WE LOVE EVERY NEW FAD.  IT’S LIKE THE PROVERBIAL “EATING AN ELEPHANT?”

How do you eat an elephant?

“One bite at a time,” as they say.

LATEST NEW TREND, DETOXING, IS LIKE THE PROVERBIAL EATING AN ELEPHANT

Grab the newest fad.   If it’s a new thing it looks exciting.  Not one bite at a time.  Let’s just do it!

We get excited about a new trend and go to it, no piecemeal for us.   If it’s a new fad we jump on the bandwagon NOW!

NEW PROJECT SOUNDS EXCITING, MAKE A TEAM

Empty the schedule, make calendar/Day Timer note, “Elephant eating,” get supply box with big knife, forks, water bottle…  Get a team.

First of the week.  Gather the team, and supplies.  Begin, one bite at a time.

Going great at first:  “It’s great to have a goal.  Finally got up courage to do this.” “Glad you guys are with me, part of something big!”

EXCITEMENT WANES AS WE SEE THE SIZE OF THE PROJECT

But…after 4-5 days, half of the team doesn’t show.  Excuses,  last-minute appointments, car breaks down, lost the big knife, mother-in-law getting married….

Elephant eating is a big job.  “It’s not as though I don’t have a million other things that take my time,”  “How big is an elephant?” “How many days…”

It’s not easy sticking with a project, especially one that will take a long, loong time.

WE ALL LOVE EXCITING NEW TRENDS AND FADS

We love fads as long as they don’t last too long.

In that way a fast/cleanse/detox is like eating an elephant.   The proverbial “40 days and 40 nights,” of lemon, water, and juices.

Master cleanses are like that.  BIG ELEPHANTS.  Fads everywhere.  T.V. advertising, the World Wide Web  Master  Cleanses,  Detox Programs.

We jump on the latest great idea, the magic health cure without taking our stressful schedules into account.   It’s just life, but every minute of every day is packed with activity.   We think it’s no big deal to add a detox.   We have little respect for what our body is required to do.

Problem is, we start and because we’re not educated about what is involved we don’t stick with the program.  Healthy living is about little changes to the daily routine, changes that, over time, support true health.  Habits that remain part of everyday life.

TOXIN BUILDUP SLOWS BODY SYSTEMS

Don’t get me wrong. I’m in favor of regular cleanse/detox.  John and I do a cleanse on a regular basis.

Toxins slow normal actions of our organs.  Cleanse systems (liver, kidneys, colon, skin, and lungs) don’t function 100% when sludge keeps them from working smoothly.   We gain weight, especially around the middle,  when our bodies can’t clean out toxins.  So, yes, do a detox/cleanse.

But pick a detox you can fit into your already busy, stressful life.  Begin slowly if you intend to take this regular habit into your healthy routine.

INCLUDE PROTEIN TO RETAIN LEAN MUSCLE

A few tips for your journey:

• Always include protein when you’re cleansing.  During a detox you’re restricting calories, so your body might interpret that restriction as famine and lower your metabolism.  Without protein along with your detox drink, your body may take calories from lean muscle, not from stored fat.  Snacks can include boiled egg and a small green salad with lemon juice dressing, a handful of raw almonds, or celery sticks. This should go without saying, but avoid all processed foods which are mostly carbohydrate-based, and have no essential nutrients.

• When you’re not eating normal meals, you’re allowing your body to switch from digesting food to cleansing.  Respect and support your internal wisdom. Don’t ask your body to support heavy exercise.  You won’t profit from your detox.

• Cut back on exercise. An extended cleanse/detox can, if you allow your inner wisdom to guide, bring you to a “different” reality.  You might want to let that happen.  Some have noticed a more introspective, a more “spiritual” mood.  Respect that and take time to assess your life.  Instead of vigorous exercise, take a walk outside, in the fresh air noticing the natural world.

• Keep a journal.  If you’re serious about a healthy lifestyle, and if you believe your body has internal wisdom, you want to learn from yourself, and you’ll want a record of that learning, during this experience.

