March 20, 2008

Why bother with the Master Cleanse?

There’s a lot of buzz surrounding the Master Cleanse. Lately it seems like every Hollywood actress or actor who needs to get in shape is turning to this decades old health system that involves drinking a mixture of lemon juice, maple syrup, and cayenne pepper.

With all the diets out there to choose from why would anyone bother with the Master Cleanse?

There’s two main reasons people like the Master Cleanse. The first (and most obvious) is that it works. The results people are getting with the Master Cleanse border on miraculous, and they are backed by thousands of devoted users who are living testimonials to the effectiveness of the Master Cleanse.

The second reason people choose the Master Cleanse over other diets and wellness programs is that it’s fast. The typical person only spends 10 days on the Master Cleanse, compared to other diets that can last months or even years you can see why they choose the Master Cleanse.

Another interesting thing about the Master Cleanse lasting just 10 days is that you only need a short term burst of will power to get through it. Having to sacrifice for months is what makes other diets so hard to stay on, but most people can will their way through 10 days.

What can you expect from 10 days on the Master Cleanse?

Even though most people are going on the Master Cleanse to lose weight quickly, there’s many other health benefits to be gained by doing the Master Cleanse. Flushing out your system is what the Master Cleanse is really designed to do. Even back 60 years ago when the Master Cleanse was first invented people had health problems as a result of waste building up inside of them. Today with processed foods, pollution, and all around poor diets our bodies desperately need to be flushed out every once in a while.

When you flush out your body with the Master Cleanse the waste you eliminate will be abnormal. The smell, color, and texture of the waste that comes out of your body shocks some people, so you should be prepared.

If you want to try the Master Cleanse there’s more you need to know then just drinking the lemonade mixture for 10 days. In fact most people who try the Master Cleanse without knowing all the steps fail. If you think the Master Cleanse is something you would like to try there’s a good book at the Master Cleanse website that you should read before starting the Master Cleanse because it covers the common problems people face, and how to avoid them.

Popularity: 5% [?]

March 18, 2008

How to break a fast and what to do after a detox

This is part eight of the detox series.

 

Photo from digiyesica   

Breaking a long fast is an important and extremely rewarding process. The process can be likened to a small child beginning to learn how to eat solid foods. You would be best starting off with simple-to-eat foods such as soups, porridge and fresh fruits and vegetables in small portions.

It is not surprising to find that your stomach has shrunk and so you will need to start small and slowly and increase your intake and size slowly over the coming days and weeks. You may not get back to your ways of extensive eating and for some that is a good thing. You are now rebuilding better health once you’ve completed a detox program so take things slowly.

In simple, here are three tips for post-detox individuals.

• Set a plan. Divide your foods over two weeks. Start off a few days with soup. You may not even be able to drink a bowl of soup so eat slowly and don’t force yourself. Eat only as much as you content as you begin to open and grow your stomach again.

• Eat water-rich foods. If there’s anything you should eat, water-rich content from fruits and vegetables that will give you the nutrients and protein to grow.

• Build slowly. As you continue each day, try to eat a small portion more than you did the previous meal time so you build your stomach and appetite and eating habits.

It is an exciting time to re-build your health in the shape you want it to take. For many, they will go on a healthy part that will allow them to treat themselves to junk food that they used to like prior to the detox.

Popularity: 7% [?]

March 16, 2008

My experiences with a three day juice fast

This is part seven of the detox series.

 

Photo from leslieduss

I did my latest 3-day juice fast at the beginning of this year from January 1st to January 3rd. I opted to do a 3-day fast that only comprised of apple juice and apples for the first day and then a bowl of fresh salad made to my desire in the evening of the 2nd and 3rd days. As always, I kept my notes in a journal and here is how the days went:

On January 1st, I had about 7-8 glasses of apple juice throughout the day. Each time I had two glasses and about four times during the day, each a few hours apart. I spent the day resting and doing some writing but nothing to stressful or strenuous. Towards the evening, I began to feel hungry but avoided eating. I found it difficult to sleep as I was having cravings for food that I wanted to eat but eventually got a good night’s sleep.

On January 2nd, I woke up not feeling hungry or full of cravings like I felt the night before. I also enjoyed a good day’s work writing and spent some time reading. I drank about four glasses of apple juice before 5pm before preparing a green salad with lettuce, cucumber, baby spinach and grapes. I ate an apple for desert and enjoyed a better night sleep. In terms of how my body was feeling I felt more tired on the first night than I did on the second night and I definitely feel lighter in my body than before.

