WE LOVE EVERY NEW FAD.  IT’S LIKE THE PROVERBIAL “EATING AN ELEPHANT?”

How do you eat an elephant?

“One bite at a time,” as they say.

LATEST NEW TREND, DETOXING, IS LIKE THE PROVERBIAL EATING AN ELEPHANT

Grab the newest fad.   If it’s a new thing it looks exciting.  Not one bite at a time.  Let’s just do it!

We get excited about a new trend and go to it, no piecemeal for us.   If it’s a new fad we jump on the bandwagon NOW!

NEW PROJECT SOUNDS EXCITING, MAKE A TEAM

Empty the schedule, make calendar/Day Timer note, “Elephant eating,” get supply box with big knife, forks, water bottle…  Get a team.

First of the week.  Gather the team, and supplies.  Begin, one bite at a time.

Going great at first:  “It’s great to have a goal.  Finally got up courage to do this.” “Glad you guys are with me, part of something big!”

EXCITEMENT WANES AS WE SEE THE SIZE OF THE PROJECT

But…after 4-5 days, half of the team doesn’t show.  Excuses,  last-minute appointments, car breaks down, lost the big knife, mother-in-law getting married….

Elephant eating is a big job.  “It’s not as though I don’t have a million other things that take my time,”  “How big is an elephant?” “How many days…”

It’s not easy sticking with a project, especially one that will take a long, loong time.

WE ALL LOVE EXCITING NEW TRENDS AND FADS

We love fads as long as they don’t last too long.

In that way a fast/cleanse/detox is like eating an elephant.   The proverbial “40 days and 40 nights,” of lemon, water, and juices.

Master cleanses are like that.  BIG ELEPHANTS.  Fads everywhere.  T.V. advertising, the World Wide Web  Master  Cleanses,  Detox Programs.

We jump on the latest great idea, the magic health cure without taking our stressful schedules into account.   It’s just life, but every minute of every day is packed with activity.   We think it’s no big deal to add a detox.   We have little respect for what our body is required to do.

Problem is, we start and because we’re not educated about what is involved we don’t stick with the program.  Healthy living is about little changes to the daily routine, changes that, over time, support true health.  Habits that remain part of everyday life.

TOXIN BUILDUP SLOWS BODY SYSTEMS

Don’t get me wrong. I’m in favor of regular cleanse/detox.  John and I do a cleanse on a regular basis.

Toxins slow normal actions of our organs.  Cleanse systems (liver, kidneys, colon, skin, and lungs) don’t function 100% when sludge keeps them from working smoothly.   We gain weight, especially around the middle,  when our bodies can’t clean out toxins.  So, yes, do a detox/cleanse.

But pick a detox you can fit into your already busy, stressful life.  Begin slowly if you intend to take this regular habit into your healthy routine.

INCLUDE PROTEIN TO RETAIN LEAN MUSCLE

A few tips for your journey:

• Always include protein when you’re cleansing.  During a detox you’re restricting calories, so your body might interpret that restriction as famine and lower your metabolism.  Without protein along with your detox drink, your body may take calories from lean muscle, not from stored fat.  Snacks can include boiled egg and a small green salad with lemon juice dressing, a handful of raw almonds, or celery sticks. This should go without saying, but avoid all processed foods which are mostly carbohydrate-based, and have no essential nutrients.

• When you’re not eating normal meals, you’re allowing your body to switch from digesting food to cleansing.  Respect and support your internal wisdom. Don’t ask your body to support heavy exercise.  You won’t profit from your detox.

• Cut back on exercise. An extended cleanse/detox can, if you allow your inner wisdom to guide, bring you to a “different” reality.  You might want to let that happen.  Some have noticed a more introspective, a more “spiritual” mood.  Respect that and take time to assess your life.  Instead of vigorous exercise, take a walk outside, in the fresh air noticing the natural world.

• Keep a journal.  If you’re serious about a healthy lifestyle, and if you believe your body has internal wisdom, you want to learn from yourself, and you’ll want a record of that learning, during this experience.

• Do not do any detox or cleanse if you have health problems, such as diabetes, unless you’re under the direct care of a physician.   This is very important.  Check with your doctor first.

