Cleansing

A little over a week ago I celebrated my 25th birthday. Birthdays always seem to force me into thinking about my life, where my life has taken me, and where it is headed. In honor of turning 25, I decided to do a week long cleanse to start out the year in an intentional/contemplative way.

Before I get started, I have to share this photo of some mushrooms we found the other day. I was able to go mushroom foraging with my friend, Adam, and he showed me some good mushroom spots. Here's a photo of some chanterelles and black trumpets we found. So good! The best tasting and freshest mushrooms I have had thus far.

For those of who do not know, what is cleansing? What is the purpose of cleansing?

Cleaning Up

In a similar way that you would clean your house or weed your garden, cleansing is simply removing the "clutter" or "weeds" from your diet. Essentially, you are allowing your body to be on vacation, get rest, and take care of some things that have been on the back burner for too long. This is a time where you can decide what you want to eliminate from your diet/lifestyle, along with what you want to emphasize or add more of.

Common Misconceptions

There are many different beliefs behind what a real cleanse should be. Quite often people end up doing crazy pop-diet "cleanses" to lose weight in a very short period of time. It can easily become a pattern of fad yo-yo dieting disguised under the title of cleansing. If you don't know what you are doing upon entering a cleanse, you can really do some harm and make matters worse.

To make cleansing a little bit easier to understand, I have compiled a list of common myths.

Cleansing =  Diarrhea

Having diarrhea and being on the toilet every 2 minutes does not mean you are cleansing. If this is the case, you are not on a healthy cleanse.

Aren't most cleanses available to buy in OTC kits?

Most pre-packaged store bough cleanse kits are often not effective or one size fits all. Whenever entering a cleanse, it is important to have a specific purpose in doing so. The reason why you feel the need to cleanse should guide what type of cleanse you would be best suited for.

Cleansing only means juicing and fasting.

This is a very common misconception about cleansing. Many people think of cleanses being solely drinking fresh juice or fasting. In certain scenarios, fasting may be appropriate for a short period of time, but generally, it can result in your body switching into famine mode. When your body believes enters this state, it will slow your metabolism down in order to hold onto fat to make it through the famine. Our bodies have many specific mechanisms in place to help us survive situations many of us will never experience - true starvation for instance. Understanding what may trigger these mechanisms in times that we do not need them is important. Your body doesn't know the difference between a fad cleanse and a famine.

 Cleansing is a great method for quick weight loss.

While many people do lose some weight during a cleanse, losing excessive amounts of weight in a short period of time is not healthy. Healthy weight loss should be slow and gradual. Cleanses where large amounts of weight are lost in a short period of time are typically due to a sharp decrease in caloric intake which results in lost water or muscle weight.

Doing cleanses is unnecessary. The body already cleanses on its own.

For some reason, we are able to justify giving our cars or bikes regular tune ups, but don't understand the importance of tuning up our own bodies. It is true that our bodies have natural cleansing mechanisms to deal with toxins, but we need to face the reality of the toxic world we now live in. I personally believe that doing cleanses is more important now than it has ever been. Even 50-60 years ago people were not exposed to the high amount that we are today. In our present day and age, we are exposed to toxins from our water, air, body care products, processed food, alcohol, cigarettes, pharmaceutical drugs, so on and so forth. People who lived 100 years ago did not have this level of toxic stress being put on their bodies. With that being said, it is important that we set apart blocks of time where we refrain from harmful substances and allow our body time to recuperate.

Cleanses make you feel exhausted, angry, upset, and overly emotional.

Once again, depending upon why you are cleansing, this may or may not be true. Many people deal with headaches and moodiness the first couple days of a cleanse if they are weening off of sugar and caffeine. When you take away the vices that give you the energy you do not normally have, this will definitely be felt. Additionally, people who eat from a place of emotional strife (typically with sugar, alcohol, and processed carbs) may find themselves being overly sensitive, as their source of comfort is no longer available. Typically after around the third day of cleansing, you should feel more stable and even have more energy than before!

Now that you have an idea about the misconceptions of cleansing, here are some ideas to emphasize and utilize.

Schedule a cleanse the same way you would a vacation. Prepare in advance.

