Home Guide to Herbs - davies


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therapies, such as acupuncture, radionics, and kinesiology. Exercise will  
always speed up the detoxification process because it helps to remove  
toxins by increasing circulation. Massage and skin brushing work similarly  
by stimulating the skin and are very valuable aids to health. Simple  
hydrotherapy should include alternating hot and cold showers, sitz baths,  
and saunas. It encourages circulation, promoting the movement of toxins  
and the delivery of nourishment to all cells, organs, and systems. For  
more on these therapies, see chapter 5.  
General examples of herbs that may be chosen for various  
detoxification purposes include the following:  
Blood cleansers: burdock root, red clover flower, plantain leaf, and lemon  
Diuretics (water movers): corn silk, dandelion root and leaf, and celery  
seed  
Laxatives (colon movers): barberry root bark, cascara sagrada bark, and  
Chinese rhubarb root  
Liver supportives and cleansers: milk thistle seed, Bupleurum root, and  
dandelion root and leaf  
Immune enhancers: echinacea root, arborvitae leaf, garlic clove, chamo-  
mile flower, olive leaf, and oregano leaf  
Supportive and tonic herbs for the whole body: Siberian ginseng root,  
Astragulus root, pau d’arco inner bark, and Schisandra berries.  
Food and Cleanses to Suit the Individual  
Before you undertake a cleansing and detoxification program, there are  
several things that need to be taken into consideration in order to  
determine what kind of program is most suitable for you. In all cases,  
however, the body will require building and toning and then maintaining.  
Every program should include the use of water, juices, superfood, herbs,  
and specific foods.  
Very often, only a selective grouping of foods should be eaten during  
this type of program. Foods should be specifically chosen to clean and  
detoxify the system that needs initial attention. It is important to  
remember that it is not the variety of food types that is important but, in  
this case, the quantity of the food type you are consuming. Often  
vegetables are chosen for these programs because they clean out the  
bloodstream, lymph system, kidneys, and colon while putting as little  
strain as possible on the digestive system and pancreas.  
Ayurveda and other traditional healing systems look at body types and  
then advise on the duration of, and methods used for, a detoxification or  
fasting program that is appropriate to the individual. For instance, thin  
people with hypermetabolic constitutions burn up material quickly, and  
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