BODY CLEANSING

In her article " Spring clean your body ", Jacqueline Hennessy from Chatelaine says

" Now is a good time to flush out all the harmful toxins, viruses and artery - clogging cholesterol". Her statement is based on solid proofs from experts.

So many times we treat our body so badly by indulging in fast foods, fried spicy snacks, alcohol and lungful of second hand smoke to name a few. We have a great time partying, but our body's cleaning crews will be doing a late night shift.

Your circulatory system, lymphatic system, liver, colon and urogenital tract work long hours to keep you healthy by breaking down and flushing out junk food, bacteria, viruses and toxins, and too much alcohol.

FLUSHING OUT YOUR CIRCULATORY SYSTEM :

Your veins and arteries represent your cardiovascular highway, pumping about five liters of blood through your body every minute. Many of us like to indulge in creamy ice-creams and pastries and French fries and like to lead a sedentary lifestyle. So, there is a artery - clogging sludge in our cardiovascular highway. This sticky artery - clogging material is LDL or " bad " cholesterol, homocysteine, an amino acid linked to heart disease, and triglycerides, fats that build up and get deposited in your body if you don't burn them off with exercises.

Lipoprotein lipase : This body enzyme cleans the arteries by breaking down triglycerides. Boost it with exercises such as a brisk 30 minutes walk, 5 to 6 times in a week. Exercise burns out excess fat.

HDL Cholesterol : is your good cholesterol. It cleans out triglycerides and bad cholesterol, then dumps them off at your liver for further break up and excretion. The more HDL you have, the lower your risk of heart disease. You can increase HDL with a daily glass of wine - but no more than one glass, otherwise your triglycerides will rise. Other HDL boosters include - exercise and niacin, a nutrient found in meat, nuts and whole grains.

From oranges you get folate which helps your body clean up excess homocystiene. Also, hesperidin, a compound found in oranges can lower total cholesterol and triglycerides. Fatty acids, walnut and fish such as salmon will also help flush triglycerides from your blood vessels.

KEEPING YOUR LYMPH ON THE GO :

Lymph is loaded with disease fighting white blood cells, plasma and anti-bodies. It bathes your cells and carries away anything foreign or harmful to your body, such as bacteria and viruses. It should be kept moving for maximum efficiency.

Deep Breathing is a simple way to help your Immune system highway. Negative pressure in your chest as you inhale helps push lymph through the body.

A long stretch with your arms out or up also opens your chest cavity for maximum breathing capacity.

A Hot and Cold shower also keeps your lymph flowing in your body.

Activities such as Walking and Jumping works muscles and gets your heart beating faster. This results in optimum Lymphatic Circulation.

PROTECTING YOUR LIVER :

The largest organ of your body, liver, is processing about 86 liters of blood every hour. It filters out toxins and produces bile to break down fats.

Keeping an ideal weight can be a potent liver protector. Being overweight can result in elevated levels of insulin, which contributes to liver damage.

Vegetables such as sprouts and cabbage can help your liver metabolise excess oestrogen. Elevated levels of oestrogen can increase the risk of breast cancer in women.

Water and Healthy Fats help keep cleansing bile moving. So drink enough water and help your liver create high quality bile by eating fish, nuts and olive oil. These foods keep bile gooey, like free flowing motor oil.

CLEANSING UP YOUR COLON AND UROGENITAL SYSTEM :

Your colorectal and urogenital tracts carry on and go on absorbing nutrients and water from everything you eat and drink, and flushing out bad fats and waste.

They also fight against colonies of disease - causing bacteria.

Fibre : Oat bran, fruits and vegetables stimulate the colon's squeezing action and bonds to cholesterol and harmful fats and help sweep them out of your system. Eat whole grain breads, wild rice and lentils, as well as bran cereals.

Yoghurt boosts good bacterias to fight colonies of Yeast or bacterias. Good bacteria such as certain strains of lacto bacillus encourage bad bacteria to stop releasing harmful toxins. It's a natural way to detoxify the urogenital system.

Exercise too is bowel's best friend as it stimulates bowel function. So keep moving.