Thaddeus Jeckell - Your Fitness Advocate
Blog Entry
1/24/2012
Your Organs Deserve a Vacation
Hi everyone, I want to share a recipe with all of you. My wife prepared it, so I can’t take credit for it. I’m not sure what to call it but for namesake let’s call it “modified eggs benedict”. Two fried eggs served over prosciutto and a bed of cooked spinach and garlic, topped with a homemade hollandaise sauce. Have it for breakfast or dinner complimented with a glass of orange juice or a Viognier you can’t go wrong. Enjoy!!
You have probably heard about detox diets and diet cleansing from TV ads, magazines, doctors, or even have a couple of friends that do it from time to time. Let me shed some light on diet cleansing and what it can do for us. Let’s give your digestive organs the vacation it deserves by allowing it to cleanse itself and regroup.
What is a cleanse? A cleanse is a health regimen designed to remove toxins from the body. Some cleanses or detox diets target the entire body, while others focus on specific organs such as the liver, kidneys, or skin. In most cases, a cleanse requires a temporary change in diet. Cleanses can be used to improve health, as a weight loss tool, and to treat underlying medical causes.
How do we build up harmful toxins? Your body stores excess toxins and impurities in fat cells. Your liver is working overtime to process all the toxins whether it may be environmental or metabolic. The body creates fat cells to store the excess toxins the liver can’t deal with. Since fat is inactive, your body won’t let go of the fat until the impurities are gone. These toxins and chemicals are known as mucoidal plaques. Toxin buildup occurs over time through chemicals and pollutants by exposure to air, water, and food. Some common environmental toxins are pesticides, herbicides, prescription and over the counter medications, and carbon monoxide. Food additives are another category that can create toxin buildup that the body can’t naturally detoxify.
Does my body detoxify itself? Your body is constantly detoxifying and cleansing toxins from your cells. Most of the toxins are broken down by your liver, and then eliminated from your body via the kidneys, colon, skin, lungs, and mucus linings in your nose and ears. Once your elimination channels cannot keep up with the toxin buildup, your body will store them in fat tissues. Eventually it can cause health issues at the cellular level.
Do I need to detox? Everybody is exposed to toxins on a daily basis, unless you have built a functional bubble that protects you from everything around you and everything you put in your mouth. If considering a detox diet, it’s important to consult with your physician prior to starting. People with certain health conditions such as diabetes, anemia, and kidney disease should refrain from starting a cleanse or detox. A cleanse is unsafe for a pregnant woman as well. Here are some questions you will need to answer to confirm if a detox is for you. Do you feel tired, sluggish, or lethargic? Do you get sick often? Do you have bloating, gas or indigestion after eating? Do you have allergies? Do you have regular bowel movements? Do you drink at least 3 cups of water per day? Do you have unpleasant body odors? Is your diet filled with additives and bad fats? Do you smoke? Are you exposed to environmental toxins? Do you have a hard time losing weight?
What can I expect from a detox? A detox diet allows our body to heal itself. It can stimulate digestive health, clear headaches, remove bloating, increase energy, aid in weight loss, ward off colds and flu, prevent premature aging and disease, lessen cravings, and many more. Some people can experience some negative side effects along with the benefits depending on the intensity of the detox process. Some detoxifying side effects may include nausea, fatigue, and headaches.
How to prepare for a full body cleanse? Before beginning it’s ideal to take a week or two or at least a few days to taper your intake of the following: Coffee, alcohol, salt, sugar and other sweeteners, all animal foods (including dairy, eggs, fish, shellfish, chicken, beef, pork, and all other flesh meats). These foods put strain on you digestive organs, and avoiding them “cold turkey” can sometimes create withdrawal symptoms that are too powerful for some people to tolerate. It’s fine to eat grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds right up until the day before you begin your period of detox. These foods are rich in fiber, and their remains should move through the digestive tract without too much difficulty during cleanse.
Tips to successful cleansing: Drink plenty of water, eat raw foods (they contain the best digestive enzymes), avoid foods that are hard to digest, eat citric foods, use ginger and garlic, slowly reintroduce foods to diet, no OTC medications during detox, no alcohol during detox, eat foods rich in vitamin C, and consume fiber rich foods.
The best detoxing foods: Apples, avocados, blueberries, cranberries, grapefruit, lemons, oranges, seaweed, kale, garlic, cabbage, beets, celery and celery seeds, flaxseed, broccoli sprouts, and green tea.
When it comes to cleansing your body of harmful toxins, food really is the best medicine. We brush our teeth 2-3 times daily, it’s time we gave our organs a good brushing. Give your liver and kidney a vacation and try a detox or a cleanse. A cleanse can be a 1, 2, or a 3 day detox. Follow these guidelines and notice how a cleanse and full body detox can change the way you feel.
Diet Success Challenge: This week I challenge you to try a 2 day cleanse. On day 1 you can have fruits and only fruits all day long. I don’t care how many calories you consume, but all the daily calories need to come from organic fresh fruit. Make sure you include citrus fruits, especially lemons, grapefruit, and oranges. Here are some other items to put on the menu for day 1 (pineapple, blueberries, blackberries, apples, avocado, kiwi, strawberries, and figs). Day 2 consists of organic vegetables. The day’s caloric consumption must consist of only veggies. Here is a short list of non-starchy veggies to include on the menu for day 2 (beets, cauliflower, broccoli sprouts, carrots, beets, peppers). Make sure you drink plenty of water throughout the day. If you get hungry on either day, you can have unsalted almonds as a snack. You can have green tea on both days and honey on to taste on day 2 if you need be. Follow all guidelines mentioned in this blog in preparation for a cleanse including those of you that have a condition that would contradict participating in a cleanse. Thank you!
Your “Fitness Advocate”
Thaddeus
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