John and I have what I think is a great routine.  We take 1/4 cup of Isagenix “Cleanse for Life” drink every night just before bed (2 hours without food between dinner and bedtime).

That way we’re cleansing all night as we sleep!   Regular cleansing routine is easy, and over time we’ve lost a lot of that bulge around the middle.

SHARE YOUR PRODUCTS AND IDEAS WITH US BELOW

Whatever product you use and either love/hate share your thoughts in the “Comments” section below and let’s learn from each other.   It’s much easier to find a routine and stick to it when you’re talking to others and sharing ideas.

Hope to “see” you below soon!

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DETOX HELPS BODY CLEAN OUT TOXINS, CHEMICALS

People call it “detox,”  or “cleanse,” but the basic purpose is the same, to clean toxins.

Usually the detox/cleanse drink is made up of natural herbs that encourage the body to excrete substances it can’t use.  Our bodies have wonderful, built-in systems to remove chemical poisons, dangerous toxins, and impurities it can’t burn as fuel.

TOXINS SLOW BODY FUNCTIONS

In today’s toxic-laden world it’s important to give your body a break from digesting food so it can shift energy to built-in cleansing systems: liver, kidneys, colon, skin, and lungs.

OUR BODIES CRAVE SUN, FRESH FOOD IN SPRING

It’s a century-old practice in many cultures throughout the world.  Detox teas brewed from traditional plants “wake up” cells after the long, sluggish winter.

Even though our culture has abandoned the spring cleanse our bodies still demand that spring ritual.  Drive around town on one of the first warm spring days and what do you see?

Folks out jogging, bicycles everywhere, people walking dogs, throwing frisbees, lying on the lawn in the sun.  Anything, just to be out in the sun in spring.

At the first sign of a warm day I lie on my front porch (break from computer work downstairs in my home office) in the sun loving sensuous heat on bare skin.

Our bodies sluggish from indoor bundling up, crave fresh spring air and hot sun.   Spring rejuvenation, and our bodies follow the sun.

Internal organs need spring stimulation, too, after months of limited fresh food, higher calories, and heavy meals.

In the spring, traditional cultures brought the sun inside with teas and pot liquors of burdock, spring greens, collards, beets, and dandelion greens, aloe vera, lemongrass, peppermint, high in essential minerals.

WE CAN DETOX TODAY IF WE UNDERSTAND

But today!  Where to start?  Can we cleanse in today’s world?  Do we need to? Many want to, but have questions. Does it have to be difficult?  Is it safe?  Is it hard on the body?

These questions encourage a comparison of our lives today with those of traditional cultures in the past who made a regular practice of detoxing.

IS IT SAFE TO DETOX TODAY AS THEY DID YEARS AGO?

How is your life today different from life even 50 years ago when a spring tonic cleanse was commonplace?  Think through your lifestyle today before you hop into a detox.

Here are a few thoughts to get you started:

• We live different lives from traditional cultures of yesterday.  A 10-day fast using juices and water might have been easier for them but more difficult for us today.  Why?  Is there anything more we should know to support our bodies today?

• We live fast-paced, stressful lives without much relaxation. How can that affect our detox?

• Living healthy beyond fifty demands we clean out accumulated impurities.  How is our cleanse different from what we would have done years ago, when really young!

• If we eat anything processed our body will accumulate “sludge.” Frankenfood (food that’s not really food, no nutrition, empty calories that clog bodily systems.)

• We have, oh, so many more toxins in our environment.  Bodily systems work hard every day today and may need more support than was true in the past.

• Most of us know close to nothing about detoxing.

• Many of us don’t get as much sleep as we need.  Why is that important when we’re cleansing?

I’d like to talk through each issue one by one, and I’d like your input.  Whatever product you’re using or thinking of using, feel free to share with all of us your experience.

John and I routinely use “Cleanse for Life,” an Isagenix product, but whatever you use let us all know about it.  Results, bad experiences.  Was your cleanse hard?  How hungry did you get?  Did you continue to exercise while you were cleansing?  How long a detox did you do?

We can talk about all that.  So, until next time, do a little research and share with all of us!

P.S. Next time: Juices, lemon, water for “40 days and 40 nights?”  How’s that going to fit today’s schedule for most of us?

