January, 2011 Community Cleanse – One Week Countdown

Today marks the seven-day countdown to the Healthy Junkie’s Community Cleanse that begins on January 4^th, 2011 and runs until January 31^st.  Many of us are incorporating this into our 2011 New Year’s resolution as a way to lose weight (fat), rid our bodies of toxins, improve digestion, increase energy, increase immunity, improve sleep, or just be healthier in general.  I know many new Healthy Junkies as well as veterans will be participating and the rules for the Community Cleanse are pretty much the same.  You can choose to participate for one week up to the full four weeks.  You must eliminate at least four of the six elements on the cleanse list.  See Community Cleanse – Let’s All Commit! for a list of the rules and to download your “contract”.  I’ll be cleansing for four weeks with all six of the cleanse “ingredients” eliminated.  I’m looking forward to it after all this holiday indulgence that has quite frankly led to too much holiday cheer.  

A few nights ago I thought I was going to explode after eating the third family turkey Christmas dinner in a row.  But of course it never finishes with dinner – there’s always desert.  I’m pretty sure my mother’s ridiculously delicious carrot cake with cream cheese icing pushed me over the edge into a complete food coma.  But I’ve learnt a few lessons over this holiday season:  When it comes to all things cheesy, creamy, and all deserts, don’t continually ask your friends and family, “So exactly what’s in this?”  They don’t like to tell you and you probably won’t like the answers.  Also while eating deserts, don’t say in between bites, “Wow I’m sooo full.  I think I’m going to be sick.”  This may disrupt others enjoying their sweet tooth and no one wants to imagine us being sick.

Come January 4th I’m ready to give my body another break from all of it; coffee, white sugar, dairy, white flour, alcohol, processed and refined foods.  Don’t get me wrong I’m a little nervous, much like I was before embarking on the last Community Cleanse…. See One-Week Countdown to Community Cleanse.  But since this is my second time around, I have a little more experience and know that very quickly I’ll feel the positive effects of eating clean. 

For any of us who haven’t followed The Healthy Junkie blog until recently, or need that extra push to take this all seriously see the following past blog entries:

Coffee Break

White Sugar – Hazardous So Beware

Dairy – Oh Cheese I’m Going to Miss You

The Fake, The Sweet, The Goat and The “Chips”

With the holidays still in full swing here, I’m not going to escape the holiday cheer.  But I’m certainly going to do my best to keep from feeling as full as I did last night.  However, I’m not going to let my mother’s crack-carrot cake go to waste.  So off I go to eat a very small piece – very small.  After all we’re not yet cleansing. 

Happy Holidays Healthy Junkies!

More Cleansing Anyone?

There are other methods to help with the detoxification process.  This list is not absolute.  For instance, I don’t mention the infamous enema.  Okay, well I suppose I just mentioned it and it is effective.  But I won’t be going into details, so if you’re interested add it to the following list. 

To deepen your cleanse – even more – try some of the following:

1. Dry brushing to increase lymphatic drainage.  The skin is the largest elimination organ, so be sure to dry brush in a circular motion over your whole body.  Dry brushing also helps to increase circulation and remove dead skin cells.  You can find a natural fiber bristle brush in health food stores.  Loofah brushes work as well.  Do this once to twice a day.        
2. Exercise – get out there, get moving and break a sweat.
3. Drink lots of water and then drink more water.  It is said that 75% of us are chronically dehydrated.
4. Take warm baths with Epsom salts.  This is a great way to detoxify and soothe any aches and pains.
5. Saunas and hydrotherapy increase lymphatic activity.  Saunas and extreme heat are not recommended for those who are weak, obese or pregnant.
6. Drink lemon juice or apple cider vinegar in water (you can also add cayenne for an extra detox kick).
7. Herbal teas help to support many of the elimination organs of the body.  I personally like milk thistle, dandelion root, red raspberry, nettle, chamomile and burdock root.  Try incorporating these healing teas into your rituals while on The Community Cleanse.

Happy cleansing community cleansers!  Next post will be on Thursday.

The Liver – Almighty Cleanse Organ

Today is day 4 of The Community Cleanse.  Is anyone else feeling a little more tired than usual?  I went to bed last night at 10:30.  This is unheard of for a night owl like me.  I slept for eleven hours and even our dog, Gaston, couldn’t get me out of bed this morning.  I have a sneaky suspicion my body is already beginning to detox.  Having eliminated stimulants like caffeine, sugar and alcohol my body is feeling a little unsure of where to gather its energy from (I know alcohol is a nervous system depressant, but it sure feels like a stimulant when first ingested).  There’s an old Irish Proverb that says, “A good laugh and a long sleep are the best cures in the doctor’s book.”  I agree and also say, “A good laugh and a good big break on The Community Cleanse will help restore my poor overworked liver.”   

The liver has many important responsibilities.  It regulates metabolism, purifies our blood and produces bile which helps to break down fats.  The liver continuously filters the two liters of blood that pumps through it every minute.  When working optimally, this powerful organ also helps relieve our bodies of inflammation, allergies and sensitivities to infection. 

