The February Detox

Bev Dunne

Last week I wrote about the many benefits of detoxing.  In addition to a gentle detox, I believe it may also be beneficial to include food grade Diatomaceous Earth in our health regime, to help cleanse and eliminate toxic metals and intestinal organisms such as parasites from our digestive tract. 

Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth has become popular over recent times for improving gut health by:

  • Reducing bloating and gas
  • Cleansing the digestive tract plus intestinal walls
  • Detoxifying and eradicating bugs and parasites
Diatomaceous Earth is a powdery white substance found naturally in our earth’s soil. In fact, it is essentially a type of algae mineral which is extremely high in silica.  Diatomaceous Earth is created from the fossilised remains of small, marine organisms known as diatoms. These diatoms have a distinctive chemical structure which makes them wonderful for cleansing the body. With their microscopic sharp edges surrounding the edge of each particle they are believed to gently exfoliate the gut, cleansing bacteria, parasites and harmful microorganisms from the body.

When it comes to parasites, I guess most will think of intestinal worms.   However, as we travel more, we sometimes return with other, more concerning parasites in our digestive tract. Unfortunately, parasites can sit in the various creases of our bowel causing irritation and of course ongoing problems such as diarrhea, bloating and pain. It is thought Diatomaceous Earth is particularly effective because of it’s structure, with these microscopic sharp edges gently cutting through the bodies of these parasites and then being eliminated from our body.

It’s interesting to note in regard to eliminating viruses in the digestive tract, Diatomaceous Earth is also said to contain a strong negative charge which has an attraction to viruses and yeast (candida) thereby enabling cleansing from the body. Diatomaceous Earth when used to purify water, has in fact been found to absorb viruses. (1) 

Diatomaceous Earth particles are made up of a special honeycomb structure which can attract damaging heavy metals.  This structure is comparable to the structure found in charcoal particles.  Because Diatomaceous Earth has a negative charge and heavy metals have a positive charge, this negative/positive magnetism causes heavy metal particles to be trapped in this honeycomb structure.  These heavy metals are then passed out through the body, without being absorbed into the body.

I guess we could compare Diatomaceous Earth to a gentle scrubbing brush, passing through our gastrointestinal tract, getting into all those little nooks and crannies cleaning out parasites and other nasties, as well as heavy metals.

It is best to begin with a lower dose starting with 1 teaspoon in the morning for a week, then increase to 2 teaspoons the second week and thereafter 1 to 2 tablespoons a day, taken in the morning.  I mix the powder in my muesli in the morning.  It can also be mixed in juice or a smoothie.

It is suggested one should err on the side of caution when using Diatomaceous Earth for Inflammatory Bowel Disease such a Ulcerative Colitis and Crohn’s Disease.  Diatomaceous Earth may also absorb some drugs so should be used with caution if taking medication regularly.

For more information call into see the team at Go Vita your health shop in North St in Batemans Bay or phone on 0244729737.  Don’t forget to tune into Bev and Marianne on 2EC every Wednesday at 12.30pm on Go Get Healthy.

(1)Virioplankton: Viruses in Aquatic Ecosystems  K. Eric Wommack, Rita R Colwell  Journal of Applied Environmental Microbiology.