Detox

[Once Again]

I've been thinking about trying to detox and have read about it some. But I'd like to hear from someone who has btdt.

[Liz CA]

I've been thinking about trying to detox and have read about it some. But I'd like to hear from someone who has btdt.

 

Not sure what level of detox you are thinking of. I do take detoxing herbs now and then, drink Kombucha pretty regularly and once a year or so do a detox/cleanse.

I try to eat organic without any fast food / junk food episodes so detoxing is not a horrifying experience for me but I always think I feel better afterwards.

[Jean in Newcastle]

It depends on if you choose a gentle method of detox (even high doses of vitamin C will detox you very gently) or a harsher method of detox (chelation therapy where you drink medicine which draws heavy metals out of your tissues and into your blood - you then pee them out.) It also depends on how well your body gets rid of things. My body does not get rid of things well at all - lactic acid build up from exercise makes me sore for days. So when I do even a mild detox it is a painful (very painful joints, low energy) process.

[Cheryl in NM]

It depends on if you choose a gentle method of detox (even high doses of vitamin C will detox you very gently) or a harsher method of detox (chelation therapy where you drink medicine which draws heavy metals out of your tissues and into your blood - you then pee them out.) It also depends on how well your body gets rid of things. My body does not get rid of things well at all - lactic acid build up from exercise makes me sore for days. So when I do even a mild detox it is a painful (very painful joints, low energy) process.

 

I seem to have this problem too. Especially the lactic acid build up. How do you handle it?

[Jean in Newcastle]

I seem to have this problem too. Especially the lactic acid build up. How do you handle it?

 

No exercise!:lol:

 

My real answer - drink lots of water to flush it out of your system. I was told at the health food store that there are supplements that body builders take to help handle the problem but I haven't tried any of them yet.

[Satori]

I went to a detox retreat for 7 days/nights last month. We had fresh vegetable juice in the morning, wheatgrass shot, raw soup, green smoothie and raw salad for 7 days. Lots of water. Very light exercise.

 

I kept it up at home with the juicing and green smoothies and as much salads/veggies as I could do.

 

I did okay, but there were a few days I was very cold and weak. Overall, a very positive experience. I need to keep eating like that.

[AuntieM]

I went to a detox retreat for 7 days/nights last month. We had fresh vegetable juice in the morning, wheatgrass shot, raw soup, green smoothie and raw salad for 7 days. Lots of water. Very light exercise.

 

I kept it up at home with the juicing and green smoothies and as much salads/veggies as I could do.

 

I did okay, but there were a few days I was very cold and weak. Overall, a very positive experience. I need to keep eating like that.

 

Are you comfortable sharing where you did this, or a web site I could use to help me find such a place? I would love to do something like this. I feel like I need help with a jump start *away* from where I have to prepare meals for dh and 4 kids (3 teens).

 

An aside, I LOVE your avatar photos! Your daughter is beautiful and you take the most wonderful pictures of her!

 

OP, thanks for the thread, I'll be :bigear:

[1bassoon]

What do y'all think of this:

 

Saving Dinner Detox

 

It looks interesting to me - I think this is something I "should" do, but am having a hard time gearing up for it.

[Peela]

The thing to realise is that your body detoxifies all the time, and especially at night time while you sleep. We westerners tend to put so much stress on our digestive system by overeating, eating late at night, eating wrong foods, that our bodies dont get to detoxify well enough. So there is nothing you need to to to make your body detoxify- it does that already all by itself. What you can do is take the load off your digestive system in order to better support its natural detoxifying systems and channels.

 

First, you cant detoxify if your channels of elimination are blocked. That's why bowel cleansing of some sort is important- not so much if you are already really regular (once, preferably twice daily), but if you aren't, thats the place to start, otherwise everything you do will be pretty futile.

 

Simple ways to encourage detoxing are:

-eliminate even one bad habit, whether its your addiction to 5 coffees a day, smoking, or eating junk food regularly. Just doing one of those will start your body immediately detoxifying (thats why it feels bad at first, then good later).

- drop dairy and or wheat

- if you don't exercise, exercise- even a daily walk

- drink more water

- a glass of warm water with a squeeze of lemon first thing in the morning will stimulate your liver and promote elimination and detoxification

- freshly squeezed vegetable juices- I make a litre of 50% green juice (celery as a base, cucumber, parsley, spinach, kale, whatever I happen to have) and 50% other vegetables such as carrotsa and beets, and if its for everyone, I add apple too.

