bowel cleanse

[Guest guest]

My friend and I were thinking of going on a bowel

cleanse. We are both vata/pitta. Does anyone have

any suggestions? I know there are commonly sold

cleanses like Arise and Shine and others. It would

seem like using ayurveda that more specific herbs

would be better. We are looking for long term

effects. Any help would be great.

 

Thanks

GB Khalsa

[Guest guest]

Hi GB

 

a bowel cleanse is only one part of the equation

 

cleansing is at least a 2 stage process

1) mobilization of wastes and toxins

2) elimination

 

the bowel cleanse really only addresses the latter, and not the former

so for maximum benefit, take lymphatic and blood cleansing herbs along

with herbs to stimulate elimination

 

in Western herbal medicine we use alteratives that are specific to each

organ system to mobilize tissues wastes, along with specific remedies

to upregulate elimination

 

sometimes these herbs are the same, sometimes they can be different

 

for e.g., burdock seed is an excellent blood purifier except that it

can make skin conditions worse because it mobilizes the wastes,

removing them from tissues into the blood, where if they are not

properly filtered by the liver and kidneys can deposit into other

tissues and cause problems, such as eczema or acne

 

thus i recommend using alterative herbs like red clover, burdock,

nettle etc. with herbs that upregulate eliminative function. usually

we try to address each organ system, unless its weak, e.g.:

 

lungs - mullein

kidneys - uva ursi

liver - barberry

bowels - rhubarb root

skin - sweating

 

in Ayurvedic medicine the approach is obviously similar, and i am

discussing approaches in western herbal medicine only to provide some

context

 

the best cleanse is one that addresses each organ system in this 2

stage fashion

 

triphala is an excellent choice to cleanse the body, because it acts as

an alterative, cleanses the dhatus and alleviates vitiations of all

three doshas

 

triphala also contains herbs that can act as gentle aperients,

stimulating bowel function, such as haritaki

 

some people find however that the astringent (kashaya) effects of

triphala promotes constipation, which is why some people should take it

with herbs like trivrita (Operculina turpethum) and isabgol (Psyllium

husk) while cleansing, e.g.

 

triphala churna 1 tsp

trivrita 1/2 tsp

isabgol 1 tbsp

with warm water, 2-3 times daily

(make sure you drink at least 6 glasses of water a day, because the

isabgol can be constipating if not properly hydrated)

 

for additional benefit, i might be inclined to include herbs for the

lungs (e.g. vasaka), liver (e.g. katuki), and kidneys (e.g.

agnimantha), along with sudation (sweating) therapies

 

all in all, i find the best cleanse is simply following a healthy diet

for an extended period of time

this allows the body to restore itself, which is the safest and wisest

approach

 

best...

Caldecott

todd

www.toddcaldecott.com