Sweating and stimulating the lymph system are essential for moving waste out of the body. Dry, steam, and infrared saunas are a great way to help the skin and lymph system release toxins.
Dry skin brushing is a simple yet effective way to stimulate the lymph system. Purchase a natural fiber, long-handled brush from your local health food store. Before getting into the shower, brush your skin, starting with the soles of your feet and brushing with gentle strokes upward toward your heart. There is no need to brush your skin hard. Lymph fluid sits right under the surface of the skin, and therefore it is more effective to brush gently. Brush up your legs, up your back, and then over your shoulders down to the heart (center of your chest). Brush up your arms to the heart.
Do not brush your face, as the bristles can scratch facial skin. You may be able to handle soft strokes from the neck down toward your heart. Brush for a total of three to five minutes.
Another excellent way to cleanse the body is with an ionic foot spa, a cylinder-shaped unit that you put into a footbath filled with water. The ionic spa generates negative and positive ions, which accelerate the movement of inflammatory wastes, infections, and toxins out of the body. I use this unit once a week to get rid of the particulates I've breathed in the Los Angeles air as well as other inflammatory wastes that have accumulated.
The most important thing you can do to detoxify your lymph and skin is exercise. Exercise stimulates the lymphatic system and skin to move toxins out of the body more effectively. Brisk walking, swimming, isometric exercises, qigong, yoga, and even marching in place while you watch your favorite television show are all good forms of exercise.
Gallbladder and Liver
Lastly, your liver and gallbladder must effectively excrete chemicals and toxins from the body. When you do a candida cleanse, years of toxins will be stimulated to release from your body.
The bile - the emulsifying fluid stored in the gallbladder that helps break down fats, carry toxins from the liver, and stimulate peristaltic action of the bowel - can become thick and muddy after years of indulging in cheese, trans fats, and sugar. Therefore, for the first month of your candida protocol, I recommend a gallbladder decongestant called Gallbladder abX. Start with one capsule daily with food, slowly increasing the dosage every two to three days until you get to one capsule three times a day.
For the second and third months, you want to go deeper by supporting the liver. Liver abX will help the liver to conjugate chemicals and make them water soluble so they are excreted from your body rather than recirculated. Slowly work this formula up to one capsule three times a day with food, just as you did with the Gallbladder abX.
TAKING AN ANTIFUNGAL
The antifungal supplement you take is crucial. It can be either herbal or pharmaceutical. Herbal antifungals are safer, while many of the pharmaceuticals are harsh on the liver. Be aware that getting your doctor to prescribe a pharmaceutical antifungal can be challenging. If you are turned down, don't waste time trying to get a prescription - herbal antifungals are just as effective and safer for the body, and it's easy for you to get started with them on your own.
Herbal Antifungals
Herbal antifungals are readily available. You can find many of them at your local health food store, on Internet warehouse sites, or at a health practitioner's office. In my practice, I have found the following to be the most effective for my clients:
- Candida abX (Apex Energetics)
- Candida Cleanse (Rainbow Light)
- Pau d'arco (lapacho): liquid tincture, pills, or tea
- Primal Defense Ultra (Garden of Life)
If you cannot find any of these products, look for yeast-eliminating products at your health food store that contain one or a mixture of some of the following ingredients:
- Pan d'arco (lapacho)
- Citrus seed extract
- Oregon grape root
- Oregano oil
- Black walnut
- Garlic
- Ginger
- Berberine sulfate
- Gentian root
- Undecylinic acid
- Marshmallow
- Caprylic acid
- Fennel