A lot of people have stopped smoking and drinking alcohol in an effort to reduce the level of toxins in their bodies. While this helps greatly (specially not smoking) that doesn’t mean that their bodies are clear of toxins.

First of all, if you live in a big city, then you are breathing air that has smoke particles that come from the exhaust of cars and industries.

Second, most of the water that we drink comes from treated sources, and sometimes there are still pollution particles in it.

Third, the foods we eat in cities aren’t as fresh as the ones in the countryside. And a lot of times, chemicals are added to them, like colorants and preservatives.

Fourth, when we stress, we add our own toxins to the mix. These are meant to stimulate our bodies for action, but since the action never happens, then we just secret them and keep them.

Because of this a lot of people have decided to go under detox programs or diets from once in a while to help them get rid of toxins in their bodies.

Among these, herbal detox treatments are recently coming to fashion. They complement regular detox treatments of diets by adding organic teas or pills that will help clean our bodies. Because there are several organs involved in the detoxification process of our body, it’s important when taking a herbal detox treatment to ask what it is exactly what it does.

The most important (albeit not the only one) organ in the body’s natural detoxification process is the liver. Its primary function is to break down toxic elements into simpler ones that can be eliminated from the body. An herbal detox treatment for the liver should aim at easing its workload. Common herbal detox ingredients include dandelion, liverwort, horsetail, parsley, birch leaves, black cohosh, gentian, goldenrod, chamomile, angelica, and of course, milk thistle.

The kidneys are also important organs for getting rid of toxins. They filter toxins and waste that has been processed by the liver and eliminate it from our systems through urine. Again, there are herbal detox treatments that are aimed at improving their performance. Common herbal detox ingredients for the kidneys are juniper berries, cedar berries, and uva ursi. Dandelion and parsley help both the kidneys and the liver.

Finally, the lungs also contribute to the elimination of carbon dioxide through respiration, and they must be included in any herbal detox treatment. Common herbal detox ingredients for the lungs are slippery elm, senega, and mullein.

When I started having pains in an area next to my stomach, I had to go to the doctor and get help. Fortunately, it wasn’t as bad. There were some problems with my liver, but not enough to require hospitalization.

In fact, I was able to go back home the same night. I was on medication for a couple of weeks, and when I finished it, I was instructed to go through a detox program.

I must admit that I wasn’t exactly thrilled about it, but having escaped surgery, I decided not to take any chances, so I followed the detox program to the letter.

The first days of the detox program were the hardest. I was especially affected by the fact that I couldn’t eat red meat. I used to eat meat almost everyday, and having it taken away so suddenly was hard on me. Almost as bad was the prohibition of alcohol. More than once I was tempted to drink, but then I forced myself to remember the pain I had felt just a few weeks before and that somewhat helped. I stopped hanging out with my friends for a bit, in order to reduce temptation.

On the other hand, having to do exercise was the most fun part of the whole detox program. At first it was difficult, but when I joined a group that played basketball, I really got into it. The first games I couldn’t hold more than a quarter without having to call it quits. Nevertheless, I liked the competitive part of the sport and I kept trying harder and harder. Although I never became a great player, I started to look forward to each game, just for the fun of it. Today, I can outrun anyone else at the office, although it’s not a skill that my boss particularly values.

One of the parts of the detox program that I had trouble complying with was getting enough sleep. Since the detox program didn’t include taking sick leave, I had to continue working and catch up with my tasks. And when I arrived home I always felt like going to bed early was a waste of time that could have been used on watching TV or reading or spending time with my children. Fortunately, my wife was very supportive and took care of the children while I got some extra sleep.

By the end of the detox program, I felt like a completely different person. In fact, I kept some of the habits that I picked up with the detox program, like playing basketball. Except now I play with my children on weekends only. I keep drinking water, and although I started drinking and eating red meat again, the quantities I consume now are much more moderate than what I used to consume in the past.

But most importantly, I feel better knowing that my liver is much less likely to fail and suffer a severe disease. I really recommend the experience to everyone who wants to feel better and live longer for the sake of his or her family.

In case you feel your body and liver are suffering from bad food, drinking, smoking, and little sleep, you should then think of adopting a cleanse detox diet to clear your body of toxins that will give you long term health risks.

Before you adopt a cleanse detox, you should consult a health specialist or nutritionist. This is specially true if you have a medical condition or are under medication. In general, if you’re taking medication for a limited period of time, you should probably wait to finish that treatment before considering adopting a cleanse diet. This is because your body may still not be strong enough or because some cleanse diets include hormones or substances that can interfere with the effectiveness of medication, or vice versa.

In addition, before adopting a cleanse detox, you should research the specific benefits you will get. A cleanse detox that is too general in its promises, for example “you’ll feel better” is very difficult to measure. Moreover, if you don’t see results, there’s no way you can complain or make the specialist be held accountable.

Another good idea is to verify the nutritional value of the cleanse detox. This involves researching the quantities of proteins, minerals, vitamins, fats, fiber, and carbs that the cleanse diet includes. These values are important as they let you check the veracity of a cleanse diet very easily against a nutritional chart. It also lets you make certain that you’re getting all the nutrients your body needs. Some cleanse detox diets will include a low number or a total elimination of certain elements, such as fats and carbs. If this is the case, you should ask your health specialist why those elements are missing and how they are going to be replaced.

Finally, if you’re going to follow through a cleanse treatment with a health specialist, you should also get a calendar or schedule of visits and how much it will cost IN ADVANCE. It’s very discouraging to have to interrupt a treatment because you ran out of money in the middle of it or because the therapist just realized that “more sessions are needed.” You must also ask about the price of any extras, like teas, pills, patches, or similar that may appear later, so as not to have any unpleasant surprises. Following a cleanse detox with a specialist will always be the most expensive option, but on the other hand, the fact that you’re putting your hard earned money at stake will make you think twice about dropping it halfway.