Salt Water Flush: Cleansing the Intestines & Colon

 

I’ve been meaning to post this self-help health routine ever since I did my posts on Himalayan crystal salt, but somehow am just now getting around to it. Oh well, as they say…”Better late than never.” 🙂

 

 

Salt Water Cleanse/Flush:

This “recipe” breaks up and purges waste and debris from the small intestine and colon (hot water goes directly to the small and large intestine), neutralizes toxic bacteria, washes the entire digestive tract, and replenishes electrolytes (the crystal salt contains over 100 organic minerals and trace minerals). Salt water cleansing works to purify the system and draws impurities out of your organs. It can be used to treat the common cold, high blood pressure, fever, and degenerative-related ailments, as well.

If blood pressure is an issue for you, you don’t need to be worried about the effect of the salt, although you should always check with your personal health care professional. I’ve read where uniodized salt (be sure you don’t use an iodized variety), together with the water, ends up having the same specific gravity as the blood, so the kidneys cannot pick up the water and the blood and cells cannot pick up the salt. But you may want to start with a “mini-version” of this routine to make sure it agrees with your body.

•   Mix 1 qt. of medium hot structured water with ½ tsp. UNiodized salt (preferably a crystalline salt—see a previous post Himalayan Crystal Salt: It’s What’s Skakin’); drink the entire amount within 10 to 20 minutes.
•   Repeat the above procedure each hour for the next 3 hrs. for a combined total of 4 qts. of salt water

This mixture will start to dissolve, loosen and purge encrusted debris from the intestinal walls. Several eliminations will likely occur within the next few hours, so be sure you have easy access to a bathroom.

And I don’t want to encourage “cheating,” but this routine also works pretty well even without the last (4^th) round of salt water. Also, if you don’t have all morning to devote to the process and want quick results as far as bowel movements go, and you don’t mind a saltier taste, you can do the version where you drink 1 qt. of warm water with 2 tsp. of salt within a 15 to 20 min. period. If your system is clogged up, this is a good, quick way to solve the problem, although this more concentrated, accelerated version of the cleanse doesn’t seem to have quite the same soothing affect afterwards on the body as the longer routine. Experiment and see what works best for you.

There are several versions of this salt water flush mentioned in my A Healthier You From the Inside Out e-book that involve using anywhere from 1 to 4 qts. of hot water with varying amounts of salt added. The amount of water consumed for the above version is A LOT, to say the least—unless you happen to be an elephant, camel or baby orca (and if that is the case, congratulations for being able to read this :-)). However, it uses a smaller amount of salt than some of the other versions, so you may find it more palatable for your first experience with doing this type of flush. When I drank my first quart I thought I’d never be able to drink more by the next hour, but somehow I did. It may take some time for your body to acclimate to this routine, but your insides are likely to feel so good and clean afterwards, you’ll be glad you did it. Once you see how your body does with this particular version, you could even move on to the 7 Day Salt Water Cleanse that follows, if you feel that would be of further benefit.

7- Day Salt Water Cleanse:

This is a good protocol to use before starting a new healing program, fast, or diet change, or before taking a new vitamin, herb or supplement. It helps rid the body of old build-up and toxins and allows the new regimen you plan on implementing to have an easier time of working. It’s not recommended for people with advanced forms of ulcers, appendicitis, intestinal tuberculosis, or cancer. If you have problems with constipation, you may want to use a herbal laxative like senna or cascara sagrada, or something like Oxy-Powder®  from Raw Food World or Global Healing Center for one or two days before the cleanse. (BTW, if you do go to GHC and are interested in even more ways to cleanse and detox the body, I believe you can get Dr. Group’s The Green Body Cleanse book for $15 off until 12/1/13 using code ‘15GreenBook‘, so it’s only $9.99 right now.)

The 7-day cleanse routine and “recipe” comes from Life Events Shamanistic Studies (http://www.lifeevents.org) and is meant to be used for a full week (thus the 7 days :-)). It’s best done first thing in the morning, between 5am and 7am, when the organs of the body that are involved have open channels. During the week of the cleanse, you should avoid alcohol, spicy and/or fried foods, and anything rich or heavy. The idea is to take your digestive system back to its childhood state, so during the 7 days that you follow this protocol concentrate on eating the types of simple things you did years ago (and we’re not talking Twinkies here :-)).

