You’ve decided that you want to detox. You know it’s the right thing to do but you can’t quite bring yourself to do it? You are having trouble getting started. If this sums it up for you then this article from coach Karen Knowler can help. Although it’s about going raw you can apply these tips to starting and maintaining a detox diet.

What Do You Need To Believe?

Belief is one of the most powerful, if not THE most powerful, internal drivers in existence.

When we believe in something, both our head and our heart are engaged, and taking action becomes easy because we are already in alignment.

Belief also rides side-by-side with imagination, meaning that even though much of what we believe may not be visible to the physical eye, we can have such a strong faith and a passion in what we believe that the path ahead, although not always clearly visible, is nonetheless compelling, exciting and perfectly beautiful to us in our mind’s eye.

Natalie (name changed) came to our coaching call on Monday frustrated because despite being somewhat into raw foods she just couldn’t fully embrace it. Her main reason was already known to us both: Her health situation had brought her to raw because quite simply it was the only thing that had helped ease her issues, and yet she had found herself really struggling with going raw despite regularly surfing the web for inspiration, enjoying some of the recipes and knowing intellectually that it is what she needs to do.

This was the challenge that was presented to me during the short 15 minutes that we had together: How can I stop fighting the raw journey and learn how to love it and not resist it?

Speaking with Natalie it became clear from some of the things she was saying that not only was she resisting the present situation, but she was also wistfully looking back to the past and wishing she was there, at a time where she did eat anything and everything she wanted to without issues.

It dawned on me then that our first priority was to bring her fully into the present, into her current reality and truth and also to have her looking more joyfully to the future.

Upon asking Natalie if she generally spent most of her thought time in the past, present or future, she said “Mostly the past, sometimes the future, and rarely in the present”… this confirmed some of what I had already suspected to be at the root of the problem. We cannot make progress when we are not in the NOW and don’t own and engage with the present.

Further discussion revealed that Natalie also had an issue with being potentially called a “raw fooder” if she changed her diet to mostly or all raw foods. Me too! I have a distinct dislike of labeling people, especially according to their diet, and Natalie had subconsciously and consciously decided that as she didn’t want to be called a raw fooder she wouldn’t in fact eat like one most of the time!

Clearly not the best way to get the results that she wants and needs for her health when raw foods is the only way of eating that works for her and has been helping to heal her!

So there were two main resistances: wanting to stay mostly in the past and also resisting being labeled. Both very powerful blockages to her being where she wants and needs to be if she is to get well.

But of course Natalie was speaking to me for a reason: She DOES want to eat raw. Sure, mostly it is because she wants to be well, but she is also inspired, if a little in awe, at the stories of raw transformations that she has seen on the web and other aspects of raw food eating have intrigued her.

Well, quite possibly this was the only time I had ever had someone on a coaching call who was so very split in two as Natalie was. But being in limbo is not the best place to be for any of us for more than a short while, and when your health – your very foundation for a great life – is at stake then moving forward and working with what helps heal you is, of course, the only way to go.

So we returned to the challenge in hand: How can I stop fighting the raw journey and learn how to love it and not resist it?

Already we had discussed how living in the past is not great for any of us on any level. Natalie agreed and also acknowledged that she had never really consciously realised that she was living there before. It certainly helped her understand where a large part of the resistance was coming from, and she happily agreed to consciously focus on bringing herself into the present moment and “living there” as often as possible because the former approach had definitely not been serving her.

As far as labels were concerned, it was time for the power coaching questions:

“What label would you like to put on yourself that will assist you and inspire you to continue on your raw food journey? OR — What do you need to believe for raw foods to be a joyful experience for you?”

I shared with Natalie that as I don’t like being labeled a raw foodist either, I had come up with my own private “label” (a name I give myself) that I use to quickly and passionately align me with my needs and values that speaks to ME, inspiring me to be the highest version of myself on a daily basis.

While I keep this name private, I shared enough with Natalie for her to recognise that her label doesn’t need to be about food at all, but simply needs to speak to her in a way that feels good and inspires her to embrace raw foods and enjoy them from a newer, much more expansive and excited place.

My coaching challenge to Natalie, as we neared the end of our 15 minutes, was to have a think about what she would like to believe about herself and/or the raw food journey for it to be a joy for her so that she could leave the past behind and move forward into all the pleasures and benefits that raw food can bring.