Stress, hydrogenated and rancid foods, junk food, preservatives and additives, a high “bad fat” diet, alcohol, nicotine, pesticides, herbicides, caffeine, and prescription drugs all help contribute to an overloaded liver.  The heavier the toxic load, the harder it has to work and the higher the risk of it becoming overburdened and sluggish.  Of course, it’s impossible to eliminate all these toxins.  However, too many of these elements compounded can lead to the deterioration of health.        

There are many symptoms to an overburdened liver including:

• Fatigue, headaches, depression and feeling dizzy
• Weight gain
• Confusion
• Mood swings and aggressive behavior
• Immune weakness
• Hormonal imbalances
• Hypoglycemia
• Acne, eczema, rashes and psoriasis
• Gallbladder issues
• Allergies and food sensitivities
• Sensitivities to smells
• Aching joints and muscles  
• Bad breath
• PMS
• Constipation and bloating

The liver is arguably the most important detoxification organ in the body and in today’s onslaught of toxins and stress, we need to pay attention and respect the liver.  All hail the mighty liver!  In addition to eating a diet high in lean proteins, whole grains and anti-oxidant filled fruits and vegetables, there are a few extra tricks you can incorporate during the cleanse to better help the liver along in its detoxification process.  Tricks include the following:

• Juice of half a lemon or 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar in 8 oz of room temperature water – this is great to do first thing upon rising as a liver cleanse.
• Juice carrots, beets, apples, and ginger.  You will need a juicer or find a health food restaurant that makes fresh juice.
• Incorporate fiber like chia seeds, apple pectin, flax seeds or flax meal.  You can add these to smoothies or oatmeal.
• Eat more beets, broccoli, cabbage, Brussel sprouts, artichokes, dandelion greens, kale, collard greens, Swiss chard, endive, arugula, blueberries, apples, garlic and ginger.
• Incorporate spices like turmeric, cinnamon, and licorice.
• Milk Thistle tea or herb complex
• Dandelion root tea or herb complex     
• A good multi-vitamin
• Extra vitamin C with bioflavanoids
• Exercise – at least walk for 30 minutes every day

Thank God the liver has a tremendous ability to regenerate!  There’s no way I’d be in good health today if this was not true.  Having survived a diet – I seemed to have endured a lifetime ago – of diet coke, cigarettes, junk food and alcohol.  There’s another quote I hold tightly in my mind today by Leon Eldred, “If I’d known I was going to live so long, I’d have taken better care of myself”.  My quote goes something like this, “I plan to live a long, long time and enjoy not only my life, but my good health as well”.  Oh yes, I bow to the almighty detox organ and know that with this cleanse and continued moderation in my cleansing afterlife, it will be renewed.

Eat Healthy Challenge – Let’s All Commit!

MY EAT HEALTHY CHALLENGE GOALS

This is meant to be a contract between you and yourself to set goals and participate in the Community Eat Healthy Challenge.  Circle the weeks you commit to staying on the Challenge or circle the full four weeks. You can also view my older example, from a past Challenge. For this next Eat Healthy Challenge, I’ve again chosen all six restrictions below and will stay on the Challenge for the full four weeks. I will definitely need some community support.

Print this out and fill it in.  I will commit to:

WEEK ONE– September 6^th – 12^th    

 WEEK TWO – September 13^th – 19^th    

 WEEK THREE – September 20^th – 26^th    

 WEEK FOUR – September 27^th– October 3^rd

 FOUR WEEK CHALLENGE – September 6^th– October3^rd

Choose at least four of the following foods to be eliminated during the Eat Healthy Challenge and circle them:

1. No Alcohol
2. No Caffeine (green tea’s okay)
3. No Sugar (including dextrose, fructose, glucose, sucrose, corn syrup, maltodextrin, sorbitol and many more).   Very little agave nectar is okay.  
4. No White flour
5. No Dairy (including milk, cheese, cream, ice cream).  Plain yogurt is okay, a little butter is okay.
6. No Processed Foods or Hydrogenated Foods (this one must be circled by everyone).  Also, do not eat luncheon meats with nitrites and nitrates added as preservatives.  These are known to react with HCL (hydrochloric acid) in the stomach and produce nitrosamines that are known carcinogens.  Also, no MSG or sulfites. No Nutra-Sweet, aspartame, sucralose or Splenda.

**NOTE — YOU ARE GOING TO HAVE TO READ LABELS.

Now, for good measure, rewrite your goals below and sign and date your community cleanse challenge “contract”.

I ________________________________________ agree to remain on the Community Eat Healthy Challenge for ________ days and will eliminate the following five foods from my diet,

1. __________________________________________________________,
2. __________________________________________________________,
3. __________________________________________________________,
4. __________________________________________________________,
5. __________________________________________________________ ,
6. __________________________________________________________ .

Signature_________________________________________________           Date___________________