- eat more greens. Greens are so important to our systems, and they help us detoxify and eliminate, and they are full of essentail minerals.

-undereating rather than overeating to take a load off the digestive system

 

Then there are many herbs and products you can take, retreats etc. They are all good, as long as you understand that you dont really need anything to detoxify- your body already does it all by itself, and whatever you can do to get out of its way by not putting a burden on it, will help. And its a lot more gentle to do it that way than go from a typical western diet to an extreme detox regime, and much harder to integrate into your life.

 

If you make use of the time of day your body naturally detoxes- nighttime and early morning- you can set yourself up well. Dont eat at night and when you get up in the morning, drink water, water with lemon juice and/or a green juice....and then don't eat anything till mid morning- you will faciliate a lot of detoxifying without having to make huge lifestyle changes all at once.

[1bassoon]

The thing to realise is that your body detoxifies all the time, and especially at night time while you sleep. We westerners tend to put so much stress on our digestive system by overeating, eating late at night, eating wrong foods, that our bodies dont get to detoxify well enough. So there is nothing you need to to to make your body detoxify- it does that already all by itself. What you can do is take the load off your digestive system in order to better support its natural detoxifying systems and channels.

 

First, you cant detoxify if your channels of elimination are blocked. That's why bowel cleansing of some sort is important- not so much if you are already really regular (once, preferably twice daily), but if you aren't, thats the place to start, otherwise everything you do will be pretty futile.

 

Simple ways to encourage detoxing are:

-eliminate even one bad habit, whether its your addiction to 5 coffees a day, smoking, or eating junk food regularly. Just doing one of those will start your body immediately detoxifying (thats why it feels bad at first, then good later).

- drop dairy and or wheat

- if you don't exercise, exercise- even a daily walk

- drink more water

- a glass of warm water with a squeeze of lemon first thing in the morning will stimulate your liver and promote elimination and detoxification

- freshly squeezed vegetable juices- I make a litre of 50% green juice (celery as a base, cucumber, parsley, spinach, kale, whatever I happen to have) and 50% other vegetables such as carrotsa and beets, and if its for everyone, I add apple too.

- eat more greens. Greens are so important to our systems, and they help us detoxify and eliminate, and they are full of essentail minerals.

-undereating rather than overeating to take a load off the digestive system

 

Then there are many herbs and products you can take, retreats etc. They are all good, as long as you understand that you dont really need anything to detoxify- your body already does it all by itself, and whatever you can do to get out of its way by not putting a burden on it, will help. And its a lot more gentle to do it that way than go from a typical western diet to an extreme detox regime, and much harder to integrate into your life.

 

If you make use of the time of day your body naturally detoxes- nighttime and early morning- you can set yourself up well. Dont eat at night and when you get up in the morning, drink water, water with lemon juice and/or a green juice....and then don't eat anything till mid morning- you will faciliate a lot of detoxifying without having to make huge lifestyle changes all at once.

 

Peela -

 

:grouphug:

 

This makes the most sense of anything I've ever read. Really.

 

I'm going to print it out and try it for 30 days. I can't WAIT to let you know how I feel!!!!

[Leanna Tomlinson]

I'm on week 3 of an 8 week liver cleanse from this book:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Liver-Cleansing-Diet-Sandra-Cabot/dp/0646277898

 

The diet is very similar to what Peela described. Start in the a.m. with lemon water and then fresh vegetable juice. The book is full of recipes, but the diet basically involves eliminating processed foods, sugar, dairy, and red meat. She also recommends eating organic foods for the cleanse.

 

I've lost only 5 lbs., but my migraines have stopped and I am sleeping better. So far, so good. :)

[jld]

Peela, thanks for writing that. I've never felt comfortable with the idea that breakfast should be eaten immediately upon waking, and that it should be a heavy meal. I guess I'm not the only one, lol.

[Denisemomof4]

Peela -

 

:grouphug:

 

This makes the most sense of anything I've ever read. Really.

 

I'm going to print it out and try it for 30 days. I can't WAIT to let you know how I feel!!!!

 

yes! can you give some samples of what meals and snacks would look like for you for the rest of the day? Also, I can't encourage my dd to under eat because she's so skinny. What would you recommend? How do your kids eat?

[Parrothead]

Peela -

 

:grouphug:

 

This makes the most sense of anything I've ever read. Really.

 

I'm going to print it out and try it for 30 days. I can't WAIT to let you know how I feel!!!!