This challenge really spoke to Natalie as already she was seeing that there was light at the end of the tunnel, now all she had to do was tap into herself and find out what would inspire her from within so that she could get well again.

A few hours later we had our second call of the day. Natalie was thrilled to announce that the answer to the coaching challenge had simply dropped into her mind as she walked home from work that night. She excitedly reported how it really spoke to her and had already created a shift inside her and how happy she was with what she had come up with.

I’m sure you’re itching to know what Natalie “got” as much as I was, right?

Well, Natalie gave me permission to share it with you, so you’re in luck!

At the start of Monday Natalie’s belief was:

“I’m being forced to eat raw food because of my health”

By Monday evening Natalie’s new, much more empowering belief was:

“Raw food has chosen ME!”

Quite a shift, I’m sure you’ll agree! Natalie loved the idea of feeling specially chosen by raw food, it really worked for her.

Since then I have heard from Natalie again via email reporting back on how her eating has changed this week:

“Just to let you know I am doing really well since our call even though I have hit detox!  The words about being chosen are really working for me and I am repeating them through the day to help me. I have maintained about 90% raw which I am really pleased with and the cooked things have been vegan or vegetarian and whole foods so I am really pleased.”

“When I say ‘raw food has chosen me’ to myself, I emphasise the word ‘chosen’ in my mind more than the word ‘me’. When I think about being chosen I get an image of my success being an inspiration to other people. That’s a very powerful emotional image for me. Normally I fight detox symptoms but as you said on our call, I’ve learned to see them as a reward. (Who would have thought that mucous was a reward, but it is!)”

Wow for Natalie and a big wow for any one of you who have in the process of learning with Natalie recognised how your own beliefs about raw food may be holding you back!

Of course you know what my coaching challenge is going to be for you this week, don’t you? It’s the same one as I set for Natalie and here it is again especially for YOU:

“What label would you like to put on yourself that will assist you and inspire you to continue on your raw food journey? OR — What do you need to believe for raw foods to be a joyful experience for YOU?”

If you feel that you are not quite “there” internally or externally with raw foods, specifically to the degree that intellectually or medically you desire, asking these questions of yourself can absolutely give you the breakthrough you need as long as you stay true to you and what matters in your life to YOU.

As above, it doesn’t even have to be about food necessarily, it simply has to be a belief about yourself that automatically requires you to eat more raw foods in order for you to fully realise and externally manifest the dreams or goals you have for yourself.

To get you in the groove here are a few other different examples of “labels” or beliefs that could/would work for people, depending on what speaks to them…

* Raw food is my medicine and I am on full time, full strength medication!

* Raw food is my lover

* I am a lean, green, fighting machine!

* I am strong, fit and healthy, running on living foods and loving it!

* As I eat, so shall I show up in the world

* Born to blossom

* My connection to the planet is everything to me

* I am the artist of my body, mind and soul and my palette comprises of raw foods, daily exercise and having tons of fun!

* Raw food and I are one

* I choose raw bliss

* I am crazy, sexy, cool!

* I ooze raw-ness : )

As you see there is no end to what you can come up with that might perfectly work for you!

I’d LOVE to hear from you about what you either already believe about yourself that keeps you in alignment with raw foods, or what you have now come up with to keep you aligned as result of reading this article.

As I hope you will have learned, and also as per the article of two weeks ago, those subconscious beliefs have so much power over us until we bring them up and out and consciously change them to something much more aligned and empowering for who we really are and who we wish to become.

And what’s more, the great thing about beliefs is that we can change them at any time! So you can tweak it, overwrite it, reinvent it or upgrade it at any point in the future as soon as it stops working for you or if you feel it doesn’t quite hit the spot. Very cool, huh?

Karen Knowler, The Raw Food Coach publishes “Successfully Raw” – a free weekly eZine for raw food lovers everywhere. If you’re ready to look good, feel great and create a raw life you love get your FREE tips, tools and recipes now at www.TheRawFoodCoach.com.

Guest post

If you are following a plan of vegetarian diet nutrition, are you getting it all? First we have to destroy the myth that eating a Standard American Diet (SAD) provides you with what your body really needs.

If you’ve been learning at the Hippocrates Health Institute for any amount of time, you now know that the food pyramid’s aim is to help the lobbyists , not your health. Most people on the SAD are starving their body of vitamins and minerals, enzymes and phytochemicals.

Phytochemicals are the electricity of the body. If your energy and reactions in your body are weak, this is the bottom line even more than vitamins and minerals.

