Herbs & Diet, The Secret for Good Health
By Geoff D’Arcy, Lic.Ac., D.O.M.
The Effective Combination of Herbal Supplements and a Cleansing Diet
What is an herb? It is a plant, shrub or tree part that is valued for its medicinal, savory, or aromatic qualities. An herbalist is defined as one who practices healing by the use of herbs. Some 70,000 plant species have been explored on our planet, over thousands of years, in every culture of the world, from tiny lichens to towering trees.
Herbal medicine is growing rapidly. Yet this hard earned knowledge from the past, now enjoying a massive resurgence, is ancient. The oldest written books on herbal medicine are attributed back 4 to 5,000 years into ancient Egypt, India and China. All cultures have explored plant medicine by trial and error, looking to alleviate suffering and illness of loved ones. Herbal medicine is currently growing rapidly in popularity around the World, as many become disillusioned by damaging side effects associated with pharmaceuticals. Currently 80% of the world’s population uses herbal medicine to stay well, and it is not just Third World countries using traditional medicine. In Germany and France it is estimated that 30% to 40% of all medical doctors utilize herbs in their primary healthcare. In Australia herbalists serve as primary healthcare providers. Within rural China, a staggering 60% of the population relies on herbs for primary healthcare. Here too in Japan, 96.1% of doctors used some form of Kampo. (August, 1993 issue of The Lancet).
Herbal supplements are also rapidly growing, not directed by medical professionals; these supplements of herbs for health and wellness are learned about and taken by the general public. It’s been only a few years after Japanese regulations permitted the sale of supplements for wellness, and it seems that the Japanese people are eager to know more, just as the Americans were 10 years ago. They are stimulated by mounting evidence that supplements can play an important role in the maintenance of health and the prevention of disease.
What are the Americans using supplements for? In America the general public is increasingly hungry for supplements and education about herbs and vitamins. According to the Harris survey of 2001, nearly six in ten American adults reported taking dietary supplements on a regular basis. And that that 60% of Americans have used just herbs in the past year! The most popular single herbs are ginkgo, ginseng, garlic, echinacea, St. John’s wort and saw palmetto.
It should be noted that approximately 95% of these purchases, were NOT made in medical offices.
Let’s look at the top reasons for using herbal remedies.
General health and prevention were the first four reasons, and the fourth most popular specific reason for taking supplements in the U.S. was weight management.
This trend to towards supplements is worldwide. Total sales of supplements worldwide rose from $8.6 billion in 1994 to $47 billion in 1999 according to a report in 2000, (37% were herbs). This survey, found an average increase of 13% in sales over the year 2000. Sales of herbal formulas, increasing grew more than sales of single herbs. The most popular and convenient way of taking these herbs, according to the survey was in capsule form.
Formulas are herbs in harmony.
European, Traditional Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine have histories of using blends of herbs together. Through practice and experience they have found that synergy between herbs happens and this synergy is a central part of their philosophy. The synergy is, the harmony created by the individual as part of an orchestra or a team. Science may not have the tools yet to confirm the super-subtle synergistic interactions and increased efficacy of ancient formulation practices. A recent case in point occurred at the London Royal Free Hospital England in the early 1990’s. During trials to study a Chinese herbal formula for eczema, researchers were astonished when the addition of ‘one extra herb’ was added to a formula containing 10 herbs. It resulted in a dramatic improvement in previously unresponsive patients.
The team is greater than its star player. World Herb formulas are based on using the most tried and tested, superior herbs from all herbal traditions, guided into formulas using the wisdom of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Using TCM’s extensive history and accumulated wisdom as a foundation, and adding to that the knowledge of Ayurvedic, European, Japanese, North American and South American herbal traditions, as well as the modern “scientific” tradition, we come to a very powerful perspective and the basis for World Herb formulas.