Doing a cleanse can be very challenging. It is important to have time to prepare yourself mentally, physically, and emotionally. Plan ahead what you are going to eat. Have a good portion of your meals preplanned and keep foods available to eat so that you are prepared when you find yourself in tempting situations.

Take time to be quiet.

Try to avoid being overly busy or stressed out during the time of a cleanse. Cleansing should be a time to relax, get massages, take baths, go on walks, be in nature, or anything else that helps you to be at peace. Cleansing is a great time to examine all different facets of life. What would you like to "tune-up" in your life to make yourself healthier, happier, or better functioning?

Focus more on giving your body optimal support.

When entering a cleanse it is easy to simply focus on what you are not eating. To combat this desire, focus on the foods that you can eat. 

The Basic Summary of Cleansing

To put it simply, cleansing is eliminating or greatly reducing your exposure to toxins, and giving your body adequate support to help move toxins out. Obviously, we cannot completely eliminate our exposure to all toxins, as they have become almost impossible to entirely avoid, but, we can at least decrease our exposure to harmful substances.

How to Decrease Intake of Toxins

• Pay attention to what products you put on your body and that are in your environment. Many cosmetic and cleaning products have high amounts of toxins. Here is a link to a great resource called the Environmental Working Group. They have a large data base of products and their toxicity levels, along with many other helpful resources on how to reduce exposure to harmful products.

• Eat organic non-genetically modified (GMO) foods. Eating an organic diet can be fairly pricey. Do research into what grocery stores offer the best prices. Or even better, go to your local farmers market! The freshest foods will offer the most benefits. If you are unable to buy completely organic, here is a chart of foods to absolutely buy organic and which ones are safer. 

• Avoid sugar, caffeine, and alcohol. Coffee and alcohol require a large amount of work from the liver. One of the main reasons to do a cleanse in the first place is to give your liver a break, as it is responsible for breaking down and neutralizing the toxins you ingest. By removing these substances, you are allowing your liver to have a break and take care of removing other toxins. In regards to sugar, as we established in the previous post, it is something that you just should really greatly reduce or altogether eliminate from your diet.

• Keep processed foods out. A processed food is any type of food that has been greatly modified from its original form. For instance, a granola bar or a bag of chips are considered processed foods. Many processed foods are marketed as healthy, even though they contain an absurd amount of ingredients and are very far-removed from the actual ingredients it claims to be composed of. If a product has a large amount of ingredients and contains ingredients that you don't even know how to pronounce, it is best just to stay away.

• Take out food allergens/possible food allergens. Most cleanses require you to refrain from dairy, soy, corn, wheat, and eggs. This is due to the fact that many people are sensitive to these foods and are unaware of it. Unless you get specific blood tests done, the only way of truly knowing that you are sensitive to particular foods is by eliminating them for a period of time and reintroducing them one at a time to see if you have any reaction.

Move Toxins Out

As we have already established, our body does indeed already have systems in place to eliminate toxins. Our goal in cleansing is to support these systems as much as possible.

Here are a few suggestions on how to support the detoxifying systems in your body.

• Sweat. Sweating is one of the most effective ways to increase circulation and move toxins out of the body. This can be done via exercise, saunas, or baths. Make sure to hydrate before and after sweating!

• Eat 8-10 servings of fruit and vegetables a day. As I mentioned before, focus on what you can eat. Make smoothies, salads, roasted vegetables, or soups. These are all easy ways of getting vegetables. During my cleanse, I started out the morning with a smoothie that incorporated around 3-4 servings of fruits and vegetables. Here are a few meals that I ate on my cleanse:

Breakfast: Smoothie made with 3 leaves of rainbow chard, 1 apple, 1/2 cup of blueberries, coconut milk, and multi-vitamin rice protein based powder

Lunch: Zucchini "pasta." Cut up zucchini, or spaghetti squash, and cook. Cover with marinara sauce like you would pasta. Put garlic, onions, basil, and kale in your tomato sauce. 

Dinner: Cabbage or lettuce taco wraps made with diced and roasted sweet potatoes, sautéed squash and onions, guacamole, pico de gallo, fresh cilantro and lime.

The best foods to support your liver and overall body in cleansing include: onions, garlic, artichokes, cabbage, broccoli, beets, lemons, carrots, and turmeric. Try to incorporate these foods into your diet as much as possible, particularly during a cleanse.