You may be taking many vitamin supplements, but for the most part the body cannot digest and metabolize them because they are artificial. Only when we get back to our design and eat fresh organic plant-based food do we find the vitamins, minerals, enzymes and phytochemicals the body can readily use.

You get all these straight from the food you eat when you consume growing sprouts: sunflower seed sprouts, pea green sprouts, alfalfa sprouts, bean sprouts…

…The growing sprouts and wheatgrass have literally 30 times the phytochemicals you find even in other organic vegetables.

Plant-based food in its raw unaltered state contains about half the enzymes you need to digest it. So you can imagine the encumbrance you are placing on your body if you regularly consume food that does not come with its own digestive enzymes and is also not easily digestible.

The digestive system is the most energy intensive of all the body’s systems anyway. If you over-burden it with heavily refined, cooked foods and meat, there is barely any energy left to perform cleansing and repair functions.

Do you ever feel really tired after a meal? I know I have and I thought it was normal. But you’ll find that eating an 80% raw vegetarian diet, you get the nutrition your body needs and you will have a lot more energy.

Guest article

Searching for a method to effortlessly include much more vitamins and nutrients into your diet regime? If so, you may want to discover the concept of juicing. In this post, we’ll include some of the benefits of juicing as well as recommend one of the most popular juicers for getting going which is the Green Power Gold Juicer.

Employing a compact kitchen gadget called a juicer may bring remarkable rewards to your overall well-being and health. Juicing is basically getting rid of the juice and nutrients from any selection of fruits and vegetables. This is basically the intake of uncooked food in its finest sense and lots of individuals who adhere to a raw food diet get much of their nutritional vitamins and energy from meals that they drink in this way.

You will need to remember that fruit obviously includes much more natural sugar compared to vegetables, so the largest part of the juicing should consist primarily of vegetables with fruits added in cautiously for additional taste. Naturally, you should be certain to do your own research and consult with your physician before starting any kind of serious modifications to your own diet and healthy eating plan.

There are lots of benefits to using a juicer, like the Green Power Gold and making the consumption of more fruits and vegetables a consistent part of your daily diet plan.

For a lot of people, consuming whole vegetables and fruit can be hard on their digestive tract. Getting these types of vitamins through removal of the juice tends to aid the absorption that’s essential within the body. Juice is commonly easier on the belly for people that have intestinal tract problems.

Uncooked food and produce includes a much higher dietary value than prepared or cooked meals. Juicing can in fact aid in helping the body to free itself of toxins and the harmful foods that we consume. You will be certain that if you are consuming a diet plan that includes a multitude of vegetables and fruit, you are receiving much of the nutrition that your body needs to function in a wholesome way.

Juicing is an extremely easy way to consume all of the fruits and vegetables that our bodies require every day. It is much easier to absorb this amount of food by drinking it, than to eat the fruits and vegetables whole. It is also super easy to grab a cup of liquid to knock down when you’re feeling hungry.

Using the Green Power Juicer also offers an uncomplicated method to eat a larger variety of fruits and vegetables. This, consequently, will permit you a lot more vitamins and nutrients than what you might eat in the conventional manner. This is simply due to the fact that you do not have to consider how to prepare all of the various kinds of produce. The juicer takes over much of this work for you, easily permitting you to have fun with mixes of various tastes.

Regardless if you are thinking of establishing a raw food eating routine or just want to include more fruit and veggies into your present diet plan, you’re certain to note the many advantages of juicing.

Body detox is among the best ways that of keeping ourselves clean and healthy, besides different methods like special diets, vitamin supplements, natural therapies, and thus on. A necessary step in a full body detox is to restore or additionally to replenish energy levels to make you more alert in numerous areas of your life, such as at work.

A body cleanse or body detox is  a good method to provide your body with a lift when an evening of over-indulgence, eating all the wrong foods and consuming more alcohol than is healthy.  That is why body detox is needed as a result of some folk having this sort of lifestyle.

The human body features a detox system that removes harmful substances from the body through excretion but when we put pressure on it by eating unhealthy foods, drinking an excessive amount of alcohol and not obtaining enough sleep the system is weakened.

At one time the need for a natural body detox appeared to be used only to those who suffered from some kind of drug or alcohol dependency. The pollution your body is exposed to daily, and your consumption of various varieties of junk food,  aerated drinks, alcohol etc results in the accumulation of various toxins in your body.