• Do not do any detox or cleanse if you have health problems, such as diabetes, unless you’re under the direct care of a physician.   This is very important.  Check with your doctor first.

John and I have what I think is a great routine.  We take 1/4 cup of Isagenix “Cleanse for Life” drink every night just before bed (2 hours without food between dinner and bedtime).

That way we’re cleansing all night as we sleep!   Regular cleansing routine is easy, and over time we’ve lost a lot of that bulge around the middle.

SHARE YOUR PRODUCTS AND IDEAS WITH US BELOW

Whatever product you use and either love/hate share your thoughts in the “Comments” section below and let’s learn from each other.   It’s much easier to find a routine and stick to it when you’re talking to others and sharing ideas.

Hope to “see” you below soon!

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DETOX HELPS BODY CLEAN OUT TOXINS, CHEMICALS

People call it “detox,”  or “cleanse,” but the basic purpose is the same, to clean toxins.

Usually the detox/cleanse drink is made up of natural herbs that encourage the body to excrete substances it can’t use.  Our bodies have wonderful, built-in systems to remove chemical poisons, dangerous toxins, and impurities it can’t burn as fuel.

TOXINS SLOW BODY FUNCTIONS

In today’s toxic-laden world it’s important to give your body a break from digesting food so it can shift energy to built-in cleansing systems: liver, kidneys, colon, skin, and lungs.

OUR BODIES CRAVE SUN, FRESH FOOD IN SPRING

It’s a century-old practice in many cultures throughout the world.  Detox teas brewed from traditional plants “wake up” cells after the long, sluggish winter.

Even though our culture has abandoned the spring cleanse our bodies still demand that spring ritual.  Drive around town on one of the first warm spring days and what do you see?

Folks out jogging, bicycles everywhere, people walking dogs, throwing frisbees, lying on the lawn in the sun.  Anything, just to be out in the sun in spring.

At the first sign of a warm day I lie on my front porch (break from computer work downstairs in my home office) in the sun loving sensuous heat on bare skin.

Our bodies sluggish from indoor bundling up, crave fresh spring air and hot sun.   Spring rejuvenation, and our bodies follow the sun.

Internal organs need spring stimulation, too, after months of limited fresh food, higher calories, and heavy meals.

In the spring, traditional cultures brought the sun inside with teas and pot liquors of burdock, spring greens, collards, beets, and dandelion greens, aloe vera, lemongrass, peppermint, high in essential minerals.

WE CAN DETOX TODAY IF WE UNDERSTAND

But today!  Where to start?  Can we cleanse in today’s world?  Do we need to? Many want to, but have questions. Does it have to be difficult?  Is it safe?  Is it hard on the body?

These questions encourage a comparison of our lives today with those of traditional cultures in the past who made a regular practice of detoxing.

IS IT SAFE TO DETOX TODAY AS THEY DID YEARS AGO?

How is your life today different from life even 50 years ago when a spring tonic cleanse was commonplace?  Think through your lifestyle today before you hop into a detox.

Here are a few thoughts to get you started:

• We live different lives from traditional cultures of yesterday.  A 10-day fast using juices and water might have been easier for them but more difficult for us today.  Why?  Is there anything more we should know to support our bodies today?

• We live fast-paced, stressful lives without much relaxation. How can that affect our detox?

• Living healthy beyond fifty demands we clean out accumulated impurities.  How is our cleanse different from what we would have done years ago, when really young!

• If we eat anything processed our body will accumulate “sludge.” Frankenfood (food that’s not really food, no nutrition, empty calories that clog bodily systems.)

• We have, oh, so many more toxins in our environment.  Bodily systems work hard every day today and may need more support than was true in the past.

• Most of us know close to nothing about detoxing.

• Many of us don’t get as much sleep as we need.  Why is that important when we’re cleansing?

I’d like to talk through each issue one by one, and I’d like your input.  Whatever product you’re using or thinking of using, feel free to share with all of us your experience.

