Well, yes.  Once the body starts receiving good, healthy, raw foods in
the right combinations that do not cause new toxins to be created/
stored in the body, the body will be able to cleanse old toxins from the
tissues on its own, slowly - in its own good time.

If you are familiar with the term "osmosis" (and kindly pardon my
simplification) then you'll understand that, when cleansing, materials
(toxins) flow from areas of high density (e.g., tissues) to areas of low
density (e.g., colon) in an attempt to achieve equilibrium (cleansing).
This is one of the earmarks and a marvelous benefit of the raw food
diet.  When eating wrongly, the direction can be reversed and toxins
will, instead, be stored into the tissues as the body cannot handle the
overload.

Sometimes the cleansing brings on a "healing crisis" where we experience
a symptom we have had in the past, say, bronchitis, flu or an ear
infection, etc., or some new symptom (urticaria for me) that signals a
cleansing.  It is during those times that we often decide to permit the
body to "do its thing" and suffer the symptom while the cleansing
occurs. To stop the crisis unnaturally (say, using an antihistamine) is
to push the toxins back into the body tissues - to hide the symptom.  I
have permitted the cleansing countless times during the past 5-6 years
I've been on the diet.  While the cleansing crises can be darned
uncomfortable, I always let Nature take its course and help it along
with good, raw foods as necessary.  One saving grace is that the
incidence and strength of crises diminish over time (or at least has for
me).  My first year was the toughest.

Cheating or eating foods that cause allergies/ reactions or that contain
toxins would slow, stall or reverse the healing process.  Raw fats are
said to bind with toxins to help the body eliminate them safely (and
potentially with less intensity).  Certain other foods help remove heavy
metals from the body via chelation (e.g., cilantro, etc).

Something I've heard (and tend to agree with) is that it might take
nearly as long to heal as it did to get to the present "unhealthy"
state.  So, by example, if one ate a standard American diet (i.e., poor)
for 30 years, it might take 20+ years to clean the whole body out
(mileage may vary depending on each person's chassis condition.  :-)

As I believe the foregoing (and have empirically experienced), it is one
reason that I feel colon cleansing is only a temporary measure because
the body's tissues are still loaded with toxins that will eventually
find their way to the colon anyway.  I believe in slow, steady cleansing
via the body's own, natural activity.  However, I will allow that there
may be times when the body is SO toxic that a colon cleansing may
otherwise avert an unwanted crisis.  But to rely on periodical colon
cleansing is just asking for long-term problems IMHO.

Best regards,

-=mark=-

Debbie Maddox wrote:

>
>thanks mark... but any particular colon cleansing foods??
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