48-hour Detox

Cover

Title Page

How Toxic Are You?

Your Body’s Defences

What Toxins Do to Us

How Detoxing Works

Body Shock

Detox Guidelines

Healthy Habits

Detox Guidelines

Clean Up Your Diet

Help Your Liver to Detox

What Kind of Water?

Detox Shopping List

Juicing

Time For Tea

48-Hour Detox Plans

Menu Plans

Detox Aids and Therapies

Supplementing Your Diet

Exercising During a Detox

Daily Bathing Routine

Other Detox Aids

Choosing a Therapy

Making It Safe

Everyday Toxins

Glossary

Useful Information

Further Reading

Searchable Terms

Recipe index

Copyright

About the Publisher

The human body is very sophisticated, performing a huge range of essential functions simultaneously right round the clock. Filtering out and eliminating any materials that could cause the body harm is crucial. Over the centuries, as technology has developed, the toxins to which we are exposed have changed and the body has adapted to deal with new ones, but in the last 60 years there has been a big increase in the number of chemicals in our air, water, food and everyday surroundings. Are we still coping or are we heading for overload?

The liver, kidneys, spleen, digestive system, respiratory system, lymphatic system and skin all work together to try and keep potentially harmful substances (toxins) out of our bodies, or to neutralize them if they do get in. So how well are your body’s defences working?

WHAT IS A TOXIN?

Toxins are substances that can harm us when they are ingested into the body. If asked to name some toxins, most people would mention alcohol, tobacco and caffeine first, and they would be right in so far as these are all substances that can cause significant harm to the body. They are deliberately ingested toxins, but there are many more we don’t consume deliberately and may not even be aware of.

Quit smoking

Cigarettes contain up to 600 additives and when these are set on fire, the smoke contains over 4,000 chemicals, of which over 50 are known to be cancer-forming. They include radioactive Polonium-210, found in tobacco that is grown in fields which are fertilized with phosphates, and even Zyklon B, a gas that was used by the Nazis for mass extermination in the death camps.

A good cry

Our eyes have their own defence system to prevent toxins getting in. Eyelashes sweep away larger particles, while tears contain an enzyme called lysozyme, which can destroy bacteria, and the liquid washes away micro-organisms.

Toxins in our environment

Some toxins are in the air we breathe, the water we drink and the foods, even seemingly healthy ones, that we eat. For example, when you eat a strawberry that has been sprayed with pesticide to kill any bugs in the strawberry patch, you ingest the pesticide along with the vitamin C and antioxidants of the fruit.

When you stand on a city street and breathe in, your lungs have to cope with a cocktail of exhaust fumes and other gases, among which is the oxygen we need to stay alive. When you drink mineral water, you could be consuming traces of antimony, a poison that has been found in plastic bottles, alongside the water that you need for survival.

Therefore, in our high-tech, modern society, we are surrounded by toxins at every turn, no matter how hard we try to be healthy. Fortunately, however, our bodies have ways of dealing with most of the substances they come into contact with and, as we shall see, there are positive things you can do to minimize their effect.

PREVENTION IS THE BEST DEFENCE

To get into the body, toxins have to be inhaled, eaten or absorbed through the skin. The first-line defences try to prevent entry in the first place, but, if they fail, there are second and third lines in waiting.

Respiratory system

When you breathe in through your nose, tiny hairs – cilia – filter out particles of dust and soot, which will be expelled the next time you sneeze or blow your nose. The mucous membranes lining the mouth and nose contain a chemical called lactoferrin, which destroys bacteria, and saliva also has antibacterial ingredients. As air travels down the respiratory tract, more cilia and mucous membranes remove unwanted particles and phlegm is produced to ferry them upwards, triggering sensors that induce us to cough.

In the lungs, the air enters sacs known as alveoli, where the white blood cells identify dust or potential toxins and they release the appropriate toxin-killing cells. At least, this is the case in normal, healthy adults; those with asthma or other lung problems don’t fight toxins quite so successfully.

Digestive system

When you eat or drink something, the antibacterial compounds in the mouth work on it first, and then stomach acid kills off a lot of potentially dangerous toxins before they get further down the intestine.

Your bowel movements

Ideally, food remains should pass through the digestive system within 24 hours. However, most of us retain waste products in our colon for between two and seven days – or even longer – meaning that toxic substances have a good chance of being reabsorbed into the bloodstream again.