This is not really a question, I just wanted to share an interesting observation.
I fasted yesterday for the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur - I didn't do a dry fast, had tea and a bit of broth in the afternoon. The interesting thing is that I never actually got hungry. I had some food in the evening, but not really because i was all that starving.
I think i was eating so much crap before that my body was like oh god, thanks.  Amazing.  Definitely makes me wonder about the rest of my diet.

:)

happy friday

this might seem a little random for this group, but you guys really seem to know a lot about toxin release, so i hope you find this appropriate.
i've been pretty sedentary this last year and have recently joined a gym. yesterday i did mid-intensity cardio for about an hour and today, 24 hours later, i pretty much had an emotional meltdown. it was NOT pretty, and ended with a now smashed, non-functional laptop. sigh. i mean, i've got some pretty intense mood swings, but usually nothing like this!
the thought just occurred to me that maybe it's a toxin release thing? but 24 hours later? would that sound right? what do you guys think?
i was planning on starting the prep for a liver cleanse tonight with some lemon and olive oil. maybe it's perfect timing?

thank you - i appreciate for your input!

This summer between traveling, birthdays, and family reunions I've managed to develop a MAJOR sugar & carb addiction.  I'm not even a big fan of a lot of sweets, but it's so bad that almost every day I feel like I HAVE to eat cookies and I don't even like cookies. 

For the next couple of weeks I'm going to cut out most carbs and anything with sugar to get rid this crazy addiction.  My plan is to eat a lot of a low-glycemic veggies (so nothing sweet like corn), protein, beans, and of course drinking tons of water.

Any other advice for kicking the addiction?

Hi all,
So I've been reading, reading, reading through our memories and the tagged entries. I have a few questions about detoxing/clensing and generally getting the mind-body-soul balance back together.
( the back story )

For a while I was exercising about 4-5 days a week and things were a bit better. But, I have an addiction to sugar and am a compulsive eater (and have very little will power when it comes to food - something that has been hard for me to admit). But I know I need to change. I feel so terribly unhealthy and unhappy. If I am going to get well, it has to start with ome lifestyle changes - thats where all you wise folks come in!
SO, what I want to know it what you might suggest I do to:
a)break the sugar addiction
b)break the compulsive eating/develop better will power toward food
c)detox from the stress/bad food/toxins in my body
d)create a better mind-body-soul connection

I know you guys aren't a sub for seeing a doc, but right now I don't have that as an immediate option (although I am hoping to be able to see a councilor soon). I am working on a limited budget, but I really want to invest in my mental, emotional, physical and spiritual health.

Thank you all for your advice!

 I'm on Yasmin, and I would like to try the master cleanse. Will my birth control still be effective? My fiance is finally coming back after like half a year so I need to know if I should use condoms too. Thank you! (:

Hi everyone, I just joined this community a few days ago. I recently turned my life around to a much more healthy/green outlook. I love it so far. And to give it an even better head start I started an organic body cleansing kit about 3 days ago. It's the Whole Foods brand and it lasts for 2 weeks. It's a lot of pills to take...about 12 to be exact...and then I also take my allergy and multi-vitamin everyday so that makes 14 pills a day I'm taking. I've been keeping to my diet very well, eating really healthy and keeping hydrated. I was just wondering if anyone has taken a cleansing kit and how it affected them? On the box it says if the laxatives get too intense, to lower the dosage, but I find the milk thistle pill gets to me more...making me run to the bathroom about 10 times a day (I take 8 fiber blends,3 laxatives, and 1 milk thistle blend a day).

Please let me know how you guys feel on this method of cleansing. I know it's recommended that the average person cleanses 3-4 times a year, and this is my first time doing it.

I’ve been a member of this community for a while but this is my first post. Hi!

I’ve looked through the memories and can’t find any posts about my specific question, so I apologize in advance if my question has already been answered.

