The Doable Detox

The March 2010 issue of Natural Health has an article called The Doable Detox (pages 58-65) by Susan Hayes.

People are always talking about detoxing but I'm one of those who eschews the traditional detox. I don't see that fasting or drinking salt water or taking laxatives, or whatever else one has to do on such programs as The Master Cleanse, to be a way to promote health.

But, a detox that supports the body's natural inclination to rid itself of toxins is something that I'm definitely interested in. So when I saw this article in Natural Health, I read it and talked to Cathy about it.

I like this one because it's not about buying a list of foods that we would normally never eat or going to drastic measures like eating just cabbage or drinking salt water or whatever other crazy ideas are out there. We've decided we are going to give it a shot for a week or two. Why? Because as Elson M. Haas, M.D., the founder and director of Preventive medical Center of Marin in San Rafael, Calif., and the author of The New Detox Diet says, "The No. 1 reason for doing a detox is to improve your health and create more healthful habits." I would completely agree with that.

I've been feeling stuck and I think Cathy is feeling in a health rut too...so doing a detox like this seems just the antidote.

So here's the skinny:

Next week we begin to transition...this is before the detox begins. We'll begin the detox proper next weekend. But this week we begin to wean from "the big five": caffeine, alcohol, sugar, wheat, and dairy.

So, for example...tomorrow morning, I'll make our coffee with half decaf and half caffeine (both are organic! of course). I'll also replace the iced tea in the fridge with half decaf/caffeine, as well (again, organic, of course).

We already have agave necter that I can use instead of our organic sugar. I can use almond milk instead of the organic half and half.

Since I've been drinking wine on a nightly basis (stress!!!!) then I will start weaning myself from it this week as well.

For the detox we will eat lots of veggies and fruits, cold-water fish (salmon!), garlic and onions, greens (like kale, spinach, chard), whole grains (brown rice, quinoa, millet, steel-cut oats). Everything we eat the week of the detox will be organic. We'll drink lots of water, exercise daily, dry brush the body, go to the sauna at the gym, and, perhaps, get a massage! We'll take our supplements religiously and get a full night's sleep.

Within a couple of weeks, we should both be feeling much better!