*Editor’s Note: No website is designed to, and can not be construed to, provide actual medical advice, professional diagnosis or treatment to you or anyone. Elephant is not intended as a substitute for medical or professional advice, care and treatment.

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Our bodies talk to us daily—with tension, blemishes, bloating, energy bursts, or fatigue.

Each of these symptoms speaks volumes about our overall health and what’s going on inside. Once we recognize the signs, we can respond with the health-promoting habits our bodies need.

Here are 10 signs it’s time for a cleanse, to give your body and mind a fresh start:

1. Recurring fatigue? Seasonal cleansing helps regulate sleep cycles, providing us with increased stamina, energy, and mental clarity throughout the day.

2. Excess Weight? Studies have shown that toxins prefer to hang around the fat cells of the body. Cleansing aids in the body’s natural ability to flush fat and increase metabolism.

3. Frequent colds and flu? When we commit to eating the most pure and nutritious whole foods and flood ourselves with high-grade essential nutrients, we assist the body’s ability to cleanse impurities and strengthen the immune system. Some studies indicate that a healthy dose of high-grade, absorbable protein (like plant-based protein sources) will strengthen your immune system.

4. Feeling overwhelmed? In herbal medicine, adaptogens are used to help the body “adapt” to imbalances that stress the body externally or internally. Replenishing needed adaptogens through nutrition assists the body’s own self-regulatory systems, thus reducing stress.

5. Digestive upset? Seasonal cleansing and fasting has a calming effect on the smooth muscle of the intestinal tract and promotes the flow of bile from the gallbladder into the small bowel, thus aiding in the digestion of fats and stimulating metabolism.

6. Not feeling as healthy as the foods you eat? Maximizing absorption of nutrients helps to fuel the internal body to support all major organ systems, including the circulatory, musculoskeletal, and neurological systems.

7. Premature signs of aging? Toxins and nutritional deficiency can lead to premature aging internally and externally. Antioxidants found in whole foods (like fresh fruits and veggies) in their natural states, block free radical formation and destroy already formed free radicals. A younger appearance is often the result!

8. Frequent headaches? When your body can effectively absorb and digest essential fats and protein, it converts these nutrients into healthy brain chemicals. Headaches are often connected to liver congestion, so supporting the liver through cleansing, as well as internal and external essential oil support, can be greatly beneficial.

9. Lacking strength and muscle tone? Replenishing with plant-based protein provides the body with easily assimilated essential amino acids and minerals that are the building blocks for the development of lean, dense muscle.

10. Feeling moody? Clearing out what’s making us sick and replenishing our bodies through plant medicines and natural modalities balances hormone and emotional levels. This supports a feeling of homeostasis and equanimity, as well as increases stamina, passion, and energy.

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Author: Rainbeau Mars

Image: lion heart vintage/Flickr

Editor: Catherine Monkman