Hi Everybody
It is time for Spring Cleaning!
CLEANSING / DETOX- In almost every healing tradition, great emphasis is placed on cleaning out the body from time to time. The theory is that toxins build up in every part of our body and need to be cleaned out periodically.
Toxins allowed to remain inside the body indefinitely are believed to build up over time and cause everything from allergies to cancers.
BEST TIME TO CLEANSE- The optimal time to cleanse is believed to be during the Spring. In some traditions you also do a much lighter cleanse in the fall.
Have you ever noticed that during the Spring you begin to crave fruits and lighter foods, where in the Winter you tend to crave heavier foods, like meat and potatoes and beans? Ever notice how you tend to get more energy in the Spring, and you feel like cleaning and organizing things? This is where we get the term “Spring Cleaning”. It is a major instinct for us to clean out the old, stagnant crud that built up over the winter time when we were less active.
The Fall Cleanse, if done, should not be harsh, as you don’t want to weaken the body for the tough winter cold and flu season. Along the same line, you should never cleanse during the cold months, it is just too hard on the body.
OUR PROGRAM: Keep the cleanse very simple. For 2 weeks do the following…
1. Detox Diet-
a. Eat as many vegetables as possible, especially green leafy vegetables, Brussel sprouts, cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower. These foods are especially cleansing. Try to eat at least one of these vegetables at every meal, except maybe breakfast.
b. Juice for added nutrition and cleansing (recipes available upon request).
c. Eat only fruit and nuts for snacks (unless diabetic, then no fruit). The best fruits for detox are COOKED prunes, figs, apples, pears, pineapples and papayas.
d. No sugar for the period of the fast.
e. No soda or diet soda for the period of the fast.
f. No eating McDonald’s, Sonic or any other fast food for the period of the fast.
g. Optional: Replace one meal per day with juicing.
2. Supplements-
a. NOW Easy Cleanse- a gentle detox program for morning and night.
b. Optionals- add one or all of these for a more thorough cleanse:
Blood Cleanse (a deep penetrating cleanser)
Guggulu (another deep penetrating cleanser)
Paracleanse (for parasites)
Triphala (cleanses the bowels)
c. Add a probiotic and enzymes to your daily routine keep parasites and bad bacteria from building back up.
Prosynbiotic or eat one Activia yogurt daily
Enzycore, or eat one can of pineapples daily
PLEASE NOTE that this is a strong cleanse, not a cleanse that will necessarily make you go to the bathroom all day, but strong as in good at getting toxins from your body. It is normal to not feel your best during the cleanse, but if it is too harsh, back off one pill per day on all supplements you are taking. If it persists, let us know. Remember that cleansing toxins is not a race, it is a marathon. You just want to get there eventually.
Hope this helps,
Dr Matt and Dr Robin
mattandrobin@yahoo.com (email)
This week’s bit of Useless Information: Jack Johnson (the first ever African American heavyweight boxing champion) was pulled over for a $50 speeding ticket, but he gave the officer $100 telling him to keep the change because he was going to make the return trip at the same speed.
This email is courtesy of Matthew Barnes, D.C. and Robin Barnes, D.C. Neither this nor any of our emails are intended to be medical advice and should not be taken as such. They are opinion and are for informational purposes only. None of the nutrients discussed here are meant to diagnose, treat, or cure any disease.