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Fluoride Not Recommended for Children

Recent study in China notes lower IQ in children drinking fluorided water.  The Fluoride controversy still lives!

I’m reluctant to come out directly for or against controversies using “black-and-white” language to state clearly my opinion.  That’s not always a good thing. I write with the assumption people are free to investigate and make up their own minds, so I present what I see, allowing you to make up your mind.

BLOG COMMENTS ASK ME TO BE COURAGEOUS

But a couple of comments last month regarding my article on fluoride in the water system to prevent tooth decay made me wonder whether my standing on the fence is a good approach.  Both commenters wondered why I hesitated to give a definitive answer to the question.  “Is fluoride dangerous to health?”

FLUORIDE, A TOXIN, IS A POISON

So, o.k. I’ll give you my opinion.  Fluoride is a toxin.  Because it is toxic it’s dangerous to health. John and I don’t use fluoridated tooth paste.

U.S. 1 OF ONLY 8 COUNTRIES WITH FLUORIDE

The United States is one of only 8 countries that adds fluoride to its water supply.

“97% of western Europe has chosen fluoride-free water . This includes: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Northern Ireland, Norway, Scotland, Sweden, and Switzerland. (While some European countries add fluoride to salt, the majority do not.) Rather than mandating fluoride treatment for the whole population, western Europe allows individuals the right to choose, or refuse, fluoride.”

Europe believes citizens should pursue what they themselves believe will make them healthy.  That’s not the government’s job.

I took the former quote directly from the Fluoride Action Network’s website.  Read it for yourself at http://www.fluoridealert.org/

LOWER IQ IN CHILDREN WITH FLUORIDE

Fluoride is a neurotoxin which means it affects nerve cells.  A recent study of two separate villages in China correlated fluoride in water with diminished IQ in school children.

That study is also reported on the Fluoride Action Network’s website, http://www.fluoridealert.org/  It was pre-published by Environmental Health Perspectives, December 17, 2010.

“Fluoridated water should not be used or added to infant formula, foods, or drinks intended for babies 12 months of age or younger in order to avoid dental fluorosis.”  That’s also on the website.

We could talk about where this idea came from, that fluoride in water prevents tooth decay, but that’s not the point of this article.  No doubt someone benefits from the addition of fluoride in America’s water supply, but that’s not my concern right now.  I just know I want as little fluoride in my body as possible.

Each of us gets to decide. It is annoying to me, though, that someone, other than those affected, gets to decide what’s healthy and add it to America’s water.  I’m interested in your opinion.  I’m interested in what you think, so, leave a comment.

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The World’s Toxic.  Is Your Body Toxic, Too?

All of us are aware of poisons and toxins in our environment.  We hear about factory waste, car exhaust, polluted water, polluted oceans.  Not just T.V. and Radio.  It’s common knowledge for us who live in the 21st century.  It’s one of those ubiquitous facts of our lives.  Unavoidable.  Even children know.

What Exists in Our Environment Exists in Our Bodies

Many see the environment as separate, “out there.”  They don’t realize that what’s “out there” is also “in here,” inside our bodies, a part of every cell.

No matter how much we exercise, wash, shower, eat organic fruits and vegetables, our bodies absorb pollution because toxins are everywhere. 

In the bathroom, showering, fixing breakfast in the kitchen, driving to the grocery in the car, mopping, vacuuming, dusting the house. Every activity takes place in our toxic 21st century environment.  Poisons that surround us are also within us. 

Possible 116 Chemical Toxins in the Human Body

We’re walking, talking toxin carriers.  Toxins. We’ve got lots of them.  Some estimates put the toxic load in each one of us at over 116 chemical compounds. 

Toxins Are Present in Every Activity 

We wake in the morning wash face, shower, apply makeup and shave, brush teeth, drink water, and brush hair.

Unless you carefully read labels of personal products before you buy you’re exposing your body to toxins proven to increase cancer:

Parabens, PTH, pthalates, chlorine, mercury, aluminum, and fluoride in water, toothpaste, shaving cream, cleansing products, cosmetics, fingernail polish, and hair spray. 