John and I routinely use “Cleanse for Life,” an Isagenix product, but whatever you use let us all know about it.  Results, bad experiences.  Was your cleanse hard?  How hungry did you get?  Did you continue to exercise while you were cleansing?  How long a detox did you do?

We can talk about all that.  So, until next time, do a little research and share with all of us!

P.S. Next time: Juices, lemon, water for “40 days and 40 nights?”  How’s that going to fit today’s schedule for most of us?

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TOXINS MAKE YOUR STOMACH FAT

Your body stores toxins in fat cells. If your liver can’t break poisons down, it keeps them away from important organs by hiding them in fat and water, and that’s usually around the stomach. 

We’ve all known people, and perhaps we ourselves, who have lost weight, but who even with weight lost still have fat stomachs. 

That’s roughly where the liver is. When toxins overwhelm that organ, so it can’t do its job, it does the next best thing. It surrounds toxins in fat and water and “sequesters” impurities. Fat doesn’t have much blood circulation so toxins stay out of touch with the rest of the body.

Brilliant mechanism, but a fat stomach is annoying and not healthy. Fat bellies, if they stick around too long, are risk factors for metabolic syndrome, which includes diabetes, heart, and blood pressure problems.

So, it’s not just that we don’t like the look of fat bellies, they really are a sign our health is out of whack.

LIVER, MYSTERIOUS DETOX LAB

At the source of the problem is toxin overload. If I could encourage my body to get rid of poisons–help the liver detoxify–then maybe the fat would release naturally because it wouldn’t be needed any longer.

See, when the body recognizes a substance that can’t be used for fuel, mechanisms kick in to break it down to get rid of it through the skin, lungs, colon, and kidneys. 

To my mind those mechanisms are miraculous and mysterious, and most of the time they’re effective at keeping our bodies free from poisons.

DIETS DO NOT TAKE CARE OF TOXINS 

Restricting calories (diets) does not help the body handle toxins.  Nutritional cleansing is different from dieting and counting calories.

Traditional cultures have used certain natural ingredients for centuries to encourage toxin release. 

Aloe Vera is one of the best known.  And Licorice root, Burdock, and Yellow Dock.  Burdock has been used for centuries to clear the blood stream of impurities.  Yellow dock is a spring tonic to improve general health.  Licorice root is an over-all body tonic, and Aloe Vera is known for its healing properties.  Peppermint, and Fennel, too.

But, I’m not ready to start taking any of these without some advice on how to use them.  How would I go about putting them all together?  All herbs have effects in the body.  I don’t know enough about them to jump right in and start medicating myself.

Our youngest son Daniel is an herbalist.

The “Berry Boy”

He could help me identify cleansing herbs.  He’s loved plants since a little boy.  On family hikes his nickname was the “berry boy.”  He stuck by that early interest and studied in New Mexico, Alaska, and now California.  He understands it can be difficult to use healing herbs in proper combinations to gently encourage the body to release toxins.  Practitioners can help, but it does take patience and knowledge.

YOUR BODY IS EQUIPPED TO DETOXIFY

I’m probably not going to put my own herbal concoction together. 

But I know I need to consciously take steps beyond just eating good food.  My body needs a little more than that.

HELP THE BODY DETOXIFY AND LOOSE YOUR FAT STOMACH

Healing herbs and whole, natural foods used to be viewed as medicine.  That is not the case today in America for a couple of reasons.

• Corporate food production today has become a money-making industry.  More money can be made processing natural foods than selling those foods unprocessed.  Processed foods with low nutritional value and long shelf life, are what most Americans eat today.  The bottom line is profit, not good health.

• Foods grown in soil depleted by chemical fertilizers, devoid of minerals and living organisms, do not contain the full complement of vitamins and minerals that were present in food tested only twenty years ago.

• Personal products, cleansing products, exhaust from vehicles and factories, manmade chemicals in water and air, and pesticides and herbicides on our fruits and vegetables surround us and threaten health daily.