I’m on day three of a 14-day detox diet, in order to prepare for my return to full time work and full time school in a few weeks (yuck!). I’m eating a piece of fresh fruit in the morning, followed by quinoa with agave or a little fruit juice 15 minutes later. For lunch and dinner I’m eating a bowl or two of steamed veggies (I’m trying to make sure there’s a good mix of leafy greens, stalks, and roots every day) with a bit of “better butter,” a mixture of equal parts EVOO and butter. For dinner I’m also eating about 4 ounces of protein, either in the form of beans or tuna. I’m drinking tons of water and plain herbal tea throughout the day. I’m surprised at how easy it is for me to stick to this! Then again, it IS only the third day..

After the 14 days are up I’m going to going on a 4-5 day smoothie fast for cleansing. This will be my first time doing any kind of fast so I’m hoping smoothies (as opposed to juice) will make things a little easier. Aside from stating the obvious, like sugar and anything processed is out of the question, the book I’m following (The New Detox Diet" by Elson M. Haas, M.D.) is mysteriously vague about which ingredients are acceptable. I’m assuming all dairy and silken tofu are out of the question, right? I’m thinking I can use fresh fruit juice or tea, bananas or avocados as thickeners, fresh or frozen fruit, and agave or honey as sweeteners. Does that sound right?

Also, I can’t seem to find any information about smoothie fasts on the internet. Has anyone heard of these? Are they actually effective for cleansing?

Any info or links would be very helpful. Thanks in advance!

i joined this community a year ago, but until now, i've only read entries every now and then, and have never posted any.

well, i cant find sufficient facts to figure this out, so if any of you could help me, i'd really appreciate it.

i've read about how healthy fasting can be, but a water fast is too intense for me and i'm not convinced if it really is the best form of cleansing.

today should be the second day of a water fast, but i got too weak and decided to eat half a tomato, later, i ate another 1/4th. i had planned on continuing the water fast tomorrow, and then i revised my plan to drink juices as well as water and herbal teas.


the more i think about it, the more i'd like to exercise to get the weight off. it seems like the healthier thing to do.

i dont think i'm educated enough about water fasting, but it seems like the weight loss is more instantaneous but not as permanant, and almost as if it is a slower rate of loss, than if i could exercise an hour or two a day.
and the detoxification makes me very weak, mentally, as well as physically.
i just cant stand this mental slugglishness!
i need to read required reading materials before school starts!


i've decided to stop trying to plan, and i am going to take this day by day, and just stay in touch with my body, listening to what it's trying to tell me.

but, i was wondering if any of you could help me understand why water fasting is the ultimate detox?

i weigh about 130 lbs,
i'm turning 18 soon,
am female,
and have previously done a few master cleanses, and a couple juice fasts.
i also eat a mostly raw diet. i havent read any recent entries, so i'm not sure if everyone is educated on what "raw" diet is.
i'll just give a short explanation in case any one isn't:
raw, a.k.a living, live, whole, is a diet that consists of raw fruits and veggies, nuts, and seeds. heating can be done in a dehydrator up to 118 degrees. i eat fish, yogurt, and cheese occassionally. and every now and then i do consume processed foods such as ice cream, pizza. i've been eating this way for 7 or 8 months now.

i detail these things in case they may help anyone who wishes to help me.

i know water fasting can be more intense for a person not conditioned to fasting, but i am.
i know it can also be more intense for persons that have accumulated more toxins, but i think i shouldnt have much accumulated.

in case you're confused by this point, my question is if water fasting is really that great.

There was something similar in the memories but my issue is a little different:

I'm wondering what kind of cleanse or detox would be okay for me, I'm on a few different drugs for bipolar - lithium, zoloft, and anti-anxiety medication I can't remember the name of right now. Anyway, it (the lithium I just started taking) has caused weight gain, bloating, general discomfort (which should fade with time) and I would like to do a general detox because I want to lose weight and I'm also quitting smoking too. I may not do everything at once but I am worried about doing some sort of cleansing that would also flush out the medication that I need to stay in my system. And I don't want that to happen. I am going to ask my doctor before I do anything drastic but would love any simple cleansing ideas you may have that won't affect my meds. Thanks in advance. xo

Hey ducks!

This question goes out to those of you who have used the salt water flush (2 teaspoons of salt to 1 quart of water):

I'm curious as to how long the estimated time of loose stool (and/or diarrhea) should last. I would to try this type of flush but not if it means I'll have the runs all day at work, you know? Should I save it for a day when I dont have to be anywhere or are the effects limited to three or four hours?