I've got to say I followed Peela's exact same advice when she (and Rosie) gave it to me back in January. I had just quit smoking after 20 years. I felt great and have yet to crave a cigarette.

[Medieval Mom]

I like to spend a few days eating only fruit. In the fall, I like to spend at least three days on freshly picked apples and freshly pressed cider. :) I always have gobs of energy while doing this, and feel so much healthier for it. I go on my "fruit cure" when I am craving it; likewise, I stop my fruit regimen when my body starts craving meat. Sometimes, it's been only a day or two, other times I've been happy as a lark eating fruit for weeks. :)

[Peela]

yes! can you give some samples of what meals and snacks would look like for you for the rest of the day? Also, I can't encourage my dd to under eat because she's so skinny. What would you recommend? How do your kids eat?

 

For starters, I wouldnt put a child on a detox diet. It is unecessarily stressful and a skinny child doesnt need it urgently (like an overweight child might).

For a child, I would just make the changes to healthier eating habits for yourself, and make fresh vegetable juices regularly- adding enough apples or sweet fruits to make them enjoy it. Change the whole household's diet to a healthier one and the kids will get the benefit. Then, make sure they are going to the toilet- bm's- every day. Its surprising how often kids are constipated. Then, check they are drinking enough water. That should be enough for a child. These are just good lifelong healthy habits. I dont like to put a child onto a "diet". I prefer to establish habits.

 

Drinks and snacks- off the top of my head, guacomale (avocado dip) or hummous and celery and carrot sticks for dipping. Vegetable soups. The best quality bread you can find or make, especially sprouted breads. Lots and lots of fresh fruit for snacks. I treat my kids to fruit and my son in particular will feel especially loved if I buy him a mango, a Thai young coconut, or a Fuji fruit. Thats heaven to him, and he still loves his junk food. We have overflowing fruit bowls each week and it all goes. For meals, just make smaller portions of the unhealthier stuff and larger portions of salads. Try different salads and buy or make your own healthy dressings. Basically- your diet should be plant based. You dont need to get rid of everything or make huge changes all at once- just eat less and less of the bad and more and more of the good. Change your habits slowly over time. If you binge on pizza, dont feel bad- make yourself a veggie juice and just keep going.

 

The healthier you get and the more healthy food you eat, the less appealing junk food is, anyway. So you dont need to renounce everything all at once- it will renounce you when you realise one day that you would prefer to eat a salad to a hamburger. My dd16 is pretty sensitive to foods and hs learned to listen to her own body. She loves salads and asks for them if I dont make one (its winter here and I don't feel like salad every day, but the kids will eat them). She loves the juices I make. She will eat junk food now and then, but mostly prefers home cooked now.

 

Listen to your own body. Sometimes you get cravings for watermelon. I crave green juices- once I started having them. If I miss a day, I really feel it.

So one persons diet is going to be different to another's. Follow your intuition and take it slowly and enoy the process.

[mommabird]

I have detoxed 5 times. The best ways are what Peela said.

What worked the best for me for weight loss:

no coffee - very hard to do, but once I got past the headaches I dropped lbs

warm water with lemon juice in the morning.

walking 3 miles a day

drinking lots of water

 

sometimes I put Braggs Apple cider vinegar in my water to sip on all day

 

I have tried a detox tea from a health store but the taste was too bitter.

[Denisemomof4]

I've got to say I followed Peela's exact same advice when she (and Rosie) gave it to me back in January. I had just quit smoking after 20 years. I felt great and have yet to crave a cigarette.

 

:hurray::hurray::party::hurray::hurray:

[Satori]

I'm really trying to eat more raw/living foods. I tried to eat more, more often, but mostly veggies, fruits, and greens. I lost all the weight I'd gained in the past 7 years or more, in just a few months.

 

The detox place I went to was Cedar Springs Renewal Center, only because I couldn't get into the Tree of Life at the time. I googled "raw foods retreat" and found Cedar Springs.

 

I now crave my morning juices - freshly juiced combination of a few of these: carrots, celery, cucumber, beets, apples, parsley, etc... I already loved green smoothies - leafy greens with banana and berries. I eat one cooked meal a day, the rest is raw soup or salad or the above drinks. Sometimes I get elaborate and make yummy zucchini angelhair pasta. Now, I just have to keep this up!

[Parrothead]

:hurray::hurray::party::hurray::hurray:

Thanks.