The knowledge of what is healthy food is largely gone from our culture.  The preparation of healthy meals from “scratch” is a lost art in many homes.

Most Americans have no idea what food is healthy and what food is nothing more than empty calories.  Our culture is no longer the repository of that knowledge.  Our bellies are satisfied temporarily by bulky processed grains and our taste buds by high fructose corn syrup.

So, what to do today?  Today you can make a difference in your health.

• Begin carrying around a water bottle with filtered water everywhere you go, Drink from it all day. Water is the great purifier. Your kidneys, lungs, colon, and skin will begin throwing off poisons almost immediately when you furnish your body with plenty of pure water.

• Become aware of processed food. Anything in a package is processed. Become aware of how much food is processed, not “real,” food.

Check the Blog for articles.  Do you know what happens to food animals in America? http://cleanse-for-better-health.com/blog/factory-farm-or-family-farm/

 We’ll talk more about that issue in future issues, for right now get into the kitchen and fill your water bottle… 

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Toxins Are Stealing Your Health and Energy

Environmental Toxins Linked To Most US Disease

There are 72 different insecticides, pesticides, and chemical poisons in our fruits and vegetables. Animals are injected with hormones, heavy metals, and pharmaceuticals, and our air, filled with toxins. PAH toxins, from anything that burns (barbecues, cigarettes, automobiles, factories), are linked to the breakdown of immune mechanisms that protect us from breast cancer. Toxins in our environment are a serious problem, linked to most disease in the U.S. today.

LIVER: THE BODY’S CLEANSING FACTORY

The liver is the body’s cleansing “laboratory.” It filters toxins from the blood, breaks them down, and sends them to the lungs, skin, kidneys, and colon for excretion.  It’s the liver’s job to disable toxins to isolate them from important organs.

WHY YOU HAVE A FAT STOMACH

Poisons the liver can’t break down must be stored away from important body organs.  They’re coated with fat and water and deposited.

There are no boundaries to man’s creativity, so there are manmade chemicals beyond the liver’s ability to disintegrate. To immobilize and hide them, the liver coats them with fat and water and stores them.

Heavy metal toxins, aluminum, lead, and mercury, from lipstick, anti-per spirants, vaccines, and pharmaceuticals, when absorbed, are stored in more fat and water. 

By-products of the petroleum industry in plastics, cosmetics, and shampoos are coated in fat and water and stored.

The result is an accumulation of fat and water in upper arms, thighs, and the belly.

THINK YOU’RE HEALTHY?  YOU’RE TOXIC

Fat buildup. Water Retention.  Fat Stomachs.

80% of us are overweight; 31% meet the criteria for “obese.”

We spend over $75,000,000,000 (billion) a year on weight–related diseases.

No matter how good you think your health is, toxins are part of your reality. Because of toxin buildup internal organs are sluggish and unable to function, and disease becomes part of life.

4 TIPS FOR FIGHTING TOXINS

• Become aware of cleaning products for house, and clothes.  Chlorine is a poison, so investigate natural cleaning and “green” laundry options. Use vinegar in a spray bottle, a non-toxic sanitizer/cleaner.

• Be aware of ingredients in personal care products. If you can’t read the name, it’s a toxic chemical.

Anti-per spirants contain heavy metal aluminum. Shampoos contain ingredients in auto anti-freeze.

• Eat Food, Whole Food, with natural packaging. Processed food has little or no nutrition, and many toxins.

• Eat food in its natural state. 

Read the labels on Twinkies, Cool-Whip, Sara Lee’s, Soft & Smooth Whole Grain White Bread. (white bread, with the whole part of the wheat kernel removed, can be called whole grain?)

More than 5 ingredients=frankenfood, not real food. Avoid.

Michael Pollan’s, In Defense of Food, Penguin Press, 2008. 

SHOULD YOU CLEANSE TOXINS?

