Tag Archives: Detox & Cleansing

Month of De-toxin: Recap

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29 days later and I can say quitting sugar and (albeit it somewhat intermittent) exclusion of alcohol, made a big difference in my overall well being.

February’s been a crazy month. I’ve been on the road to 4 different cities around North America which has certainly challenged my clean food decision making abilities. I have been super grateful for the launch of Vega One, which has literally saved me on numerous occasions from crappy airport food and hotel breakfasts.

All in One

There's no doubt why I love it...

I was able to avoid alcohol, one of the major focuses for the month, for all but a few days (I’ll admit I somewhat rationalized it as a form of networking with colleagues!), but was sure to never over-do it, and offset it with ample chlorella before and after.

The most inspired change I made, and the one I felt provided the greatest impact was quitting sugar. I noticed, very quickly, a tangible difference. I’ve experienced more energy, I seemed to require less sleep (and certainly have been rather sleep-shy lately), my moods are more balanced, and I generally feel less stressed and more relaxed despite how crazy my life has become in the past couple weeks.

I really, really encourage you to try it for at least 2-3 weeks. I think the results will speak for themselves, and I think anyone can try a new change for 2-3 weeks. It’s not easy, it requires conscious decision making, and at first requires you to be somewhat hyper-aware of reading nutritional labels. But again, the results are worth it once you break the addiction and your body detoxifies (you may get sick, headachy, grumpy, breakout etc…).

Sarah Wilson

Sarah Wilson's "I Quit Sugar" E-Book

My favourite dietary habits which I also emphasized during this month of de-toxin included:

  • Warm (pure) cranberry juice, aloe and lemon tonic. A diuretic which supports digestive health, and tones the liver and kidney’s, the organs responsible for excreting toxins.
  • Dandelion tea. Boosts liver function through its bitter and astringent properties.
  • Daily chlorella. Kept my energy high, supplied a broad spectrum of phytonutrients, vitamins and minerals, along with highly alkaline protein and chlorophyl.
  • No sugar added smoothies and juices. I drank a fresh pressed green vegetable juice daily when traveling in the states, (thank goodness for visiting Whole Foods and natural health stores on a daily basis for work!), and started making fruit-free blended smoothies in the Vega Kitchen at work. Two of these creations will be appearing in upcoming Vega newsletters.
  • “Chill Pills” by New Roots. Kept my stress levels low, my moods and emotions balanced, and contributed to a healthy metabolism through the B-Vitamin complex included.
  • Greens, greens and more greens. Aside from the green juices, I made greens the emphasis of my diet (a move inspired by Kris Carr’s “Crazy Sexy Diet”). This included green vegan chilies (peas, edamame, green lentils etc), using frozen spinach and wheatgrass in shakes, homemade sprouts, adding more seaweeds into cooking, kale salads and loads of steamed-but still crunchy-greens with dinner.
  • Eating a primarily plant based diet. I reduced animal proteins in favour of more alkaline forming (key: disease preventing) plant proteins (such as sprouted beans and legumes, nuts & seeds, combined with whole grains) and if I was opting for animal proteins, choosing natural yogurt, ocean wise fish, or the best quality eggs I could buy.
Texas

I call it the "Texas Tonic": Juiced green veggies to the max!

In these first few months of my 2012 Young Heart Challenge I have been using a few benchmarks to indicate health improvements. In Month 1 after running every day I improved not only my speed, but my cardiovascular endurance and recovery time. Combined with cleaning up my diet even more, and detoxifying through Month 2 my body has naturally been shedding excess. In Feb from my dietary clean up I lost another 5 lbs, and 13 cm’s off my measurements. This is a sustainable rate of loss for my body, and really encouraging for me to witness the impact of emphasizing whole, fresh, clean, real foods creating measurable differences in body composition.

I’m so intrigued by the body’s transformation through dietary and lifestyle changes I’m going to be having a body scan done tomorrow. This is compliments of Body Comp Imaging here in Vancouver. I’m going to re-evaluate in another 3 months time, after training once a week at Crossfit Vancouver for the Tough Mudder race in June, and 3-4 runs per week in prep for a few 10km & 1/2 Marathon races. Combined with upcoming challenges for Month’s 3-5 of the Young Heart Challenge, I am excited to get such an in depth record of body compositional changes. I’m going to be picking the brain of my imaging specialist tomorrow to see how body composition relates to disease prevention.

Have you tried any detoxification strategies lately that have made a positive impact on how you feel?