Every team has a star player, and good formulas, like good teams, smooth over any hard edges “star” player may have, and deliver the “star” to where he/she is most needed. With herbal formulations “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts”. The combinations in a formula produce a new therapeutic agent that treats more effectively and completely the cause, as well as the symptoms, of a health problem. There are organizing principles that govern the combining of thousands of active ingredients in plants, to create a harmonized, effective team. The foundation for the organizing principles were laid down in the first or second century in the Chinese medical text.
The organizing principles of herbal formulation according to TCM.
Chief herb: Produces the primary effects in treating the cause or main symptoms of a disease. It is the primary therapeutic agent.
Deputy herb: Helps to strengthen the effect of the chief.
Assistant herb: It may cool the overheating effect of the chief. The assistant herb performs this function by opposing the irritating property the chief herb may have.
Servant herb: Helps guide and carry active constituents into the body for the best possible absorption.
Once we have designed the team, we must ensure they have the best possible energy and active ingredients we can.
Purity of ingredients and processing of herbs is essential for the full therapeutic impact of the herbs, gives the team the best chance of winning.
Organically grown or wild-crafted (without pesticides, herbicides, in healthy soil)
Non–irradiated
No gassing with ETO
Non GMO no genetically modified materials
No excipients, flowing agents colorings or fillers, which are added for encapsulation
No processing with carcinogenic solvents, most are, and leave residues on the processed herbs
"Full spectrum" whole herbs, with all the proportion of compounds as found in nature
Tests showing extremely low bacteria content and no heavy metals
100% Vegetarian, no use of animal substances, endangered species, etc.
Plant Energy and Chemistry. I consider medicinal plants from both the “energy” perspective and the “bio chemical” perspectives. The therapeutic effect of the plants, are only as good as the ability of the plant to contain and hold the chemical compounds to help our bodies heal. A Kirlian photograph on the wall of my office, pictures a leaf with the top part cut off and thrown away. The photograph captures the “corona discharge” that represents millions of electrons streaming from the leaf. The upper portion of the leaf is cut off yet one can clearly see the “phantom leaf” or “energy body” that remains. All living organisms must have an attending energy body interfacing with the physical body. All plants possess an energy body with its own unique vibration frequency. The plant’s unique and individual “electromagnetic signatures” or frequencies of these fields, may well be proved as a major factor in our healing processes with medicinal plants.
I’m sure we have all seen examples of plants that have struggled for life, e.g. a rose that never blooms, versus a rose bush in full health bloom, healthy with hundreds of flowerers. The quality difference between the two rose plants is enormous, its aroma, its color every aspect of its chemistries and its energies, you can see and smell the difference and sense it chemically and energetically.
The environment in which a plant grows affects it enormously, for example, is it wild-crafted? Has it been taken from it natural eco-system, that supported it for millions of years, or has it been cultivated? If so, was it organically grown? The soil is filled with all the ingredients to support the plant naturally. Plants suck all of the natural ingredients from their roots so the plant is healthy if the soil is healthy. Has it been processed without chemical herbicides, pesticides or gassed? The sad fact is that the majority all-medicinal plants are gassed with carcinogenic gasses so it may keep longer in storage. Has it been irradiated? For better preservation in storage, yet irradiation destroys the plants energy. All these, are just some of the factors that bring to you the best quality herbs, to give your body the best possible opportunity to help it heal itself.
The Liver is your bodies filter. Clean the liver filter regularly! Herbal supplements can support and raise the function of the liver to filter out toxins and also increase better fat metabolism. Toxins are poisonous substance(s) that are toxic or harmful when introduced into the tissues.
The liver is the body’s filter and main defense against the toxins of daily life. The liver protects our body by filtering over one liter of blood a minute and produces up to one quart of bile a day. It metabolizes internal wastes such as harmful bacteria, fungi, viruses and parasites, while breaking down our hormones such as testosterone and estrogen, preventing build ups, that could lead to PMS or mood swings, and other hormonal imbalances. The toxins processed by the liver are excreted by the lungs, kidneys and through bile into the gall bladder and out through the intestines. It makes sense to give your liver and gall bladder a little help from time to time. This is especially important for patients who suffer constipation as they are re-circulating wastes through their systems. The effective combination of herbal supplements and a cleansing diet, will better protect you from internal and external toxins, and help you maintain a healthy body weight. Environmental toxins and toxins produced inside our bodies can be stored in adipose (fat) tissue, and often lead to fatigue and poor health. When we lose weight we break down fat cells and release stored toxins into circulation.