Initially known for elimination of excessive alcohol and drugs from the body, detox is now being employed  extensively for the process of elimination of any kind of poisons . A full body detox diet plan using raw vegetables and fresh fruits is very beneficial for young individuals whose bodies are subjected to high levels of alcohol, burgers and pizzas.

Todays refined diets, stressful lifestyles antibiotics or alternative health problems will deplete the body’s natural store of those little miracle staff and upset the delicate balance or eubiosis. There are several different ways to detox your body, like through herbal tea and supplements, additionally to specialized diets and spa programs.

Body detox diets vary however, sometimes involve eating or drinking nothing but raw, steamed or gently stir-fried vegetables and fruit, pulses, sprouted seeds, skinny soups, juices and plain cereals like brown rice, millet or buckwheat. Mediterranean diets are low on fat and carbohydrates and they provide us with healthy alternative to the oily food we consume each day.

Begin using the benefit of exercise to cleanse and detoxify your body. Exercise will increase oxygen to your system and will raise your body temperature, in effect combining oxygen therapy and hyperthermia.  Exercise detoxification is an efficient method of cleansing many very important organs simultaneously and should become a regular half of your life. There are masses of exercise programs and plans out there, or just walking for at least 12-fifteen minutes daily is useful to the colon function. The only kind of administering oxygen therapy is through a straightforward deep respiration exercise.

The increase in the quantity of poisons in the body ends up in stress within the immune system that eventually breaks down due to overwork. If you are inquisitive about the concept of detoxing and want to receive the fastest results doable, then what you’re going to want to try to to is find a quick detox diet, a body detox that is going to offer you fast results.

Some ways are used individually as body detox solutions while alternative individuals use several methods simultaneously  to achieve the most effective possible results. If you wish to receive optimum results from your detox, you ought to take into account taking some supplements for detox. It’s also smart for keeping track of detox intervals or a detox schedule, body detox isn’t just a 1 time thing, for best results it should be done on an everyday basis throughout the year.

While our body is not totally defenseless against toxins as we tend to have a good built-in natural detoxification system however body detox continues to be a must to assist your body to keep free from toxins.  One of the much-desired edges of body detox is weight loss. Liver and Kidneys detox is superb to use before and throughout a weight loss program, as it can improve weight loss results. In conclusion, creating your own home remedy for body detox is much higher and more cost-effective method to pursue future health as compared to eating detox pills.

To get natural herbal remedies and supplements, visit this site: vitamins supplement. Using vitamins supplement is a necessary habit in today’s world. Our vitamins supplement is a good choice when you’re trying to solve some of your own minor health problems.

Here is a great article and advice from Karen Knowler the raw food coach. Even though you may not be a raw foodist you can still benefit from her amazing insights:

I’m kicking off the New Year with some life change assignments for you! Well, you know what a fan I am of upgrading your life as you upgrade your diet – to me the two absolutely go hand in hand. So if you’re ready for a better experience of life and living this year in many different dimensions then grab a pen and paper and prepare to complete the first 3 assignments on your
list of what will, before the month is out, become 10. Ready to freshen things up a little? Read on…

1) Clear Your Mind

The great thing about a new year is that it gives you the opportunity and space to decide to paint a different picture for yourself and your life. Everything is slightly slower than normal right now. Even though we’re five days in already, there’s most definitely still time to create your year anew.
So, what I’d like you to do is find a clean clear and comfy space, grab a pen and paper and give an uninterrupted and peaceful 30 minutes to yourself.

Begin by listing what you know for a fact you definitely want to bring into 2010. This can be your home, your family, your job, your car, an aspect of your personality – anything! Just make sure that each thing fills you with glee or as close to it as you can get!

Then, make a list of everything that you DON’T want to bring into 2010, things that you either want to dump, create anew or leave behind. These are things that when you think about them, you just feel your energy go down and your heart growing heavy. Next, split the last section up into the 3
different subsections and start thinking about what you need to do to take care of each of those things.

Depending on how long your list is, this may be a quick and easy job, just like pruning some deadwood from your garden, or it may feel like a very big job indeed. If it’s the former, lucky you – sounds like you are exactly where you need to be, and life can only get better and better in the next 12 months with so little “stuff” to deal with; if it’s the latter then fret not – the good news is
that the more “stuff” you clear, the more space you have to welcome in great new things to your life and even the odd miracle! Just set yourself realistic action lists for each of the issues that needs addressing and start taking action – today!

