Ageing isn’t as inevitable as we might feel. In fact, a lot of the slowing down process (joints seizing up and general decrepitation) isn’t always just down to the passing of years. It can be that our organs, tissues and joints are really clogged up with toxins and just need a good clear out. With detoxing and a good diet your body and mind, can be like a well maintained and oiled machine. One that lasts well past its normal lifespan!
A number of year ago I was fortunate enough to train in Herbalism with Kitty Campion. At first I thought it would be about the medicinal use of herbs as a healthy alternative to drugs. However it soon became apparent that using herbs was just a way of supporting the natural healing process of eating good diet and regular detoxification.
The main thing was to create the right conditions for the body to heal itself!
Firstly, eating a healing diet: mainly plant-based, with lots of vegetable juices and superfoods. Second, to detox your organs of elimination.
Like cleaning the gutters, detoxing clears the pathways that remove toxins out of the body.
There are 5 organs to detox; the skin, lungs, kidney, colon and liver
1 The Skin
The skin is sometimes called ‘the third kidney’. A lot of toxins come out through perspiration and in dead skin cells that flake off. Alternatively a lot of toxins also go in through the skin though toiletries and cosmetics. Kitty always said ‘Don’t put anything on your skin you would not eat!’
Skin Brushing
Dry skin brushing is the best way to detox the skin. It removes dead skin cells, and it also stimulates the lymph drainage—a passive system that removes toxins from the tissues.
The brushing action really stimulates the flow of lymph to the lymph nodes and out of the body, see my Skin brushing blog post.
Especially around the face
The other thing that really detoxes the skin is alternating hot and cold showers. It’s the fastest way to move blood in and out of the skin. This ‘flushing’ moves fresh blood and nutrients into the cells and removes toxins, see my Hot and cold showers blog post.
Then cold!
2. Lungs
Toxins are also breathed in and out of the body. Detox the lungs by fresh air, exercise and yoga movements that really open the chest. Alternatively, smoking is the fastest way to get toxins into the body.
3. Kidney
The kidneys are constantly filtering the blood, and proper hydration really helps them function effectively. Drinking adequate water and using flax tea really helps, see my blog post about Linseed tea.
Sprinkle a teaspoon in a pan
There are also lots of herbs that detox the kidneys: dandelion and parsley are diuretic meaning they flush out the kidneys. Other herbs include juniper and uva ursi leaves.
4. Colon
A healthy colon removes toxic residue out of the body—whereas an unhealthy colon actually produces your own home-grown toxins! A colon cleanse 2-4 times a year really unburdens your system and enhances your immune system. The colon can be cleansed using enemas or colonic hydrotherapy, but these are much more effective if you do a herbal colon cleanse see my Colon cleanse blog post.
5. Liver
This is the most important organ to detox because it is a processing plant and storage organ all in itself. But the liver needs the most preparation, because unlike the other organs the toxins are released from the liver into the body, which then need to be dealt with. That is why it’s important to practise a healthy lifestyle and do the other cleanses first; so they are clear and ready to flush the toxins out of the body. It’s particularly useful to do the castor oil packs on the liver as this gently removes the toxins. see my blog post on Castor oil pack.
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