Detoxification. Detoxification means to remove a poison or toxin or the effect of such from the body or to render a harmful substance harmless. “Detoxing” is an additional benefit of weight loss, yet it has its hidden dangers if your “filter” (liver) is sluggish. It is estimated that one in every four Americans suffers from some level of heavy metal poisoning. Heavy metals, such as lead, mercury, cadmium, and arsenic, are by-products of industry. Synthetic agriculture chemicals, many of which are known to cause health problems, are also found in food, air, and water. American agriculture uses nearly 10 lbs. (4.5 kg) of pesticides per person on the food supply each year. These toxins have become almost unavoidable. Pesticides that are used only on crops in the southern United States have been found in the tissue of animals in the far north of Canada. DDT, a cancer-causing insecticide that has been banned for decades, is still regularly found in the fatty tissue of animals, birds, and fish, even in extremely remote regions such as the North Pole.
Detoxification is the process of clearing toxins from the body or neutralizing or transforming them, and clearing excess mucus and congestion. Many of these toxins come from our diet, drug use, and environmental exposure, both acute and chronic. Internally, fats, especially oxidized fats and cholesterol, free radicals, and other irritating molecules act as toxins. Functionally, poor digestion, colon sluggishness and dysfunction, reduced liver function, and poor elimination through the kidneys, respiratory tract, and skin all add to increased toxicity.
Detoxification involves dietary and lifestyle changes that reduce intake of toxins and improve elimination. Avoidance of chemicals, from food or other sources, refined food, sugar, caffeine, alcohol, tobacco, and many drugs helps minimize the toxin load. Drinking extra water (purified) and increasing fiber by including more fruits and vegetables in the diet are steps in the detoxification process.
Toxins. Toxins are any substance that creates irritating and/or harmful effects in the body, undermining our health and stressing our biochemical or organ functions. Let’s get the some perspective on modern toxins that place much of an extra burden on our Liver. In 1989, enough toxins were released into the air and earth to fill a line of semi-trailers parked bumper-to-bumper with a cargo capacity of 45,000 pounds each, stretching from downtown Los Angeles to Des Moines, Iowa! That is 1,680 miles!
We are exposed to a spectrum of more than 100,000 potentially harmful chemicals, and exposure to these can bring on disease. According to a 1997 study by the National Center for Environmental Health at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, many of these chemicals may accumulate in our bodies. Then, tucked away in our fatty tissues, they can damage our reproductive, neurological and immune systems. The American Food and Drug Administration, for example, put out a warning in September 1997 that predatory fish such as swordfish and sharks may contain methylmercury levels in excess of its one part per million (ppm) recommended limit. The FDA's advice is that the fish is safe to eat, as long as the quantity does not exceed more than one portion a week. Once the toxins are in our bodies, they stay there for a long time maybe for ever…until sudden weight loss.
Good News! The astounding ability of a healthy liver. The liver detoxification pathways inside the liver cells, are sophisticated mechanisms that have evolved over millions of years to break down toxins. Every drug, artificial chemical, pesticide and hormone, is broken down (metabolized) by enzyme pathways inside the liver cells. Many of the toxic chemicals that may enter the body are fat-soluble, which means they dissolve only in fatty or oily solutions and not in water. Fat-soluble chemicals have a high affinity for fat tissues and cell membranes, which are made of fatty substances. In these fatty parts of the body, toxins may be stored for years, being released during times of exercise, stress or weight loss. Our liver is remarkably designed to convert fat-soluble chemicals into water-soluble chemicals so that they may then be easily excreted from the body via watery fluids such as bile and urine. Even modern synthetic chemicals, never seen before in the millions of years of evolution can be broken down.
