After Holiday Cleanse
So there are holidays and all the festivities that come with them. Most of us want to celebrate with all things... even food. And most of the time the foods are loaded with carbs, sugars, preservatives and fats. Now... I love a good celebration as much as the next guy so I'm not here to sway you to take a bag full of celery and carrots and sit miserably in a corner the entire time as you watch the foods we've come to know as comfort foods be made, shared and eaten. I, myself, have indulged over this Independence day weekend on things that I don't normally keep in my kitchen anymore. This blog is about getting back on track after indulging and sometimes creating more issues, such as sugar cravings, bloat, an over worked gut and if your like me (a food southern comfort food addict) a tinge of old addictions visit. Remember as always, this is intended for educational purposes only and not intended to diagnose, cure or treat. Always visit your health care professional for guidance.
Let's start by talking about what happens in our bodies. Those "holiday pounds" that *poof* and appear magically are because of our body having an over abundance of usable energy and toxins that we aren't using up or getting rid of, so it gets stored as fat cells. If we indulge in a few alcoholic libations it starts to over work our liver, which is already getting over worked by processed foods.
When the liver becomes over worked and can't process anymore then toxins such as bad bacteria begin to work their way through your gut and attack the good bacteria that keeps your gut in balance. Saturated fats begin their work inside the system by building up and hanging out. I compare it to when you get lard or vegetable shortening on your counter... It doesn't come off easily.... it smears, spreads on to other surfaces and it takes special cleaners to get it off. Saturated fat begins to coat our arteries.
The high content of processed sugar begins to feed candida in our systems, and while candida is a naturally occurring thing... an over abundance causes yeast infections and over all malaise. Oh and parasites... yes... all that food setting around is a set up for those little critters to be there on the foods and ready to invade your system and cause intestinal upset and tiredness to name a couple things. I know what your thinking...the same thing I thought for years, well I am drinking diet drinks, eating sugar free and or fat free desserts so I'm doing good right? Wrong. I know you know all the horror stories on artificial sweeteners, well, believe them. They wreck just as much havoc on your gut and your gut is the source of good health for your entire body. Not to mention but those so called diet items add extra chemicals and toxins to make the taste better, but it just creates an environment in your body for further food cravings and toxic gut that keeps you craving more calories than you need. All of these are just a brief overview of what is going on inside you that causes joint inflammation, headaches, nausea, bloating, weight gain, tiredness, and just overall *blech* feelings. Now, your thinking whoa, after Chrystal typing all that, how on earth can she possibly want to eat those foods and over indulge if she knows all the ugly that occurs?! Well, guess what? I am human and I like food. So a few times a year I enjoy all things food like a good southern girl, of course! I just have more knowledge now on how to live every other day, enjoying food, but the right types of food. I promise, I never go hungry.
With so many fad diets and even cleanses and detoxes, where does someone begin? We need to go back to the basics. They say knowledge is power...
When we begin to look over all these different ways to get to the same end result we start to see a pattern. A set of rules that are easy, and not so strict and astringent that we feel like we are in our own little Hell.
Below is a good start... Rule of thumb is at least a week to help with the most recent festivities. It takes about 30 days to do a basic cleanse of your system, it takes aprox 60 days to implement a new "habit" and begin feeling better and looking better, it takes about 90 days before you no longer miss the old ways and you can begin implementing more changes.
1. Water, water, water.... simple pure water... rule of thumb would be to drink half your body weight in ounces. i.e. 190lb person drinks 95oz of water. Your probably thinking, YIKES, talk about water logged, well that's where herbal teas come in. Talk about win win. The right herbal tea gives you some of your water intake, plus cleansing properties. I blend one that contains the right herbs to detox and cleanse the liver, kidney and colon... Dandelion root, Oregon grape root, licorice root, burdock root and dandelion leaf are a few great cleansers.
2. Digestives... a good digestive supplement with those heavy meals is an excellent help, however, we don't always think of that. I suggest that for a week following your festivities you take a digestive with each of your meals. Digestive supplements contain enzymes that your body has but sometimes doesn't have enough of to break down foods for proper use. They just aide in the process to give your body a little break when it is totally overrun.
3. Probiotics... your gut contains millions and millions of good bacteria that fight off all kinds of infections, however, it can easily become imbalanced and over taken by the bad bacteria and toxins that we are inundated with everyday. Probiotics contain these good bacteria to help rebuild the colonies to balance the gut.
4. Trace minerals... our environment is so depleted in vitamins and minerals that even when we are eating at our very best, we tend to lack enough trace minerals in our bodies and the ones we have sometimes get washed out when drinking a lot of water. I have a trace mineral tincture that I blend in my workshop containing nettles, dandelion root, alfalfa and burdock root.
