By Alexandra Jamieson on January 4, 2012
1. Get clear.
Want to see the most marvelous waterfall at sunset? Let’s go! Wait – where are we going?
You can’t find it without directions, right?
To transform your health, energy, and body, you need to take stock of where you are now, what you’re eating, and what you want to change. Write down everything – how you feel when you wake up, what cravings you have, what your diet is like, your exercise routine (if any), and what you would like to feel and look like.
Got it written down? Good. Now let’s begin.
2. Get support.
Now you’re ready to climb the mountain to see the waterfall, and you’ve even timed it so you can get there right at sunset to catch the most spectacular view.
But what supplies do you need? There are twelve paths to choose from – which one is safe, fast and will get you to the best spot?
That’s where expert support comes into play. Talk with someone who has been there before – read the blogs of experts, watch inspiring movies online or listen to radio shows on the area of health that interests you the most. Find a tribe of people who are dedicated to making the same changes you want to accomplish.
There is power in joining forces – they’ll pull you along, and you’ll help them at the same time.
3. Make a plan.
Once you have the map, the expert guide and the support, look at the goals you’ve created.
Do you want to eat more vegetables? Less sugar? Kick your caffeine habit completely? Do you want to lose 20 pounds or clear up your skin? Great!
What is the first step towards your goal? If it’s eating less sugar, maybe it’s time to learn about natural foods that give you the sweet sensation you’re looking for without robbing your energy (more on that in a minute). Or maybe you need to throw away the bags of candy or chocolate lingering from Halloween. Or maybe there’s something in your lifestyle that triggers your sugar cravings that you can address in a non-food-way.
Whatever the issue is, there are steps you can take to make it a non-issue: Start brainstorming on what to do first, then what you can do tomorrow, and in no time you’ll be free and clear!
4. Be seasonal.
Use seasonal, local produce as much as possible.
When you eat veggies from a nearby farm, they offer you the energy and nutrients that support you where you are and when you are. Here’s what I mean:
Eating iceberg lettuce and watermelon north of the 45th parallel in winter does not support your body in the cold, sunless months. Instead, choose winter squash, cabbage, other hearty winter greens and apples and pears. These fruits and veggies give you great, fresh nutrition rather than arriving depleted from half way across the world.
5. Sleep more.
The human body is built to follow natural rhythms. Our inner body clock, called circadian rhythm, triggers the natural impulses to wake up with the sun, sleep when it’s dark, as well as a host of other natural body processes.
When your natural circadian rhythm is thrown off, due to jet lag or just staying up too late night after night, your body and brain work at half-speed, and your body feels off balance. Years of staying up late and not getting enough sleep during the darker, winter months, makes caffeine necessary and cravings for sugar more intense.
This winter, try an experiment: Go to bed early and wake up early. Get into bed by 9 P.M. and wake up at 4 or 5 A.M. Even a few days a week of this pattern will help you feel more refreshed, healthier, and those intense food cravings will release their hold on you just a bit more.
6. Make breakfast a priority.
Now that you’re sleeping better, you can wake up earlier and get a good breakfast in your body. Still everyone is different and you might need something that your partner or child doesn’t like or desire. Experiment with different types of food for your morning meal, alternating savory, sweet, liquid or combination breakfasts.
You might notice that a protein-rich meal keeps you filled longer. Or perhaps you find that a light meal of fruit and herbal tea is perfect.
Try it out – notice what happens for the rest of the day with your cravings. Your first meal can determine your energy for the rest of the day.
7. Skip the white foods.
Any white, refined food is going to steal nutrients and energy from your body.
White flour, white sugar, white table salt.
All of these foods are stripped of nutrition, vitamins and minerals, and offer only the jolt of carbohydrate or sodium. Without any supportive nutrients, your body must draw on its own precious stores to metabolize the refined food, leading to depleted energy over time.
8. Sweeten the deal.
Use more naturally sweet foods instead of relying on white foods, candy, and soda for energy.
Include sweet root veggies, fruits and even whole grains to satisfy your sweet cravings.
Sweet potatoes offer carotenoid antioxidants, and help your body respond to insulin better. Parsnips are high in silicon and fiber, and are high in calcium. Beets are high in boron, a mineral critical for the production of human sex hormones.
Adding daily doses of sweet veggies, you’ll crave less sugary treats, and you’ll be giving your body necessary nutrients for long-term health.