Toxic Build-up. If Phase One and Phase Two detoxification pathways become overloaded, there will be a buildup of toxins released back into the blood circulation. Many of these toxins are fat-soluble and incorporate themselves into fatty parts of the body where they may stay for years, if not forever. The brain and the endocrine (hormonal) glands are fatty organs, and are common sites for fat-soluble toxins to accumulate. This may result in symptoms of brain dysfunction and hormonal imbalances. Many of these chemicals (e.g. pesticides, petrochemicals) are carcinogenic and have been implicated in the rising incidence of many cancers.
If the filtering and/or detoxification systems within the liver are overloaded or inefficient, this will cause toxins, build up in the blood stream. This will then increase the workload of the immune system, which will become overloaded and irritated.
Here’s the quick test. Do you need to cleanse and purify your body?
Do you often feel tired?
Do you ever feel dizzy, trouble concentrating or foggy thinking?
Do you eat fast, fatty, fried, oily, processed foods
Do use stimulants, coffee, cigarettes, candy or soda to boost yourself each day?
Do you move your bowels less than twice a day?
Do you have intestinal gas, bloating or constipation?
Do you experience headaches?
Do you live with or near polluted air or water
Do you eat fish more than twice a week?
Do you have food allergies or skin problems>?
Do you have sinus problems or often have lower back pain or weakness?
Are you exposed to chemicals, pharmaceuticals, ?
Do you feel sluggish or overweight?
If you answered yes, to three or more of the above please consider doing a cleansing diet with herbs in the near future.
Take the challenge. Prove to yourself, the power of rejuvenation, energy and renewal that the cleansing diet and herbs will bring your body and mind.
If you suffer with any of the following, you may be helped by liver cleansing herbs with a cleansing diet. The following are indicators of imbalance of liver potential.
Abnormal Metabolism of Fats
Abnormalities in the level of fats in the blood stream, such as elevated LDL cholesterol and reduced HDL cholesterol and elevated triglycerides are signs of the body struggling with fat processing. Arteries blocked with fat, leading to high blood pressure, heart attacks and strokes is another clue. The buildup of fat in other body organs (fatty degeneration of organs), or lumps of fat in the skin (lipomas and other fatty tumors).are suggestive of abnormal metabolism of fats. Excessive weight gain, which may lead to obesity or the inability to lose weight even while dieting, may all be signs of abnormal metabolism of fats. Sluggish metabolism, cellulite, a fatty liver to the tell tale sign of a roll of fat around the upper abdomen - (liver roll) are all suggestive fats not being metabolized well.Digestive Problems
Indigestion
Reflux
Hemorrhoids
Gall stones and gall bladder disease
Intolerance to fatty foods
Intolerance to alcohol
Nausea and vomiting attacks
Abdominal bloating
Constipation
Irritable bowel syndrome
Pain over the liver - (upper right corner of abdomen & lower right rib cage)Blood Sugar Problems
Craving for sugar
Hypoglycemia and unstable blood sugar levels
Mature onset diabetes (Type II) is common in those with a fatty liverNervous System
Depression
Mood changes such as anger and irritability. Metaphysically the liver is known as the "seat of anger"
Poor concentration and "foggy brain"
Overheating of the body, especially the face and torso
Recurrent headaches (including migraine) associated with nauseaImmune Dysfunction
Allergies - sinus, hay fever, asthma, dermatitis, hives, etc.