Here are a couple of foods I got to pick myself and eat during my cleanse. Straight from the homestead!

• Stay hydrated. As your body releases toxins, it is important to have appropriate hydration to keep fluids moving through and out the body. If you want to be extra careful about reducing toxin exposure, buy filtered water. Herbal teas (no caffeine), fresh vegetable juices, and lemon water are all great for cleanses.

• Reduce consumption of meat. Depending upon the quality of the meat you consume (conventional vs. grass-fed), meat can be detrimental towards cleansing, as pork and beef have some inflammatory properties. If you do consume meat during a cleanse, stick to free-range chicken or wild-caught fish.

• Get enough sleep. Your body naturally detoxes while you sleep. Typically around 2-3 a.m. your liver reaches its peak detox time and your pineal gland excretes hormones which help to clean up harmful bacteria. Cleansing can be an important time for you to emphasize giving yourself the rest you don't normally make time for. If you are the type of person who has a hard time slowing down, make an appointment to rest as you would any other event.

Supplementation

Taking supplements can also help your body in the cleansing process. Below is a list of supplements commonly suggested for cleansing.

• Milk Thistle (for the liver)
• Activated Charcoal (binds to toxins and carries out of the body)
• Multi-Strain Probiotics (improves digestion)
• Turmeric (reduces inflammation)
• Omega-3's (reduces inflammation)
• Dandelion Root (for the liver and kidneys)

I hope that you have found this helpful in understanding how cleansing works and why it is important. If you are new to cleansing, make sure to be under the care of a medical and health professional. As I mentioned before, cleanses can greatly vary based (length, method, supplements) upon what your particular needs are and the intent is to improve your health and to not cause harm. 

Blood Sugar Balance and Insulin Resistance

Blood sugar balance is a topic not commonly addressed in regards to health unless you have already developed diabetes, or are well on your way. So if you don't have diabetes and are not overweight, why is it important to be aware of your blood sugar?

It has been only a matter of decades since humans were able to eat sugar in such copious amounts. Sugar and fruit were once something that only the wealthy could afford, farmers could grow, and foragers could find. Now, sugar is in everything and anything from a bottle of ketchup to a cup of yogurt.

Below are some statistics to give you an idea of just how much more sugar the average person is eating these days. Yikes!

• 1700's - 4 pounds of sugar per year.
• 1800's - 18 pounds of sugar per year.
• 1900's - 90 pounds of sugar per year.
• 2009- More than 50 percent of all Americans consume 180 pounds of sugar a year. Translating to half a pound of sugar per day.

To the left and below are pictures taken from a man named Weston A. Price. He was a dentist who did research in the 1930's with aboriginal groups and dental health. He came to find that the groups who had been exposed to processed sugar and foods (western diet) had exponentially worse dental health than those who ate a traditional diet. As you can probably already tell, the top photos are from the groups who ate a modernized diet. Quite a difference!
If you are interested in knowing more of this study, here is a link. Weston A. Price



Sugar Basics

Generally speaking, most of us are aware to some degree that sugar is detrimental towards our health - beyond what naturally occurs in fruits and vegetables. So why is sugar so damaging? What happens on the internal level when we consume sugar?

The research has shown that the best foods for supporting your health are those that keep your blood sugar levels slow and steady. Balanced blood sugar is extremely important in maintaining all levels of health ranging from mental health, immunity, and longevity of life.

So how does blood sugar work?

• When you consume food, the body breaks down starches and sugars into glucose (what your cells use for energy). 

• After the conversion has been completed, glucose enters the bloodstream.

• Once the glucose has entered the bloodstream, insulin, an important hormone produced in the pancreas, moves glucose out of the blood into body cells, where it can then be used for energy.

• Blood sugar levels rise and fall based around your body's needs: down when you need to eat, up after you eat.

• After you eat, your blood sugar level will rise, and your body will release insulin to transport the glucose. 

• The increase in insulin sends a message to your brain that you have enough energy to keep your cells energized.

• You are full and satiated.

