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Archive for herbal cleansing

Simples: Dandelion

Posted by Randy Lee 
· April 19, 2021 
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The sun is shining, the weather is getting warmer as Spring emerges, and in my hand is what will make my wishes come true.  Close my eyes, make a wish, count to three and…..blow!   The childish delight of watching the thousands of dry dandelion seeds travel on the wind!  And of course, if I blew hard enough to remove all seeds with one blow, well the added benefit of a realized wish! Of course, with adulthood, not much faith is placed in the “making a wish” with dandelion seeds, but I certainly have a deep respect for the plant that has so many health benefits.  

The Latin name for Dandelion is Taraxacum Officinale and has been referred to by other common names as Puff-ball, Lion’s Tooth, and Wild Endive.  The name Dandelion is taken from the French meaning “dent de lion” — Lion’s Tooth.  This is a reference to the toothed edges of its leaves. 

It is commonly thought to have been included as one of the “bitter herbs” that was mentioned in the Bible and has recorded use from the 10th century as an excellent diuretic and laxative. 

Nicholas Culpeper, a physician and herbalist in the 17th century, was always a man for the common people and set about translating the English Physician’s Pharmacopoeia from the professional’s Latin to the common man’s English.  In doing so, he was defamed by his colleagues, but very much respected and popular among the common community he served.  Culpeper wrote this about Dandelion:  “It is of an opening and cleansing quality, therefore, very effectual for the obstructions for the liver, gall, and spleen.  It opens the passages of the urine both in the young and old, powerfully cleanses and doth afterward heal them.”

Cleansing and healing!   The Dandelion is full of health benefits.   With constituents like phenolic acids that help with inflammation, polysaccharides to enhance digestion, and inulin to feed good gut flora, these are just a few of the health benefits found in the roots.  The flowers contain nutritive Vitamins A and B-2 and minerals.  When used as a diuretic, Dandelion is amazingly effective, but without the side effect of mineral depletion that can occur with pharmaceutical diuretics.  This diuretic effect makes Dandelion helpful in cases of hypertension and edema.  The cleansing properties of Dandelion make is helpful in uses for skin issues like Psoriasis and Eczema. 

Although (unfortunately) it is considered a weed to many, it grows rampant in the U.S.  It can be found wild most anywhere, but if wildcrafting the plant, please be careful of any toxins that may have been sprayed on the ground or chemicals dumped in the ground. It can be used in tea or capsules. And of course, there is the fun way to benefit from Dandelion blossoms….Dandelion Wine!

Here is a recipe from the Late Dr. Phil Fritchey.  Enjoy!

  • 2 quarts of fresh Dandelion flowers (making sure they have not been sprayed!)
  • 2 quarts of spring water
  • 1 orange
  • 1 lemon
  • 3 cups of brown turbinado sugar
  • ½ packet of yeast

Carefully remove stems from the flowers.  Place in a large crock or non-metal pan.  Thinly slice the orange and lemon and add to the flowers, along with the sugar.  Bring water to a boil and pour over the flowers, fruit and sugar.   Cover loosely and let set two days, stirring occasionally.  Strain liquid into another large pot and add yeast.  Cover loosely again and allow to ferment in a warm place for two weeks.  Skim off any foam, and carefully pour off wine, trying not to disturb any sediment.  Use immediately or store in the refrigerator in tightly sealed bottles. 

“Wishing” you health and Blessings,

Kim Anderson, ND

Randy Lee, BSE, MS, ND, is the Owner of The Health Patch, 1024 S. Douglas Blvd, Midwest City, 73130. Call us at (405) 736-1030 and visit our website at www.thehealthpatch.com.

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Categories : General Knowledge, Natural Health Product Benefits, Natural Health Regimens, Naturopathic doctor
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Small Intestine Detox

Posted by Randy Lee 
· November 30, 2020 
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The dictionary tells us that the “primary functions of the small intestine are mixing and transporting of intraluminal contents, production of enzymes and other constituents essential for digestion, and absorption of nutrients.”

