One of the simplest things you can do to improve your overall health and fitness is detox your body. Ideally you should detox, or cleanse your body 2-4 times a year.

There's a lot of different ways you can cleanse your body. My personal favorite in the Master Cleanse, but others prefer...

• Water or juice fasting
• Colon cleaning with oral laxatives
• Colon cleansing with enemas
• Sauna Therapy

There's more but those are some of the more popular, in my opinion the Master Cleanse in the safest and most effective way to cleanse your body.

No matter how you choose to detox it's important to do it the right way. Diet, exercise and avoiding stress are all essential elements of maintaining good health and optimal fitness, and it is important to take these elements into account as you create your detoxification plan.

Why should you consider detoxing?

Detoxing is particularly important in the modern world, since environmental pollutants, toxins and other elements can quickly build up to toxic levels in your body and cause ill health and a variety of mental and physical consequences. These serious consequences include such things as weakened immune system to fatigue to feeling of depression.

The Water You Drink is Vital When You're Cleansing Your Body

Chlorine, lead, synthetic chemicals, VOCs, THMs, MTBE, Turbidity, and Cysts are some of the things commonly found in our drinking water. Bottled water is not much better, in fact much of the bottled water sold is just plain, city tap water in a fancy package.

Having clean, filtered water is essential when you're detoxing your body, and because it's so inexpensive (more on this in a minute) I suggest making a habit out of drinking filtered water even when you're not cleansing.

I've reviewed many of the current water systems being sold, and most are way overpriced. Worst of all - a lot of them don't filter out the pollution found in most tap water. The best performing filter I've found is the Aquasana AQ-4000. It won the Consumer Digest Best Buy Award, and filters out more harmful substances than units costing 3X's more money. The cost of filtered water using the Aquasana is just 9¢ per gallon, compared to over $5 a gallon for most bottled water.

Last time I checked Aquasana only sold their products directly to consumers through their website www.aquasana.com

Every Day detoxing

If you use the Master Cleanse 4 times a year, every day when you're not on the cleanse you're not going to get the full benefits from the cleanse. To maintain radiant health all year you should try to eat clean. Here's a list of foods you should try to work into your daily diet...

• Fruit – it is important to eat plenty of fresh fruit when detoxing, and any type of fruit can be used, including apples, oranges and more exotic fruits. Fruit juices are fine as well, provided that they are made with 100% real fruit and contain no artificial preservatives or added sugar.
  
  
• Vegetables – as with fruit, it is important to eat plenty of vegetables while detoxing Some of the most popular vegetables for detoxing the body include onions, carrots, turnips, cabbage, bean sprouts, peppers, mushrooms, corn, leeks, cauliflower, broccoli and Brussels sprouts.
  
  
• Beans and lentils – any kind of beans are great for detoxing the body, including dried beans and beans canned in water. Beans canned in oil should be avoided. Some of the most popular beans for detoxing include kidney beans, lima beans, pinto beans, black eyed peas and lentils.
  
• Tofu and quorn – These two popular meat substitutes are excellent choices for detoxing.
  
  
• Oats – oats are great for sprinkling over fresh fruit or for use in a porridge. Oats can be sweetened and enhanced with honey or fresh fruit.
  
  
• Fresh fish – fish can be a major part of the diet while detoxing. Some of the healthiest varieties of fish include cod, salmon, mackerel, monkfish and trout.
  
  
• Live yogurt – Live yogurt is a great choice for detoxing, as it contains valuable nutrients and beneficial bacteria which help to sooth the digestive tract during the detox process.

What to avoid when detoxing

Just as there are foods that should be included in the detox diet, there are foods that must be avoided when detoxing. These foods include:

• Red meat, chicken, turkey and other poultry
• Processed meat products, such as sausages and pate
• Milk, cream, cheese and other dairy products
• Eggs, butter and margarine
• Snacks like potato chips
• Salted nuts
• Chocolate and sweets
• Sugar, particularly refined sugar
• Jams and jellies
• Alcohol, tea, coffee and soft drinks
• Salt
• Store bought salad dressings

Now that you've got some general advice about detoxing and what to put into your body to maintain good health I hope you're able to make a shift to a healthier lifestyle.

I'm a coach & advocate for quick, natural solutions to health problems. My Master Cleanse Book has been enjoyed by over 56,000 readers and was recently updated with special cleanses for beauty & weight loss. However, I am not a doctor. I care about your safety and encourage you to make sure you're in good health before following the advice on this site. You can learn more about me here.

- Raylen Sterling, author, publisher