Multiple food and chemical sensitivities
Skin rashes and inflammations
Increased risk of autoimmune diseases
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Fibromyalgia
Increase in recurrent viral, bacterial and parasitic infectionsExternal Signs
Coated tongue
Bad breath
Skin rashes
Itchy skin (pruritus)
Excessive sweating
Offensive body odor
Dark circles under the eyes
Yellow discoloration of the eyes
Red swollen itchy eyes (allergic eyes)
Acne rosacea - (red pimples around the nose, cheeks and chin)
Brownish spots and blemishes on the skin (liver spots)
Red palms and soles which may also be itchy and inflamed
Flushed facial appearance or excessive facial blood vessels (capillaries/veins)Hormonal Imbalance
Intolerance to hormone replacement therapy or the contraceptive pill (egg. side effects)
Menopausal symptoms such as hot flushes may be more severe
Premenstrual syndrome may be more severe
All of the above symptoms are common manifestations of a dysfunctional liver. However, they can also be due to other causes.
Herbal Cleansing Formulas to Support the Liver
There are many ways to cleanse the body of toxins; the best is a combination of herbs with a cleansing diet.
Cleanse Herbal Formula targets purifying the blood. For the last 15 days of the cleanse.
Burdock
Asian Ginseng
Kelp
Fennel
Red clover
Nettles
Chlorella
Burdock is one of the foremost detoxifying herbs of the Eastern and the Western traditions; it is used to cool and cleanse toxic accumulations from the body. Similar to the properties of garlic, Burdock root is reported to destroy bacteria and fungus cultures and its anti-tumor properties have also been noted. At Nagoya University in Japan, researchers found that the root helps reduce cell mutations. It eliminates toxins from the blood and lymphatic systems. Burdock root is rich in vitamins B-complex and E. Its trace minerals include potassium, phosphorous, chromium, cobalt, iron, magnesium, silicon, zinc, and sodium. Burdock root contains inulin which helps to regulate sugar (glucose) in metabolism. Diabetics may be helped. Inulin has also been shown to possess exceptional restorative properties. It increases immunity by improving the efficiency of white blood cells.
Kelp is found useful by in many coastal cultures. It is the best source for replenishing minerals and balancing the thyroid with its safe source of iodine. Thyroid health affects the health of skin and hair growth. Kelp is a rich source of vitamins, especially B vitamins. It is reported to be beneficial to brain tissue, the membranes surrounding the brain, sensory nerves and blood vessels. It has been useful in treatment for thyroid problems due to its iodine content, as well as hair loss, obesity and ulcers. It contains 30 minerals considered vital to glandular health and functional as enzyme co-factors. It has traditionally been used in the treatment of a thyroid disorder caused by an iodine deficiency and is beneficial in regulating the metabolism of digestion. . Because iodine worked by stimulating the thyroid gland that controls the metabolism, it was noted that those who took iodine lost weight more easily. From these observations, kelp was then used to assist in weight loss. It has been suggested that kelp's positive effects in assisting metabolism may help in lowering cholesterol. Kelp's most dramatic application is its ability to neutralize heavy metal pollution and radiation in the body. Studies have shown that the active ingredient in kelp, sodium alginate, can prevent the absorption of newly ingested heavy metals. Kelp is a nutritive food for the blood, a wonderful source of trace elements, and binds heavy metals in the gastrointestinal tract preventing their absorption. Kelp has the added bonus of soothing the gastrointestinal tract.
Ginseng helps to strengthen the digestive function in order to better purify the body of toxins. It is well known for stabilizing blood sugar, and energizing the body, during the reduction of calories this is very valuable function.
Red Clover is an herb that is foremost for detoxify the body and cleansing drug toxins from the bloodstream improves skin problems. Red clover is best known as a blood purifier, expelling toxins from the bloodstream. As a digestive aid, red clover stimulates the production of digestive fluids and bile. It also relieves constipation and helps soothe inflammation of the bowel, stomach and intestines.
Fennel, is also known as the "obesity" herb, is natural detoxifier, used to help control your hunger to a certain degree. I think of fennel as the "fat fighting" herb. Fennel will help relieve symptoms sometimes associated with detoxing, flatulence and colic. It stimulates the digestion, acts as diuretic and detoxifies the body. Fennel will also help to pep up your sluggish metabolism. An effective metabolism will greatly help you while slimming and dieting. Because of the cleansing and detoxifying action of this herb, it will help get rid toxins while cleaning the blood and liver. Fennel soothes and cleanses, helps to calm gas and bloating.
