FREE Subscription The World’s Most Popular Natural Health Newsletter   
What Do You Recommend For a Detox?
Q :
by Marneka from Akron, Ohio
Dr. Mercola what is the best way to detox and totally cleanse your system of toxins?

A :
Answer (Published   March 28, 2007 )
 

Great question.  

The very first step in a detox program is to make sure you are eating a healthy diet. My favorite approach is Metabolic typing as if factors in a person's genetic makeup.

The next step is to make sure you are exercising sufficiently. Whatever exercise you perform you will want to make sure it has your body sweating as this will actually allow you to excrete many toxins through your sweat.

You could use infrared saunas if exercise were not possible, but it is my feeling that exercise is superior. I purchased a six person infrared sauna many years ago but never use it as it seemed exercise was more time efficient for me.

You will want to make sure you are drinking clean water on a regular basis as that will be another key to helping your body maintain its healthy state after you perform a cleanse.

With respect to cleansing my new favorite is New Start and Gentle Cleansing and I am going to give Manneka a free bottle for asking the question.  I like it because it is relatively quick to do and is all natural with no synthetic ingredients and very reasonably priced. It also has chlorella and organic cilantro which have both been associated with the ability to effectively remove heavy metals like mercury from your body.

But the key is to absolutely not rely on the cleanse as the detox.  It is a great aid but will be virtually useless unless you are following a good overall health program.

Important Point Not Mentioned In Video

PLEASE do not start a detox if you are very sick.  You need to start your healthy lifestyle FIRST, before you start a detox so you have a reserve that your body can draw on to allow your liver to do its job properly.

If you fail to do this you can easily overwhelm your liver's ability to process these toxic substances that are being eliminated and you will become VERY sick and wish you had never done the detox. I have seen this many times so please use some caution here.

 
 
   
 
 
Comment     ( 68 Comments )

 
 +11 Points    
Author of the Article
BY -What's In It?-   
Author of the Article March 28, 2007
Post Reply
Thank you Dr. Mercola for giving me that info. and answering my question.  I really do need to cleanse.  :  )...
 

 
 +8 Points    
 
Author of the Article
BY JoeFizz, ADHD PhD   
Author of the Article March 31, 2007
Sweat.
Till you get wet.
...

 
 +1 Points    
 
Author of the Article
BY Pat Ormsby   
Author of the Article April 01, 2007
Like Dr. Yoga, I had trouble with fasting. The first two or three times seemed beneficial, but after that, I wound up with lots of problems (such as reduced body temperature and intractable constipation) and none of the benefits when I tried to fast. Like Dr. Yoga, I also have gluten intolerance, and for social reasons, complete abstinence is impossible (few realize it's in soy sauce too). It may be that certain conditions make fasting less recommendable. I have heard of it provoking fatal arrhythmia in certain cases. My husband, who is an insulin-dependent Type II diabetic, still believes in fasting, and I guess it is helping him in some ways, but I cannot help but notice that he loses control of his blood sugar after a prolonged fast. One should be aware off these potential problems and approach prolnged fasting with caution. I currently practice intermittent fasting for short periods and find it helpful....

 
 +1 Points    
 
Author of the Article
BY Dr-Yoga   
Author of the Article March 31, 2007
Cleanses can be dangerous even when you've built up your reserves with years on a healthy diet.  I learned this the hard way.  After improving for 6 years to the point when I felt great all the time, I followed an MD's advice and did a raw juice fast for 6 1/2 days and ended up with serious neurological problems that it took me 6 1/2 years to fix!!!  One of the problems was that I had malabsorption due to non-celiac gluten sensitivity and I had only been gluten-free for 2 months. Consequently without the intake of amino acids  (necessary for the efficacy of certain liver pathways, for neurotransmitters, hormones, etc), my body broke down its healthy tissues to get the proteins it needed.  So please folks, before you do a cleanse that involves a fast or partial fast, be sure that your body can handle it without damaging itself. 
...

 
 +6 Points    
Author of the Article
BY sweet melissa   
Author of the Article April 02, 2007
Post Reply
I am a little confused, is "the perfect cleanse" supposed to be just a detox program or a detox/colon cleanse program. I have resently started a detox/colon cleans thats seems to be working great. when looking at the detox program Dr. mercola recomends it dosn't seem nearly as complete as what I have started using. The program I have started initialy takes 3 monthes and then recomends a one month cleanse every year after that to keep up good results. 10 days for an inital clease couldn't possible be enough time to cleane out all the toxins and other gunk that have built up in ones colon, liver, kidneys, blood ect over a liftime. Evnt if it is just meent to clean the blood and organs and NOT for the colon it still dosnt seem like enough time. I understand that many people are concernd with the level of inconvience, lenght of time, and the comfort level a cleanse will mean, I have found that althou it dose take awhile to complete it is really not inconvient altho it has incuraged me to eat healthier, and has been quite comfetable, no running to the bathroom! Digestive track health seem to be at the heart of overall body health, so putting a little money, time, and effort into REALLY cleaning it out and keeping it clean seems a small price to pay for my overall body health. Not sure if I'm aloud to say the specifce brand name of the cleanse I am doing but if you just google colon cleanse it sould show up near the top of the list, when you see the list of THOUSANDS of testimonials you will know you found the right one! Dr. Mercola, I would love to hear you opinion on this perticlar cleanse, so far I have found your site very informatonal and have purchased many of you products, this is the first time I felt I could find something better somewere else....
 

 
 +4 Points    
 
Author of the Article
BY sweet melissa   
Author of the Article April 03, 2007
I forgot to mention that in the instructions for the colon cleanse it gives you specific instructions on how to take it and say that event miner changes to those directionn could keep you from having good results....