Insulin

Once again, insulin is a hormone released by the pancreas in response to an increase in blood sugar, it transports glucose into the cells of your body and also signals to the liver to convert glucose into glycogen (a form of stored energy) for later usage. Whenever the areas of storage for glycogen are too full, increased insulin levels lead to the conversion of glucose into triglycerides (fat) for long-term storage in fat cells. Basically, if you eat large amounts of sugar regularly and your body is not using the glucose stored up for energy, your body will end up storing the sugar as fat.

What Causes Insulin Resistance?

Insulin resistance is caused by the consumption of too many refined, sugary carbohydrates and beverages. Over time, if you regularly eat sugary refined, carbohydrates, your cells will slowly become numb —or resistant—to the effects of insulin and continually need more of it to keep your blood sugar at normal levels. To put it simply, your cells need higher and higher doses of sugar to stay stimulated.

When the pancreas is not making enough insulin, this is where we see Type I diabetes (typically developed in childhood). When the body is unable to use the insulin that is present, the cells cannot use glucose, and they begin to starve. This is type II diabetes. A continual store of excess glucose in the bloodstream sets the stage for diabetes to form.

To detect diabetes, a high insulin level is the first sign. Unfortunately, most doctors never know to have this tested. Instead, they regularly test blood sugar levels. Symptoms of insulin resistance may result in weight gain around the belly, irritability, anxiety, fatigue, or even heart palpitations and panic attacks.

Carbohydrates 


Throughout the years there has been a great deal of hype around carbohydrates, particularly low-carb diets. While there is some truth to the importance of keeping carbohydrates at lower levels, in my opinion, the type of carbohydrates a person is consuming makes a world of difference. For example, white flour and white sugar, are refined carbohydrates commonly found in desserts, pasta, and white bread. There are many reasons as to why refined carbohydrates have developed a negative reputation:

• Refined carbohydrates are viewed to be addictive due to a measurable spike in the neurotransmitter serotonin, which is responsible for appetite, mood, and digestion.

• They are quickly metabolized and create insulin spikes in the body (sugar high). Perpetually high spikes in insulin and blood sugar may damage metabolism, create weight gain, and set you on a fast track to developing insulin resistance (pre-diabetes).

• After being processed, carbohydrates are stripped down so that they no longer posses many important nutrients. Aside from what they are missing, desserts, breads, baked goods, candy, and soda and are all made with refined carbohydrates and often contain harmful additives like high-fructose corn syrup and trans fats.

It is common to experience roller coaster-like effect with refined carbohydrates.

You need energy. 
You eat sugar. 
You have a sugar high. 
You drop and crash. 
You need sugar.
And more sugar...
And more sugar...
And crash.

Up and down and up and down. If a person has this vicious sugar cycle, it typically has a huge affect on their ability to be emotionally stable. When a sugar addict does not get adequate amounts of sugar, extreme shifts in mood are common. In more serious forms of sugar addiction, these mood shifts can result in abusive or violent behavior, particularly more in adolescents.

Imbalanced Blood Sugar Symptoms

There are a wide variety of symptoms that may occur from blood sugar imbalance.

• Increased appetite
• Food cravings (particularly sugar and refined carbohydrates)
• Fatigue
• Brain fog, inability to concentrate
• Depression
• Pessimistic thoughts
• Irritability
• Obsessive thought patterns
• Feeling jittery, hyper, or nervous

Here is a small example of how much sugar is in commonly consumed foods and drinks!

 

Complex Carbohydrates

On the other side of carbohydrates, we have complex carbohydrates. Complex carbohydrates come in the form of vegetables, fruits, legumes, nuts, and whole grains. They have gained a positive reputation for the following reasons:

• They contain large amounts of nutrients and fiber that are essential for optimal health.

• The slowed down absorption rates of sugar provides a steadier supply of energy. This prevents less sugar from being converted into storage forms as fat, or in the liver.

• The slow nature of complex carbohydrates allow you to feel satiated for longer periods of time, supporting weight loss and better food choices. In addition, they also decrease the dramatic peaks and lows in energy and uncontrollable sugar cravings.

Below is a list of ways to keep your blood sugar balanced and healthy.

