I have often wondered about the origin of this phrase and custom, but I think it makes sense when I stop to think about the feeling, when Spring finally arrives after a long cold winter, of opening the windows and feeling the warm spring air. And to notice the increasing light and begin to feel the sun’s warmth again; to see the new growth pushing up and out of the ground, the early buds on the trees.
Basically, what we are feeling, I think, is the need to clear out the old and make way for the new…that is what Spring cleaning is all about.
And if we feel the urge and the desire to clean out our environment, what about our bodies?
The coming of Spring is a great time to consider doing a Detox program. While we focus on the physical body with a detox, a good detox program will support us in making a new start in many aspects of our lives too.
So what is a detox, what does it encompass?
At Five Stones, we offer a Detoxification program that I have found to be highly effective and actually not that difficult to do. The core components of the program include eating particular foods, getting adequate hydration and using targeted nutritional supplements to help support the liver. Because the liver is one of the major organs of detoxification in the body, we use a program that offers a lot of liver support.
The liver, as a vital organ of detoxification, filters our blood and removes toxins that get put into the bile. The bile eventually goes into the intestines and is excreted.
Ours is a world increasingly full of toxins, and our body burden of chemicals and toxins eventually takes its toll. The “tipping point”, that place where we might develop symptoms, differs for each of us, based on a variety of factors, including our genetics, our nutrient stores and our individual toxin load.
An effective detox program, then will focus on both our exposure to toxins in our environment and our body’s ability and effectiveness to clear those toxins. In the program we use, the focus is on removing toxin exposure by including only foods that are clean, organic when possible, not processed and high in nutrients. This is coupled with nutritional supplements that provide extra nutrients to help support the detoxification pathways, including compounds such as milk thistle, beet root, artichoke and dandelion. The product contains an antioxidant blend containing components of the cruciferous vegetables, known to be beneficial in the liver’s detoxification processes.
During the program, which is at the minimum 7 days in length, but which can be extended, eating clean, organic food is complimented with a nutrient dense protein shake and the supplements as described above.
One of the interesting things about doing the program is that what often happens is that people experience a simultaneous desire to detoxify in other aspects of their lives too; watching less TV, using less screen time, engaging in activities that they feel are not serving them well. And people often begin to develop an enhanced awareness of other areas of toxicity in their lives; including relationships, work, activities etc.
Are you ready to do some Spring Cleaning in your own life? would you like to join us in a Detox program? Later this month, we are going to do a group Detox Program at Five Stones, and we would love to have you join us for this life-changing event.
Think how good it will feel to head into Spring and all the potential it has to offer, starting with a clean slate!