[Denisemomof4]

For starters, I wouldnt put a child on a detox diet. It is unecessarily stressful and a skinny child doesnt need it urgently (like an overweight child might).

For a child, I would just make the changes to healthier eating habits for yourself, and make fresh vegetable juices regularly- adding enough apples or sweet fruits to make them enjoy it. Change the whole household's diet to a healthier one and the kids will get the benefit. Then, make sure they are going to the toilet- bm's- every day. Its surprising how often kids are constipated. Then, check they are drinking enough water. That should be enough for a child. These are just good lifelong healthy habits. I dont like to put a child onto a "diet". I prefer to establish habits.

I should have explained myself better. I have a habit of not doing that. We've been consulting a nutritionist for dd 10 because she was having memory issues, and I was thinking it was related to her pineal cyst. The nutritionist felt that proper diet, 100% organic, could help shrink the cyst, which she believes is filled with toxins. (I don't know if it's filled with toxins or cerebral spinal fluid yet.) She's been eating plain, organic yogurt w/nuts and honey for breakfast, after lemon water, and then fruit for snacks, cooked veggies and some grain for lunch, fruit snack, large salad and some organic meat/fish for dinner. Tons of tomato, wild rice, carrots, greens, etc. So I actually think to have a green drink in the morning would help her. She's increased bm's to 2 - 3 times per day because of all the fruit/veggies she eats.

 

 

Drinks and snacks- off the top of my head, guacomale (avocado dip) or hummous and celery and carrot sticks for dipping. Vegetable soups. The best quality bread you can find or make, especially sprouted breads. Lots and lots of fresh fruit for snacks. I treat my kids to fruit and my son in particular will feel especially loved if I buy him a mango, a Thai young coconut, or a Fuji fruit. Thats heaven to him, and he still loves his junk food. We have overflowing fruit bowls each week and it all goes. For meals, just make smaller portions of the unhealthier stuff and larger portions of salads. Try different salads and buy or make your own healthy dressings. Basically- your diet should be plant based. You dont need to get rid of everything or make huge changes all at once- just eat less and less of the bad and more and more of the good. Change your habits slowly over time. If you binge on pizza, dont feel bad- make yourself a veggie juice and just keep going.

 

Ok, the breads was something I've been wanting to research. Dd was kept off all wheat. My opinion is that if you sprout the grains, or use a true sourdough starter, that the enzymes will neutralize and digest easily. I believe I read that in Nourishing Traditions. So why do so many people stay away from wheat? If she's trying to detoxify my dd, I believe sprouted wheat OR old fashioned starter would help. I also used to make my own breads and added legumes. She's had VERY little legumes on this diet so far, and it's been 3 months. But I have been feeling uncomfortable recently, and what you state makes more sense. So I'm going to take the knowledge I gained from the nutritionist, coupled with my research and what you've said, to just live a healthy lifestyle and try to rid her body of toxins. Our whole family won't do it. We used to be 100% whole foods, 100% organic, 100% from scratch, and my younger son WON'T do it, youngest dd CAN'T do it (fruits and veggies cause too much diarrhea) and we simply can't afford it. We spend about $1200 on groceries now. I just plan to make my boys eat more veggies. They do well with fruit but always eat it with other things, so I don't think they're getting all the nutrition from it.

 

 

 

The healthier you get and the more healthy food you eat, the less appealing junk food is, anyway. So you dont need to renounce everything all at once- it will renounce you when you realise one day that you would prefer to eat a salad to a hamburger. My dd16 is pretty sensitive to foods and hs learned to listen to her own body. She loves salads and asks for them if I dont make one (its winter here and I don't feel like salad every day, but the kids will eat them). She loves the juices I make. She will eat junk food now and then, but mostly prefers home cooked now.

I must confess, salads EVERY day are starting to bore me beyond tears. We try to mix up the green and what we top them with...

 

 

Listen to your own body. Sometimes you get cravings for watermelon. I crave green juices- once I started having them. If I miss a day, I really feel it.

So one persons diet is going to be different to another's. Follow your intuition and take it slowly and enoy the process.

 

THank you!!! I used to juice every morning. You've really inspired me!!!!!

[Peela]

THank you!!! I used to juice every morning. You've really inspired me!!!!!

 

It sounds like you have your dd on a great diet, Denise! Yes, Supposedly cysts are ways the body encapsulates toxins- I did a liver detox when I had an ovarian cyst- the liver processes toxins.

I am inspired by you!