• Eat protein with breakfast. Eating a healthy breakfast is the best way of keeping your blood sugar balanced. Many of us start the day with a bowl of cereal, juice, a banana, yogurt, or just a cup of coffee and sugar! Next time you eat breakfast, take a close look at how much sugar you are consuming. Breakfast foods are often not much better (or worse) than dessert. In particular, fruit juices, cereals, and yogurt are all places you will find sugar in abundance. By eating protein first thing in the morning you are allowing your blood sugar to be stable from the start. If you start out with your blood sugar at stable levels at the beginning, your energy will be much more stable throughout the rest of the day.

Example Breakfasts: 
- 1-2 egg omelette with vegetables, organic cheese, and an apple. 
- Scramble made with sweet potatoes, sausage or bacon, onion, garlic, mushrooms, and kale.
- Smoothie made with half an avocado, flaxseeds, half a banana or apple, non-sweetened coconut milk, and protein powder (look for powders with no added sugar and made from whole foods).

• When you eat a carbohydrate, always pair it with a fat, fiber, or protein. This means that if you eat an apple, have a handful of nuts or a couple cubes of cheese with it. Even though an apple is healthy, it still contains sugar and will give you a more stable form of energy with protein, fiber, or fat to slow down its release into your bloodstream.

• If you often become "hangry" (feeling angry due to hunger), make sure to have snacks on hand. This anger or irritability often means that your blood sugar is low and you need energy. This is where most people run for a sugary treat. Having a healthy snack with you at all times will help bring you to a stable level where you will be able to resist those fries and milkshake cravings with greater ease. I often keep a small bag of almonds for emergency hangry situations to hold me over until I am able to eat a full meal.

• Stay hydrated. Many people mistake dehydration as hunger and sugar cravings. If you start craving sugar or refined carbohydrates, drink water first. 

Below is a chart from Natural Grocers for all of you visual learners on the difference between balanced and imbalanced blood sugar.

A word on artificial sweeteners...

In an attempt to reduce sugar consumption, many people have switched to "diet" or sugar free items. While these sweeteners are nice in theory, they are also extremely detrimental and should be avoided. I will not go into artificial sweeteners too deep right now (there's a lot to cover), but basically, the sweet taste of artificial sweeteners still creates a release of insulin into the bloodstream contributing to insulin resistance, along with a whole myriad of other potential health problems. If you are going to use any type of sweetener, I recommend raw honey, raw sugar, black strap molasses, or stevia. While each of these is still sugar (aside from stevia) and should still be consumed in moderation, these sweeteners still contain important nutrients.

Preventing Insulin Resistance

To truly prevent insulin resistance, eating a whole foods based, well-balanced diet is the most effective route to take. Below is another chart from Natural Grocers on how to structure a meal to prevent/combat insulin resistance and support overall health. Here is a link to this chart if you would like to print one off for yourself or anyone else.
Healthy Meal Wheel
If you would like an explanation sheet to go along with this chart, go here. Meal Chart Guide

Recovering from Sugar Addiction

Particularly with sugar addiction, sometimes you have to choose the lesser of two evils. To ween yourself off of sugar, taking it slow and steady is a good route. Like I said, if you are addicted to sugar and suddenly stop, it can create extreme mood changes. If you are someone that needs a more gradual plan to cutting out sugar, below is a list of tips to help you reduce sugar consumption:

• If you are not ready to give up soda, mix carbonated water with organic juice (no added sugar). It still contains a decent amount of sugar, but at least it will contain some nutrients. If you are into being crafty, make your own creative syrups to mix with carbonated water. I would also recommend kombucha as a soda substitute. It is carbonated, a little sweet, and contains some good probiotics.

• Keep a bar of organic dark chocolate on hand (at least 70% cocoa). If you do get a sugar craving that you feel you cannot resist, dark chocolate is the way to go. It is low in sugar and also contains some good antioxidants!

• As I said before, be prepared with healthy snacks at all times! Avoiding moments of desperation is key in being able to resist those sugar cravings.

I hope you find this helpful in becoming more aware of your sugar consumption! Feel free to contact me with questions, comments, or suggestions for topics you would like me to cover.

Sources

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/04/20/sugar-dangers.aspx
http://bloodsugarbasics.com/about-blood-sugar
http://www.womentowomen.com/insulinresistance/carbohydratefoods.aspx
http://www.naturalgrocers.com/nutrition/learn-build-healthy-and-delicious-diet-using-our-simple-meal-wheel