I needed a vacation. Working on Holistic Arkansas is fun, but sometimes a challenge, and downright stultifying, at times. Such is the nature of working for one’s self.

I was also having some recurring health challenges. So after consulting with several natural health practitioners, I found that my condition seemed connected with ridding myself of unwanted and accumulated toxins.

I could not have imagined both how wonderful and how demanding it would be to work on restoring my health at Clearsprings Health Center. I had found the website about this Harrison area facility a while back. The information was intriguing, and after several emails back and forth, I finally got the green light to go through a ten-day detoxification process.

The first night was laid back enough. I drove up late one afternoon to find no one around, and spent a blissful time exploring the site. Among other amenities, there is a small health clinic, two cabins, and a European-style lodge.

However, the centerpiece at Clearsprings is the beautiful, spring-fed Clear Creek that meanders throughout the 110-acre grounds, tumbling over shelves of rock and falling into eddies and pools. The sounds of the water seemed to mirror what went on with me while at the center. Every day, me and my "twin" (so designated by the director, Michael Broeg, D.C.) proceeded to eat a breakfast of either oatmeal with apples and almonds, or eggs and real bacon. That part wasn’t so bad.

Breakfast was followed by isometric exercises, including leg lifts, push-ups and crunches (not so easy on a full stomach). Shortly thereafter I was expected to play ping-pong with the good doctor. This aspect seemed more a way to pass the time while my twin (actually another participant on a health quest) had some exercises that did not apply to me. Once this routine was over, we were both given a plate of plain yogurt to which 100 to 500 milligrams of niacin (the flushing kind) had been added. Once this had been scraped, licked, or otherwise ingested, we moved on to the clinic, where we bounced on miniature trampolines for a while (think Kathy Bates’ character in "Fried Green Tomatoes"), followed by a brisk walk for the same length of time. The first few days, the niacin coursing through my body would almost hurt as it seemed my right hand and my checks were burning as if from scalding water.

Once we had finished the daily walk, the real fun began! A 12-foot by 12-foot cedar-lined sauna had been heating up, and was toasty warm for our first entrance, sometime around 11:00 a.m. Towels and water jugs in hand, we oozed sweat while languishing on cedar hammock chairs, talking and doing almost anything we could think of to try and avoid thinking about the temperature of 120-150 degrees at the highest heat levels.

The program at Clearsprings, although it also including mega doses of vitamins and special fruit-and-oil "shakes", is largely based on the idea that toxins are stored in body fat and can be sweated out of the body in a sauna.

After 30 minutes of roasting, we were turned out for five minutes at a time, and given treats like Cal Mag (calcium/magnesium powder added to hot water), fresh vegetable juices, a soup bowl of vitamins, and the previously mentioned "shake" This concoction is comprised of fruit with flaxseed, grape seed and evening primrose oils blended together.

Soon we were back in the sauna, continuing this routine of 30 minutes in, and five minutes out, until sometime around 2:30-3:00 p.m. By this time, whatever energy I had was drained away, especially at first. Fortunately, the only requirement past the sauna regime was to plunk down into a mineral bath containing Epsom salts and an herbal mixture, followed by bionic hydrotherapy. This foot detoxification was one of the highlights of the day, as we marveled at the colors and even the textures (yuck!) that would sometimes mysteriously emerge from the soles of our feet.

When it comes to recommending purification for specific health problems, Dr. Broeg draws distinctions between his statements and the offering of medical advice. He never promises patients that his purification rundown will cure an illness. However, he does claim to have had a degree of success, insisting that there have only been a few participants who have either withdrawn from the stringent course of therapy, or who did not derive the full benefits.

There is some anecdotal evidence that people have done better after this treatment, so there is cause for hope, but also, in my opinion, some caution. For one thing, this program does not come cheap - at more than $200 per day, it could turn around an entrenched disorder such as fibromyalgia, lupus, or even Lou Gehrig’s disease. For those who have both shorter and longer stays, the regimen is touted to bring about the effect of helping you look a year younger for every day spent at Clearsprings.

I am still waiting to hear this complement, and although I do feel better after my time in north Arkansas, I am not sure that I can go with this assertion.

Yet, if you are willing to pay the price, both physically and out of pocket, the beauty of the lands in Clear Creek Valley make up for some of the other areas that are not always so pleasant.

My final say - detoxify at your own risk!

(*Author’s note - a longer and more complete version of this article will run in a print publication in the very near future. If you are interested in this information, please write - lisa@holisticarkansas.com)