I consider that the small intestine is the most important part of the digestive system! Why? Well, VERY simply put, we could put our food in a blender and add some enzymes (particularly ptyalin – an enzyme secreted in saliva to change starches into sugars for digestion) to replicate the functions of chewing and carb breakdown. Then we could add the bile salts, hydrochloric acid and enzymes from the liver, stomach, and pancreas to further break down the food into its nutrient components.  And then we could add alkalizers like the duodenum does to neutralize the acids so they don’t “burn” the rest of the digestive tract. On a macro level, we’d then have what our bodies dump into the small intestine – a nutrient-rich, mostly liquefied “mush”. But we still haven’t caused the body to absorb the nutrients for use by all the cells. For our survival, that’s the essential function of the small intestine.

Obviously, from the product name Small Intestine Detox, we know that this product I use every December is focused on the small intestine. Not so clear, is the knowledge that the formula is designed to support the absorption of vital nutrients in the small intestine. The components of this product include pepsin, which is an enzyme used to help digest proteins. But it also helps to clear accumulated protein wastes from the intestinal walls, allowing the intestinal walls full contact with the digested food for improved absorption. The other major ingredient is marshmallow, which absorbs and carries bowel toxins out of the body. That all sounds technical and comes from a card on the product produced by Natures Healthy People!

But regardless of the technicalities, I love how this product helps me get the nutrients I need from the good foods I eat. And, truth be said, I use the product in December because with all the “holiday eating” – usually not so healthy – I use it to remind myself that I strongly need the nutrients from the good foods I do eat.

It IS important to eat healthy. And because our prepared foods and eat-on-the-go habits may not be the BEST for the nutrients our bodies require, I encourage everyone to do some regular cleansing of their body systems.  Life is fuller and richer if it is healthier! Make the most of the life with which God has blessed you!

–  For more information, contact Naturopathic Doctor Randy Lee, owner of The Health Patch at 1024 S. Douglas Blvd, Midwest City, at 405-736-1030, e-mail pawpaw@thehealthpatch.com or visit TheHeathPatch.com.

Nothing here is meant to diagnose or treat any diseases. It is simply what I personally do for my health and is given to you for educational purposes. If you have a serious health problem, please consult a competent health practitioner.

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Movement-The Natural Cleanse

Posted by Randy Lee 
· October 5, 2020 
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This year (2020) I have made “cleansing” the topic of the first blog of each month. And I’ve consistently made the topics in line with the annual monthly program that I personally follow. But I mentioned back in April that I repeatedly do a lighter “whole body” cleanse.  The one I use is a Nature’s Sunshine product called Tiao He Cleanse. This packaged product contains a 15-day regimen of two packets per day of six capsules each.  Each packet contains products to cleanse the colon, the bloodstream, the digestive system, various organs, the individual body cells, and many common parasites.  It was developed to be a “general, all-purpose” cleanse and I find it helpful to use twice each year. But if you want more information on this cleanse, you may refer to my April blog on the subject of regular, total body cleansing.

Since we are now in the middle of a global pandemic, I definitely wanted to remind our readers that the need for regular cleansing is even more important. I read a medical article a few months back that reported that “a sedentary lifestyle is the new cancer!” The report stated that we now have more people dying from “doing nothing” than from many diseases – like cancer.

Also, in previous blogs, we’ve mentioned the importance of exercise to the functioning of every body system. But the importance of exercise on the eliminative organs of the body is essential.  Systems like the colon and the lymphatic system, which are basically eliminative in their very function, have no pumps to move the waste material from your basic cells all the way to the outside world. The same is true for the gall bladder, the kidneys, and the liver. So, if YOU don’t move, they don’t move.

I’ve researched the life expectancy of those who work hard all their lives, then retire and decide to just sit and “watch football” or the like. According to research, most only live a couple of years.  Consider that if you don’t move, your body holds on to all those toxins generated by the body and recirculates them all through your body. It doesn’t take long for the body to become totally septic! Sepsis is caused by infection and can happen to anyone.  There are, of course, many other causes of increased inflammation, but natural toxicity due to the neglect of excreting wastes is certainly one of them.

As I considered the effects of the current pandemic, I realized that decreased mobility (exercise) is on the rise.  More of us work from home, so we don’t even move from office to office, in and out of our workplaces, or up and down stairs.  We don’t even go shopping – we even have basic essentials like food delivered to the home! Many of our exercise programs, and the places we go to participate in them, are on shutdown, and we become more and more sedentary.  Unless we work on it, we accept a sedentary lifestyle by default. We gain weight, we feel sluggish, and we succumb to more sepsis.