On the third day of the year and my fast, I continued as I did on the second day and enjoyed a more healthier day in terms of how I felt. I had pains in the morning and I put that down to just the toxins being excreted in whatever way they needed to.

I could have continued this detox for a few more days but decided not to do so. I resumed healthy eating on the fourth day.

More than anything, my digestive system has had a chance to rest apart from the water-rich salad which doesn’t require too hard digestion and so has also had a chance to “clean up” itself by removing toxins and taking in the nutrients from apple juices.

It has also been an incredible way to plan out meals for the coming week in a way that will allow me to choose the right foods and also save money when shopping. Although I have a meal plan in advance, I also allow for spontaneity if any that may pop up in the week. What it also does is save time thinking and pondering about what to make before becoming lazy and settling for second best. Instead, I can then spend a good amount of time enjoying preparation and consumption of the healthy meal.

The final part of the detox series on how to break fast and what to do after a detox is coming up next.

Popularity: 10% [?]

March 14, 2008

How to do a three day juice fast

This is part six of the detox series.

Photo from bluhousworker  

A juice fast is a great way to detoxify your body. The juice of fruits and vegetables is filled with healing, cleansing properties that allow the body to gently and safely detoxify. Juice fasting has become an effective steppingstone to water fasting which is more difficult and only for very healthy people. Juice fasting has a greater ability to encourage healing compared to fasting on water. Juice fasting cleanses the body while supplying a dramatic increase in vitamins, minerals and enzymes.

There is a two-fold benefit to juice fasting: increased nutrients from the fruits and removal of toxins by providing live enzymes to clean up the body.

A popular juice fast usually last three days, although you can choose to fast from one day to seven days. Anything more than that, it is advisable to contact your doctor as every body’s health is different.

Another important factor is how much juice you should drink each day. In simple, the amount you drink should be based on how intense your cleansing is. Drinking small amounts supplies small calories and drinking a large amount supplies much more calories. The more intense the detoxification, the greater the discomfort.

Juices should be fresh and can include apples, carrots, barley grass, wheat grass and other such items. Also, one can complement with herbal tea and lemon and honey drinks.

A 3-day fast specifically could include an apple juice based diet on one day and a carrot and ginger juice on the second or third day. Another option could be one type of juice throughout the three days with a big bowl of salad at 6pm daily.

The beauty of juice fasting and detoxification is that you can make it how you want so long as you follow the basic foundations of a detox. You can choose the juice and the frequency at which you take it as well as whether you complement it with something else or not.

It is important to note that diabetics are usually told to avoid juice fasting because of blood sugar problems. Severely underweight individuals should also avoid such juice detoxes. All people with health challenges should check with their physician before detoxing.

In the next part, I’ll detail one of my experiences with a three day juice fast.

Popularity: 14% [?]

March 12, 2008

The popular liver cleanse

This is part five of the detox series.

Photo from one thousand new ways  

The liver is the largest gland in the human body and is responsible for producing bile, metabolizing and performing other functions that keep us in good health. Other functions of the liver include glycogen storage, red blood cells decomposition and some protein synthesis.

The liver cleanse is all about cleaning up the site of major body detoxification so that it can perform its functions as best as possible. Eating healthy foods, drinking lots of water and eating water-rich foods is the best way for keeping your liver healthy. Unfortunately most people don’t do this and so a liver cleanse is a great way to remove as many toxins as possible from the body.

Although there are many programs, supplements and items to help you in your cleanse, you can also do it naturally and author Arvind Devalia writes about how he followed a plan from a book called “Sunfood Diet Success System” by David Wolfe.

I’ve taken his points and reproduced the five steps here:

• Freshly squeezed apple juice 3 or 4 times a day, using slightly sour green apples.

• Cassia bark sticks – to be sucked on in the evening of day 3 and 4. There is often confusion between cinnamon and cassia with even their packaging getting their names switched. Cinnamon is normally sold in powered form or in cigar like stems. Cassia bark is just that - it looks like the bark of a tree which is just what it is.

• On the 4th afternoon, at least 2 hours since the previous apple juice drink, drink 250ml of olive oil (organic, cold-pressed and stone pressed) followed by 250ml freshly squeezed juice made from fresh organic lemons. This sounds like quite a concoction but is key to the detoxing process. Sip slowly if it helps.

• After taking the olive oil and lemon juice, rest for the remainder of the day. Lie down on your right side with a hot water bottle against your belly just under the rib cage where the liver is.

• On the 5th day, resume “normal” eating but very gently and lightly. Continue to rest as much possible.

