Category: Detoxifying

Why Water Fasting Sucks

5/4/2017

By Allan

It’s no fun! Gee, why is it no fun to do a water fast? Because the more you need to fast, the worse you will feel. So when you are younger you have a lot of energy and you might not even notice much; maybe you will be a little hungry the first day of the fast. You are all excited to learn about this healing modality so you try it on for a day or three. One thing you don’t want to do is what I have heard from people they have done: dry fasts. Dry fasting is dangerous because you become dehydrated and it concentrates the toxins that you are releasing from your lymph fluid and the rest of your body. So drink plenty of water to flush out your body while you fast. Also it is best if just rest with your eyes closed and get as much sleep as you can.

Do you get colds or the flu? If you do, you could clean out by fasting. Most people think that if they have colds or the flu they caught some bug. Maybe they did, maybe they didn’t; it could be an overload of whatever you did like eating low water content food that clogs your system. You are much less likely to have a ‘bug’ chowing down on your clogged lymph and blood system if you keep your body clean. After all, you most likely take a shower and keep your outside clean - how about the inside?   The best health tip I have ever heard was “Stop doing what caused the problem.”   Listen to your body! An example might be: feeling that little tickle in your throat, feeling low energy after eating what you already knew wasn’t the best idea for you to eat.

What if you don’t have the time to fast anywhere from one day to thirty days? Consider this: do you have time to be in bed for a week or more with a cold or the flu? How about more serious health issues like cancer? By fasting on a fairly regular basis, you can likely reduce or eliminate the number of colds and other problems you have if you also take care to reduce your negative stress as much as possible, be in an optimal environment for you, and have fun moving toward your purpose.

Learn about being vegan or plant-based diet because it is easy. Then start eating more and more raw/live foods, transitioning to as much as you can do. I now eat more than a 99% vegan raw/live food diet and will probably go 100% this year because I feel so much better when I’m 100% raw/live.

Here are some resources to get started on fasting and eating a vegan raw foods diet:

* Intermittent fasting
* Short-term fasting
* Five day fasting to slow aging
* PCRM and plant-based diet
* Plant-based proteins
* 80/10/10 plan
* Raw foods e-zine

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Markus video on weight loss

8/11/2016

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by Willow

Not sure how many of you have heard about Markus Rothkrantz; he and his wife Cara, who sort of seem to sex-up their videos somehow, have a business where they promote raw foods and raw food products.

I thought his video on weight loss might be interesting to some; it really reinforces [a little heavily] the importance of a healthy and fresh food diet, although I don't think eating some steamed veggies every now and then is a bad thing, to keep our bodies functionally optimally. Of course, getting all of our nutrients in fresh raw foods can sometimes be iffy depending where and how they are grown, and how long they had to travel and then sit on shelves. We grow many of our own greens, such as lettuce, kale, parsley and even celery, and we put our own soil amendments in the raised garden beds. But many people can't or don't want to grow their own. I am not so keen on buying supplemental 'green powders' but maybe they can help at times, especially if one is low in some nutrients.

Anyway, maybe you'll learn something from his video and/or pass it on! He mentions the documentary "Fed Up" in his video; I haven't watched that one yet. Hope to soon!

Markus Weight Loss Special Epic Finale

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Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead

7/29/2015

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by Willow

I recently watched "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead 2", a documentary done by Joe Cross about his process of going from an overweight unhealthy guy to being a promoter of a healthy diet by juicing and a focus on a plant-based diet. It's a great documentary and I encourage you to watch it and see what you think!

You can also learn more about Joe Cross and follow his work and information at this website: RebootWithJoe

Enjoy!

