BODY CLEANSING AND DETOXIFICATION

Cleansing is an important part of maintaining health, slowing the aging process and preventing diseases, by allowing the body to rid itself of a build up of toxins. There are many ways of doing this. Ideally, a person should be free of commitments during a cleanse, as much as is possible, because a relaxed person can detoxify more efficiently. Another note of caution, do not ever make yourself “fit” into a cleanse. The cleanse should “fit” you. Take time to experiment to see what regime will best suit your schedule, but also remember that you will need to make room for it no matter how busy you are.

A cleanse can be a fast, but it doesn’t have to be. You can eat while cleansing, provided that you use cleansing foods. If you want a specific food list for cleansing, check into any cleansing book and they will list the foods specifically. Generally, it is avoiding heavy foods like red meat, wheat, dairy, fried foods, Soya products, dried fruit, etc. You would eat fresh fruits, fresh veggies, whole grains with the exception of wheat, some chicken or fish, etc. (Some veggies contraindicated when cleansing are tomatoes, potatoes, and the squash family. Dried fruit is usually a no-no too.) Any condiments you use would be very simple like flax oil, olive oil, apple cider vinegar, sea salt, etc.

The idea is to eat easily digestible foods so as to “free-up” the eliminative organs such as the liver, kidney, skin, lungs, colon, and lymphatic system, so that they can spend more time detoxifying and less time digesting. (Some of these organs aren’t directly digesting food, but do help in the processing part of digestion). A juicer is also recommended, though a basic cleanse can be done without this.

With these things in mind, let me run through a few ways you can accomplish a health cleanse and detox. (Please ask you naturopathic doctor to select an appropriate cleanse / detox for you).

IF YOU ARE TAKING PRESCRITION MEDICATION, PLEASE TALK TO YOUR MEDICAL DOCTOR / NATUROPATH BEFORE ATTEMPTING ANY CLEANSES!

TYPES OF DETOXIFICATION

•   PLAN A: Fast for half days with fresh vegetable and fruit juices. Then eat lightly in the latter part of the day. For example, brown rice or millet with fish or chicken and a salad. Have a variation of this for supper or have a few glasses of fresh juice from your juicer.

•   PLAN B: Juice with veggie and fruit juices all day (take your juice 1½ to 2 hours apart) with 4 to 6 fibre drinks ½ hour between juices. A mixture of a high quality psyllium mixture and ground flax seed is excellent for cleansing. It aids the removal of toxins from the intestines. A word of caution here — if you have never done a fast before, do not attempt this without doing the ½ day fast first. Also, for fasting, going on to the fast and coming off the fast must be equal to the number of days you are planning to fast. For example, if you plan to fast for three days, you would start eating fruits and veggies with easy to digest protein, like seeds, fish, etc., for three days before fasting. When you come off the fast, you must start with blended fruits and salads, and gradually work your way to easy-to-digest proteins for three more days, at least. Coming off of a cleanse is almost more important than the fast itself. It can “make” or “break” a fast. (Don’t do this on your own if you are on medication of any kind).

•   PLAN C: Use cleansing foods all day without any fasting. Pick from a cleansing food list to make up your menus a head of time. A sample menu would look like this: Breakfast: Ground almonds soaked over night in purified water. Have them with maple syrup. Lunch: Brown rice, chicken, salad with a flax oil or olive oil dressing. Dinner: Chicken breast, brown rice and veggies.

•   PLAN D: Juice fast on the weekends, while eating cleansing foods during the week.

Additional aids to cleansing would be:

1) Use herbs to help clean out the toxins from fatty tissues, the liver, colon, lymph, lungs, kidneys and skin. Herbs are quite necessary to really get the “junk” out of the body.

2) Grow wheat grass and juice it. Add it to your veggie and fruit juices. It is excellent for cleansing.

3) Eat cleansing foods that are in season if at all possible, and eat as much organic as possible.

4) Drink enough water to enhance the detoxification process. Water is the best solvent known to man. It will take toxins out of your body when nothing else can.