9. Move your body like your life depends on it – because it does!
I don’t care what you do – you can run, walk, swim, bike, dance, lift, jump or even get jiggy between the sheets more often (I personally vote for the last one! Sex and masturbation are great for your immune system, sleep and attitude.) – just move. Daily. As if it were your last day on earth.
Transform your relationship with food and your body; join Alex Jamieson’s 8-Week Delicious Detox Tele-Series beginning Thursday, January 5th at 2pm EST. Details and sign-up are here: http://deliciousvitality.com/
Photo credit: 23am.com
Read More By Alejandro Junger, MD on August 22, 2011
A sure sign that we’re in the sweltering dog days of summer is that the trash cans, park benches and sidewalks are suddenly littered with the ubiquitous clear plastic cups, plastic lids and straws from iced coffees – whether they’re black, flavored, or milk and sugar-filled. Just because they’re slightly watered down with ice cubes doesn’t mean they’re any less harsh on our bodies than a steaming paper cup full. And people are drinking hot coffee even on the very hottest days as well!
But here’s the thing about coffee, not only do those cups fill up the landfills, but they put toxins in our body too. Coffee is incredibly dehydrating (which is not something we want when the temperatures soar), and it’s also acidic to the body, while severely taxing the detox organs (liver and kidneys).
When you “need” it to get going in the morning, feel foggy and are unable to function or communicate without your first cup, or experience the crash later on in the day when it wears off, you are already addicted and doing damage to your adrenals while leaching calcium from your bones and causing a general state of dependency and acidity in the body.
So let’s try something that will rehydrate our bodies, give us a great boost of energy to power through all the fun summer activities and expand our drink palates. Why not start a coffee cleanse while summer is in full swing, the days are long and sultry, and you really don’t want to be drinking a hot beverage anyway?
Here’s how:
First, keep in mind that withdrawing from caffeine can be a bit of a shock to the body. You may experience a few days of headaches and irritability, but it’s so worth it and magnesium can help with the headaches. The substitutes below not only help rebalance the body, but they taste very similar to the coffee you’re used to (with the exception of the green juice and lemon water of course!). They’re soothing to wrap your hands around and can be shared with others during your morning coffee break!
Second, drink more water – pretty easy. Try adding mint, lemon, cucumber slices, fresh berries, even a pinch of stevia. Or make your own herbal sun tea, and then keep a pitcher of it in the fridge for refreshing hydration breaks.
Third, here are some great energizing coffee substitutions that will definitely help you forget all about coffee’s hypnotic hold on you:
1. Remineralize and hydrate the body with 8 to 16 ounces of fresh green vegetable juice instead of your morning cup of joe, either made at home or from your local juice bar – just make sure it’s fresh pressed and not pasteurized. A good combination is a base of cucumber and celery with a generous amount of leafy greens (kale, parsley, chard, romaine, etc.) with a little apple or carrot for sweetness, and some ginger and lemon. This is super energizing, hydrating, cleansing and tastes delicious.
2. Another amazingly detoxifying and refreshing way to ease into your day is with a glass of warm or cold water (depending on the season) with fresh squeezed lemon juice and a pinch of stevia. It’s a delicious lemonade, but it’s also a great way to get the peristalsis action going in the intestines to cleanse and start your day off right with proper elimination.
3. Another way to get a healthy jump start is by using cacao powder (raw chocolate) in some warm water or nut milk, adding some stevia to taste and a dash of cinnamon or mint extract for some flavor. You’ll have an incredibly rich chocolate drink that’s loaded with minerals and antioxidants but without the sugar and dairy typically found in processed chocolate and without the crash that comes with coffee.
4. A great tasting herbal coffee is Teccino, made from roasted nuts, fruit and grains, full of probiotics and a delicious earthy flavor that goes well with some stevia or nut milk or just plain. We also like roasted dandelion root made into grounds and used the same way as the Teccino in a French press or regular coffeemaker.
5. A cup of green tea or yerba mate is another very low caffeine way to start your morning, both are full of other health benefits and are delicious iced during these hot summer days.
This powdered Yerba Mate dissolves instantly into hot or cold water and you can get it with stevia or without:
6. Saving the best for last, here’s a delicious and energizing superfood-filled “coffee granita” that will beat anything you find at any chain coffee spot:
- 1/2 cup non dairy milk (rice, almond, hemp, coconut)
- 2 tablespoons raw cacao or carob powder
- 1 tablespoon maca powder (this is incredibly energizing and has a wonderful rich flavor)
- 1 teaspoon lucuma powder (slightly sweet taste)
- 1 teaspoon mesquite powder (optional but highly recommended)
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- a pinch of stevia (powder) or a few drops of liquid to taste
- 1 cup ice
Blend all ingredients together until you have a coffee-like “slushie.” Pour into a tall glass, kick back and enjoy the rest of your summer – energized and addiction free!
