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Archive for elimination

A “Whole Body” Cleanse

Most of my family and my customers know that I have an annual approach to cleansing. Every month of the year I have some particular part of the body or some body system that I work to “cleanse”. But twice each year I use products – a different one each time – that are designed to be “Total Body” cleanses.

Obviously, such a “total body” approach isn’t going to do as deep a cleanse on any one body system as a focused product on a particular system will, but it serves a purpose. I use the individual system cleanses that I do each month to “deep clean” body areas that need the regular (annual) focus, but manage relatively well with routine maintenance the rest of the year.

So, the “whole body” approach is used a couple of time a year to clean those systems that are “collection points” for the routine depositing of the debris of the heavier, annual cleansing of the individual systems.

One example is the colon. This body system is the final accumulation point of most everything that is processed out of the body (with some obvious exceptions, like stuff that is eliminated through the skin or the respiratory system). But it processes most of the body’s waste and needs more than just the annual heavy cleansing that I referenced every January! So, two other months during the year, the “total body” cleanse will have ingredients/herbals/cleansers that will do on-going sweeping (brooms; insoluble fibers) and scrubbing (sponges; soluble fibers) of the colon specifically. This routine cleansing coupled with the deep cleaning in January keeps the colon operating at peak efficiency all year long.

Other such routine maintenance is allowed by other overworked body systems such as the little individual cells, various individual organs, the blood stream, the digestive system, and some very common parasites. We have a number of these types of “overall” body cleansing systems that we can use. They generally consist of small packets of capsules that are taken once or twice a day for anywhere from a week to half a month. They don’t “tie you to the bathroom” or cause any cramping. They may stimulate an extra bowel movement some days, and should always be taken with plenty of water.

Such routine care of your elimination systems facilitates the proper functioning of all your other body systems! Consider making it a part of your routine body cleansing regimen!

  • For more information, contact Naturopathic Doctor Randy Lee, owner of The Health Patch at 1024 S. Douglas Blvd, Midwest City, OK 73130, call 405-736-1030, e-mail [email protected], or visit TheHeathPatch.com.

The Importance of Exercise

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We all know that exercise is important. It is certainly one of the practices that we need to incorporate into your life to ensure that we have a healthy, fulfilling life when the entire world around us seems to be falling apart. Most can recall the increased activity levels of our youth, but we seem to let go of the motivation to “move” as we age. Life gets busy and the gym loses its priority, and after a long day of sedentary work, we just want to relax. So a mental acknowledgment of the importance of exercise gives way to the practicality of daily living. Is that really so bad?

Truthfully, no healthy lifestyle is sustainable without proper exercise. I’m not suggesting that every person need to go spend hours in a gym every day or even that you have a gym membership. But “movement is necessary for health. Let’s look at some reasons.

Of primary importance is the fact that several of our body systems depend on movement to function properly. The circulatory system has the heart at its center – a pump that forces blood through arteries, veins, and capillaries to get nutrients and oxygen to all our cells. But look at three of these systems:

  • The respiratory system provides oxygen to the circulatory system for disbursement. But the amount of oxygen we have to send is dependent on how much is in the lungs. Deeper breathing, like that that accompanies exercise, provides the needed oxygen. And the bottom parts of the lungs may fill with fluids if we don’t breathe deeply regularly. Carbon dioxide is toxic and can stay for long periods of time in the lower lungs if we don’t breathe deeply – e.g., exercise!
  • Elimination from the digestive system requires movement. There is no digestive “pump”. Movement of nutrients from digestion throughout the digestive systems depends on the peristalsis that comes from muscles pressing against the intestines and colon. Bowel “movements” require movement!
  • The lymphatic system is the system that removes dead cells from within the body. It is estimated that the body is made up of some 50-100 trillion cells and about 300 million of them die and are replaced every minute. Those in the digestive tract are generally removed through the digestive tract, but the remainder is removed by the lymphatic system. And it requires muscle contractions to move dead cells through peristalsis. Without exercise, those dead cells just rest and putrefy inside your body contributing to disease.

Most publicity about exercise centers on weight management. You probably know a lot about that already, so I’ll just point out that a pound of body weight equals around 3500 calories. We have machines to measure your metabolic rates. Each person’s rates are different and depend on factors such as current weight, exercise levels, types of foods consumed, and caloric intake. For most people, the rates run around 1200 to 2500 calories burned per day. If you consume more than you burn, you gain weight. Exercise not only burns calories, but it also raises your metabolic rate, making it easier to burn more.

And one writer I read recently stated that “a sedentary lifestyle is the new cancer.” I know of many people who decide to retire from work and then go home, sit down, watch TV, and die within a couple of years. We were created for movement.

Whether you exercise to feel better, to lose weight, to look better, or to help prevent disease, know that it helps in all these lifestyle factors. Get moving!

For more information, contact Naturopathic Doctor Randy Lee, owner of The Health Patch at 1024 S. Douglas Blvd, Midwest City, OK 73130, call 405-736-1030, e-mail [email protected], or visit TheHeathPatch.com.