The water detox is not something many people consider these days although it can be a very powerful tool for regaining your health. Three quarters of your body weight is water and it is vital for life and good health. All your cells and organs need water to function efficiently. Without water you would die in a few days.
You have probably heard of Dr.Batmanghelidj who, during the Iranian Revolution, is reputed to have successfully treated 3,000 fellow prisoners suffering from stress-induced peptic ulcers with just water. Following his release he famously went on to claim that dehydration was the cause of many diseases and wrote a number of books about the subject.
Although the validity of his research and claims of cures has been questioned there is no doubt that water has many important functions in our bodies. Water detox or water fasting, as it is also known, is an ancient and powerful cure for many diseases.
When you do not eat food your body does not have to use it’s energy to digest. Instead it uses it to cleanse your body of toxins and damaged and diseased tissue.
Although long water fasts often brought about some amazing cures at one time, detox experts advise against them these days as we are all so full of toxic chemicals. The release of these chemicals from the fat stores into the blood stream could overwhelm the detox system, poison you, and make you feel very ill.
Having said that it is possible to benefit from a one or two day water detox. You can try this in the middle of a 7 day detox. There are several types of water detox that you can choose from.
Basic Water Detox
1. Prepare your body first by drinking fresh vegetable juices and easily digested food for three to five days before the water fast. By doing so you will prepare the “ground” and make it easy for the detoxification process to take over.
2. Get ready enough distilled water to last you or use filtered water. Tap water is full of chemical additives, heavy metals and drug residues, and mineral water can upset the mineral balance and cause adverse rections. You will need to drink between two and three liters of distilled or filtered water throughout the day. Beware of drinking more than this.In some people drinking water excessivley has caused an imbalance of their sodium levels and made them feel unwell.
3. It’s likely that due to the elevation of the water level in your blood, you will experience some side effects like headaches or fever. Don’t worry about that too much because the water will flush your system clean, they’ll go away. If you are in a good physical condition you can do some exercise to stimulate sweating and hasten the water detox process. When you bring your heart rate up, you are actually increasing your digestive health and metabolism.
4. To sweat out impurities you could also have a sauna. It will help with improving circulation and purifying the body. Your skin pores will open up this way allowing for new toxins to be released.
5 In any case you should shower regularly during the water detox to wash off toxins as they are released from the skin, one of the routes of elimination. Use a natural, neutral pH soap or shower gel
Lemon Water Detox
If you don’t fancy drinking plain water for the fast you can flavor it with some lemon juice. Lemon water is very refreshing and is good at rehydrating the body while cleansing. You can drink it hot or cold.
To make it you simply add the juice of half a washed organic lemon to a quart of distilled or filtered water. Add the remaining peel to the water. If you find this too sour you can add half a cup of organic grape juice.
Jillian Michaels’ Detox Water
Yet another variation is well known fitness guru Jillian Michaels’ recipe for detox water. The water is meant to be part of 7 day weight loss program that promotes digestion and detoxification but you can use this drink for a one or two day water fast.
For this drink you will need
60 oz. (approx 1.75 liters) distilled water
2 tbs unsweetened organic cranberry juice (be sure to get one that does not contain artificial sweeteners)
4 tbs organic lemon juice (again, very important you get it as pure as possible)
2 bags organic dandelion root tea
Just mix the ingredients and drink it over the course of the day. Some people don’t like the bitter taste of the dandelion tea in the drink but it helps to stimulate bile so helps with liver detox. You could use one bag to start with to see how you like it before adding the second bag. You could use a little stevia to sweeten it if you like.
Remember to take time to ease back onto solid food once you have completed the one or two day water detox.