Processed Food, Cleaning Compounds Dangerous to Health

Preparing breakfast you’ll encounter PaH PCBS, and nitrates in bacon and sausage, and antibiotics and hormones in meat and milk.

Cleaning the kitchen you’re using manmade chemicals DECA, BDE, PBDES, Phenols, Chlorine, Ammonia, and Formaldehyde which make up common cleaning solutions.  Many chemicals are impossible for the liver to break down and send to kidneys, skin, lungs, and colon for excretion.  They accumulate in the body in fat and water deposits

Products containing flame retardants, lead, heavy metals, Disphenols, Pthalates, PDBE, and BDE, all of which increase cancer risk, can be found throughout the house in furniture, paint, bedding, pajamas.

Driving the car, you’ll run into Triclocarbans, bisphenols, phthalates, phenol, and more chlorine, ammonia, and formaldehyde.

Fruits, vegetables, meat, soda, desserts add pesticides, herbicides, Dioxins, BHA, BHT, Phosphoric Acid, Bisphenol A (BPA), Preservatives, and Coloring Agents toxins to the load.

                   l

That’s you and your children.

Share with me and others in the comments below what YOU do to avoid toxic compounds.  What products do you buy? I have a few suggestions which I’ll share in a future post.

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All this talk about eggs laced with toxins makes some of us avoid an excellent whole food, eggs.

Eggs from a family farm are healthy food, whole food. What we need to avoid is eggs and chickens from factory farms, CAFOs where crowded, unsanitary conditions can breed dangerous bacteria.

Dr Mercola recommends eggs as healthy food. Buy eggs from someone you know, maybe someone in your neighborhood. His rather lengthy article is below.  The article is a little long, but interesting, especially if you’re playing with the idea of having a few chickens in your back yard…

http://tinyurl.com/3yf88e5

Janice

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I Googled fluoride.

Fluoride in toothpaste is what I’m investigating. Is fluoride a heavy metal toxin? If so, what’s it doing in toothpaste?

There’s a lot of interest in fluoride, let me tell you that for starters.

15,500,000 Entries for Fluoride in Google

15,500,000 entries for fluoride, and that’s not including other key word phrases such as fluoride in Utah, fluoride deception, fluoride toothpaste, fluoride poison, fluoride water…

BBC Journalist says Fluoride in water Linked to Industry

I clicked on “The Fluoride Deception,” a YouTube interview of Christopher Bryson, reporter for the BBC.

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Fluoride linked to nuclear and aluminum industry

From his investigation it’s clear fluoride was/is closely connected with American industry, a by-product of two industries: the nuclear industry and the aluminum industry.

The interview takes up four videos, over an hour.

I also clicked (right hand margin of the Bryson video), on a talk by Dr.Phyllis Mullenix, at Clark College in 1994. Mullenix was head of the Toxicology Department at the Forsyth Dental Center, a world renowned dental research institution affiliated with the Harvard Medical School, when she was asked to perform a study to test a new computer technology.

The Institute picked the well-established health practice of fluoridation to demonstrate the new technology. The subject sparked little initial interest because fluoridation had been declared a safe and effective treatment for dental carries in young children for some time.

There was little need to study it.

Shocking results show fluoride does cross blood/brain barrier

But, the results of the study were not expected. The study showed fluoride effects the central nervous system, and the brain, specifically hippocampal development, the region generally linked with memory.

“Results were completely unexpected by all of us.”

Fluoride definitely crosses the blood/brain barrier.

Mullenix reported study results, the study was cut off, and Mullenix was terminated.

She commented later, fluoridation is a “politically sensitive subject.”

More to come…

I’m not finished.

Janice

P.S. Dr. Phyllis Mullenix isn’t finished yet either.

Read here about further studies into fluoride heavy metal toxicology and what she’s doing now.

http://www.fluoridealert.org/pmullenix.htm

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Fluoride in toothpaste.  That’s what I found on the shelf.  Over 20 brands and all of them contained what I thought was a toxic heavy metal.  Fluoride.  Isn’t it a toxin?  Why do they all  have fluoride?

