Time for a Spring Cleanse
Spring-time is here and some of you have expressed an interest in doing a cleanse. I plan to start the cleansing season off this weekend with this anti-inflammatory cleansing diet that will boost metabolism and improve health in three weeks time.
The way it works is that it gives you a chance to eliminate all the most common food allergens so that your body can regain balance. It takes 21 days to create a new habit so give yourself this opportunity and then after this cleanse, or when you are ready, you can add back one food at a time to see how your body reacts.
For me, this is phase one of the cleansing protocol that I plan to follow. Phase two is to clean the lower colon so that we don't reabsorb the toxins that we have been releasing. I will post more on that later.
Guidelines:
1) drink 2-3 quarts of water with .5 teaspoon of sea salt and juice of 1/4 to 1/2 lemon. If you can't tolerate lemon you can try one or more of these excellent teas choices: ginger, peppermint, fennel or lemon grass
2) take 4 teaspoons of organic olive oil a day
3) eat organic
4) it will take about 4 days to start to wake up your metabolism on this eating regimen
Foods to avoid:
Generally avoid highly allergic foods: wheat, rice, soy, eggs, corn, oats, rye, dairy
Specifically:Avoid all foods from the night shade family of vegetables (potatoes, eggplant, tomatoes and all peppers) as they increase the inflammatory process in the body
No fried foods, hydrogenated oils and rancid oils, nuts, or seeds.
No bread, pasta, grains, legumes, carbohydrates, processed foods even if organic
No root vegetables: beets, carrots, potato, yam, sweet potato, parsnip
No off-the-shelf fruit juices. Fruits only in moderation.
No dairy, if you need a little cream in your morning coffee try fresh almond milk, coconut milk or brown rice milks
No nuts, especially peanutsNo carbonated water or soda
No alcohol
No sugar or honey. pure stevia is okay.
None of the following vegetables: artichoke, avocado, peas, pumpkin, squash
Condiments not permitted: ketchup, soy sauce, tamari, mustard, tahini, jams, jelly, balsamic vinegar or red wine vinegar
What you can eat:
1) eat a lot of vegetables. Raw and cooked, mostly cooked if we are working on spleen qi deficiency/digestion/water retention/weight loss issues. Some great vegetables are endive, fennel, celery, chard, cucumbers, all cabbages, broccoli,cauliflower, asparagus, zucchini, green onions and parsley.
2) meat, fish and seafood are fine in moderation. organic when possible.
3) twice a week: brussel sprouts, green and wax beans, heart palms, rutabaga, snow peas
3) condiments: apple cider vinegar, herbs/spices: turmeric, ginger, mint, cinnamon, sage, garlic, onions and scallions, lemon, lemon grass, white vinegar
4) seeds rather than grains. try these: quinoa, amaranth or millet. Be sure to soak them for 8 to 10 hours before cooking it release the enzyme inhibitor.
5) Fruits in moderation because of the sugar content.Please let me know if you are interested in keeping a food diary. I am happy to help facilitate in that, in weigh-ins, and taking body measurements.
Happy cleansing!
