The Lifestyle Cleanse

Cleanses can take on many shapes and forms: but most importantly a clease should involve extended lifestyle changes. The goal is to minimize the amount of chemicals you are exposed to, increase your circulation, include gentle activity and adequate hydration and maximize the consumption of whole foods to provide sufficient vitamins, nutrients and live enzymes; all of which will help draw out some toxins. You may choose to incorporate a one or two day juice fast into your program. A juice fast should not last more than one to two days and should only account for three to four days in total of a thirty to forty-five day program. 

Whichever you choose, please note that you do not have to pay top dollars for pills and potions to help you through this. There are some very simple lifestyle improvements (there is that word again) that will improve the overall functioning of your digestion, liver and help ‘cleanse’ your colon.

Here are seven easy ways to improve the long term functioning of your digestion, liver and colon that will benefit your body for years to come:

1)      Select three to five fruits per day --good for snacks

2)      Always combine complex carbohydrates with proteins to help maintain blood sugar levels      Grains should be mixed with another protein, such as tofu, to improve their protein availability to your body. 

3)      Limit meats to three days per week, and use vegetable proteins, such as grains and beans (in combination).

4)      Select at least two different vegetables for each meal.  Concentrate on the orange/yellow vegetables which are rich in beta-carotene, which will be very liver-friendly.

5)      Consider eating beets daily. Coleslaws are a fabulous way to increase the variety of your vegetables. These can be made in batches and can last up to two days.

6)      Select a fat or oil or seed or nut with at least two of your meals. One teaspoon of oil or more.  Nuts and seeds make excellent snacks and are easy to package and carry in plastic bags.

7)      To prime the digestive organs every morning, take one tablespoonful of lemon juice, a pinch of ginger powder and put it in one to two cups of hot water.  If you prefer a cold drink you may choose a glass of room temperature filtered water with a lemon slice.

Comments

[Dave McFarland]

This is great advice. When I'm in the "zone," I am able to follow these guidlines. The problem for me is getting into the "zone" and staying there.

[Angela Pifer]

Great point Dave. What you should look for then is a pattern that you can follow for an extended period of time. The 'zone' may be the same concept as 'all or nothing.' You may need to find a happy median and realize that the all or nothing approach does not work long term and that any improvement should be seen as a success. You may want to break your approach down and focus on smaller goals: getting more sleep, adding more fruits or vegetable servings, staying hydrated...you can see where each of these steps can be quantified (you can count how many hours you sleep and improve from there).