So, I have begun to call this a sedentary, sepsis-producing lifestyle that could become more life-threatening even that the root causes of the pandemic. And forcing ourselves into more movement-generating activities could only help our condition.

Certainly, a regular program of cleansing and detoxifying along with good nutrition and proper supplements will add quality to your life and ward off many of the diseases that rob us of real joy.  But don’t neglect exercise – what I am calling “The Natural Cleanse!”  Good health and God’s blessings!

–  For more information, contact Naturopathic Doctor Randy Lee, owner of The Health Patch at 1024 S. Douglas Blvd, Midwest City, at 405-736-1030 or e-mail pawpaw@TheHealthPatch.com or visit TheHeathPatch.com.

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How Should I Cleanse the Colon?

Posted by Randy Lee 
· August 10, 2020 
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The colon is the waste container for the body.  The digestive system dumps its waste here, the lymphatic system dumps its waster here, and the circulatory system dumps its waste here. Since we discussed in our last blog that the colon works to reclaim any nutrients left in the waste, it stands to reason that we should keep the colon as clean as possible.  It requires constant care to keep it disease-free. Daily bowel movements help, but a more focused cleansing should be a regular part of our cleansing regimen.  I look for ingredients in my monthly cleansing regimen that will ensure the colon is addressed in each of them.

I am often asked how often we should have a bowel movement. I am reminded of an old doctor who in the 1970s was the first person I remember asking me how often I had a bowel movement.  He told me he asked that question of every patient he ever saw.  Answers he received spanned the numbers form “once a month” to “twelve times a day” – and each person thought that was normal because we usually think that our number is “normal for us”. But he reminded me of a newborn baby who has a meal and about 45 minutes later has a dirty diaper. He said that if we had perfect body systems then we would usually follow that routine. But he said he wasn’t concerned as long as his patients had at least “daily regularity”. But the fewer bowel movements you have, the greater is your need for routine colon cleansing.

It’s interesting to me that as soon as we potty train a child, we begin to try to make its bowel habits “convenient”; we’re at the store when little Johnny says “I need to go to the bathroom.” And we say, “can you hold it? We’ll be home in just a few minutes.” Actually, few of us go to the bathroom just when the urge first hits us. So old fecal material dries and starts sticking to the colon walls.

Remember the water reclamation function of the colon.  If there is excess fecal material in the colon, as it tries to draw off the excess water, it also draws off the bacterial and disease that may also be present and recirculates these substances throughout your body as well – we re-toxify ourselves!!!

Also, consider a balloon that is filled with air, emptied, refilled, and on and on.  It will eventually produce dimples on the wall.  In our colons, these dimples are called diverticula.  They are the perfect place for seeds, etc. to collect and get infected and produce diverticulitis.  Remember “it is” simply means “inflammation of.”

So, in addition to regular bowel movements, I look for products specifically formulated to cleanse the colon. These products not only aid in the evacuation of wastes but may also contain ingredients that can re-tone (tonify) the bowel. They can both cleanse and strengthen the bowel at the same time.

Keep moving and keep your bowel moving too.  It will not only keep you comfortable, but it will help keep your whole body healthier.

–  For more information, contact Naturopathic Doctor Randy Lee, owner of The Health Patch at 1024 S. Douglas Blvd, Midwest City, at 405-736-1030, e-mail pawpaw@thehealthpatch.com or visit TheHeathPatch.com.

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Parasites – Get Rid of Them!

Posted by Randy Lee 
· July 6, 2020 
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If you’re a regular reader of my blogs, you know that this year I am giving you a breakdown of my personal cleansing regimen.  Well, this month is my annual parasite cleanse. We have cats, sheep, goats, and visiting dogs (family pets) at our house which I care for daily. I sometimes drink from my water faucet. And I often eat fresh veggies and fruit from my garden without washing them – straight off the tree/vine/plant! So, I know I have some parasites!!! In a previous blog I commented that virtually all of us carry some parasites. Hopefully you’ve been careful enough not to have a huge infestation of them which may have led to disease. But since I know we all have some, I take the opportunity each year to do a parasite cleanse to get rid of the small numbers to keep them from becoming a large problem.