 

Detox Supplements

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8 days in to my month of de-toxin. No alcohol definitely helps my weekend’s to be more productive, and I absolutely equate my enhanced productivity in a day, to the fact that I’ve quit sugar. I’m feeling, really, quite good. However, there’s no denying it, the body completes a more effective detox with a few super foods and supplements.

I love to detox through conscious food choices, maximizing digestion and liver function. Typically any detox supplement regime I advocate will involve these two factors. For this Month of De-toxin, as part of a 12 X month long challenges to build a younger heart, I chose mainly food grade supplements. This means they are directly processed from whole food, and good quality food grade supplements will be very pure (meaning very few ingredients, containing no fillers or binding agents).

I am not being overly regimented with the use of these supplements either. This is because I typically only advocate 3 weeks of corrective health products anyways (supplemental is different), and so I only really intend to take 2-3 weeks worth of daily dose supplements, (but spread over a month). This means it’s okay to forget to take it here and there, and it’s not the end of the world.

Supplements and natural health products which maximize digestion and liver function, for support during a detox, or otherwise, include…

(listed with least processed and most food based, first)

A few of my favourites

Dandelion Tea: I actually love the taste of dandelion tea, cleansing or not. I’ve used it before to replace coffee, and appreciate its nutty, almost creamy taste. It’s also great as a latte (like a London Fog). Dandelion tea is the liver’s best friend, they get along really well. Serve hot, and “black”, unless making a latte). I like the strength of Traditional Medicinals.

Cranberry Juice: 100% real, true, actual cranberry juice is astringent, which means it acts like a tonic for both the kidneys and liver. I find it also helps flush excess water from the body (leading to bloating). I cut a 1/2 cup juice with a 1/2 cup water.

Aloe: Juice from the whole leaf (not just the inner fillet). Taste’s foul, but if you mix it with a splash of lemon and cranberry juice (and sometimes warm water), it’s half as bad. This soothing plant harmonizes digestion and improves nutrient absorption.

Vega EFA Oil: Contains the ideal balance of Omega 6:Omega 3 (2:1), which regulates inflammation in the body. This dressing in particular has added antioxidant rich oils which promote cellular regeneration and repair (pro-longevity).

Chlorella: Pure chlorella with a high % of digestibility, protein content and grown in natural conditions makes a rich blood cleanser and cellular energizer. Super rich in chlorophyl it’s highly alkaline, and also helps chelate toxins (heavy metals too!) from the body. I think anyone who lives in a city should be taking chlorellla, and especially if they go for runs alongside busy roads (guilty!). I take 5 tablets of ChlorEssence daily (even when I’m not detoxing specifically). It’s pure and very energizing.

Fish Oils: 1000mg of Omega 3, minimum per capsule. Buy the best you can afford. Look for brands with cold pressed, wild, or non chemically processed oil. I like Nutrasea’s flavours, but still always prefer to take the capsule versions. I gag taking the oil on a spoon method!

Herbal Sleep Aid: Used to boost the quality or duration of your sleep time. I find these great for maximizing shut eye, particularly if your a “busy de-toxer” and tend to prioritize other things over sleep sometimes. I take Herbal Factors Sleep Relax, 2 capsules right before shut eye.

Probiotics: Build up your levels of good bacteria in the gut. Good flora is important for reduced cravings, healthier blood cholesterol levels, better immune functioning, and less food sensitivities. I take two weeks worth of 50billion/capsule, human strain probiotics, like the one’s by Renew Life.

Liver Detox Capsules: The liver undergoes two stages of detox. The second stage is the most important for the removal of toxins. Getting to this stage of detox sometimes requires a little extra help. Especially in livers with a bit of damage. Signals of an overburdened liver, in need of a detox include: If you experience strong anger at times, mood swings, “lump in your throat feelings”, stagnation in your body (such as fibroids or cysts, think: endometriosis), have abused alcohol in the past, consistently eat animal products, or are prone to acne (related to liver overload). Take these daily before meals. I like New Roots’ liver capsules, with milk thistle and alpha lipoid acid.

Enzymes: The energizer bunnies. Enzymes help rapidly convert food into useful molecules, and kick start your internal housecleaning like a brand new Dyson.

Vit D3: Essential for metabolism, bone health, positive mental health and immunity. This fat soluble vitamin is great with food. I take 1000IU/drop formats. Platinum makes a good one with a light orange flavour. Liquid D often tastes very metallic. Not horrible, just weird.

