More and more our environment put enormous pressure upon us, human beings. We have to do, must not forget, are absolutely not allowed to, should think of, be on time to, etc. etc. Basically we put yourself under a lot of pressure because we don't want to fail or we have to be successful, or others will do so as they have a need to be successful, too. We put ourselves under a lot of stress. Funny thing is that people need pressure to function. People need a certain level of stress to be alert and active. But to much stress will have a devastating influence on the condition of your body. A detox program will reduce the amount of stress: your body is more capable of dealing with it.

Stress causes a natural 'fight-or-flee' reaction within our body; if we are feeling tensed and stressed, the body respond to produce a hormone called adrenaline, which is sent to the legs (flee) and upper body (fight). In the old days this adrenaline was used as humans lived by the rule -eat or been eaten-: we ran or fought. But in the era of getting stressed because of traffic jams and office deadlines, the adrenaline isn't used properly, causing us to stay in a state of being alert and active. Living with a feeling of stress without resting and relaxing will have a terrible effect on your body.

During those periods of stress the body focuses totally on defending itself  (fight-or-flee), thereby slowing down or stop other body systems from functioning. For example, blood pulls back from the digestion system to the muscles to prepare for a physical action, the bowels empty themselves (that's why you always have to go to the toilet when situation are getting tense and exciting), your blood pressure rises, you start to sweat, your heartbeat speeds up, the pupils are getting wider and your mouth is dry. All in all, the body forgets about essential processes of digestion and detoxification, no longer nurturing and maintaining itself. 

Longer periods of stress or having stress more often leads to undigested food, a slow and inefficient detoxification process and a build-up of toxic substances in your body. You will be vulnerable for bacteria and other disease, you will feel lethargic, not fit, you will get headaches and all other symptoms of a poisoned body. Your body will be weak, unable to keep recovering and fighting the stress. Eventually you become in a physical and emotional state which, nowadays, is called a burn out.

When you detox your mind, all tensions and stress is being removed from the body. By relaxing completely all the symptoms caused by stress disappear, resulting in your body start to function back as normal. Your mind gets empty and ready to focus on old matters from a fresh perspective and is able to deal with new challenges ahead.

During a detox diet you can do several exercises daily to give your body and mind the attention it deserves. Other exercises can be done on weekly basis, as a gift to yourself. Think of relaxing baths, massage, facial treatment, foot  reflexology, yoga or hair masks.