simple.
First, you add two teaspoons of sea salt (non-iodized) to a quart of room temperature or lukewarm filtered, pure water.
Then you drink the water rapidly.
Do this on an empty stomach. First thing in the morning, before you’ve eaten breakfast is good.
Make sure a bathroom is nearby. You should need it fairly quickly.
Some people recommend lying down on your right side for 15 minutes or so after drinking the water to make sure the salty solution gets through the stomach into the intestines more efficiently.
Another tip: Chew up a lemon before drinking the flush. That may help you get it down.
An alternative method is to mix the 2 teaspoons of salt into about 2 ounces of the filtered water and drink that as quickly as possible with some lemon in your mouth. When you have that down, drink the rest of the water quick as you can. That may be more palatable.
Elimination
Your bathroom trips should occur within an hour or two and you will need to use the facilities more than once. You may also experience diarrhea. That is a natural consequence of performing the flush. Some discomfort may also occur because the flush has such rapid effects.
You may also feel nauseated and throw up. That is not uncommon. So be ready.
Feelings About Detox
Some people pooh-pooh a salt flush, but many others find it helpful and relaxing (when it’s over).
No matter how you feel about a flush or a detox, you should make your daily meals conducive to keeping your physiology and digestion as effective and unproblematic as possible. I follow a paleo diet, excluding processed food, wheat, dairy, soy, corn and virtually all grains. I try to eat whole foods and organic foods as much as possible. And I cook almost all of my own food.
As Dr. Mark Hyman, author of the 10-Day Detox Diet, advises for those trying to clean up their diets: “What’s ‘out’ is sugar (in any form), gluten, and dairy (inflammatory foods), grains, beans, processed factory-made foods, refined vegetable oils, alcohol, and caffeine.”
My paleo diet and the occasional flush, aside from cleaning out my digestion, have cleared my mind as well. This type of regimen seems to have my mind working better than it ever did before.
And that’s more than a gut feeling.
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