For more information on how to optimize your health, see http://www.cleanprogram.com/.
Photo credit: EJP Photo
Read More By Tracy Piper on June 8, 2011
Can you remember all the junk food you have eaten in your life? From childhood, high school and through college? All the environmental and chemical toxins we have come in contact with? Now, imagine a magical potion taking them all away, washing us squeaky clean and making us new as a baby. Sadly, there is no magical potion, but there is hope. We can revitalize our body and our cells, reduce our toxic load and bring new life to our bodies. “How?” you may ask. By detoxification.
Detoxification, or cleansing of the body, can be achieved in many ways: fasting (abstaining from food for a few hours or days), drinking juices for days, taking herbal formulation and colon cleaning by colonics. These detoxification methods allow the body to divert its energy from digesting food to detoxifying poisons stored in many areas of the body.
Why the need to detoxify?
The food we eat, beverages we drink and the air we breathe all contain some form of contaminant. The body is designed to handle some toxins, but not the onslaught that it has been given due to our “civilized” society. The intake of processed food, chemicals and environmental toxin in the millions, food additives, stimulants and genetically engineered and radiated food are all part of our “civilized” society.
The body has many organs of detoxification: lungs, kidneys, liver, colon, skin and lymphatic system. The effectiveness of these organs to eliminate waste matter of all sorts depends on how well they are functioning. If the channels of elimination are clogged, then toxins build up and back up into the system.
Along with physical toxins, we are also holding on to emotional toxins.
Intermittent or continuous negative thinking or emotions such as fear, sadness, worry, anxiety and anger can cause havoc on our spiritual well-being. Detoxing negative emotions is as vital to our health as bodily detoxification. There are mapping on the large intestine outlining negative emotions for instance. The sigmoid and cecum areas hold fear, the descending and ascending colon holds sadness, the splenic flexure holds worry, the transverse colon holds anxiety and the hepatic flexure holds anger. The negative emotions combined with physical issues will tamper with the healing of the body.
When given the chance the body totally regenerates itself with proper dietary choices and detoxification. The entire body can regenerate in two years. Ninety-eight percent of the body will regenerate in less than a year. Red blood cells rebuild in four months, the liver in six weeks, the stomach in one month and the intestinal lining in five days. In order for this magnificent machine to work at optimal function it has to be given the right fuel. This fuel will allow the body to build healthy tissues and organs. The body must be cleared of toxic matter!
Changing our diet and increasing our exercise is only part of the equation for detoxification. The foundation has to be strong and durable and it cannot be if it is laden with toxins. An overload of toxic material makes the body unable to absorb and assimilate nutrients coming in from the food eaten. With all this is mind it is important to begin any health regimen with a good detoxification program and continue periodic detoxification seasonally. Regular detoxification is effective in preventing many diseases from occurring or re-occurring.
What are sources of toxicity?
There are many sources of toxicity such as normal metabolic processes, poor elimination of undigested food, poor digestion of food, food preservatives and dyes, household cleaners, water softeners, cosmetic chemicals, various types of chemical toxins, second-hand smoking and lingering pathogenic toxins from previous illnesses.
When should we detoxify?
Every change of season is a good time to rid the body of built-up toxins, but “spring cleaning” is ideal because it is the time that nature goes through rebirth and growth. But one can cleanse anytime.
What are the signs that one needs to detoxify?
Signs that a cleansing is in order are constipation, acne, fatigue, constant bloating and excess gas, mucus buildup, PMS, depression, mood swings, nausea, halitosis and a low immune system.
So start detoxing when you have any of the symptoms mentioned or after eating poorly like during the holidays or on vacation or when your intuition tells you.
How to start?
A detoxification program can last three days to weeks depending on your health goals. If you are going to embark on months of detoxification, please consult a health care practitioner or doctor. Get regular blood work so your doctor can keep track of your progress.
A mild way of detoxing is to eat wholesome foods, raw fruits and vegetables, sprouted grains and drink lots of alkaline water. Other ways could be a three-seven day juice fast, taking herbal cleansers, doing an elimination diet like in the book “Clean” by Dr. Alejandro Junger or a colon-cleansing regime of colonics in conjunction with either one of the above detoxing methods.