2) Indulge Your Vision

Now you know what you do and don’t want from your “old” life, it’s time to make a list of the things that you’d like to come into your life this year. Again, this can be anything – a new home, a new job, a new relationship, a new level of earnings, a new belief, habit or daily discipline – anything at all. Make your list as long and expansive as you feel drawn to doing. There are no limits here.

When you have your list, as above, have a think about what it would take to make those things come into your world. Then, depending on the scale of each thing, either take the necessary step to get it or break it down into baby steps that you chart in your diary as “to do” items so that you can be on the path to getting it, creating it or attracting it into your life before the year is out.

3) Freshen Up Your Diet

Now you know what aspects of your life need to stay, go and come in through the door, it’s time to gather the energy you need to take the necessary actions. It can be very hard to do this when physically you feel as if you’re only really ready for bed! So let’s start by taking a look at what you’re eating right now. From the communications I have with many of you I know that most of you are not eating the way that you’d ideally like to, so there’s bound to be some room for improvement!

Let’s keep things simple by creating some lists of what is and isn’t acceptable to you as we go into the second week of 2010. All you need to do is take a clean sheet of paper, ideally A4 size, and draw around the hand that you normally write with – this, you will note, is also likely the hand that feeds you! When you’ve done that write a list of all the drinks, foods or food groups WITHIN that hand shape that you are 100% happy about putting into your body over the coming weeks, months or even year. Do this until you’re happy and it feels right and hopefully your hand will be full of lots of goodies!

When you’re done, draw a circle around the hand that allows at least an inch of space to write some more words in. Then repeat, so that you have another ring, at least 1 inch apart from the first circle. In the first circle, the one nearest to your hand shape, write in the foods or food groups that you don’t ideally want to eat in your day-to-day life but are OK about eating if circumstances or other factors don’t make it easy for you to eat what you’d ideally like to eat. (For some of you this might include things like cooked rice or potatoes, while for others this might include white meat or dairy, and others still, it might even be dehydrated foods).

Finally, in the outside ring, list all the foods and drinks that under no conditions will you consume from this moment forward. Feels better? Clarity is a good thing. Now it’s there in front of you, now all you have to do is stick to your own rules! So pin this up somewhere that you’ll see it most of the day or fold it up and carry it around in your pocket or bag, and see how you get along for the next week or so. When you set your own rules it’s a lot more healthy and fun than following someone else’s idea of what’s good for you and you’re much less inclined to break them.

[If you're ready to freshen up your diet, don't miss out on this week's FR*EE Raw Food Re- Set call!].

Next week, part 2 – so you’d better get your homework hat on and get busy on this week’s assignments so that you’re ready for them!

Have fun!

© 2010  Karen Knowler, The Raw Food Coach publishes “Successfully Raw” – a free weekly eZine for raw food lovers everywhere. If you’re ready to look good, feel great and create a raw life you love get your FREE tips, tools and recipes now at www.TheRawFoodCoach.com.

You might not be thinking too much about your health right now but it’s not too early to start making your plans for your detox next year. In fact detox has already been suggested as the thing to do during the weeks leading up to Christmas so you can eat, drink and make merry as you please! It’s being referred to as “Pre-Tox”. In effect, you detox with the idea of re-toxifying with all sorts of unhealthy food and alcohol! How crazy is that?

Pre-Tox is plain crazy

I am all for detox but the idea of going on a detox diet to lose some weight so you can pig out over the party season is just plain stupid. Anyone with any notion of health at all will realize that the the whole idea of a detox diet is to get rid of toxins to improve your health not to make it alright to eat a load of junk and avoid the weight gain.

Boost your immune system

If it’s Winter where you live then it’s not the time to be skipping meals and restricting calories. This is the time of the year to be trying to boost your immune system so you avoid catching those pesky cold and flu viruses. The extra stresses and strains increases dramatically at this time of the year.

Regular meals, a good breakfast, warming vegetable soups and lean meat stews, whole grains, plenty of fruit and vegetables and a few fresh nuts will give you the nutrients needed for good immunity. Don’t forget to add a little raw food too.

It’s vital to get plenty of sleep. The longer days of darkness mean that it’s natural to have more sleep .Late nights and stress will take their toll on your body. Too much alcohol, sugar or heavy meals before bedtime ruin a good night’s sleep.

