Chapter 16: CLEANSING
Getting back to the lens of intended design, it makes sense to me that physiologically we were made to go through periods without eating much. I love food as much as the next person, but it stands to reason that it may be healthy to reduce food intake periodically. Think of it as giving the digestive system a break, time to rest and regenerate. We can go for up to 30 days without eating, although this in not recommended it does point to the fact that we are designed to be able to withstand long periods without food.
Personally I have never gone more than a couple of days without eating, but I have tried different cleanses with good results. At this time I am on a cleanse, so this information is up-to-date and relevant! I am always experimenting (with myself) in an attempt to improve my own health. I will share my experiences with you and let you decide if it is something you may be interested in.
Currently I am trying a hybrid juice/low calorie intake cleanse. Basically I drink a cup of bulletproof coffee (coffee, butter, coconut oil) in the morning, drink fruit/veggie juice throughout the day, and I have a normal dinner in the evening. The goal of this type of cleanse is to give my digestive system a lighter load to work with and facilitate quick transit time. I have been encountering an increasing volume of literature that shows reducing caloric intake is really good for you. In other words, eat less and live healthier!
As you know, the American diet is out of control. Not only do we eat too much, the food we do eat is often not very good for us. I encourage you to take a break from what you normally eat, even if it is for only a few days. Try a cleanse a couple of times a year and give your digestive organs a chance to regenerate. The movie Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead is a great resource for the juice cleanse. This movie is what really got me motivated to start experimenting with cleansing-without spoiling it for you let’s just say the results are amazing! It is on Netflix and I highly recommend watching it.
Try a juice cleanse over a long weekend, so you are only on the hook for three days. It is really not too complicated, all you need is a whole bunch of fruits and veggies and a juicer. You will be surprised at how quickly your body adapts to the change. My recommendation is to drink plenty of water as you juice, one glass of water for every glass of juice you drink. You are going to be going to the bathroom often, but that is the point! You want to allow the body an opportunity to flush itself out.
If you don’t think you can manage only drinking juice for two or three days, try a hybrid juice cleanse like I am. Do what you feel comfortable doing, remember-you are your best doctor! Try juicing for breakfast for a week and see how you feel. If you like it than perhaps you can go forward from there or at least add a breakfast juice into your daily routine.
Another type of cleanse that I highly recommend is Dr. Tim O’Shea’s 60-day program and the New West Diet. I have personally tried this cleanse and the results were amazing. Go to www.thedoctorwithin.com for complete information. If you are a health-seeker like me, you will really enjoy his website.
The 60-day program is a serious cleanse and may not be the right choice for you unless you are willing to make some serious lifestyle changes, but I can tell you with 100% certainty it works. You will move toxins out of your system at an incredible rate as I can attest to. About a week into the 60-day program, on a Saturday morning, I started going to the bathroom. I now call that day “poop-fest”. I woke up early even though it was a Saturday, around 6:45 if I remember correctly. Without giving you all of the intimate details, I used the restroom 5 times by 9:00 that morning. And I am not talking about little baby poops here; all 5 were king-kong sized dookies. Now most of you are probably thinking-ewwwww! Gross right? Well, it was a sign that things were shaking loose and moving out from my system. The only other option is that all of that waste sits inside my intestines and rot. When you see someone with a huge “beer belly” what do you think causes that? It isn’t beer sitting in there and it is not all belly fat. In fact, the majority of people’s gut is fecal matter backed up in their intestines. In other words, they are full of it!
My bathroom habits normalized after that one morning, and the next week something even more incredible occurred. I began to develop a rash on the back of my hands. I woke up in the middle of the night and my hands felt a little weird. I went to the bathroom and found a puddle of grease on the back of my hands, where the rash was. I got a towel and wiped it off, confused and amazed at the same time. I got on my computer and emailed Dr. O’Shea immediately, I was worried I was having some sort of reaction to the cleansing process. It didn’t hurt or anything but it sure was out of the ordinary! I settled down to get some sleep and when I woke up the next morning Dr. O’Shea had replied to my email. He explained that the body naturally pushes toxins as far away from the important organs (brain, heart, lungs) as possible. The tissues in the hands and the feet, being the farthest away from the crucial, centrally located organs, are common places for the body to store toxins as a protection mechanism. The cleanse had encouraged my body to open up the pores in my hands and push out the toxins! After that night the rash started to clear up and went away all together within a few days. I completed the cleanse and felt amazing!