You may have grown up like me, with a mom or grandmother who dosed you with a nasty castor oil tonic early every spring to get rid of winter intestinal “guests”.  I personally remember it well! But if you’re not traveling to third world countries, getting your water from streams or outdoor faucets, getting all your food from street vendors, eating your meat “tartar”, or wading barefoot in unmonitored, contaminated lakes or streams, you may want to do what I do – annual clearing out of unwanted house guests.

Most of the programs I have used take 20 to 30 days and consist only of taking small packets of pills containing known anti-parasitic herbs. Different herbs create environments in your gastrointestinal track that are not to the liking of or much to the detriment of commonly known parasites. Often a single herb may do the trick, depending on the parasite in question.

Some of the common herbs are:

  • Artemisia, also called wormwood is a very bitter herb.
  • Black Walnut Hulls are not only bitter, but will stain most anything they touch.
  • Paw Paw twigs are known to kill abnormal cells in the body – and parasites are certainly abnormal to our bodies.
  • Cascara sagrada causes bowel movements, and since parasites tend to reside in the intestinal tract, they help to expel them.
  • Chamomile flowers are used in tea to “calm” us; they do the same to parasites, making them less mobile.
  • Marshmallow and Slippery Elm are mucilaginous, help to soothe and smoothly move things through the bowel.
  • Strong spicy herbs like clove, ginger, onion, sage, tansy, garlic and spearmint are disliked by most parasites.

If, on the other hand, you do have a serious infestation leading to malnutrition because the parasites are getting most all your nutrition, or that are causing a serious parasitic infection, you may ask me for a copy of a 90-day Parasite Cleanse Program that I have used once or twice. I call it my DEEP Parasite Cleanse.

My idea is to give them things they don’t like, give them things to sedate them, give them things that “toxify” them, then add these to things that will push them out of your body and you may expect some success in controlling them!

There are also teas, supplements and essential oils to assist your body in snuffing out parasites. Be vigilant, stay ahead of them, be aware of them, treat them as soon as you discover them.

Randy Lee, ND, Owner, The Health Patch – Alternative Health Clinic and Market, 1024 S. Douglas Blvd, Midwest City, 736-1030, e-mail: pawpaw@thehealthpatch.com or visit thehealthpatch.com.

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Diet and Supplements for the Liver

Posted by Randy Lee 
· June 15, 2020 
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While I personally recommend a regular cleansing regimen that includes a cleanse especially for the liver due to its unique status as the primary detoxifying organ of the body, I strongly support the idea of ensuring your supplement regimen and your diet remain liver-friendly for the same reasons. The liver, by its very function, takes a lot of abuse; and you can’t live without it. So, take special care to keep it healthy.

Some special diet considerations are due to common functions of the liver itself:

  • The liver manufactures cholesterol. Cholesterol is essential for making cell membranes and cell structures in the body. It is also vital for the synthesis of hormones, vitamin D, and other substances. About two-thirds of the cholesterol in our bodies is manufactured by the liver; the other third comes from our diet. Cholesterol is necessary, and while we must have some cholesterol for our bodies to function, the liver will usually produce enough and we compound problems if we add too much by allowing ourselves a high-fat diet. Reducing dietary fat can ease demands on the liver.
  • The liver also stores glucose fuel in the form of glycogen. The body has a feedback system that between meals tells the liver to release more sugar to maintain the body’s energy level. The liver then converts either fat or glycogen into the simple sugar glucose. Too much sugar can mean problems for other body systems. So, reducing simple sugars from your diet can also ease production demands on the liver.
  • Cirrhosis of the liver is a disease with which we’re all familiar. We associate it with heavy drinkers (and this is one real cause). It is a degenerative inflammatory disease that results in hardening and scarring of liver cells. What many of us don’t consider is that malnutrition and chronic inflammation can also lead to liver malfunction.
  • Keep the colon clean, regularly use an herbal detoxifying blend if you work in an environment that contains known toxins, and limit alcohol intake.