Thanks!
 

I have gallstones :-)

Ive seen a few different varieties of gallbladder flushes, most involving a juice fast then taking olive oil. The issue is that I have gallbladder attacks when I take in more than 15 grams of fat, which there is far more than that in 1/2 cup of olive oil.

For those here that have had gallbladder attacks and attempted a flush, did you have an attack when drinking the olive oil?

Dawn Page receives £800k payout for brain injury caused by high-fluid diet
July 23, 2008

A mother of two has won more than £800,000 at the High Court after she claimed that a radical detox diet left her brain-damaged and epileptic.

...

Within days of going on “The Amazing Hydration Diet” she began vomiting and, less than a week after starting the diet, suffered a massive epileptic fit. She was taken to intensive care but doctors were unable to prevent permanent brain injury.

Mrs Page now suffers from epilepsy and a “cognitive deficit” that affects her memory, concentration and her ability to speak normally. She was forced to quit her job as a conference organiser, suffers from frequent mood swings and relies on her husband, Geoff, for help around the house.

...

In September 2001 Mrs Page paid Mrs Nash £50 for an initial consultation. She said that she was advised to drink four pints of mineral water per day as well as the tea and other fluids that she normally drank.

After a few days she started vomiting but was allegedly assured by Mrs Nash that it was “all part of the detoxification process”.

---

That part I italicized in the last sentence is something I've heard very often around here. Make sure you read long and hard about each side of the detox debate before you decide to go on one!

So on Monday I'm going to fast/detox for 4 day. I've been drinking scary amount of whiskey and smoking scary amounts of cigarettes and I'm just disgusted with myself. I need to cleanse my soul and cleanse my body. I'm going to sort of go into seclusion (to work and back) and do a lot of meditating, praying, reading, playing music, working on my book and not eating. But I want to do some sort of detoxy drink or what not that I often hear about. Can anyone recommend anything? Offer any tips/suggestions/warnings for fasting for a few days?

First and foremost a suggestion to the mods: Add a detox button to the tags

I have always been a some what healthy person, or so I thought. Well, about a month ago I read "Natural Cures "THEY" Don't Want You To Know About" by Kevin Trudeau, and whether all of it is true or not I have been downright horrified of none organic food and eating out. A little before I started reading that I got into herbs for healing purposes (I have never believed in medicine and decided I needed an alternative). Since my newfound love for being healthy, I have started a garden, purchased all organic (if I had the money to wipe out my cupboards and start over I would), and I even got an aerogarden for my indoor herbs! Here is were my question comes in. I figured since I have been pretty unhealthy i should do a detox. Now that I feel I have been eating healthy I want to wipe the "slate" (and by slate I mean my colon and other body parts : ). Monday, I think the hubby and I are starting "The Master Cleanse". You know, the water, lemon, syrup, and cayenne drink?

Has anyone ever done The Master Cleanse? What were your results? Do you have any other recommendations?

THANKS!

i was wondering if anyone had any info or could point me in the right direction.

i just recently weaned my toddler and am ready to start TTC again soon, but first i want to undergo a short cleanse (maybe 3-7 days). i am not interested in the master cleanse at this time, and i'm not really sure what i will actually do since most advise against fasting if one suffers from colitis. i have ulcerative proctitis, which is similar to colitis, except it doesn't involve the colon, just the rectum.

i am thinking the best i could do is a juice fast or detox diet, where only minimal, light foods are consumed, with lots of fluids - but even juice fasting isn't recommended for colitis patients. i feel that this is western medicine's way of trying to maintain some sort of superiority in handling our rampant digestive issues and i'm not really happy with the way my doc and gatro doc are handling my symptoms. the gastro dude told me that diet changes would not produce results and i had to just take the steroids prescribed. of course, i know better, but haven't found much relief by eliminating things from my diet so i guess my whole purpose in wanting to cleanse is to get a fresh start, so to speak, and then finally delve into eliminating wheat/gluten and seeing if that improves my condition.