Chlorella stimulates a protective effect on the liver, as shown by its resistance to damage by toxins such as ethionine. In one German study, the liver was protected from the kind of damage caused by malnutrition. Chlorella lowers blood cholesterol and triglycerides, the levels of which are associated with liver metabolism as well as fat intake. We can see how the protective and cleansing effects of chlorella on the liver support the natural defenses of the body. Chlorella is a powerful detoxification aid for heavy metals and other pesticides. Numerous research projects in the U.S. and Europe indicate that chlorella can also aid the body in breaking down persistent hydrocarbon and metallic toxins such as mercury, cadmium and lead, DDT and PCB while strengthening the immune system response. A clean bloodstream, with an abundance of red blood cells to carry oxygen, is necessary to a strong natural defense system. Chlorella's cleansing action on the bowel and other elimination channels, as well as its protection of the liver, helps keep the blood clean. greatest food substances for cleansing the bowel and other elimination systems, such as the liver and the blood.
Power Mushrooms, invigorates cleansing and immune system, lowering cholesterol and blood thickness throughout the entire month.
Shiitake
Maitake
Reishi
Energetically Oriental Medicine believes that healing mushrooms remove dead decaying matter from the forest floors, just as in the energy fields of our own body-minds. Mushrooms such as reishi, shiitake and maitake are the stars of the mushroom world as they also convert our own metabolic and psychic wastes. Maitake, shiitake, and reishi mushrooms have many overlapping properties as they all boost immune function, all support cardiovascular health, and all show promise in lowering the risk of or treating cancer.
Shiitake mushrooms contain proteins, fats, carbohydrates, soluble fiber, vitamins, and minerals. In addition, shiitake’s key ingredient, found in the fruiting body, is a polysaccharide called lentinan. This mushroom is used for hepatitis, cancer and building the immune response. Its effect upon cholesterol may come from its fiber. Fiber is divided into two general categories, water soluble and water insoluble. Soluble fiber lowers cholesterol. What are it active compounds? The proteins contain all of the essential amino acids, and most commonly occurring non-essential amino acids and amides. The fatty acids are largely unsaturated, and shiitake are rich in vitamins and minerals. Shiitake’s historical usage is centered on cancer, high cholesterol, diseases of the liver, such as hepatitis fatty liver and cirrhosis, and general immune response support.
Maitake is a very large mushroom which grows deep in the mountains of Northeastern Japan. The use of mushrooms as functional foods has been most popular in Asia, where the application of mushrooms to support health was recorded at least 2000 years ago. In particular, maitake has been used to reduce excessive dampness, according to Eastern traditions. Ingredients in edible mushrooms are known to modulate the immune system thus improving the body’s response. Maitake ingredients exhibit other functional properties. As demonstrated in a recent study, mushroom polysaccharides can lower the level of serum lipids. The mechanism may involve increased bile production on one hand, and increased liver turnover of cholesterol and triglycerides. Maitake’s liver protective qualities for Hepatitis B even clearing antigens in 40% of those in one study. It is used in Japan to protect the liver from drug-induced Hepatitis.
Reishi is said to be found on 10,000 Japanese plum trees. It was extremely rare, until the cultivation of this mushroom. This assimilation of junk food damages the blood vessels and oxygenation process to a marked degree that could affect the body's metabolism. Yet, reishi can correct this imbalance and strengthen the system to prevent further deterioration. Reishi eliminates cholesterol build-up and promotes blood circulation. When there is a built-up of starch, protein or fatty acids in the blood stream, cholesterosis arise.
It has a long history of use for liver diseases in Chinese and Japanese herbalism, where reishi converts our own metabolic and psychic waster.