Detox the alcohol

If you have had more alcohol than you intended then drink a large glass of water before you go to bed and take a B complex supplement that contains approximately  50 mg of the of the B vitamins or a tablespoon of  Brewer’s yeast. Take 1 gram Vitamin C as well.  They will help detox the alcohol.

Properly managed detox

So getting back to the planning your detox, if you have already done some detox then you will not need any convincing that it can make a huge difference to how you feel and can have an impact on your health problems. For many years the term “detox” was only ever associated with alcohol or drug abuse but today properly managed detox can vastly improve your health.

Is detox a waste of time?

Every January the media like to publish comments from doctors and dietitians who say that detox is a waste of time and money because your body detoxifies all the time. But they aren’t reading the published research.

One study I came across showed that a number of people who were suffering from symptoms of toxicity and metabolic problems had their symptoms decrease by over 50% after a 3 week detox program. What’s more there was biochemical evidence that their liver detox function had improved too!

Toxins linked with disease in research

The role of detox in reducing the risk of disease had a boost recently with the publication in The Journal of the American Medical Association of a link between the levels of Bisphenol A in the urine and the risk of diabetes, heart disease and liver disease. Bisphenol A is something I have already written about in a previous post.

It is also known that chronic exposure to the herbicide Atrazine causes insulin resistance, and dysfunction in the  mitochondria, the little powerhouses of your cells that produce energy.

Other research shows that toxic metals such as mercury, lead, or cadmium interfere with the way energy is produced in your cells which correlates with the increased risk to various chronic diseases.Numerous people have benefited from a properly designed and implemented detox program.

Researchers have shown that the result is so much more that more than just a “feel good” factor. The results can be demonstrated through improved blood chemistries, improved cardiovascular fitness tests, and improved cognitive and neurological test results. This is real proof that it is not a waste of time, money or effort.

You can get your health back

The bottom line is, if you’re sick, aching, unable to lose weight and miserable, you are toxic! But you don’t have to put up with it any longer. If you knew there was a way to gradually, slowly and safely eliminate these toxins to get back your energy and health you deserve wouldn’t you want to do it?

Of course you would. Well Dr Ritamarie, one of the world’s leading authorities on cleansing and detoxification and Tera Warner a great health coach and proponent of the raw food diet are once again going to be running their long awaited 6 Week Deep Tissue Cleanse in January.

If you have chronic, long-standing and complex health problems, you need a deeper cleansing than can be accomplished in just 7 days. The powerful 6-Week Deep Tissue Detoxification Protocol literally dissolves and banishes the dreadful toxins that have been lingering in your body for years!

Don’t miss this great opportunity to find the ultimate detox that is right for you. Dr Ritamarie is offering 3 different programs that take into account your level of experience with detox, your current diet, time available and most importantly your budget.

Tera is launching all the details of what is probably the world’s greatest detox program on Thursday at noon Eastern Time .  I don’t know all the details myself yet but I hear they are offering some fantastic deals.

COMMIT to Your Health, NOW.

Get all the details HERE

But not before Thursday 10th at Noon Eastern Time

Here is Frederic Patenaude’s easy,  1 Day Detox anyone can safely follow, once a week or so:

BREAKFAST:

Either skip breakfast, or make a light smoothie consisting of some fruit and greens.

For example:

* 3-4 bananas
* 1-2 cups of sweet fruit (mango, papaya, pear, apple, etc.)
* 2 cups of baby spinach
* water

Blend together

LUNCH:

Same as breakfast, or have a fruit meal of one or two types of fruit. (Eaten whole or as a smoothie.) For example: papaya and banana, blended together or eaten together.

AFTERNOON SNACK:

Make another green smoothie. Here’s one of my favorites:

* 3-4 bananas
* 1 ½ cups of frozen blueberries
* 2 cups of spinach or romaine lettuce or other greens (non-bitter)

Blend with water!

DINNER:

If you’re really hungry, start dinner with some fruit, or a fruit smoothie or soup.
Then follow with a simple vegetable soup.

Here’s one that I really like:

* 2 medium tomatoes
* 2 small cucumbers, peeled
* 1 mango or 1 cup of another fruit
* fresh basil, or dill
* 2-3 green onions, fresh

The idea here with this soup is to blend it at the lowest speed in your Vita-Mix or blender. It should still be chunky. Dice the tomatoes and cucumbers. Blend together and add the other ingredients. Blend slowly!

