Spring Cleaning - Cleansing the Ayurvedic way compared to other ways

#Springcleanse #AyurvedicCleansing #Naturalhealing

Detox and cleansing are popular words in both natural wellness and trendy wellness influencers. Everyone this day and age seems to thing they need a cleanse, and they may be right. However, there are really important facts to understand about the benefits and cautionary tales of cleansing.

First off, parasite cleanses seem to be the rage at the moment. So many individuals think that if they have any health issues, or particularly gut issues, that must mean they have a parasite and need to do a parasite cleanse. Not necessarily correct.

Cleansing has been around for a long time, and there are so many types of cleansing. Ayurveda's systematic approach to cleansing is 5000 years old, so one may be able to assume that overall, the idea of cleansing could have originally come from Ayurveda. However, there is a huge difference between Ayurveda's approach and other cleansing.

Juice fasts, the Master Cleanse, raw food cleanse, liver detox, colon cleanse, parasite cleanse - there are so many that you can find! Many of these cleanses can actually make the system worse, rather than better. However, for many (not everyone) they may feel better because they took a break from what they normally eat. Yet they may not feel, or perhaps they might, how it affected their body in a negative way.

General Herb Information:

• The FDA does not approve herbs and/or herbal formulations for safety and efficacy, thus you must know the company you are purchasing herbs from. Herbs that you buy in the stores can have incorrect/wrong ingredients and dosages, causing more harm than good. It is imperative to know trustworthy sources and only order from those sources. This includes the herbal detox packages, etc.

• Please be careful ordering any herbs from Amazon, Ebay, etc. In particular, there have been herbs ordered from Amazon that have a credible label on them, but the label is actually not legit and you cannot trust what is in the container to be the herb you think you ordered.

Specific Information Regarding Common Cleanse Components:

• Juice Fasting

  • All raw foods are harder to digest, and considered heavy.

  • The chemistry of the food changes with any processing. Juicing changes the chemistry. An easy example to understand this is that eating celery treats your body very differently than drinking celery juice.

  • Juice is extra heavy, and harder to digest.

• Parasite Cleanse

  • Most parasite cleanses are extra hard on the digestive system and unnecessary.

  • Unless you have tested positive for a certain parasite, you most likely do not need them. And even if you have tested positive for a certain parasite, it is better to work with a practitioner rather than do your own parasite cleanse.

  • Some ingredients in parasite cleanses can negatively affect your organ function (particularly the liver and kidneys) in addition to damaging the gut

• Many gut cleanses/detoxes

  • These frequently are quick cleanses/detoxes, lasting one day or a few days. This rapid way of cleansing is depleting, and can actually cause nutrient deficiencies.

  • Many utilize raw vegetables which are harder to digest (so stress the gut out more) and cold (which aggravates Vata).

  • Electrolyte balance is frequently affected in a negative way.

  • Involve having fruit or fruit juice with vegetables or vegetable juice. This can actually create an additional toxin load, rather than help remove toxins in the system.

  • Digestion actually gets weakened rather than strengthened.

  • These are the same formula no matter who does this.

  • Typically only involves food restrictions and/or herbal supplements.

How Ayurveda Approaches Cleansing:

• The number one and most important difference is Ayurvedic cleansing is individualized. Some people can do a longer fasting for a couple days, while for others it will be detrimental. Some fruits/juices are ok for some while making someone else's body worse. Because the cleanse is uniquely created for the individual, it will look different for different people: length of time, type of herbs, type of treatments etc.

• Instead of being a rapid approach, it takes more time.

• Though cleansing is a focus, it is also focused on nurturing.

• All cleanses are depleting in some way because you are restricting some food intake, including Ayurvedic cleansing, however with Ayurveda you still are getting all the nutrients you are needing.

• If we specifically look at purging toxins through the anal route, herbs in other cleanses actually dehydrate the colon, and can scrape your intestinal wall, thus damaging your intestines. The herbs used in Ayurveda for purging toxins actually nourish the intestines and encourage them to work properly.

• The focus is cleansing the body of ama (toxins), while at the same time strengthening digestion.

• The cleanse involves the physical component but also looks at the whole body, particularly lifestyle, mind, and body. It's more than just food.

• The cleanse also includes treatments that the individual needs.

• Every cleanse ends with rejuvenation and restoration.

People frequently claim they feel fantastic after, let's say, a juice cleanse. So, why would it not be working? Well, the reason why someone feels short term benefits from a juice cleanse is they lightened their digestive load compared to whatever they may have been eating previously. They also most likely are getting more fluid and certain nutrients in their body, especially if they weren't eating a lot of vegetables and fruits prior. Inflammation typically will decrease because they stopped eating whatever processed food they were eating before (eating out, fast food, chips, sweets, soda, alcohol, etc.). However, doing a juice cleanse actually weakens your digestive power, so when you start adding regular food back in, the body doesn't process it correctly. It is depleting so after the initial 'feel-good' goes away, people can actually feel more tired and have a weaker immune system. Juicing also removes most fiber, which causes spikes and quick drops in blood sugar, thus can negatively affect the digestive system because the hunger routine is disrupted.

For more information on Ayurveda's take on the trendy new cleanses check out this article: https://www.keralaayurveda.us/wellnesscenter/the-pros-and-cons-of-popular-cleanses-according-to-ayurveda

Ayurvedic cleansing works well and looks at healing, nurturing, and purifying the whole body, mind, and spirit of the individual. The process is different for each person honoring the needs of the individual compared to one size fits all with the modern cleanses and detox systems. Please reach out if you would like more information.