5) Use affirmations to help you stick to a cleanse. For example, “Hour by hour my body is purifying itself,” or “Every minute that I am fasting or cleansing, I am flushing dangerous poisons out of my wonderful body.”

•   PLAN E: CLEANSING PROGRAM BASED ON A RAW FOOD DIET PLAN

1) Eat all vegetables and fruits cleaned and RAW. Make sure a variety is eaten – smaller quantities of different foods rather than a lot of one or two foods.

2) Drink liquids one half-hour before and one hour after a meal. Avoid drinking during the meal. This tends to dilute the digestive enzymes, hence affecting the digestion and assimilation of food. Have small sips of liquid before your meal or with your meal.

3) Raw, unroasted and unsalted nuts, beans sprouts, and mild cooking spices (e.g. garlic used sparingly – basil, thyme, etc.) can be eaten. Hot and spicy seasonings (e.g. table salt, curry, black pepper, and hot peppers – should be used sparingly or avoided. Cayenne and red pepper may be used sparingly.

4) Do not mix vegetables with fruit in the same meal because they interfere with each other’s digestion. Wait an hour or two between each. Generally a food combining order with this program and with regular meals is: First: carbohydrates (starches such as breads, potatoes, carrots).?Second: proteins (beans and grains, meats, fish, tofu). Third: fats (dairy products, oils and creamy foods). This order is suggested because it is related to the speed of digestion.

5) Eat melons alone- this includes watermelon, winter melon, cantaloupe.

6) No sugar, candies, sweets, pastries, packaged snacks. Avoid using self – administered medications.

7) Over the day, keep fluids (water, vegetables and fruit juices mixed 50% with water) going through your body (unless you have real problems with fluid retention). You do not need to force fluid down but par attention to yourself and do not ignore your feelings of thirst. A juicer will give you real vegetable and fruit juice, and if used regularly, it will be well worth the cost.

8) If any food gives you indigestion or discomfort, record it and let clinician know. Do not eat those foods that cause problems fro now.

COMING OF THE RAW FOOD DIET

1. MOST IMPORTANTLY DO NOT OVER EAT.

2. DO NOT SPLURGE ON JUNK FOOD – EAT SENSIBILY

3. Gradually eat more of your usual food, but follow the guidelines or your common sense. You may prefer to avoid some of these usual foods or to eat less of them, e.g. red meats. If you have a question, ask your naturopathic doctor.

FOOD SENSITIVITY AND DETOXIFICATION

You may notice that while doing a detoxification plan, a lot of your health concerns may resolve naturally. These could be as a result of avoiding various foods that you might have a sensitivity / intolerance to. Food sensitivities can be related to allergies or other disturbances in your functioning. A simple way to monitor your self for “disagreeing” food is described below.

For the first week or two, after the detox diet, eat one new food per day. If you feel indigestion, get headaches, mood changes, constipation, bloating, eczema, a flushed feeling over your face or you feel uncomfortable after eating a food, avoid it for the time being, as your body does not agree with it.

Here is a list of natural foods that help the body cleanse naturally: Please talk to your naturopath before using any herbs as they can have various adverse effects if not taken correctly.

•   Artichokes – Contains plant compounds known as caffeoylquinic acids, which increase the flow of bile and help to digest fats.

•   Beets – Beets contain betaine, which promotes the regeneration of liver cells and the flow of bile. It also has a beneficial effect on fat metabolism.

•   Broccoli – Broccoli and other members of the brassica family (cabbage, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, kale, kohlrabi) support the liver’s detoxification enzymes.

•   Fresh Fruits and Vegetables – Food sources of vitamin C and glutathione, which are essential for detox.

•   Protein – Protein is required by the liver for detox. Beans, nuts, seeds, quinoa, protein powder. Some people may choose to eat fish in moderation.

•   Onions and Garlic – Rich in sulfur containing compounds. Involved in sulfation, the main detox pathway for environmental chemicals and certain drugs and food additives. Helps with the elimination of harmful heavy metals from the body.

By: Sushma Shah, Naturopathic Doctor, at the Nature’s Intentions Naturopathic Clinic.