If you’re still hungry after this soup, you could make a non-fat salad, or eat more fruit. As long as you avoid oils, nuts and other fatty foods, as well as salt, you’ll still be following the guidelines for the cleanse!

Try this one-day detox, and you’ll see how great you feel. Now imagine what 7 days could do for you…

Frederic Patenaude has been working in the natural health movement for over 8 years, and has over 10 years of experience in the field of nutrition, health and personal development. He is the author of several books including the Raw Health Starter Kit.

Fresh fruit and vegetable juices provide an abundance of vitamins, minerals, enzymes, phytochemicals and other essential substances essential to cleansing and healing the body. The main benefit of juicing for detox is that it is a way of getting enough nutrients into your body to counteract acidity and force out toxins.

Juicing is a way of getting in many more nutrients than you could by eating the whole fruit or vegetable. The nutrients are released from the produce leaving the indigestible fiber behind. Juices need no digestion so are are quickly absorbed into your body. Just think how long would it take to munch your way through 4 large carrots or a bag of apples? Juicing them
extracts many nutrients which can be in your body in a matter of minutes.

What about the lack of fiber?

You may see arguments against juicing for detox because it leaves the pulp or fiber behind. After all fiber has many important functions – providing roughage and bulk that prevents constipation, feeding the good bowel bacteria, keeping you feeling fuller for longer and slowing down the release of glucose into the body keeping your blood glucose level stable are just a few.

If you are eating a healthy diet or a detox diet you will be getting plenty of fiber from the whole fruits, vegetables and whole grains you eat. If you like you can add the fiber to a soup to thicken it or add it to other dishes. Nomi Shannon includes a recipe for a raw carrot cake made with carrot pulp in her excellent book The Raw Gourmet. Or add it to your compost heap so it does not go to waste.

Juice Detox Cures

People following the The Gerson Therapy diet for cancer and other conditions have to drink 13 fresh juices a day. They get plenty of fiber from the other food they eat. It is not a problem.

The Breuss Total Cancer Cure consisted of a 42 day vegetable juice fast with herbal teas. It is said that Rudolf Breuss, an Austrian healer born in 1899, based his cure on a German book about the value of fruit and vegetable juices that was written 300 years previously. The lack of fiber did not prevent people being cured.

So you see there are several ways of using juices. You can include them as part of a healthy diet or can drink them on their own as a juice fast.  A juice fast of 2 or days or more is often included as part of a detox program. You can drink as many juices as you like to stop hunger but 5 or 6 x 8oz juices a day is usual.

Juice Feasting

A newer form of juicing for detox called Juice Feasting (I love that term) consists of drinking a gallon (3.8 liters) or more of fresh juices a day. You should not get hungry on this. A long-term juice feast is basically a massive detox program. By consuming fresh juices that are loaded with nutrients, especially alkalizing minerals, and no fiber to slow digestion you are
giving your body a chance to divert the energy that is usually used for digestion to cellular cleansing instead.

David and Katrina Rainoshek created the 92 day Juice Feast that many people have done to lose weight and cure themselves of a variety of ailments. Dr Gabriel Cousens, Director of  the Tree of Life Rejuvenation Center, says he is so pleased with Juice Feasting that it is now something they use as one of their healing protocols.

Regular colon cleansing is recommended as part of the protocol because of the massive detoxification it promotes. The Gerson Therapy involves coffee enemas to help the liver detox. (I will write about these in a future post).  David recommends certain nutritional supplements during the 92 day program to help support the detox process.

Is Juicing a fad?

I recently came across an article in the newspaper in which the journalist said that juicing is a current fad. Well it may be increasing in popularity as more and more people learn about how it can improve their health but it has been around for a long time.  It is certainly not a fad.

Even drinking one glass of fresh juice a day will help to increase the nutrients you get. Two a day would be even better.  As the cells of your body are bathed in these fresh, alkaline vegetable juices, they begin to release toxins which can then be eliminated by the liver, kidney, lungs and skin.  So you will now appreciate the great benefits of juicing for detox.

The 2nd International Green Smoothie Day is 15th August 2009 . Why not join in the fun? If you are looking to turn your health around with a detox diet then there’s no better way to start than with the 2nd Annual Green Smoothie Day. I can hardly believe that a year has flown by since the first one. If you missed it last year then here’s your chance to join thousands or other health seekers around the world for this years event.