You can undertake a “cleanse,” to cooperate with your body. Some cleansing products on the market, recommend no solid food while cleansing.  “Fasting” should be with a physician’s guidance because our bodies, with today’s fast-paced lifestyle, need balanced fuel: carbohydrates, fat, and protein.

MUSCLE NEEDS HIGH-QUALITY PROTEIN

1. No solid food for many days won’t give the body fuel it needs to build and maintain lean muscle tissue.  Support muscle growth and maintenance with ample high-quality protein.  Your heart is a lean muscle.

2. Drink water, preferably filtered, to flush toxins.  No little plastic bottles, please, no chlorine, at least 100 oz. a day.  

To flush toxins your body needs plenty of water, not high-energy caffeine drinks. Energy drinks give you energy by pulling from the body and depleting the body’s reservoir.

BEGINNING A HEALTHY LIFESTYLE

Take the few steps above. Become aware of toxins in your world, and take small steps to minimize impact.

As they’re flushed, fat and excess water will be released, and you will feel more energetic than in years. Your fat stomach will begin to shrink.

Built-in systems seek balance in your body. When you cooperate natural good health, your birthright becomes an easy companion.

Check the link in the upper left corner of this blog for  the “Cleansing for Better Health” free newsletter. 

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If you care about your health you need to be aware of toxins in your food.  As we grow older, these poisons build up and slow the body’s cleansing process.  It’s critical to our health that we be aware of what goes on in American agriculture today.  Denying the facts may give us impaired immune systems, sore joints, and extra weight around the middle, and definitely not a flat stomach!

SO WHAT’S THE ANSWER TO GREAT HEALTH WHEN WE’RE LIVING IN A SEA OF CHEMICALS?

John and I live in high desert country between Reno, NV, and Salt Lake, and we grow great sagebrush, but not many vegetables!

It’s high here, elevation wise.  It freezes and snows, sometimes even in summer.  It’s usually dry.  The sun is strong and harsh, making lettuce, and spinach bolt in early spring, and peas quit producing, even though they just began.  Gardening is tough.

We get most of our summer vegetables from a Community Supported Agriculture program, CSA, in Fallon, to the west of us on the way to Reno.  The vegetables are grown without toxic chemicals (pesticides fungicides, pre-emergents) and fertilized with natural manure and local compost.

Produce the farmer brings us is high in vitamins and minerals and low in toxins.  It’s picked the morning he comes.   Chickens have free-run of the farm, doing what chickens naturally do.

For a contrast: Many fields and produce grown in the U.S. are blanketed in toxic chemicals, chemicals that build up and effectively “sterilize” soil.  These conventionally grown vegetables are lower in vitamins and minerals since they’re grown in depleted soil.

This video shows the contrast between much of American’s agriculture and the small family farm, especially an organic farm.  You’ll also see Will Allen of Growing Power, in Milwaukee’s urban agriculture project which grows vegetables and fruit in its greenhouses, raises goats, ducks, bees, turkeys, and tilapia and Great lakes Perch in the center of the city. 

There you have it.  You saw in this video rows of vegetables covered in spray, unsanitary conditions for our food animals, and toxins that stress our bodies. You also saw inspiring scenes of healthy agriculture, a new paradigm.  What can each of us do?

• First step is to become educated about America’s food.
• Second step might be to support healthy agriculture, perhaps buy organic.
• Third could be to give your body a break from toxin overload by becoming educated about the food supply. 
• Supporting your body’s cleansing function, keeping your immune system and liver healthy.

WHAT’S YOUR EXPERIENCE?  SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS BELOW:

• How do you find time to cook food from scratch?  Does it matter to you?
• Do you buy organic produce?  Is it more expensive? The movie pointed out that not all costs, such as environmental degradation, higher sickness rates, are figured into conventional agriculture.
• What time-saving ideas do you have for preparing food from scratch?
• Do you shop at Farmers Markets?
• How do you keep your immune system strong?  Your liver?

Comment and Share this post.  Let’s start a discussion!

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