So what’s up with the “spring cleanse”? Google “spring cleanse” or “detoxification program” during the first part of the year and you will see every nutritionist, chiropractor, and naturopath promoting their new-and-improved detox program. Why is detoxification necessary and why is spring the best time for cleaning, both inside and out?The human body does a pretty good job of cleaning up after itself…we have multiple ways of taking out the metabolic trash. Just as you have to clean up the kitchen after creating a culinary masterpiece, you must clean up your digestive, absorptive, and cellular processing of that meal.
Just has you need to find a way to dispose of the used oil from your Maserati once every 3,000 miles, you need to find a way to dispose of used up hormones, enzymes, and neurotransmitters from the daily metabolic processes that take place in your body.
And just as you have to clean and change the filter in your fish tank to keep your angel fish from kicking the bucket, you need to clean out your body filters (liver, kidneys, and skin) or you will become bogged down and sick from the environmental sludge that we swim around in all day.
Detoxification, or more biochemically correct, “biotransformation” is the method the body uses to do all of these housecleaning duties on a daily basis. But if you are anything like me (or my mother and grandmother) you block off a weekend for a thorough cleaning of your abode in the spring. We should also do this for our bodies.
Unfortunately, we are living in a chemical “soup” that is becoming more toxic by the moment. I am not going to go into all of the gory details of the hundreds of chemicals that we have to process through our livers everyday. But I do want to encourage you to help your detoxification organs become more resilient and effective in their daily household cleaning, by performing at least one major cleanse per year.
So what is so special about the spring? In Ayurvedic medicine, the seasons play a major role in promoting and maintaining health. One of my mentors, Dr. John Douilliard, explains in his book The Three Season Diet that the green veggies and leafy plants that naturally become more abundant in the spring are the vehicle for the natural spring detox that has been taking place in our bodies for millions of years. The components of these plants provide vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients that help to “biotransform” the toxins that have been building up in our organs like dust bunnies under the bed.
I am about to begin my annual, internal spring-cleaning later this month. I am inviting my clients, my friends, and my readers to do this along with me. I have my own new-and-improved Spring Cleanse that I am happy to share with you and guide you through the process. Please call me for information and I’ll fill you in on the particulars.
Okay everyone…dust mops to the ready…let’s get cleaning!