Detox Grocery List

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The key to a successful cleanse or detox is the preparation. If we have easy access to the resources (foods and drinks) we need, we are more likely to execute better decision making and stay the course.

http://bit.ly/nk2LZI

The “de-toxin” I’m advocating for this month’s Young Heart Challenge is built upon the removal of a few prevalent dietary toxins, and emphasizes their replacement with clean foods. For the full list of foods to avoid and foods to incorporate, please see the de-toxin introduction post here.

The first week of this month long challenge is/was about transition. This is a principle Sarah Wilson advocates in her incredibly valuable “I Quit Sugar” e-book. Transitioning is the key to making lasting changes. I started this detox by quitting alcohol cold turkey, scaling back all added sugar (except for fruit), and reducing my meat and dairy consumption to the allowable proteins on the detox list.

I replaced any removed food items with more health promoting ones. (Fermented) Kombucha tea instead of a spirit, increasing the servings of raw fats to combat sugar cravings, and spent the $ I wasn’t spending on booze and treats on good quality eggs, salmon and organic yogurt.

The next two weeks get more serious. It’ll be all about the plants, the greens, the raw fats, the sprouts, and the whole foods. I’ll also be adding in a few key detoxification supplements, which I’ll talk about in a later post. If you are looking to really clean up your diet, or follow along on your own detox, below is a list I compiled for grocery shopping reference. Remember, you don’t have to get it all at once. Pace yourself and ensure you have a variety of nutrients through out the duration.

A mix of fresh prepped, frozen, and dried food to kick start the detox pantry

Detox Grocery List:

Vegetables (the foundation)

  • Green veggies for fresh juices and smoothies: Cucumbers, celery, romaine lettuce, dandelion greens
  • Sprouts
  • Lemons
  • Green peas, sugar peas, green beans
  • Radishes, artichokes, leeks, fennel (great for the liver)
  • Asian greens
  • Mushrooms
  • Onions, garlic and ginger (for flavour and anti fungal, viral and inflammatory properties)
  • Cruciferous veg (broccoli, cauliflower), asparagus, brussels sprouts (fibrous and filling)
  • Avocado
  • Fresh and frozen berries
  • Dark green, wide leafy’s (for wraps, salads and steaming). Kale & chard are my fav’s
  • Squash
Condiments/Flavour:
  • Tamari or Braggs amino
  • Sea salt
  • Spices and Herbs (fresh preferred)
  • Mustard
  • Horseradish
  • Sauerkraut
  • Miso paste
  • Tahini
  • Hummus
  • Seed oils (cold pressed)
  • Brewer’s/Nutritional yeast
From the Grocery/Cooler Aisle:
  • Organic, natural, full fat yogurt
  • Free range eggs
  • Wild salmon
  • Raw cheese (moderation)
  • Edamame (in pod or shelled)
  • Seaweeds (arame flakes and nori sheets are my fav)
  • Coconut water, oil and flakes (un sweetened)
  • A variety of nuts and seeds (walnuts, Savi Seeds, hemp, chia, almonds and sesame are my top picks)
  • Quinoa, brown and wild rice, buckwheat
  • Olives
  • Beans and legumes for soaking (before cooking) and sprouting such as lentils, chickpeas, black beans, and mung beans
  • Cacao nibs (for chocolate cravings) to add to trail mix and cocoa powder for hot drinks
  • Chai tea spices or kombucha tea for “distraction” drinks with healthy benefits
  • Milk alternatives: hemp, rice, almond, or coconut milk. I always prefer these homemade
  • Tempeh
  • 100% no sugar added cranberry juice (I have a splash of this with warm water and a slice of lemon)

In addition to having the food on hand is knowing how to use them to your advantage. There are a number of great recipe books focusing on plant based foods, clean foods, and foods for detoxification. I advocate picking out a few each week, and then making more than enough to have leftovers for the days in between. I also really recommend spending an evening or an afternoon every couple of days prepping food. This can be pre-chopping salad veg, soaking beans and legumes for easy cooking, starting sprouts, making bean dips, or creating a big bag of trail mix from nuts, seeds and other dried super foods.

Detox Approved Dinner: Wild salmon burger on a rice cake with horseradish and mustard, loads of fresh veggies with a tamari/ginger dressing

Detox Approved Recipe Book Suggestions (you may still need to screen some recipes depending on your personal “allowable” and “avoid” foods).

On today’s food-prep agenda I have some Green Chili to make, a “detox” blend of sprouts to start, and am hard boiling some eggs for easy use next week in lunch salads. Happy prepping, see you in a few…