There are more than enough means to protect your health as well as a natural detox. Eating plenty of fruits and vegetables, exercising and listening to a doctor are fine examples. But have you considered what may be pro-habiting in your system, eliminating all your determined work?

The best way of getting rid of these unwanted, unnatural toxins from your system is referred to as detoxing. Commonly called "a total body detox," many complementary health consultants strongly recommend the method. Even so they recommend that a body detox should be performed slowly and with care. The traditional doctors however advise that detoxing your body should be done with a serious squeeze of salt.

Before you start the detoxification process, check with your doctor, as particular types of people may have an adverse reaction, and pregnant and nursing women are recommended to refrain from detoxing. Since a detox diet and its elements don't make claims that they can overcome health issues, they are not influenced by the FDA and there is no scientific evidence of the effectiveness.

But doing a detox is abuzz and if you're wanting to immerse yourself in the trend, here's an insight into this alternative system.

How long you follow your detox diet for varies. If done correctly and regularly, a healthy detox can eliminate toxic chemicals, residues and manmade chemicals from your system. You could have heard about the book called "The Fast Track One-Day Detox Diet" by Ann Louise Gittleman. In her book, Gittleman walks readers through an 11 day body detox, during which they feed on certain foods for one week proceeded by a one-day fast, followed by the re-introduction of particular foods.

During the fast, detoxers can drink Gittleman's ambrosian, spiced wonder juice fashioned to ward off hunger pangs, promote metabolism, control blood sugar and eliminate toxins out of your body. The drink contains cranberry, lemon and orange juice, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger.

We weren't subjected to these matters 100 years ago. Before the industrial revolution there were far fewer man made chemicals. Everyone is exposed to toxins in skin products like soap and makeup or even your drinking and shower water. The strength of a healthy detox to get rid off these toxins can be hard to trace.

The toxins get stored in our system and they can cause weight gain, increase aging and cause sluggishness, chest problems and skin allergies. The main components in virtually all detox supplements are milk thistle and dandelion root, which help clean and revitalize the liver.

Each time you go on a detox diet your liver gets a spring clean. This action also gives all your other organs a boost. They have a reduced workload to process all the junk that are getting in your system.

Most practitioners advocate a raw veggies and fruit detox diet for about seven days, supported with vitamin and mineral supplements and detox drinks. By giving your body basic foods that are easy to digest, your body can concentrate on eliminating the excess toxins. It can take several hours to digest a a junk food meal, but most raw fruits and vegetables lakes less than 30 minutes to digest.

The raw fruits and vegetable detox diet program is a 7 day detox diet that focuses on "liver supporting" and "colon-loving" foods. There are numerous books and detox products available on the subject that will include instructions, diet guidelines and pills.

Natural detoxification is a good thing but you should be ready and committed to seeing it through. Toxins in your body accumulate over time, meaning the regular detoxing is very important.

The sooner you do a detox, the healthier you're going to be long term. The side effects of doing a detox might include withdrawal headaches (if you're used to caffeine drinks of any sort), skin rashes and exhaustion. You're releasing the toxins that have been stacked away and they're entering your system. You never fully appreciate how your body is going to react.