We ran out of toothpaste. We usually use a wonderful homeopathic toothpaste, good for your gums, that I get on the InterNet from Unicity Network.  We ran out, and I didn’t get it ordered in time.  During my next stop at the grocery for food, toothpaste was on my list.

Over twenty brands to choose from. Not one without fluoride.  Every single toothpaste in the display contained fluoride.  Every single one.

That’s odd.  I don’t know much about fluoride.  Do I want a heavy metal in my toothpaste?  In my mouth?  I’m baffled.  But, all these companies put fluoride in their products….

There were a few brands in the natural foods department, and I picked one out, “Jason.”  Even my old favorite, “Toms” contains fluoride.  The company was recently purchased by Colgate, though, so maybe that explains the change.

What do you do when you aren’t sure?  Is fluoride safe or not?  It was in every product so it must be safe.  Still, I don’t know, but I bought the “Powersmile,” no fluoride from Jason.

I need to know more about fluoride.  Give me a minute while I check the InterNet….

P.S. I’m still checking…  get back with you in a few days.

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TOXINS MAKE YOUR STOMACH FAT

Your body stores toxins in fat cells. If your liver can’t break poisons down, it keeps them away from important organs by hiding them in fat and water, and that’s usually around the stomach. 

We’ve all known people, and perhaps we ourselves, who have lost weight, but who even with weight lost still have fat stomachs. 

That’s roughly where the liver is. When toxins overwhelm that organ, so it can’t do its job, it does the next best thing. It surrounds toxins in fat and water and “sequesters” impurities. Fat doesn’t have much blood circulation so toxins stay out of touch with the rest of the body.

Brilliant mechanism, but a fat stomach is annoying and not healthy. Fat bellies, if they stick around too long, are risk factors for metabolic syndrome, which includes diabetes, heart, and blood pressure problems.

So, it’s not just that we don’t like the look of fat bellies, they really are a sign our health is out of whack.

LIVER, MYSTERIOUS DETOX LAB

At the source of the problem is toxin overload. If I could encourage my body to get rid of poisons–help the liver detoxify–then maybe the fat would release naturally because it wouldn’t be needed any longer.

See, when the body recognizes a substance that can’t be used for fuel, mechanisms kick in to break it down to get rid of it through the skin, lungs, colon, and kidneys. 

To my mind those mechanisms are miraculous and mysterious, and most of the time they’re effective at keeping our bodies free from poisons.

DIETS DO NOT TAKE CARE OF TOXINS 

Restricting calories (diets) does not help the body handle toxins.  Nutritional cleansing is different from dieting and counting calories.

Traditional cultures have used certain natural ingredients for centuries to encourage toxin release. 

Aloe Vera is one of the best known.  And Licorice root, Burdock, and Yellow Dock.  Burdock has been used for centuries to clear the blood stream of impurities.  Yellow dock is a spring tonic to improve general health.  Licorice root is an over-all body tonic, and Aloe Vera is known for its healing properties.  Peppermint, and Fennel, too.

But, I’m not ready to start taking any of these without some advice on how to use them.  How would I go about putting them all together?  All herbs have effects in the body.  I don’t know enough about them to jump right in and start medicating myself.

Our youngest son Daniel is an herbalist.

The “Berry Boy”

He could help me identify cleansing herbs.  He’s loved plants since a little boy.  On family hikes his nickname was the “berry boy.”  He stuck by that early interest and studied in New Mexico, Alaska, and now California.  He understands it can be difficult to use healing herbs in proper combinations to gently encourage the body to release toxins.  Practitioners can help, but it does take patience and knowledge.

YOUR BODY IS EQUIPPED TO DETOXIFY

I’m probably not going to put my own herbal concoction together. 

But I know I need to consciously take steps beyond just eating good food.  My body needs a little more than that.

HELP THE BODY DETOXIFY AND LOOSE YOUR FAT STOMACH

Healing herbs and whole, natural foods used to be viewed as medicine.  That is not the case today in America for a couple of reasons.

• Corporate food production today has become a money-making industry.  More money can be made processing natural foods than selling those foods unprocessed.  Processed foods with low nutritional value and long shelf life, are what most Americans eat today.  The bottom line is profit, not good health.