•      2 qts. water, boiled to tea drinking temperature
•      1 level TBS. natural salt (crystalline is best, but be sure whatever you use is uniodized)
•      Juice from a lemon or lime to offset the taste of the salt water
•      16 oz. serving cup

As with the flush mentioned at the beginning of this post, this is A LOT of water to drink. If you find yourself with a full stomach, even after the first glass, it helps to do some kind of exercise (like the yoga Cobra Position) to move the water from the stomach into the intestines. You may take more than an hour to drink it all, but after a little practice the time required could shorten to 30 to 40 minutes.  And you might even throw up the first glass :-(, but if your body muscle tested as wanting/needing the flush, keep trying because the benefits  will be worth the effort. For some people, the flush eventually becomes almost addictive because of how good they feel afterwards.

You should expect to make trips to the bathroom throughout the morning, since the flush will help clean out your entire system. Plan to take it easy on the first couple of days, especially if you’ve never done any kind of extended cleansing before. A temporary side effect of using this protocol could be headaches and other flu-like discomforts that are common when your body is in detoxification mode. But after the first few days people commonly experience lots of additional energy and increased appetite.

If you want to continue the flush beyond the initial 7 days, you can move to a schedule of drinking the salt water every other day during the second week; in the 3^rd week, drink it every 3^rd day, and so on, until you’re drinking it 1 day a week, or whenever you feel the need for internal cleansing. People over age 25 can drink the salt water once a week as a laxative and to keep the immune system up to par.

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So what benefits can you expect from doing this type of cleanse?

Of course, as with any health regimen, the results and benefits depend on the individual situation, and the effects may not appear immediately. But after 2 to 3 days you should notice fresher breath and odorless sweat, clearer, more radiant skin, improved digestion, weight regulation, better sleep, increased energy, and a feeling of lightness. This protocol may also help relieve chronic headaches, menstrual irregularities, intestinal worms, and diseases of the eye, nose, teeth, heart, abdomen, reproductive organs and rectum.

BUT, as with any health routine, detox program, supplement, etc., I always recommend self-testing (I am working on a blog post about this) or having someone muscle test you to make sure it is what your body wants and/or needs. As I always say, everybody is unique and every body is different, and just because something is the right thing for one person, doesn’t mean it’s what’s right for your body.

Also, with any type of detoxification or cleansing routine where you are going to the bathroom a lot, be sure you are replacing any vitamins or minerals that may get depleted in the process. This goes for friendly intestinal bacteria, as well, so supplement with probiotics, fermented foods, trace minerals, etc. that your body tests as needing. And I highly recommend only using structured water for these (or any) cleanse routines. Since water is the main ingredient for the processes given, it only makes sense to use the form of water that works best with the body.

And fyi, you can get Himalayan crystal salt, vitamin and mineral supplements, and probiotics at discount prices at Vitacost.com, one of my favorite on-line sites. If you are new to Vitacost and shop through the link on my site and spend a certain amount (I believe it’s $25), you will get a $10 coupon to use. And if you plan on shopping there more in the future, be sure to sign up for a free account at eBates.com, if you don’t already have one. That way you can use the eBates portal to shop at Vitacost and earn cash back on future purchases. Plus, eBates also gives a gift card or some other “prize” when you place your first order of $25 or more. Double score! How does it get any better than that?!

 iHerb.com is another great discount place to shop (use code CJG192 if you are a new customer and get $5.00 off). Also, there’s free shipping on orders of $20 or more, no sales tax, plus you can take advantage of their wonderful Trial Offers and Specials sections and earn cash reward points toward future orders.

 

Salud!

p.s. Be sure to subscribe to Self-help Health so you don’t miss any future posts, and tell your friends to do the same. Also check out my website’s To Your Health page and Evolution Made Easier blog for more helpful health tips, tools and information.

Disclaimer: Please note that any information here  is provided as a guideline only, and is not meant to substitute for the advice of your physician, nutritionist, trained healthcare practitioner, and/or inner guidance system. Always consult a professional before undertaking any change to your normal health routine.