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Why the Master Cleanse is Not a Good Choice for Detoxing

7/15/2014

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By Willow Aureala

Back in the 1990s, I was dating a guy who seemed to do a Master Cleanse fairly regularly; okay, maybe he only did it once or twice while we were dating - I’m not really sure – but it seemed that he did a Master Cleanse more often than I thought necessary or appropriate, especially given his already healthy diet and fitness program. When I read the booklet about the Master Cleanse that I found at a store back then, I was very skeptical about this detoxifying regimen. It didn’t make sense to me that lemonade [actually a mixture of water, lemon juice, cayenne, and maple syrup] and salt water [or drinking a laxative tea] would be a safe or effective method of ‘detoxifying’. The authors of the booklet explained their reasoning for these ingredients, I’m sure, but I just didn’t agree with them. Supposedly, these liquid ingredients ‘clean out’ your digestive system, and help your body [and mind] ‘prepare’ for a healthier diet [say a raw food or vegan diet]. According to the Master Cleanse website “If the style of life you want is healthy, energetic, and long-lasting then you must eliminate toxins, de-vitalized foods, processed foods, and otherwise dead foods from your diet.” In the world of cleanses, detoxification programs, raw fooders, and other ‘health’ crazes, the word ‘toxin’ is bandied about a lot. Just about anything is thought by someone to be a ‘toxin’ if they think it is ‘bad’ for your body. I think this ‘toxin’ idea is mostly a bunch of hooey. Do I think some foods are better for your body than others? Sure! Do I think that eating a bunch of junk food can be ‘bad’ or harmful? Sure? And, of course, in excess quantities, just about anything will be harmful and could be considered ‘toxic’. But, I disagree with the idea, for example, that steamed vegetables are ‘dead’ foods and are, therefore, toxic.

The authors of the Master Cleanse also promote it as a weight loss program. Will it help you lose weight? Well, sure! Drink only a ‘lemonade’ preparation for 10 days and you’ll lose some weight as you aren’t taking in many calories. Is the Master Cleanse the best way to lose weight? According to webmd [see website below under references], not only will you likely lose weight due to the few calories, but also lose muscle, bone and water. And, apparently, many people gain the weight they lost pretty rapidly once they finish the Master Cleanse.

Is detoxifying really necessary?

Many religious practices, as well as certain dietary promoters, believe that fasting with water or juice is a beneficial and valuable spiritual practice, as well as a healthy one for the body. Apparently, detoxing the body has been around for quite a while, having been created by ancient Egyptians and later revised by the Greeks (Kessler p. 116). Detoxing is also a pretty big industry, if internet searches and over 1,500 detox books on Amazon are any indication. An internet search for “detox” yields over 15 million hits! So, obviously people are into detoxing, and others are helping them figure out ways to do it. But is the body incapable of ridding itself of ‘toxins’ without resorting to cleanse programs? Well, according to many research studies, the body is well able to cleanse itself; the liver and kidneys, among other organs, do the bulk of the job [again, as long as there isn’t a long-term use or ‘overload’ of some of the overtly noxious substances, such as eating a whole lot of junk foods or being exposed to some chemical agent in large amounts]. Additionally, it is difficult to measure the presence of toxins [as well as define the word], knowing what is a toxic level for any given person is very difficult [not to mention, generally for most humans], and the demonstration of direct links between people and toxins and specific conditions haven’t been established (Kessler p. 116). Of course, ‘alternative’ and holistic practitioners point to the notion that there are lots more toxins, both in food, food packaging, and the environment, than there used to be and that our bodies aren’t able to handle all this stuff as well (Kessler, p. 116).

Dr. John McDougall believes that “your body can handle only so much protein, fat, cholesterol, sulfur-containing amino acids, and dietary acids. When you take in more than your body can use, metabolize, neutralize and/or eliminate, those excess amounts act as poisons. On a typical Western diet, these toxic by-products build up in your system on a daily basis… and their effects are additive and cumulative. Taking in too much protein, methionine, and dietary acid weakens our bones over time. Excess dietary fat and cholesterol clog the arteries and increase the risk of cancer” (p. 40-41). Thus, McDougall believes that “reducing or eliminating the animal foods in your diet immediately relieves the burden on your body from these five dietary poisons, and at the same time greatly reduces your risk of exposure to infectious bacteria, viruses, parasites, and prion diseases (like those that cause mad cow disease).

Unfortunately, there are no good large-scale, double-blind, placebo-controlled studies to help us resolve this situation. And, according to the Mayo Clinic, the reported millions of people with powerful stories about how they feel after a cleanse is really about the placebo effect. So, depending on whom you want to believe, detoxifying may or may not be necessary or helpful. If you do decide to choose a detoxifying program, I encourage you to be careful and choose a program that isn’t ‘outrageous’ in its demands or how long you stay on the program.

