Like people, cleanses and detoxes come in all sizes and shapes; finding a detox that suits your metabolism, personality, circumstances and purse is sometimes trial and error and sometimes about getting the right advice.

There are very few rules that apply right across the board when it comes to designing a detox protocol and the perfect protocol is the one that’s been designed to suit you. However many people choose to embark on a cleanse through recommendation from a friend, a book or the internet. Ultimately most of those cleanses will have beneficial effects on overall health and to successfully complete a cleanse always brings a deep sense of empowerment and achievement.

All cleanses have in common the manipulation of energy source/supply and nutrients. By reducing calories substantially (especially from carb and sugar) and by increasing nutrient availability (from juices, supplements, raw foods, etc) the body is forced to burn fat for energy (where most of our toxins are stored) and the liver is stimulated as well as supported to detoxify harder. All those toxins are then either dumped into the bowel for elimination or filtered through the kidney and eliminated through the urine.

Very few people manage to have substantial bowel movements during a cleanse as the lack of bulk will tend to slow transit time, yet they are increasing the rate at which their body is needing to eliminate through the bowel: a paradox that can easily be fixed by having a number of colonic treatments slotted into the detox!

Typically a colonic treatment at the beginning, middle and end will make all the difference between getting the maximum out of the effort of doing a cleanse or risking to re-absorb those nasty toxins through bowel stagnation. Although herbal laxatives can support the elimination process it rarely achieves the same as a colonic and it will do it by irritation rather than gentle stimulation and washing out. Most people report a deep sense of lightness and release after a colonic (especially if their detox is accompanied by nasty side effects such as headaches, bloating etc.) which is never achieve by taking (herbal) laxative!

With spring in sight, you may feel inspired to detoxify; make sure that you do it right.