also is there a right time during a women's cycle to undergo a cleanse or fast? i was thinking of it doing it when my fiance is out of town since i won't have the temptation to break my fast if he or i make dinner. the next time he'll be out of town, i will probably be menstruating and all i've found on google is that, for religious reasons, a woman should not fast during this time. i am not muslim or jewish and while i see the point that this time is already one of the woman's body naturally "cleansing" itself, i don't know if the reasons they give for advising against it are compelling enough for me. any thoughts on this?

and finally...i have a few questions about triphala...i have taken it in the past but didn't take it during the past three years due to pregnancy and lactation. i've found conflicting info on the web but most say it is not wise to consume during pregnancy because it may promote miscarriage. if i want to reap the therpeautic/cleansing effects before i get pregnant, without using it as a full strength laxative, is there a recommended dosage? i have 1g capsules and the bottle says to take two. would i gain anything by just taking one (1g) or half (500mg)? or should i start with two and cut back if the effect seems to be undesirable?

I've always heard of people fasting as a way to cleanse their body, as a diet tool, for religious reasons, etc. I've always wanted to try it for the cleansing reason, but I don't know anything about it and want to make sure I do it safe. When I look it up online all I get are lame diet techniques that don't sound very healthy to me. Does anyone here ever fast, and if so, how do you do it? How can I make sure I'm being safe? Are there certain foods I can include in the fast to aid it (since all-water fasts make me nervous)? What about people who only fast for a certain timeframe each day?


EDIT: After I posted this, I was reading some of the memories about fasting, and I just want to say that I'm looking for genuine information. I don't have any health problems or disorders, I'm not doing this for the wrong reasons, and I've talked to a person with a lot of knowledge on the subject, though not a professional, who has told me risks. I've had a pretty shaky couple months, and it's affected the types of foods I've been able to eat - i.e., not healthy ones. I know of the option to just start eating healthy again, but I'm honestly looking into a short fast. If you're just going to comment about how fasting is horrible and not healthy and I shouldn't do it, don't bother. I've heard it. To anyone who actually has information or experiences for me, thanks ahead of time. :-)

Is there anyone else here who just cannot fast? I have tried several times, and end up feeling so sick that I have to break down and eat something. For example, I decided I was going to do a simple water fast for atleast a day, 3 days max. Today was the first day of my fast, I woke up a 10, and by 2 I was feeling so dizzy and light-headed I had to eat something, or risk passing out. I have had around 400 calories today, and I feel fine, any lower and I start feeling sick. Anyone else in the same boat? I don't know what is wrong with me.

Hello,
For the last month I've been taking horrible care of myself due to stress and depression. So basically, I've gained weight, had my skin break out, have had no energy, and generally feel like shit and would love to do a cleansing.
I was wondering if anyone here has done the Stanley Burrough's Master Cleanser/ Lemonade fast, and how you liked it?
What were your energy levels during your fast? Did you feel tired, or more energized? Could you continue that week like any other, or did the fast interfere with your usual schedule?

hey everyone,

i had just started First Cleanse by Renew Life yesterday morning, and last night i got my period =P
is it bad/ineffective to clense while this is going on? Should I stop and wait or should it not matter?
it's a morning pill and a night pill, if that matters.. and im taking fiber with it.

thanks for any advice!

I am considering going on a candida-cleansing diet to rid myself of a persistent strain that's causing everything from digestive issues to skin problems to sore throats. The only problem is I have no idea what the heck to cook. My natural health guide advises NONE of the following while on the cleanse: aged cheese, alcohol, chocolate, fruit (fresh and dried), wheat, oats, rye, barley, ham, honey, nut butters, pickles, potatoes, raw mushrooms, soy sauce, sprouts and vinegar.

Does anyone have any good recipes that are cheese-, fruit-, vinegar-, gluten- and nut-free? I can handle breakfast: I'll drink a cup of tea and eat an omelet with veggies or something. But lunch and dinner elude me. I have to do this at least a month, and I just don't think basil chicken with broccoli and roasted peppers will continue to taste good if I have it 30 days in a row. Not to mention that I am primarily a vegetarian and can't figure out how to flavor beans without using soy sauce, vinegar or citrus fruits.

Help? Good sources for recipes? Tried and true dinners? Any and all help is appreciated.