Over time, a great way to lose weight and improve your health overall is to do a ?cleanse? once or (preferably) twice a year. This is the idea: over time, especially for those of us who don't always eat healthy foods, toxins from the food, as well as from the modern world, accumulate in your body. As time goes on, they can compromise your health. For example, many people feel that serious diseases such as cancer are the result of a slow build-up of toxins in your body. Furthermore, these toxins keep your body from metabolizing food efficiently, so they can impede your efforts to lose weight.

For many of us, it's unrealistic to avoid the buildup of toxins altogether. They are in many of the foods we eat, and if you drink coffee or alcohol, smoke, or live in a place where there's a lot of air pollution, you will definitely have a build up of toxins in your body despite your efforts to avoid them. Doing a cleanse gives you a chance to reset the clock, so to speak. You can get rid of the accumulation of toxins in your body and start fresh. You may find that your overall health is better, and that you lose weight faster afterwards. Doing a cleanse can also kick start your weight loss.

This isn't a new idea, by the way ? traditionally, most societies have done cleanses in one form or another for as long as humans have existed. When we were hunters and gatherers, there were natural lean periods (usually in the winter or early spring) when food was scarce. During this time, people had to subsist on very little ? usually the new spring greens that were just starting to come up. Later, fasting became a part of most major religions. A fast is a type of cleanse ? typically, you eat a few very specific foods or nothing at all for a period of time. This cleans out your system naturally.

Nowadays, people who want to fast or do a cleanse have several options available to them. For one thing, you have to decide when you will do the cleanse. The natural thing seems to be cleansing in the early springs, to kick start the season and get rid of all the toxins you might have accumulated during a winter indoors. People tend to eat more ?comfort food? in the winter, too, and these foods tend to be heavier. Some people want to add a second yearly cleanse, and the natural time for that seems to be in the fall.

You can do a cleanse with products that you have at home or purchase at the supermarket, or you can purchase a commercial kit that includes an eating plan and various herbal preparations. One popular cleanse involves fasting for about three days, and subsisting on a drink that is made of hot water, lemon juice, cayenne pepper and maple syrup. The combination of these ingredients purifies the blood, and keeps you from feeling hungry while on the cleanse. That is, you may feel hungry, but if you drink unlimited quantities of the drink you will be able to keep your blood sugar on a fairly even keel.

Another option is to try a fruit and fruit juice cleanse, eating nothing but fruit and fruit juice for a period of between three days and a week. The fiber in the fruit helps clean out your system, while also providing some food so that you won't feel too hungry or lightheaded. Of course, you will feel hungry, and rather tired of fruit by the end of it! On the other hand, some people say that after the third day of a cleanse or fast, you stop feeling so hungry even if you've eaten little or nothing.

There are many cleanse kits available at health food stores or natural pharmacies. These generally do allow you to eat, but only certain foods. In addition, you take a variety of herbal and vitamin supplements to help your body get rid of toxins. These kits tend to work very well, and allow you to have a good cleanse without giving up food altogether.