Our liver processes require vitamins, minerals, proteins (preferably from vegetable sources), amino acids, and enzymes. Ensuring these nutrients are in your diet (or a good broad-spectrum vitamin-mineral-amino acid-essential fatty acid supplement), will also help keep a healthy liver. Other supplements that you may consider specifically for the liver may include:

  • Herbs that help to ensure a healthy liver. Alfalfa is an excellent source of vitamin K and a deficiency of this vitamin can lead to bleeding. The silymarin in milk thistle has been shown in scientific studies to repair and rejuvenate the liver. Fermented red yeast rice extract is beneficial for those with high cholesterol as it inhibits the liver’s production of cholesterol. Other herbs that can be beneficial include barberry, black radish, burdock, dandelion, fennel, horsetail, Irish moss, red clover, rose hips, suma, thyme, chickweed and wild Oregon grape.
  • Drink lemon water to “wash” the liver.
  • Choline and inositol are B-vitamins that prevent scarring and help prevent cirrhosis and high cholesterol.
  • And liver-healthy foods include red beets (especially raw and shredded in a salad), almonds, bananas, blackstrap molasses, prunes, raisins, wheat and rice bran, kelp, beans, and seeds. Dandelion greens are a great Spring tonic if they contain no herbicides or pesticides. Poor food choices include excessive animal proteins, processed foods, junk food, refined white flour and white sugar foods.

In a previous blog I noted a fact that is worth repeating here: “Overeating is probably the most common cause of liver malfunction. It creates excess work for the liver, resulting in liver fatigue. Since the liver must detoxify all of the various chemicals present in our food supply today, it is easily overworked and may not be able to keep up, leaving harmful substances in the body.”

There are many ways to alleviate the stress of a degenerative liver. But it doesn’t “just happen”. Be aware of the load you’re putting on your liver by poor diet choices, working in toxic environments, and making poor lifestyle choices. Carefully care for your liver and it will care for you throughout your lifetime!

  • Randy Lee, BSE, MS, ND, is Owner of The Health Patch, 1024 S. Douglas Blvd, MWC, 73130. Call us at (405) 736-1030, and visit our website at www.thehealthpatch.com.

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Keep Your Liver Clean

Posted by Randy Lee 
· June 1, 2020 
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Unless you have a disease specifically concerning the liver, you rarely think much about it. But if you have a compromised liver, or suffer from cirrhosis or hepatitis or several other such conditions, it can take priority in your lifestyle accommodations. When you do stop to think about it, you realize you can’t live without it. It is, by far, the most significant cleansing organ in the body!

While it normally weighs only three to four pounds it is a very complex organ. It has a double circulation system. That means it receives blood from both the veins and the arteries. The main artery carries in plenty of oxygen from the lungs and the main vein comes directly from the small intestine full of nutrients. The liver performs over 500 functions. It serves as a digestive aid, it detoxifies food impurities, and it inspects nutrients before allowing them into the bloodstream. Further, it has the ability to be its own metabolic chemical plant to make new compounds you must have to live.

Of all the organs you have in your body it is often the most abused and yet has the greatest capacity for regeneration if it gets the proper supplements and care. I read a report from Johns Hopkins Medical Center that states “The liver is the only organ in the body that can replace lost or injured tissue (regenerate). [A] donor’s liver will soon grow back to normal size after surgery. The part that you receive as a new liver will also grow to normal size in a few weeks.”

The liver also manufactures cholesterol and bile, stores glucose fuel, and can suffer from a number of diseases. We have a number of studies that show that the typical American diet can produce liver damage, digestive problems, low energy, allergies, and even depression. One study even showed that a low-grade fever at night could indicate liver problems.

So, it only makes sense that when we are considering a cleansing regimen for the body, we should include at least one liver cleanse each year. And there are a number of them. We carry at least a half-dozen of them at The Health Patch, by almost as many different companies. I have also used a simple, popular “mini-cleanse” for the liver which can be accomplished over a 30-day period by the consumption once a day of two (2) tablespoons of olive oil mixed with two (2) tablespoons of lemon juice and four (4) ounces of apple juice. This can be both refreshing and cleansing.

We’ll cover the specific functions of herbs that help clean and heal the liver, foods that support it and other supplements we use for liver health in another blog in a couple of weeks. But a simple list of many of them include: alfalfa, milk thistle, red yeast rice extract, barberry, black radish, burdock, dandelion, fennel, horsetail, Irish moss, red clover, rose hips, suma, thyme, and wild Oregon grape.