The Raw Divas have dreamed up all sorts of prizes and fun to make this the greatest Green Smoothie Celebration ever. (One of the prizes is a superb Blentec Blender).  Everyone likes green smoothies. They are great for detox and soooo easy to make. All you need is some fresh fruit and some green leaves and a half decent blender and you’re away.

Green means clean

I’m sure you already know that green foods are really powerful cleansers and detoxifiers and blending them with fruit is a real yummy way of eating them. After all there is a limit to how many lettuce leaves you can eat in a day!

If you don’t like the taste of green leafy vegetables then making them into green smoothies is the ideal because they just don’t taste the same. And the fantastic results people are getting with green smoothies speak for themselves. In some cases they seem miraculous.

No experience needed

Why not see for yourself? If you are new to all this and have no previous experience this is the ideal place to start. The Raw Divas have designed a very affordable 3 day challenge that can be done by anyone. They will take you by the hand and guide you through it.  They will be providing recipes, kitchen tips and the complete knowhow.

The program is simple. It’s designed for people who have NO PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE or knowledge about the Raw Food Diet It’s a gentle, practical introduction to raw foods for ANYBODY that brings results!  And you don’t have to eat raw foods the whole time either. It’s designed so you can still eat cooked foods if you want to although raw gets the best results.

More energy, better health and weight loss

If you want to detox but are finding it hard to start then this 3 day event is just the thing for you. Find out for yourself why thousands of people are turning to green smoothies for more energy, better health, detox and weight loss! This program is all about making health and vitality accessible to EVERYONE!

To find out more about the International Green Smoothie Day and the 3 day challenge CLICK HERE.

Since Oprah Winfrey started raving about the benefits of  Acai Berries that she included in her detox and weight loss regime many companies have rushed to launch their own products. There are sites all over the internet offering free trial bottles and these are some of the outrageous things that they claim this latest superfood can do for you:

• Flush out Excess Pounds!

• Break Up and Remove Harmful Toxins!

• Have More Energy! Fight Fatigue!

• Reduce Gas & Boating, while Flattering your Tummy!

• Risk Free Trial!

Wow! Sounds like a miracle to me. I was intrigued to know how a few capsules filled with an extract of Acai Berries (pronounced ah-sigh-ee) could do all this or is it just another elaborate scam?  What is it about this little berry that has suddenly got the media into a frenzy?

Here are some facts:

The Acai Berry grows in the rainforests of the Amazon and has been known for it’s health benefits by the local people for thousand of years. The berries are said to contain twice as many antioxidants as blueberries, 10 times more than red grapes, are rich is fiber, minerals and omega 6 and 9 fatty acids.

Dermatologist and skin care expert Dr Perricone rates Acai berries as the number one superfood in his latest book overtaking both pomegranates and blueberries. There is no doubt that it’s a great food if you can eat enough of it but here’s the problem:

Many companies are claiming that it will help you lose weight without altering your diet or taking any exercise at all. Now that really would be a miracle!

Many products have been proven to be worthless. To preserve all the nutrients in the Acai Berry they have to be freeze dried as soon as they have been harvested. Many companies delay the processing and a lot of the nutrients are lost.

Some companies, it seems, are offering to send you a free trial bottle if you pay a postage charge but many people are complaining  that either the bottles do not arrive or that their credit cards are being charged $87 two weeks later for more product as they didn’t cancel the free trial.  It pays to check the small print.

Others are offering an Acai Berry & colon cleansing combo which makes more sense. The benefits of a clean, healthy colon are endless. People are reporting weight loss and improved energy with this but that can come from colon cleansing on its own. You can lose weight by clearing out your colon but you won’t lose any fat. Once your digestive system is working better your whole body can work better which could lead to fat loss if you detox chemicals, eat the right diet and do some exercise.

Acai Berry Detox or Scam?

Will Acai Berry supplements detox you? In a word NO. It’s true that antioxidants are needed as part of the detox process as free radicals are created when the liver cells come into contact with toxins. The berries contain some amino acids and vitamins and minerals that are involved in the detox process but no more so than many other foods. If you have been reading about detox you will know that it takes more than taking a superfood supplement to detox.

Its great to add a high quality Acai product to your diet if you want to for its antioxidant benefits but don’t expect the rapid weight loss effect that many are claiming. It just won’t happen. Manufacturers have are using the latest buzzword “detox” to help their sales. So don’t fall for the Acai Berry Detox & weight loss scam. If you really want to learn about effective detox to lose weight then get my Definitive Detox Diet eBook.  Click Here