Fasting is not for everyone who wants to cleanse, for a variety of reasons:
- They don't want to go through that 3 day funk
- Its too difficult to run a family and cook for others
- The initial low blood sugar crashes are too inconvenient
- The readjustment in eliminations are too uncomfortable
- They can't afford to loose stamina at work
- There is no support system in place
This is not to say that fasting isn't beneficial, I think it's great and it has some awesome benefits for health and beauty.
But I would rather eat and cleanse, than not eat and cleanse.
I
attended a two week intensive cleansing retreat last March in Southern
California where we alternated raw foods for 4 days with 3 days of
juicing fasting. I lost so much weight that I really didn't want to
loose (10 pounds in the first 3 days) and when I got home I ended up
eating more food than I normally eat, and gained all the weight back
plus more. I think my body went into a starvation mode and my
metabolism stepped down a few notches.
So, from that experience I
decided to delegate part of my daily intake to substances and foods
that will continuously cleanse my body.
Now, if I were to tell
you there was something we could eat every day that will help take
toxins out of your body, would you be interested in finding out what
that was?
First, let me describe to you its features:
- It was used by the Egyptians for cleansing
- When we eat it it doesn't get digested
- It's not absorbed into the bloodstream
- It absorbs water and swells up
- It becomes like a gel that also absorbs toxins
- It slows down absorption of sugar so it keeps blood sugar down
- As it moves through your intestines, it 'scrubs' the walls of your intestinal tract
- It makes you feel full so you can even lose weight
- It also reduces cholesterol
What
is it? Soluble fiber. What foods consist of soluble fiber? Oats and oat
bran, nuts, barley, flax, oranges, apples, and carrots to name a few.
But
one of the best things you can take as pure soluble fiber for the mere
purpose of a good cleanse is psyllium. Psyllium is a fibrous seed and
often made in the form of a powder for cleansing.
Do you know
that psyllium was used in ancient Egypt and was described in the Ebers
Papyrus (medical documents of 1500 BC)? It was used for its laxative
and antidiarrheal properties. What does that tell you? It tells you
that it can have both effects, so therefore it is "balancing".
Other
early Old World uses of psyllium seeds were to treat sores of the mouth
and throat, stop nosebleeds, treat complications of the liver, and help
to fix loose teeth. Psyllium was administered to assuage complications
from scurvy and worms.
The plant itself is 'plantago' and other
parts of the plant are known to be medicinal as well. Native Americans
and Aztecs used plantago husks and leaves as cough remedies, for
wounds, insect bites, and headaches.
Where do we get psyllium?
Many cleansing products on the market contain psyllium. One of the most
popular products found on grocery store shelves is Metamucil - but that
has other stuff in it including lots of sugar.
Here are two sources for a more natural and healthy psyllium product:
- Trader Joes Store (if you are lucky enough to have one near you) has a product of pure psyllium call Secrets of the Psyllium.
- Young
Living has a product called ICP Multiple Fiber Beverage along with oat
bran, aloe, flax and fennel, and some other things including essential
oils that are good for the digestive system.
One very important thing to remember when you take psyllium: Drink Water!