You can read Arvind’s learnings here.

This isn’t the only way to do a liver cleanse but it’s also how I do mine.

If you are interested in doing a liver cleanse, the best way is to select a method that works for you. Read a few books and find out the best one to suit you. If you have done a liver cleanse before, I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comment box below.

 

Popularity: 9% [?]

March 10, 2008

Five types of natural detoxes you can do

This is part four of the detox series.

Photo from funfolks 

There are many types of natural detoxes that one could undertake and here are five popular natural detoxes one could find out about:

• Colon cleanse - to clean out old food and chemicals that are in our system. This helps get rid of parasite that produce some of the toxins in our body.

• Juice fasting - nourishes the body with the vitamins and nutrients from fresh fruit. Live enzymes can jump start the systems in our body and get them to vitality again.

• Apple cleanse - for liver cleansing to remove toxins so the liver can function without being clogged.

• Water fasting - a stringent and effective way to detoxify your body because it forces metabolism of body fat and releases stored toxins into the blood stream for elimination. Can produce overwhelming toxic and sick bodies so water fasting should be for those who are very healthy.

• Lemon juice and honey fasting - for someone getting onto the path of detoxification as not as hard as water fasting.

In part five of this series, I will write about the popular liver cleanse in more detail. 

Popularity: 10% [?]

March 8, 2008

How to prepare for a detox

This is part three of the detox series.

Photo from djloche

Although a great process for your health and wellness, a detox process can be extremely inspiring to yourself and the people around you, and makes you feel good about yourself. To enhance the experience for yourself and to get the best out of it, it’s important that you prepare yourself a few days prior to the detox. Here are five tips:

1. Observe your body

To me, a detox is all about observation and being able to observe how your body reacts to the progress you make as you work your way through your detox plan. 

There’s no specific guidelines as to how your body should react to your detox so endless reading of articles and journals can sometimes be frustrating when you can’t find when you’re looking for because its not there in the first place.  

The only guide is your body’s reaction and whenever you go on a detox, regardless of whether you’re doing it for the first time or the hundredth time, you’re body is different to mine so we may (or may not) have similar reactions.

If your detox involves making a dramatic change in your nutrition, this can sometimes trigger reactions within you. The simple advice here is to observe your body and the best time to start is before your detox begins so you can actually notice what happens.

2. Don’t binge before your detox

The common thinking with first-time detoxes is that “If I’m going on a detox next week, I must eat as much as possible these few days so I’m full next week!”

Unfortunately, the body doesn’t work that way and even if you binge and become full today, you’ll still be hungry next week. The point of a detox is to clean your body as it would normally be and so eating could be considered as doubling the work of your detox. As you get closer to your detox, take the time to be careful on what you eat.

3. Hydrate yourself continuously

It’s obvious that when you go on a detox you’re going to be limiting what you eat and for different types of detoxes the amount you eat can be lots to nothing so it’s likely you will feel dehydrated. Don’t wait till your thirsty to drink a glass of water.

Aim to drink a glass or two of water every hour your awake. If that’s not enough, drink more. The fact is, I don’t believe there’s a maximum amount of water you should drink. Simply drink to be hydrated and not the opposite. In fact, never let yourself get to a state of dehydration. Drinking water also makes you feel more fuller so it can help to put away your hunger or cravings. 

4. Simplify your foods before your detox

Your detox is going to be a really limited amount of foods than you’re normally accustomed to. For that reason, the best way to get ready for your detox is to simplify your food intake and the amount you eat a few days before your detox officially starts. Limit the number of ingredients you use in a meal. Limit the amount you make. Limit the amount you eat. Get ready to detox.

5. Avoid eating late at night

As humans we should have never learnt to eat late at night. It simply doesn’t aid digestion and body comfort as you go to sleep and during the night, but unfortunately we lose control of our body and let our cravings get the better of us.

The majority of time, people mistake hunger for fatigue and instead of getting some rest by going to sleep, they take out the snacks and start nibbling only to find that it goes on for way longer than they wanted it to. Then they go to sleep and are really uncomfortable.

As you prepare for your detox, avoid eating late at night. Instead, drink lots of water and get some rest. You’ll wake up feeling more refreshed, more hydrated.

6. Journal your journey

Journalling is one of the best techniques when it comes to cleansing - both your mind and your body. Get yourself a diary or notebook and daily keep track of your detox. Note down what you eat or drink and what time, how you’re waking up feeling and how you feel throughout the day. Also write down how your body is reacting and what emotions its triggering within you. It’s a great way to release emotions and feelings from your body that the detox can stir up.