• Foods grown in soil depleted by chemical fertilizers, devoid of minerals and living organisms, do not contain the full complement of vitamins and minerals that were present in food tested only twenty years ago.

• Personal products, cleansing products, exhaust from vehicles and factories, manmade chemicals in water and air, and pesticides and herbicides on our fruits and vegetables surround us and threaten health daily.

The knowledge of what is healthy food is largely gone from our culture.  The preparation of healthy meals from “scratch” is a lost art in many homes.

Most Americans have no idea what food is healthy and what food is nothing more than empty calories.  Our culture is no longer the repository of that knowledge.  Our bellies are satisfied temporarily by bulky processed grains and our taste buds by high fructose corn syrup.

So, what to do today?  Today you can make a difference in your health.

• Begin carrying around a water bottle with filtered water everywhere you go, Drink from it all day. Water is the great purifier. Your kidneys, lungs, colon, and skin will begin throwing off poisons almost immediately when you furnish your body with plenty of pure water.

• Become aware of processed food. Anything in a package is processed. Become aware of how much food is processed, not “real,” food.

Check the Blog for articles.  Do you know what happens to food animals in America? http://cleanse-for-better-health.com/blog/factory-farm-or-family-farm/

 We’ll talk more about that issue in future issues, for right now get into the kitchen and fill your water bottle… 

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A Colon Cleanse doesn’t go far enough!

Your body needs to rest and cleanse, but is a colon cleanse the answer?

If you’re going through the day tired, headachy, sluggish, no energy, and every time the weather changes it’s another cold or the flu because your immune system is weak.  If sore throats, headaches, indigestion, facial acne, eczema, and break outs are part of your daily life your body may be overwhelmed by toxins.  Its natural cleansing functions are blocked.

Every cell, overloaded with toxins, needs cleansing, not just the colon.

If you decide to cleanse should you do a colon cleanse? There are many on the market.  If toxins are everywhere and your body is overwhelmed by poisons perhaps you need to cleanse your entire body, not just the colon.

From car exhaust, to pesticides and herbicides–toxins–in our food we’re surrounded by industrial pollutants.

Fruits and vegetables are sprayed in pesticides, and herbicides.  Soil is sprayed with pre-emergents before potato planting, fruit trees are sprayed 3-4 times before harvest, row crops of beans are blanketed by spray planes several times a season.

Much of our food is grown in depleted soil, packaged and shipped, robbed of what little nutrition it might have once had.

Every cell in your body needs cleansing

Our bodies have built-in cleansing mechanisms, but they need rest to activate natural cleansing actions. And every cell needs cleansing, not just the colon.

During a colon cleanse, herbs, sometimes quite powerful herbs, increase muscle contraction to eliminate impacted waste. The process can be harsh and require frequent visits to the bathroom.  Regular ellimination (some say daily) bowel movements is a good thing. It’s essential to your good health. Toxic waste that remains in the colon will be reabsorbed and can result in disease.   But after years of living with exhaust, industrial waste, and food additives, every cell in the body needs rejuvenation, not just the colon.

Spring herbs such as dandelion aid in cleansing

Our great grandparents, and perhaps even our grandparents, knew that when seasons changed their diets changed. These changes supported liver detoxification functions to keep the body healthy.

Spring brought dandelion greens, burdock, spinach, radishes, and herbs that support the body’s need to replace cells and the liver’s detoxification.

Summer turned to fall and the diet changed once again. That change supported bodily changes in preparation for winter.

Today when we eat strawberries and peaches in the dead of winter and winter squash in summer. It’s easy to ignore our body’s need for change and rest.  We don’t give the liver the support it needs to filter and disarm toxins.

Colon cleansing is good, but it’s not enough.  Organs (liver, kidneys, skin, and colon) that disarm and excrete poisons must be supported. Colon cleansing is good, but it’s not enough. Every cell in the body needs to be renewed.

 
Nutritional cleansing supports the body’s natural cleansing actions while it builds muscle

Nutritional cleansing supports cell renewal.  In the presence of high-quality protein during a cleanse your body builds lean muscle which supports organ health, gives you more energy, and keeps blood sugar stable.

Whole-body nutritional cleansing cooperates with the body’s innate wisdom, supporting each body system, including the immune system. 

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