Rules of Cleansing For The New Year - Dr. Peter Minke

The New Year is coming! We often get excited, or perhaps nervous, about new beginnings: they certainly present an opportunity to start over, begin fresh and clean, and to make positive changes in our lives. This year you may even have the courage to declare a New Year’s Resolution!
The word ‘cleanse’ often elicits fear and foreboding in us, and indeed, stops some people from engaging in a wellness lifestyle altogether. But we need not fear cleansing, nor ‘doing a cleanse’, which I will explain are two different things.
Clarifying Cleansing:
I think of cleansing as anything that helps the body’s natural elimination system of removing toxins while maintaining a ‘normal’ lifestyle. ‘Doing a cleanse’, on the other hand, is a deliberate protocol designed to activate the body’s elimination mechanisms beyond the everyday occurrence, potentially involving radical lifestyle changes for short periods of time. Toxins are compounds generated as cellular/metabolic waste or chemicals that come from the outside, and are harmful to the body and should be eliminated. Activities such as drinking water first thing in the morning, massaging sore muscles to mobilize lactic acid, or eating a high fiber diet are deliberate acts of cleansing within a normal lifestyle. Fasting for 3 days, conducting a beet and lemon juice protocol for a week, or doing an enzyme and fiber cleanse are examples of active cleansing involving changes to everyday behaviors.


Rules of Cleansing:
I have had a wellness-focused lifestyle for the past 20 years. The following are a few rules that I have developed from personal experience.


Cleansing rule #1: Stop Poisoning Yourself!
If I am trying to eliminate toxins through cleansing, I should minimize the amount of toxins that are coming in! This is also step 1 of my Wellness Strategy. While we could discuss this topic at great length, a short guideline that I follow is to eliminate the following: white flour and processed food products; white sugar, high fructose corn syrup and artificial sugars; MSG and other artificial flavoring and color additives; partially hydrogenated vegetable oils; chemical cleaning products, and all synthetic fragrances. This last is essential! In order to be healthy, we must eliminate artificial fragrances that come in many forms: Fabric softeners and perfumed laundry detergent, perfumed personal care products, soaps etc., and chemical deodorizers, sprays, air fresheners etc. Make the change to natural, essential oil-infused Young Living personal care products and use authentic Young Living essential oils for your holiday fragrancing!


Cleansing rule #2: Schedule Your Cleanse!
Whether you want to do a one-day cleanse per month, or a one-week cleanse protocol every three months, get your cleanse on the calendar or it will never happen.


Cleansing rule #3: Support Natural Elimination Systems Before ‘Doing a Cleanse’
Certain natural products can help simple detoxification. Drinking Young Living Slique Tea everyday, which is enhanced with 100% pure Frankincense powder, can provide gentle cleansing while stimulating the metabolism. Young Living’s Digest & Cleanse capsules (one or two a day) can soothe and support the digestive system, while one capsule of frankincense-infused Young Living Longevity supplement provides a healthy support to the liver (a vital player in the detoxification process).


Cleansing rule #4: Flood the Body with Nutrients Before and After ‘Doing a Cleanse’
Drinking pure water is your best support for natural cleansing. Most people need to drink around 3 liters a day and I find that if I drink 1 liter immediately upon waking, then the day goes better. Young Living’s Sulfurzyme capsules, containing copaiba essential oil, and wolfberry fruit powder, are a gentle support for the body’s cleansing mechanisms. Four capsules a day is a good maintenance dose, while much more than that may be needed during times of active cleansing. Young Living’s Super C supplement containing Vitamin C and citrus essential oils, is another nutrient important in natural cleansing. Taking two tablets a day is a good maintenance dose.


Cleansing rule #5: Rest and Breathe While you Cleanse!
Doing a cleanse can be hard work on the body so rest well by using relaxing essential oils from Young Living such as Lavender, Tranquil or Stress Away before bed, either in the diffuser, on your pillow, or on your body. Essential oils can also help achieve the feeling of getting a deep breath. Such oils like Eucalyptus, Myrtle, Frankincense, Dorado Azul, or Idaho Blue Spruce, or blends, Breathe Again, or Raven from Young Living, can be very refreshing to the lungs. Adequate oxygen through deep breathing is critical for cellular health of every body organ.


Hopefully this short article will encourage you to find some time in the New Year to focus on the vitally important process of cleansing, whether through gentle support or active cleansing protocols.