Page 21 - Spring2015

Cleansing Myths and Dangers

by John Kozinski

he idea of cleansing the body and soul is a very old
one. In both Eastern and Western traditions, cleans-
Ting the body to atone for or rid the body of one’s sins

was an ancient notion tied to the Western Judeo-Christian-

Islamic and Eastern Buddhist-Hindu religious traditions.
Methods to cleanse the body utilizing herbs and other
means were practiced throughout the world. The elaborate

routines of Panchakarma from India are one such example

of an ancient cleansing therapy.

The idea of cleansing the body to eliminate our physical dirtiness is more
alive and well today than it’s ever been. While the history of detoxing the
body from its ills through physical cleansing is an old notion, the modern
roots of cleansing can be traced to the early natural hygienists. Dr. John
Kellogg, of Kellogg’s corn flakes fame, was an early American pioneer of
bodily purification.

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