For example, “all-liquid regimens, as a rule, are a mistake – and sometimes a big one. In the 1970s, between 2 million and 4 million people were reputed to have tried what was known as the Last Chance Diet. There were reports that 58 people died from heart attacks while following this starvation diet that allowed only liquid protein derived from slaughterhouse by-products [YUCK!]. Cleanses with harsh laxatives are unkind to the colon, stripping it of helpful bacteria and teaching it to be lazy, teaching it to act old [really?]” (Kessler, p. 119). I really wonder about Kessler’s last sentence, but it’s something to consider.

Sweating out the toxins?

Do saunas, steam rooms, or sweat lodges help us detox? I’ve heard many people say that they believe it to be true. Unfortunately, however, sweating experts [yes, there are experts on sweating!] like Dee Anna Glaser, M.D. “say that perspiration contains only trace amounts of toxins (and virtually no heavy metals), and that sweating heavily does nothing to increase those levels. Other scientists warn that excessive sweating can actually impair the body’s natural detox systems. Dehydration can stress the kidneys and keep them from doing their job” (Kessler p. 122). I’m sure many of you heard about the unfortunate folks who died and others who became ill in a Sedona, Arizona sweat lodge, so take care! Although, certainly taking a quiet break in a sauna or sweat lodge can help reduce stress, as long as done in appropriate amounts with appropriate hydration.

A ‘good’ detox program?

So, if someone does decide to undertake a cleanse or detox program for whatever reasons, what might be a good one [in essence, not too risky or likely to result in other types of problems]? Personally, I have done two-week juice fasts, one to two week [and one time, a 30-day] water fast, a summer long melon-only diet [I wasn’t thinking of it as a ‘detox’ or cleanse, but some would], and similar things and so far have experienced [at least, that I’m aware of] no negative consequences. However, since I have been a fairly healthy vegan [and for over a decade, mostly raw fooder], perhaps my body was more ‘prepared’ to handle such plans/programs/diets/cleanses? Hard to say. A cleansing program “could be as simple as replacing the infamous “Dirty Dozen” (the 12 common fruits and vegetables that carry the greatest amounts of pesticide residue [see references below for more info on the Dirty Dozen] with organic produce and avoiding processed, packaged and junk foods. You can add high-fiber foods, drink [appropriate amounts of] water, take saunas, exercise – all good things to do wither or not you labor under a body burden ” (Kessler, p. 117).

McDougall claims that “the best way to cut out these toxic foods is to replace them with whole grains, legumes, and starchy vegetables – foods that provide all of the nutrition you need, along with sufficient calories and substance to give you energy and keep you satisfied. Even if you are already showing signs of sickness from the excesses of meat, dairy, and eggs, there is hope. Starch has an immense ability to allow your body to naturally heal itself” (p. 43).

Personally, I think my diet of mostly raw foods [fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds, and low in fat] is a pretty good way to stay ‘clean’ [if you want to call it that], although I am aware that there are environmental concerns. Eating more organic produce can help with that.

References:

WebMD: http://www.webmd.com/diet/lemonade-master-cleanse-diet

Kessler, Lauren 2013. Counterclockwise: My Year of Hypnosis, Hormones, Dark Chocolate, and Other Adventures in the World of Anti-Aging. Rodale.

Huffington Post article on the “Dirty Dozen”: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/13/dirty-dozen_n_875718.html#s290785title=Apples

Environmental Working Group: 2014 Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce [unfortunately, EWG wants you to pay for the 2014 guide]: http://www.ewg.org/foodnews/

The EWG 2011 guide is free: http://static.ewg.org/reports/2011/foodnews/pdf/2011EWGPesticideGuide.pdf

McDougall, John and McDougall, Mary 2012. The Starch Solution: Eat the Foods You Love, Regain Your Health, and Lose the Weight for Good! Rodale.

One website on the Master Cleanse: http://themastercleanse.org/

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Why Water Fasting Sucks

Markus video on weight loss

Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead

Why the Master Cleanse is Not a Good Choice for Detoxing

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