 

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March 6, 2008

How will you feel after a detox?

This is part two of the detox series.

Photo from leslieduss    

One of the biggest confusions in the natural health movement is the lack of understanding of the benefits of a nutrition or detox program and so I’d like to clear some of that confusion up by explaining here what you may feel after a body detox.

Remember, every body is different and so reacts differently to a detox but some of the things you will feel are similar and here I will explain them.

A detox is simply a cleansing program that cleans up a particular aspect of your body. A liver detox for example cleans up the toxins in the liver so that the liver can function properly and do a better job.

During the detox it is likely that you will feel tired and may exhibit other symptoms such as heightened body odor, headaches, increased urine coloration amongst other things and this will usually happen in the initial few days simply because your body is cleansing.

Remarkable things happen in your body (as well as your mind) once this initial period is over. The amazing intelligence present in every cell of the body and the wisdom of the body in its operation immediately becomes manifest.

After a detox, you will feel cleaner both physically and mentally. You may also feel more alert and energetic and you will feel better after digestion of food because the process has been better than when you’re insides were clogged. 

It’s important that you kick-start life after the detox with healthy and conscious eating. Choose your food wisely and try to adapt new simple habits to keep you healthy. For example, commit to drinking more water, eat a big salad with every meal, eat fruit at least 30 to 60 minutes before a meal and avoid fizzy drinks, snacking and junk food.

The real excitement and test of your body begins after your detox and after the cleanse is complete. But a simple detox doesn’t completely cleanse the body, it’s how you eat after that defines your body’s new path. 

Put simply, when the quality of the food coming into the body is of higher quality than the tissues which the body is made of, the body begins to discard the lower grade materials and tissues to make room for the superior materials which it uses to make new and healthier tissue.

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March 4, 2008

The basics of a detox

This is part one of the detox series

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Photo from bethanyking   

Detoxification is the process of taking yourself on a program designed to purge the body of intoxicating or addictive substances and used as a first step in overcoming physiology or psychological addiction.

The human body is magical in its abilities to detoxify itself. When you stop taking a particular type of substance whether it’s smoking, alcohol or just junk or processed foods, your body will naturally get rid of it so long as the damage is not lethal.

There’s no doubt that detoxification can cause some side effects in the preliminary stages for some people. These may include things like becoming really sleepy or groggy, needing to excrete more than often, starting to get a fever or rash, etc. 

More often than not, these develop because the body is working to get rid of all the toxic in the body and need a way to get rid of them. The side effects usually last a very short period of time and once over, as long as you observe what you take in your body thereafter, will be likely to not happen again. 

We live in a society that is susceptible daily to hundreds of man made chemicals and processed foods and for this reason it is very easy for our body to get intoxicated with such substances which if not cleaned up within ourselves can produce symptoms within us that lead to illness. 

The bottom line is that a natural detox is great for boosting one’s well-being and you will be surprised at how in touch you are with your body and how you feel. 

Popular detoxification processes usually last from 3 days to 30 days. Anything under 3 days although helpful is not sufficient to help detoxify the body. To find the right time length of your detox, it is important to follow a detox plan that is already created or work to create your own with a health care professional. 

Your detox should fit into your daily routine without affecting your work and lifestyle, so plan it in advance and pick a period of ti me when you don’t have any social commitments or distractions that will interfere with your regimen. Starting on a weekend can be beneficial as you will have two days alone to plan your recipes and stock up on the right food for the week ahead.

Popularity: 8% [?]

March 2, 2008

New Series: Detox 101

 

Photo from Sauri   

Why do many people go on a detox?

Is there some underlying threat of becoming unhealthy?

Or do they do it because it’s a feel-good trend?

This is the introduction for a 6 part series on detoxification and cleansing.

Each person goes on a detox program for their own motivations and reasons. Some do it just to “clear the clutter” and start a new chapter. Others do it because they’re feeling unhealthy and looking for another option.

One of the underlying motivations for many (if not most) people going on a detox is that they want change in their body and their health. The forthcoming series on detox will look at the following things:

• The basics of a detox
• How will you feel after a detox?
• How to prepare for a detox
• Five types of natural detoxes you can do
• The popular liver cleanse
• How to do a three-day juice fast
• My experiences on a three-day juice fast
• How to break a fast and what to do after a detox

Keep an eye out on the next few posts, read them and participate in the comments section by sharing your thoughts. Feel free to stumble the posts and digg or delicious them too. 

Popularity: 10% [?]