Photo credit: rvaphotodude
Read More By Jennifer Reilly RD LD on December 29, 2010
If you’ve ever tried on clothes in a dressing room, you may have noticed some not-so-pretty “lady lumps.” Even thin women and men can have cellulite. So rather than simply avoiding cellulite-accentuating mirrors, here are some tips on kicking it to the curb with regular detoxes.
Cellulite is formed from fluid retention and the accumulation of waste products and toxins in the body. Exercise, stretching and weight-lifting (all of which help get rid of fluid, waste and toxins) are essential for silencing cellulite. When it comes to diet, avoid processed foods and animal products that leave toxic wastes swimming laps in your circulatory system. Doing routine, mostly raw vegan detoxes will help keep your skin silky smooth and light on the lumps.
Choose to do a 7-day detox each month, a 3-day detox every other week, or a 1-day detox every week to rid your body of the crummies. Here are the detox guidelines:
-Start the day with a large glass of filtered water with lemon or cucumber slices. Add a dash of cayenne for an extra kick in the pants.
-Consume only liquids (green juices, non-dairy smoothies, herbal tea, filtered water) and raw fruits and veggies until noon every day.
-Drink tons of filtered water throughout the day, at least half your body weight in ounces. For example, if you weigh 150 pounds, drink 75 ounces water. No sense in detoxing if the crud can’t ride the river out.
-Eat lots of raw fruits and veggies, preferably organic. The more the better.
-Have some raw nuts and seeds (about ½ cup each day) and cooked whole grains (about 2 cups total) spread out throughout the afternoon, but avoid wheat (gluten) completely.
-At least 80 percent of your diet should be comprised of raw foods, and 20 percent can be cooked grains, beans and vegetables.
-Include a daily multivitamin to ensure adequate vitamin B12 and vitamin D intake.
-Avoid all dairy products, meats, fish, sugar, gluten, alcohol and caffeine.
-Add more green juices and raw foods as needed for energy.
A detox day might look something like this:
7:00 a.m. – Large glass of filtered water with cucumber slices and a dash of cayenne.
8:00 a.m. – Green apple juice (recipe): Juice 1 collard green leaf, 1 kale leaf, handful spinach, 1 stalk celery, small handful parsley, 2 tart apples. Serve over ice.
10:00 a.m. – Herbal tea; 1 cup raspberries.
11:00 a.m. – Large glass of filtered water with cucumber slices.
Noon – Large green salad with: sliced veggies, ¼ cup raw cashews, olive oil and fresh lemon juice dressing; 1 cup brown rice.
2:00 p.m. – Large glass of filtered water with lemon wedge; hummus with sliced veggies.
4:00 p.m. – Herbal tea; 15 raw almonds.
6:00 p.m. – 3 cups mildly steamed broccoli, ½ cup quinoa, ½ cup lentils; filtered water to drink.
8:00 p.m. – Chamomile tea.
Now get your detoxed goodness over to the green boutique and try on something new! How does it look? Cellutight!
Photo Credit: Liz West
Read More By Frank Lipman, MD on October 22, 2010
What is detoxification?
Detoxification is what your body does naturally to neutralize, transform or get rid of unwanted materials or toxins. Although it is mostly ignored by our current medical system, the detoxification system is a key component of our body’s functioning, constantly working and interacting with all the other functions of the body. So a good detox program improves and optimizes the function of your body’s own built-in detoxification systems. This is done by decreasing the amount of toxins we put into our bodies while, at the same time, supporting our detoxification and elimination systems with the nutrients they need to function properly.
Why is it necessary?
Internally our bodies harbor toxins produced by the billions of bacteria and other flora in the intestines as well as the waste products produced by normal metabolic processes. Externally, our exposure to chemicals in the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat, the personal care products we put on our skin and the household products we use is greater than ever. Our bodies are constantly neutralizing and eliminating all these toxins, that is, detoxing. It is a totally natural process. And while we are obviously equipped to deal with low levels of some toxins, our bodies become overtaxed by the overwhelming number of toxins to which we are exposed.
When our own detoxification systems (predominantly the liver and the gut) become overloaded and do not function properly, toxins get stored in various tissues in the body, including fatty tissue. This prevents our system from functioning at optimum strength and efficiency and is a factor in the development of various chronic diseases including cancer.
