body cleanse for a nursing mother

[trus]

Hello!
I'd like to cleanse my body out of all bad stuff and clean my stomach and all other organs, like liver, kidneys, etc. How can I do it if I still nurse?

[Pookietooth]

I have heard zeolite is safe for nursing mothers. And I think Pascalite clay too.

[trus]

I have pink zeolite powder. I am not sure how much to take. Is it for the GI tract cleanse or for all the body?

[trus]

buzzzzing mothers please help

[aspenleaves]

I don't know about the things already mentioned here, but from what I have always heard is that you should never do a cleanse when you are nursing. The reason being that if stir up the toxins in your glands (liver etc) then they WILL end up in the milk. I nursed my babe for almost 4 years and I never did a cleanse because I was affraid to for this reason. I also know a mom who did do a cleanse becasue she was like "I am so doing this cleanse" even though her little one was nursing and her babe self weaned in one week because of the tainted milk.... hmmm. Can you just wait until you wean, even if it is several years?

[EMS]

I think a gentle cleanse is ok. You don't need to take any herbs or supplements for this. How about just gradually phasing out white foods (sugar, white flour, white rice, etc.), industrial meat and animal products, and caffeine, adding more vegetables, especially greens, drinking tons of water? Just these steps alone will really go a long way to cleansing your organs, and can't possibly be harmful to your nursling.

[aspenleaves]

I agree with EMS. That is an excellent way to give your body a boost without cleansing.

[ambereva]

What EMS said.

[trus]

i appreciate it!
I haven't had any whites in years, I eat greens and veggies on a daily basis, but I don't want to leave out animal products because they're so important for babies during their groth period.

[trus]

the reason I want to have a cleanse is that when I go toilet (sorry for details) it smells pretty bad. Besides, my life blood analysis showed parasites, colon plague and heavy metal toxicity plus candida. I made a visit to a doc, and they, too, found heavy metals in my urine.

Second reason for my wish to clean my body is that I've started having lots of colds. I think my body needs to get rid of some deposits.

About toxins in the milk, I agree they are not good for little ones. But they get in the milk anyway, without cleanse or not. Of course, during the cleanse they may find themselves in the milk in a lot larger concentrations, but if you do the cleanse right, it won't be that bad. By doing it right, I mean cleaning you GI tract first so that all the nasties would flash out freely. If the GI tract is stuffed and blocked, then of course the toxins will look for other ways to get out, like though breatmilk.

WHat do you think?

[trus]

buzzing

[tanyalynn]

Originally Posted by trus

the reason I want to have a cleanse is that when I go toilet (sorry for details) it smells pretty bad. Besides, my life blood analysis showed parasites, colon plague and heavy metal toxicity plus candida. I made a visit to a doc, and they, too, found heavy metals in my urine.

If that's what you've got going on, your LO is already at higher risk than the typical kid out there. When we accumulate heavy metals, our kids get them from us (plus the nutrient deficiencies that go along with them). Your LO has less ability to detoxify this stuff than the average kid out there, and you will mobilize more than the average mom.

Second reason for my wish to clean my body is that I've started having lots of colds. I think my body needs to get rid of some deposits.

About toxins in the milk, I agree they are not good for little ones. But they get in the milk anyway, without cleanse or not. Of course, during the cleanse they may find themselves in the milk in a lot larger concentrations, but if you do the cleanse right, it won't be that bad. By doing it right, I mean cleaning you GI tract first so that all the nasties would flash out freely. If the GI tract is stuffed and blocked, then of course the toxins will look for other ways to get out, like though breatmilk.

WHat do you think?

I think what you're contemplating is very risky for your nurseling. The idea of a cleanse is to mobilize toxins, and from personal experience, I'll say that it's very easy to increase mom's circulating toxins without mom feeling bad, and nurseling's toxic load shoots up. BTDT.

I am trying to say this gently, but I think you want to have your cake and eat it too. I don't know enough about your situation to know if you're at this point, but there comes a time when the best decision is to separate the health of mom and nurseling. I got to that point with my son and I weaned him, I think it was the right decision for us.

If you have a helpful doctor/HCP (or you're willing to make educated guesses), I'd start by looking at nutrients, vitamin D is an obvious one if you've been ill too much, but things like zinc and selenium, which are needed to make glutathione and which gets low when metals get high and are both involved with immune function, folate and B12 are important for detoxification too, and extra vitamin C will help give your body a pathway for toxins that are already circulating.

[trus]

THank you so much for these tips! They are great!
So you don't think that gentle herbal cleanse will be good?

[Marnica]

I'm also nursing and want to do a cleanse. I cleansed regularly before having DS. I will NOT being doing a clenase until DS weans. My ND also advises me to wait.

