The Best Detox Herbs

Infomercials tout it and Gwyneth Paltrow promotes it. Sure, we hear a lot about detoxification, and, admittedly, getting our insides decontaminated sounds like it should be a good idea. Still, should you run right out and detox yourself?

Natural and holistic health systems all align around the central principle that regular cleansing is critical to staying healthy and combatting the aging process. And what is it they're all so concerned about? Waste.

We're very concerned about making sure that the body eliminates all its metabolic leftovers, and that new harmful substances do not enter the body and wreak havoc.

Bottom line, basic health maintenance is more or less simple: give the body what it needs, don't let it have much of what it doesn't need, and the body will pretty much run itself. Too late for that? Well, harmful substances may not always get eliminated swiftly or efficiently, before they leave their mark. Cleaning out these accumulated "toxins" - safely, naturally and effectively - can leave you with renewed vitality and vigor.

Clean living is definitely the first resort, but what if the damage is already done, and the body is chock full of noxious molecules? Time to hop on the detox bandwagon.

British herbalists, especially, reach for the liver detoxifier burdock root, a member of the daisy family, it's loaded with detoxifiers.

Yellow dock root is a classic detoxifier in Western herbalism. In Ayurvedic terms, yellow dock is a major herb for reducing high pitta.

The pesky little dandelion is a significant detoxifying remedy in all three of the world's largest and oldest systems of herbalism - Traditional Chinese Medicine, Ayurveda, and European. No surprise - it is believed to benefit the liver. Oddly enough though, one of its best applications is largely unknown here in North America.

Are you in on the detox craze? What works for you?