Just like with our cars, our own internal engines are subject to waste build-up and can become sluggish over time. They both need an occasional tune-up and run better when clean.
Detoxing helps our bodies cope with this onslaught of toxins that are an unavoidable part of modern day life. Boosting the detoxification system helps bring the body back into balance. It’s an important first step in restoring function and getting the body back to optimal health.
Why is toxicity not recognized by most doctors?
Our conventional medical system does not recognize toxicity nor know how to treat or prevent it. This stands in stark contrast to Eastern medical systems where the notion of detoxing has been in place for thousands of years. The detoxification system involves complex interactions between organs that depend on each other to function effectively; it needs to be seen from a systems point of view. It cannot be mechanically reduced or compartmentalized, symptoms vary greatly from person to person, and there is no single magic bullet to fix it. In fact, if anything, traditional medications given for some of the presenting symptoms often make the problem worse because they put an extra load on an already overtaxed liver to metabolize them. Until the way doctors are trained and what they are taught changes, and until doctors open up to different ways of seeing problems and different modalities to treat them, detoxification will have to be done outside of the conventional medical system. In functional medicine — one of the many systems I incorporate in my practice — detoxification is a key component.
Is there research on detoxification?
Although doctors may not recognize detoxification and many will think it’s a strange concept, there is a lot of research documenting its role in health and disease. We even have a scientific term for chemicals and substances that are foreign to the body and come from the external environment: xenobiotics. In the last 20 years, scientific discoveries have shown us more about our biochemistry and the intricacies of how the detoxification system actually works. We now know how to help its functioning through nutrition and lifestyle. We know what nutrients are needed for the system to function, what chemicals inhibit and which ones stimulate enzymes in the system. Cutting-edge science is giving us a more sophisticated understanding of how all of these chemicals from the environment interact with our bodies on genetic, cellular and molecular levels – how they are broken down and eliminated, what may prevent this, and what may help this process. There are also vast amounts of literature on where the huge amount of external toxins are coming from, and what they are doing not only to the environment but to our health and especially our children’s health.
What is an effective detox program?
To be completely effective, a detox program has to address both internal and external toxins. We obviously need to eliminate, as far as possible, the toxins we eat, drink, breathe and put on our bodies. But it’s just as important to address the internal toxicity created by the body as it performs its normal everyday functions. These biochemical, cellular and bodily activities generate substances that also need to be neutralized and/or eliminated to maintain good health.
The two key components of any detox program are decreasing the number of toxins going in and, at the same time, assisting the body’s capacity to neutralize and eliminate the toxins.
A comprehensive detox program must supply the appropriate nutrients to do this, and should include nutrients specifically to support the two most important detoxification organ systems: the liver and gastrointestinal tract.
Most detoxes on the market decrease the amount of external toxins and irritants that we put into our bodies. That is, they eliminate the foods that often cause sensitivities, reactions, irritation or inflammation. The most common ones are gluten, dairy, sugar, processed foods, factory-farmed meats, genetically modified foods, alcohol and caffeine. My “Remove Diet” gives a complete list of what you can and cannot eat during a detox.
But most do not adequately assist the body to neutralize and eliminate the toxins. In this day and age, supplying the specific nutritional ingredients to boost the body’s own capacity to detox is essential for a detox to have long-lasting effects. To prevent the accumulation of toxic products in the tissues, these nutrients should enhance liver function (as it is the main organ involved in transforming toxins into metabolites that are easier to excrete) and also promote gastrointestinal function. Because abnormal bacteria, yeast and parasites can release toxins and overload the liver’s capacity to deal with the flood of toxins, removing these and helping to balance the flora in the gut are essential. Aiding digestion with digestive enzymes to assist the body break down food properly ensures fewer negative effects from undigested foods. Adding fiber to “sweep” the intestines is also helpful. Fiber promotes the elimination of toxins and also binds to toxins, which helps to prevent their absorption. Dietary fiber is also metabolized by gut bacteria into short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), which feed the cells lining the intestines thereby supporting cellular integrity and decreasing inflammation.
In my view, an effective detox is not achieved just by fasting or limiting the intake of foods or simply juicing. That is just half the story. It is equally important and necessary to boost the body’s own detox function at the same time by supplying therapeutic amounts of the targeted nutrition you need to achieve this. From the results I’ve seen in my practice, I am a firm believer that a well-functioning detoxification system will keep your engine humming and is one of the essential keys to maintaining good health.
Photo Credit: Maschinenraum
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