[MyLilPwny]

Here is a thread here where people did liver flushes while nursing an older child: http://www.mothering.com/discussions...d.php?t=689142 and they are saying its safe. At first I just assumed that it wasn't safe, but I think I'm coming to the same conclusion that its most likely safe after researching this lately. I just love the results from liver flushing because I used it a few years ago to cure my acne (did a series of 10 flushes). And if its any comfort at all, I actually did a liver flush when I was about 1 month pregnant on accident and my daughter turned out pretty darn healthy--she'll be 2 next month (the accidental liver flush happened because I never planned on getting pregnant and I never tracked my periods, but was always regular so I didn't suspect I was pregnant until my period was really really late and by then I was almost 2 months pregnant)

[MyLilPwny]

We can add myself to the list of moms who have done a liver flush while nursing. I completed a Dr. Hulda Clark's liver flush today and got out a lot of stones, many really small ones and some a little bigger, probably about 100 total (there were so many small ones) This was my 12th flush. My 11th flush I did when I was one month pregnant in early 2007. Prior to that, I had done a series of 10 flushes, about two to three weeks apart. On my 8th through 11th flushes, I did not get out many stones, but none were really tiny. My 5th and 6th flushes were the ones where I got out gigantic stones, like as big as quarters a few of them.

I feel just fine. I didn't vomit. The flush that I did while I was pregnant caused me to vomit a few times. Otherwise, I don't normally vomit during a flush (only once or twice before that).

I didn't observe any noticeable changes in my 23-month old. We nursed as usual during the night (we co-sleep).

[tanyalynn]

Originally Posted by trus

So you don't think that gentle herbal cleanse will be good?

No.

The thing is, IME, to see immediate negative health/behavior changes in a kid, a _lot_ has to change at once. Kids, IME, can absorb a lot of crap before they show symptoms. Neither of my kids has a diagnosis (though to be fair, I started making changes in our lives when DS was only 14 mos old), but both got enough toxins from me, just from growing in me and nursing, that I think their lifelong health, and in more subtle ways, their development now, are at risk. If you want a peek at how seriously concerned I am about their health, go over to the Chelating Mamas thread in Dental.

Moms who most need detoxification help are the ones who grow kids most at risk to any additions to their toxic load.

[Theloose]

Originally Posted by trus

the reason I want to have a cleanse is that when I go toilet (sorry for details) it smells pretty bad. Besides, my life blood analysis showed parasites, colon plague and heavy metal toxicity plus candida. I made a visit to a doc, and they, too, found heavy metals in my urine.

Second reason for my wish to clean my body is that I've started having lots of colds. I think my body needs to get rid of some deposits.

About toxins in the milk, I agree they are not good for little ones. But they get in the milk anyway, without cleanse or not. Of course, during the cleanse they may find themselves in the milk in a lot larger concentrations, but if you do the cleanse right, it won't be that bad. By doing it right, I mean cleaning you GI tract first so that all the nasties would flash out freely. If the GI tract is stuffed and blocked, then of course the toxins will look for other ways to get out, like though breatmilk.

WHat do you think?

Have you tried digestive enzymes for improving digestion/stool? Vitamin A, B12, folate, zinc, etc for getting sick often? What metals are you looking at? Do you show signs of toxicity from them? Does your nursling?

Think about the different exit routes in your body for the various toxins you're trying to clear (urine, stool, skin, etc). If you're collecting stuff, then likely at least one of those is blocked somehow. Milk counts as an exit route, so if one of the safe routes is blocked, then your milk is already taking an extra hit. Your little one is likely already getting a bunch of the stuff you're talking about clearing. What is *their* detoxification limit? If you dump a sudden load, will they be able to handle it right now?

If you really want to do this, have you thought about taking a temporary break from nursing?

[eireann]

i agree w/ tanya and whome. i wouldnt risk it, and its not really a situation of "if they're getting it anyway..." exposure on average vs exposure during a flush is like the difference between taking a few sips of beer and drinking the keg.

[AbigailGrace]

I am curious about this as well. I asked about what to do while I am pregnant and got the "no go" from everyone, which is okay. I don't know enough about it, which is why I asked in the first place. But I did the Master Cleanse before becoming pregnant and it helped SO much. I know I need to do more than just one cleanse after 40 years of eating poorly, especially because I have yeast issues. But then, the week I planned to do it again, I found out I was pregnant! (I did not plan this pregnancy! )

Honestly, I do better with a "plan" like the Master Cleanse than I do with just saying, "I'm gonna avoid this and this and this" and see if it works. I'm the type person who can go through 10 days of he-- easier than I can say, "for six months, I'm gonna not eat sugar and carbs and see if that lessens my problems... or whatever." Does that make sense? So the only thing I've been doing lately is a saltwater flush.

Can you do a saltwater flush when you are nursing? I would think it would be safe. It's just warm water and sea salt that you drink and it works in about 30 minutes. Can't you do this a couple times a week to flush? Even when nursing? It gives the same effect as taking something like Smooth Move (an herbal laxative) the night before. And it gets rid of toxins in your colon.

Again, I am just asking questions. This is pretty new to me so I am just as curious about keeping myself healthy during my pregnancy and upcoming nursing.