If you're planning to do a natural cleanse this spring to improve your health and wellness, there are several factors to consider prior to cleansing in order to get the best results. Often, jumping into a natural body cleanse can feel exciting at the time, but may not actually be the right choice for your body, goals or lifestyle. Besides, what's the point of doing a natural cleanse if it doesn't lead you to your desired results?

Another issue that can arise when choosing a cleanse is deciding which one- amongst hundreds of options- is right for you. There are juice cleanses, herbal cleanses and cleanses that incorporate intermittent fasting, just to name a few. Choosing a cleanse that doesn't support your current state of health or your goals, or that may not be realistic for your lifestyle can set you up for frustration and disappointment. Since we all have unique needs, what works extremely well for one person may not work for another.

To help determine which method of natural cleansing is right for you this spring, here are five factors to consider before taking the leap to improve your health.

The first thing to consider before choosing a cleanse is what you wish to achieve once you've completed it. Are you hoping to experience natural weight loss? Increase your energy? Improve your digestion and get rid of the bloat? Perhaps you're going for all of the above.

Luckily, most cleanses are designed to achieve all of these results. That's because the majority of natural cleanses aim to support the digestive system, which is comprised of your primary organs of elimination: the liver, kidneys and colon. Your digestive system also happens to be where a lot of toxic waste is stored, that has yet to be eliminated. This waste can contribute to causing weight gain and feelings of exhaustion, bloating and sluggishness.

Knowing how you want to feel and what you wish to achieve by doing a natural body cleanse can help you decide on the length of time you choose to cleanse for, and which cleanse you choose to get there. For example, if your primary goal is to have more energy, you may choose to do a 3 day juice cleanse full of superfoods that cleanse at a deeper, cellular level. If your primary goal is natural weight loss, you may choose to do a cleanse that focuses on dietary improvements, with herbs that detoxify the body and last for 15-30 days.

As you can see, there are many options and variables to consider when choosing a natural cleanse. Knowing exactly how you'd like to feel and what health goals you wish to achieve is a good place to start when deciding which cleanse is right for you.

Before jumping into a natural cleanse, it's important to consider your current state of health. While I applaud those who wish to challenge themselves with a prolonged or intense natural cleanse, doing so can actually cause more harm to the body, and lead you to become discouraged early on.

First off, I'll note that "detox symptoms”,  such as fatigue, nausea, skin breakouts, diarrhea, cravings and irritability, are inevitable when it comes to natural cleansing. These symptoms are to be expected on any cleanse, and are a sign that your body is eliminating toxins and detoxifying properly (which is the whole point of a cleanse!). However, the severity of these symptoms can become rather intense if you have a high toxic load.

A high toxic load refers to the amount of toxins your body is currently trying to filter out. Several factors can increase your toxic load, such as heavy antibiotic use, frequent exposure to chemicals (heavy metals from the air we breathe, the water we drink and the pesticides on the food we eat), a diet high in refined sugar or alcohol and even high stress levels.

No one is entirely exempt from toxins. We're all exposed to toxins on a regular basis, regardless of whether we eat organic, filter our water and use organic household cleaning products. But if your diet has recently consisted of processed foods, alcohol or sugar, or you've taken heavy doses of antibiotics, it's possible that your toxic load is higher- and therefore your detox symptoms may be more severe. Your digestive system may also be suppressed to do various factors, such as illness or a lack of friendly bacteria in your digestive system, which makes it harder for it to do its many jobs.

In this case, it's best to start out with daily "gentle” cleansing. Gentle cleansing can be as simple as beginning your mornings with lemon water and a green smoothie with chlorella, and adding more raw foods and nutritional supplements to your diet throughout the day. Since citrus, chlorella, raw fruits and vegetables have natural detoxification effects (without being too aggressive), your body will still experience the cleansing benefits of these foods, while gently eliminating toxins. Gentle cleansing for at least 3-4 weeks can help prepare your body for a deeper cleanse if you wish to do so.

The importance of meeting your body where it's at in terms of cleansing cannot be stressed enough. Chances are, if you're feeling awful (beyond what's to be expected during a cleanse), not only will you not see it through, but it could actually create more stress for your body.

To further elaborate on choosing a cleanse that supports your current state of health, it's crucial to make sure your body is properly eliminating before doing a cleanse- otherwise you risk reabsorbing harmful toxins back into your bloodstream, rather than eliminating them. Proper elimination suggests that you must be going to the bathroom at least once per day, preferably after every meal (and we're talking good quality poop- think: big brown bananas!). It's interesting to note that according to Ayurvedic Medicine, you're actually considered constipated if you only go once per day instead of after every meal.

I understand that this concept seems like a natural cleanse catch twenty-two: in order to do a cleanse, you must be eliminating each day. But to help improve elimination, it can be useful to do a cleanse. This is why many cleanses will incorporate colon detox products such as enemas or colon hydrotherapy. Some may also contain wellness products such as probiotics or herbs that have a mild laxative effect and further support the liver, kidneys and colon with elimination.If you find your digestion is irregular and you're hoping to improve it by doing a natural body cleanse, you may want to consider doing some gentle cleansing with food a few weeks beforehand. Furthermore, be cautious in proceeding with a cleanse if you've become constipated or irregular while doing so.

If you stop eliminating, the toxins that are getting ready for elimination aren't leaving your body. Not only does this defeat the purpose of doing a cleanse, but toxin reabsorption can create more harm in your system in the long run.