Overeating is probably the most common cause of liver malfunction. It creates excess work for the liver, resulting in liver fatigue. Since the liver must detoxify all of the various chemicals present in our food supply today, it is easily overworked and may not be able to keep up, leaving harmful substances in the body.

Stress is also a major contributor to a fatigued liver. Deliver your liver from stress by ensuring it has the proper nutrients and is sparred undue excesses of known toxins. You only get one. Keep it healthy.

  • Randy Lee, BSE, MS, ND, is Owner of The Health Patch, 1024 S. Douglas Blvd, MWC, 73130. Call us at (405) 736-1030, and visit our website at www.thehealthpatch.com.
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A “Whole Body” Cleanse

Posted by Randy Lee 
· April 13, 2020 
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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 pawpaw@TheHealthPatch.com, or visit TheHeathPatch.com.
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Cleansing

Posted by Randy Lee 
· August 27, 2018 
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I’ve always made it a practice to really enjoy the holiday season.  So from Thanksgiving until the New Year, I eat pretty much whatever I want.  I enjoy all the festive foods, and I always know that many of them really aren’t that good for me and that I’ll probably pick up a few extra pounds.  So after the new year begins, I make cleansing a top priority.

Many of the things we eat routinely can not only be “not good for us,” they can often be toxic.  Add these effects on our bodies to the others we encounter every day (smog, air pollution, industrial pollutants, household cleansers, food preservatives and dyes, chemical fumes, car exhaust, normal metabolism, poor elimination of food, waste products in the blood from illness or disease, …) and we can see that our bodies are bombarded with toxins.  The consequences are inevitably further disease or debility.  Cleansing (detoxification) should be a recurring part of our normal routine.

Periodic cleansing has been included in recorded history for millennia.  Traditional health practices of many nations – Chinese, Europeans, Ayurveda, Native American, Asiatic Indians – still continue some form of detoxification.  In early American history the Pennsylvania Dutch ate wild greens like lettuce and dandelions and other herbs in the spring to cleanse their bodies after a long winter of heavy foods.  Native Americans used black teas made from yaupon hollies to produce sweating and bowel evacuation.  One writer even suggests “nature herself seems to suggest the importance of detoxification … many of the plants that burst forth in early spring are cleansing in nature.”

There are many ways to cleanse.  The program you choose may last only a day or two or a week or two.  It may even take the form of a recurring dietary change.  Most of us know of foods that seem to “go right through us … a hint that they may be added to our personal cleansing program.  And some foods seem to work for most everyone – e.g., fresh cherries, available in early spring, have a definite cleansing effect on the bowels and help eliminate the uric acid buildup linked to heavy meat consumption and diseases like joint problems or gout.  Fasting often accompanies detoxification regimens as well, but we’ll make that the subject of a future article.

I personally enjoy using herbs and herbal combination to cleanse.  The phytonutrients in many of the herbs encourage the body to detoxify naturally.  And as a rule, we should be sure to cleanse the eliminative organs (kidneys and liver) and the blood and lymphatic systems, as well as the intestinal system.

The combination for cleansing the organs should include herbs such as milk thistle, burdock root, barberry root bark, and dandelion root.  Adding lecithin and amino acids to your diet is  also helpful especially for the liver.  The blood and lymph glands benefit from dandelion and burdock, and combinations for them should include red clover, oregon grape root, butcher’s broom, garlic, pau d’arco bark and yellow dock.  Cleansers for the intestine include natural laxatives like cascara sagrada and senna leaves,  high-fiber “scrubbers” like psyllium hulls, and parasite killers like artemisia, black walnut hulls, and elecampane.

Regular cleansing and detoxifying (at least two to four times per year) along with good nutrition, exercise and proper supplements will add quality to your life and ward off many of the diseases that rob us of real joy.  Our improved distribution systems make most foods available to us year-round, so we tend to forget the cycles of nature.  But this year, start your “spring cleaning” early and start with your body.  Good health and God’s blessings!

– Randy Lee, ND, Owner, The Health Patch, 1024 S. Douglas Blvd, MWC 73130, phone/fax: 736-1030, e-mail: pawpaw@thehealthpatch.com. See our blog at www.TheHealthPatch.com.

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