Thoughts from the Middle of a Detox Diet

About a month ago, I attended a seminar about "diabesity".  This term refers to the relationship between obesity and diabetes and the epidemic that is occurring in our country.  Part of the seminar was dedicated to a detoxification or cleansing diet.  The goal was to remove toxins from the body to help restore health.  It can also be used for weight loss, as the toxins are attached to fat in the body.  When your body cannot rid itself of something, one main mechanism of defense is to "wall it off" with fat.  All sorts of health issues can be improved with a purification diet, such as allergies, cholesterol and blood pressure, fatigue, acne, autoimmune disorders and many more.  I decided to try it for several reasons:  I don't want to recommend something I have not done; I have had increasingly annoying allergies the past few years; I have had 4 surgeries in the past 16 months and have taken multiple pain killers and antibiotics; I have a strong family history of rheumatoid arthritis and have shown some early signs of the disease; I suffer from mild fatigue.

To start closer to the beginning of the topic, it might help to explain where toxins come from.  The short answer would be pretty much everywhere.  Toxins are present in non-organic produce, non-organic meat, processed foods, food dyes, cosmetics, fast food, most household cleaners, lawn care products, insecticides, carpet, most laundry detergents, the air due to pollution, and many other places we come in contact with every day.  There is NO WAY to avoid them in every day life.  Our bodies have systems to deal with the filtering of toxins- our kidneys, liver and lungs, but we take in much more than we can process.  Therefore, our bodies are forced to try to adapt by using other processes.  One major one is storing the toxins in fat.  It gets it out of the "main systems" of the body, minimizing its immediate effect.  Over time, all of the adaptive mechanisms of the body start to become overloaded and wear out.  This can be felt as increased fatigue, allergies, poor digestion, acne, aches and pains or other symptoms.  Eventually, this can lead to increased susceptibility to serious diseases.

The purification program I chose was the one that my supplement company, Standard Process, offers.  It is a 21 day program.  During that time, you have a supplement regimen and strict dietary rules.  For the whole program you drink shakes made of the powder they provide and fruit.  These take the place of lunch and dinner.  You may have a third, if needed.  You are also allowed unlimited organic fruits and vegetables (with a few exceptions, like potatoes and corn).  You may also have one serving of rice or lentils per day.  On day ten, you do the same, but with one serving of organic lean protein added.  On day 22, you get to start adding back foods and gauging your body's reaction to them, as hidden food sensitivities are often discovered this way.  They also recommend a regimen of vitamins that should complete the needs of most individuals on a good but not perfect diet.

You might be wondering how it's going.  I am currently on day 16, the home stretch, and things are going pretty smoothly.  The first week was much harder.  The cleanse supplement and the change in diet resulted in headaches, body aches, fatigue and hunger.  It takes a bit to get used to the changes.  The toxins also make you feel a bit ill as they leave the body.  I wanted bread and pasta and coffee and cheese and a whole list of other things.  At about day 6, things started to change.  I noticed more energy, less allergies and I stopped feeling so hungry all the time.  We also discovered several things we could eat that were satisfying and similar to things we ate before.  We had some not-so-good recipe attempts in the beginning that left my husband (an unhappy but willing participant) and I wondering if we were going to make it.  When your brain is crying for popcorn, it is not fun to eat an orange!  We have both had a significant weight loss.  I lost 6 pounds in ten days and have lost 9 total.  My husband lost 11 pounds in ten days and has lost about 15 total.  My goal was not weight loss, but I see it as an unavoidable side effect of the cleanse.

I can honestly say that I am very glad that I chose to do the cleanse.  I am also very ready for it to be over!  I do want my popcorn back.  However, I plan to make some significant changes to my diet based on the things I have learned during the cleanse.  I will eat more organic produce.  I will definitely eat more organic meat.  It really makes you take a look at what you put in your mouth.  I though we ate pretty well before, but now I see that our meat was low quality and that we ate entirely too much cheese.  We are also very big fans of hot Italian sausage and tend to use that to flavor many of our meals.  I always use a small amount, but I never gave much thought to all of the chemicals in it.  That will definitely have to change.

Next week, I will post a final summary of the Detox diet and its effects.  I will also share some recipes from along the way.  I will leave you with my favorite quote from the seminar I attended regarding the cost of buying organic...."You can either pay the farmer or you can pay the doctor."  The choice is ours.