5. Essential Fatty Acids... EFA's are a great way to help our bodies with formation of healthy cell membranes, properly develop and function of the brain and nervous system, proper thyroid and adrenal activity, hormone production, regulation of blood pressure, liver function, immune and inflammatory responses They are crucial for the transport and breakdown of cholesterol and support healthy skin and hair. Great ways to get these are to increase your flax seeds, pumpkin seeds, walnuts, and dark green veggies, such as kale, collards, chard, and parsley. This is because all green chlorophyll-rich foods contain fatty acids in their chloroplasts. Fish is another great source, of course not battered and deep fried LOL. Of course, a good supplement form is a great addition as it is concentrated.
6. Fruits and Veggies.... While a protein rich breakfast keeps you fuller through the day and gives energy. When you are cleansing and detoxing it is important to allow your system to "relax" a bit. By increasing your fruit and veggie intake for even a week, it not only allows your system to rest, it builds your body's vitamin intake of A, D, E, K and B vitamins. It takes away a lot of the stress on your liver by flushing it out in a more gentle way. Juicing is a great way to supplement these.... noooo... going to the juice isle at the store and picking up 100% juice is not the answer... nutrients begin to break down in those and sugar content is higher. Best is to buy a simple juicer and juice fresh fruit and veggie blends daily and at least drink them once or twice a day if your on the run. Green leafy veggies are great for a lot of vitamins and minerals. Be careful to not go for too many fruits, because even though they are packed with vitamins, they also contain sugar and though they are natural sugars they can still cause havoc in the body. Raw fruits and veggies are the best, followed by steamed and baked. For a very good cleanse incorporate more melons. Back off of all fried, battered and greasy foods. Eat baked or broiled meats. Stay away from sweets other than natural things like fruits to eat, or stevia or honey for your sweetener in tea. If you need pastas or breads, try to avoid them as much as possible for a week, then incorporate small amounts of sprouted grain bread or sour dough. As far as pasta, try changing over to a brown rice with or quinoa pasta. These items are hard on your system and can really stall out any cleansing process. Stay away from sodas. If you crave a soda, try making an all natural version by brewing an herbal tea like a hibiscus blend or peach blend and mixing in some stevia, then add ice and cover with mineral water that has been carbonated.
7. Protein smoothie... replacing your breakfast meal with a good quality protein smoothie helps you to keep high protein in your body for energy but allows your system to have something less "heavy" to deal with. What I mean is, your system can digest the smoothie more easily and absorb its contents and use them with less stress. Stay away from soy. Whey is OK as long as it is from a high quality source. Pea proteins have come a long way and are usually pretty tasty.
8. Exercise.... wooo that big dirty word that we all talk about but try to avoid. Take 30 minutes a day to do something out of the ordinary. Swim, walk, a video, yoga, tai chi, or even a little gym time begins to increase your system's function. Everything just starts working better.
9. Herbs... yep that's right, herbs can assist in naturally balancing and cleansing your body while aiding in relief of all those pesky *side effects* from having all those foods and over indulging. Here are a few that help... Dandelion, milk thistle, Artimesia (wormwood), Cilantro, alfalfa, mint, and stinging nettle.
10. Stress relief... yep, that's right... we need to relieve the stress of the day. When we are trying to change our habits, between maybe work, kids, home stuff, trying to stay focused or any other number of things our cortisol levels begin going up up and up to where they stay high which means mood swings, weight gain (mainly in the mid section), fatigue, muscle aches and pains, changes in your libido, high blood pressure etc., or in extreme cases cushings, anxiety, autoimmune diseases, cancer, chronic fatigue syndrome, common colds, hormone imbalance, irritable bowel disease, thyroid conditions, or weight loss resistance. Great herbs to help with Cortisol levels are ashwaganda, ginseng, licorice root, or holy basil (aka tulsi). Whether in a supplement form or in an herbal tea blend, they will help balance your body. Take 10 minutes a day and take a moment for you. Lay back and take a short nap, (if ya have kiddos) lock yourself in the bathroom hahaha, find something that allows the stresses of the day to slip away, if even for a moment. This allows your cortisol level to lower and allows balance and alignment.
And there you have it... 10 simple things to implement the process of detoxing, cleansing and balancing your body to work optimally. Nothing too fancy and a lot is very basic. Starting out with simple steps allows you to build on it and not feel as if you are overwhelming yourself to burn out and feel as if your failing.
***** Remember high quality is key. Always consult with a practitioner or consultant on what brands are best and what places provide high quality herbs. It may cost a little more up front, but in the long run it saves you money and helps you reach your goal more quickly.
