Should You Do A Body or Colon Cleanse?

Should I do a body cleanse or colon cleanse? This is a question I get asked quite often and the answer is usually both. In fact when you do a colon cleanse, you cannot, not cleanse the body. Are you confused yet? If you are, that's okay, I'll explain.

Cleansing the colon usually involves altering your diet, taking some form of fiber along with other herbs that are intended to support our organs that cleanse as well as the digestive tract.  Often, herbal supplements are combined to create a complete or well-rounded support for the intestinal tract as well as the liver.  Bentonite clay and/or psyllium are often used in these types of programs to mobilize any built up waste.

Body cleansing, on the other hand, may be done in a variety of ways. Some people may use a body wrap or a series of body wrap sessions for their cleanse. You can find supplements in liquid, powder or pill form that will claim to be a body cleanse. Some may advertise as a “complete” or “total” body cleanse. Before you decide, know what exactly you are trying to accomplish before you decide what to use.

A body cleanse may be used to help clear metals, pesticides, parasites or other toxins from your blood or lymphatic system.  Often, along with fiber, chelating agent or supplements may be used to help attract and clear environmental and other toxins from throughout the system as these may be in the blood stream or even stored in adipose tissue.  Chlorophyll is known to do this, therefore nutritional supplements that contain concentrated chlorophyll may be included such as chlorella or spirulina.  

In either case, additional techniques may be used to expedite the process or to alleviate side effects, sometimes known as "die-off" or "cleansing symptoms."  One that is touted by many health advocates is colon hydrotherapy.  Some others may include lymphatic drainage, infrared sauna, mild exercise, massage therapy, and even acupuncture.

Body or Colon Cleanse - The Rules are the Same

The basic guidelines for both, a body cleanse and colon cleansing, are very similar.

  1. Eat a diet to support the body's natural cleansing process.  This means cutting out junk foods, processed foods, white flour and junk drinks like sodas or sports drinks.
  2. Do consume fresh, whole, organic produce  Dietary guidelines suggest 5-7 servings per day, but if you have been deficient or are sick, you may want to up this amount.
  3. Drink plenty of fresh, spring water throughout the day
  4. Drink fresh vegetable juice for extra nutrition.  Cleansing your body can be challenging and any added nutrition supports your body's natural processes.
  5. Use supplements such to help your body cleanse.  There are quite a few on market, and often we have to try a few different ones before we can decide which feels best for our bodies.  Good ones to start your research with are Herbal Fiberblend and Health Force Products.

No matter which route you decide to use, note that you cannot cleanse the colon without cleansing the entire body, simply because our bodies work as one unit.   The foods you eat, your blood, your entire lymphatic system, your liver and gallbladder all either travel to or send waste to the colon at some point during normal function.  Therefore, supporting this process will allow waste to leave. 

When you do a body or colon cleanse, keep in mind that a healthy cleansing diet supports this process.  A healthy detox diet, along with condensed nutrition of the herbs supports the various organs that are designed for cleansing and elimination.  Cutting out junk food allow your entire body to work more efficiently.