My car has close to 140,000 hard-earned miles on it and while I have no desire to compare myself to my older-model, off-road, 4-wheel drive, stick-shift Nissan Pathfinder, there’s something to think about here.

First off, about my car — it’s an SUV. A truck pretending to be a car. I need something substantial to haul around my skis, boots, snowshoes, camping gear, yoga mat, and Fairbanks, my 125 pound puppy. Okay, so it’s an evil SUV. But I want a vehicle that will take me off road, through deep snow, and safely around the high country. This is the one for me. I love it and even though it’s almost 10 years old I want to keep it running smoothly for another 100,000 miles or so.

Can I do that?

I hope so, but for that to happen I need to take care of it now to avoid problems and expensive repairs later. Most people change their car’s engine oil regularly and periodically change the transmission fluid and the differential oils. And what about the brakes, steering, suspension, tires, timing belts, and CV joints? My service guy takes care of that stuff and always mentions how important is to keep the fluids clean and topped off. In this case, I do what I’m told (not one of my strong points). My nice little SUV is taking good care of me because I take good care of it.

How many of you take good care of your car? Or at least run it over to Jiffy Lube every 3,000 miles to flush things out and change the oil?

By now you probably know where I’m going with this, don’t you?

Yikes! Most people take better care of their cars than they do themselves.

We need to pay attention to our own internal fluids, joints, batteries and spark plugs.

I’m starting my spring cleanse today, which is my version of a tune-up to flush things out and start fresh with the seasonal change.

Here’s a basic guide to what my idea of a cleanse is. There are lots of different versions and I’ve tried many over the years, but a simple healthy-eating detox is what works best for me. I’m not into deprivation. I’m into re-evaluating my food choices, lightening my toxic load, losing a couple of pounds, and tuning up my engine. I like to transition into spring and summer with renewed energy and a reminder that I need to take my health seriously. Springtime is the equivalent of that little sticker the service guy (or girl) puts on the inside left corner of your car’s windshield reminding you to come back for an oil change and service check in another 3,000 miles.

If you’re interesting in a cleansing program for yourself, I suggest you contact a qualified health-care professional to guide you through the process. There can be some unpleasant pitfalls if you don’t do this in a healthy and balanced way.

Spring cleanse/detox
Spring is the season of awakening, time to crawl out from under the weight of winter. It’s a perfect time to move away from heavy foods to lighter fare. My form of detoxing is to avoid poor food (and lifestyle) choices and improve the quality of what I eat. Get rid of bad habits before they become permanent lifestyle behaviors. It’s an ongoing process.

My online dictionary describes detoxification as, the metabolic process of removing toxic substances or neutralizing toxic properties from the body (normally a function of the liver); an application that is intended to relieve illness or injury. That’s perfect, and just what I need right now. That and to fit into my favorite jeans without a 5 minute struggle followed by 20 deep knee bends.

Liver love
This overworked and under-appreciated organ deserves to have a whole post written in its honor. Don’t panic, I’ll spare you and stick to the abridged version. But trust me, you need to take good care of your liver as you wouldn’t last a day without its valiant efforts. It’s your hazardous materials crew, your recycling team, your overall best friend. It performs hundreds of specific functions including filtering the blood and ridding the body of harmful toxins, bacteria, viruses, pesticides, too much alcohol, pollution, pharmaceuticals, contaminated food, heavy metals and other icky and disgusting things that somehow end up inside of us. Giving it a break to rest, regroup and regenerate is a very good idea.

That’s it for now, but I’ll periodically post about my cleansing experience with tips and recipes from my 3,000 mile tune-up.

And, keeping with the car analogy — remember, your body is a temple, not an old clunker. Take good care of it.

Wear your seatbelt!
Melissa