Are We Cleansing?

Everywhere you turn you will see products, diets and therapies that are all designed to cleanse your body from the inside out which sounds amazing. The negative side to this is that it encourages us to force-cleanse our bodies all the time, every day. We are brainwashed into believing our body doesn't do this on its own when actually it is happening just about every night for a period of time ... gently, easily and effectively. It's what my grandmother used to say about cleaning the house ... do a little every day and it will never build up. I have to confess, I frequently look at the vacuum cleaner and groan, putting it off a day or even two. But apply the same idea to the dishes in the sink and we really have to catch up at some point, right? That's exactly what your body does.

So let's examine the cleansing process. Cleansing occurs from the smallest cell up to the largest organ. It happens throughout your day, but generally material is being held in storage spaces until it is time for your fluid pathways to remove them. It's rather like leaving your trash in the garage until it's time to take it out to the curb. The fluid cleansing occurs as a regular function during nighttime sleep, when you are quiet and your energy is not being used for other things. It also allows fluid to move more easily through muscular tissues that are generally in contraction.

But what if you're an insomniac? Well, if you're spending sleep time staring at the ceiling, then your cleansing time is reduced. This means that more material is hanging out in the garage for longer periods of time. Imagine when you are at the brink of 90 and you can't take your trash to the curb anymore. You have to rely on someone to help you, to carry it down the driveway. This is a role that your lymph and your immune system do for you in your body. They help to empty the stored toxic debris and dead cells that have been picked up from your tissues during the day.

But if your immune system is busy battling the flu that everyone in your household has deposited on every surface, then that helpful jaunt down the driveway is not happening. Or if your pathways of elimination are blocked, overloaded or simply not functioning well, then the trash gets left by the back door waiting to be taken to the curb. What is even more important to know is that when the body tissues reach a point of saturation with toxins, metabolic acids, dead cells or pathogens, a healthy body will rise up and conscript an entire cleaning crew to take out the trash. This is often referred to as a Herx reaction. Now interestingly when we compare the symptoms of a Herx reaction with an illness we will notice an incredible similarity. The symptoms of each can seem almost identical. Digestive upset, fever, chills, sweating, body aches, severe fatigue, changes in body odor, loss of appetite ... how do you know if you are ill or if perhaps you are simply going through an intense period of cleansing?

The answer is that you may not. When you cleanse, your immune system is an integral part of the process because it needs to identify what is being removed to ensure it is not injuring your body during the process. This means you may have symptoms that mimic an immune response because it is in fact, an immune response. In order to cleanse, your body needs to use a substantial amount of energy, which is why it happens at night while you are sleeping. So this may cause fatigue, which mimics amazingly, fatigue. Your body also relies upon both your blood system and your lymphatic system to carry these substances to your pathways of elimination which include the digestive tract, the kidneys, the liver, the lungs and even the uterus.

What this all means is that in order for cleansing to take place, the cast members need to be present and available. This is why when your body is playing catch up, the symptoms of finally being able to cleanse may often feel exactly like illness. How many people do you know that when they finally stop working and go on vacation they get sick? This is a simple case of delayed cleansing reaction. All of us have been there and it's a great reminder to give ourselves the time and energy for regular cleansing, because without taking out the trash or cleaning the house on a regular basis, we can become inundated and we can become ill.

What we don't want is for toxins, dead cells, pathogen particles and metabolic waste products to simply be shuffled from one area to another because we don't have the energy or support that we need to completely remove them from our bodies. One of the main reasons for this unhealthy process of shuffling and storage is that we take medications that stop our immune system reaction - pain medication, fever medication, antihistamines, antacids, anti-inflammatories ... you're basically removing all the ways in which the immune system pursues cleansing. We have become so convinced that we shouldn't miss a day of work, an important event or that we just shouldn't have to feel badly. But in doing that we are not just blocking our cleansing ability, we are working our way into illness.

So don't run for a cleanse, instead listen to your body and support your body's own cleansing ability without relying on force-cleansing. It's the difference between someone screaming at you to go faster and someone understanding your process and offering a helping hand.

Karen Clickner, C.C.H., is the owner of Conscious Body Natural Medicine, Inc., in Westborough, MA. For more information visit www.consciousbodynatmed.com