The Secret of Good Health
The Cleansing Diet: Dieting whether extreme or not, can only be a temporary method of cleansing the body of waste products. The liver tucks away toxins that it cannot break-down for excretion into fat cells, and so for many people, extreme dieting, can rapidly release of toxins which can cause unpleasant symptoms when a lifetime store of toxins is dumped back into the blood stream. This is where the herbs become vitally important and can neutralize toxins and counter unpleasant side effects.
Exercise regularly for the month of the Cleanse, this increases peristalsis, and circulation.
Sweating: Helps to release toxins, a hot bath, or steam bath 3 -4 times a week is very helpful.
Increase your sleep: Allowing for more sleep on the cleanse diet will help all the systems or your body and mind.
Drink lots more bottled water: An extra quart of water a day will usually help us eliminate more toxins especially on the cleansing diet.
No Alcohol or Cigarettes for at least 2 weeks.
No junk food, processed foods, canned foods.
Organic foods if possible.
Eat lots more fruits and vegetables.
Eat no meat the first 5-7 days.
Eat no dairy products the first 5-7 days: No milk, eggs or cheeses, yogurts, these products are difficult to digest at the best of times and often contain growth hormones, antibiotics and other toxins. Eliminating these products will create less congestion and more elimination.
General Daily Principles of the Cleanse Diet
5-7 days:
Herbs: Gall Bladder Liver Cleanse, Cleanse Formula, Diet Detox, Easy Move.
Foods: The cleansing diet has been designed to support and enhance the Phase One and Two liver detoxification systems. Eat as many organic fruits and vegetables as possible for your meals. Drink lots of healthy beverages, including spring water, herbal teas and fresh juices. You may have one to two tablespoons of healthy oil with your salad or used for cooking, as in a stir fry.
Restrict the amount of high sugar fruits, papaya, grapes, dried fruits, starchy vegetables potatoes, yams etc.
Breakfast: Fruit and vegetable juices – mixed fruit in the morning.
Lunch: Vegetables, cooked or raw, salad without heavy salad dressings.
Dinner: Cooked or Baked vegetables with side salad.
Snacks: Always carry fruit or chopped vegetables
Juices with spirulina, algae, or other green chlorophyll powders. If you have high activity level add in protein powder drink..
After 5-7 days to 10-12 days, you can add in the following:
One cup of grain (i.e. brown rice, millet, kasha, oats) per day. Avoid wheat and corn.
Up to 6 rice cakes (salt free), or 1 cup of air-popped popcorn.
One teaspoon of almond butter, or a handful of almonds.
One cup of soy, rice or almond milk.
One teaspoon of miso paste
Whole grains, rice, rice cakes, beans, dried fruits and nuts with breakfast and as snacks. Fruit and vegetable juices. Look at all the labels of everything.
After 10-12 days to 15 days, add in:
In addition to fruits, vegetables, grain and almonds as above you can add plant-based protein to your diet. These additions are at your discretion and include: tofu, tempeh, beans and rice, veggie burgers, tofu hotdogs, soy cheese, soy yogurts, protein smoothies.) Chicken poultry or fish 6 ounces (avoid shell fish) of good quality and eggs are also permitted during this stage.
You may want to stick with fruits and vegetables during the day and then have a “full” dinner with grains and protein. Or add to your favorite recipes, i.e., add tofu to the vegetable curry, add cheese to your salads. Be creative and try new things
After 15 to 30 days:
Re-entry back into normal (and hopefully modified) diet. Try to avoid cigarettes and alcohol. Eat less at each meal, than usual.
After 30 days onwards:
Try to hold your gains in terms of weight loss and keep up your intake of organic fruits and vegetables.
Less junk processed foods. Junk Food is taking over the world, fight back! Processed sugar and flour, processed foods, and other "junk" foods should be eliminated. Processed foods contain many additives and sweeteners which can be toxic, and overly refined foods can "get stuck" in the intestinal tract, forming a sort of "paper-mache" crust within. Needless to say, this makes it difficult for nutrients to be absorbed. And increases the chance that carcinogens and toxins will be absorbed.
Eat less meat, as meat is more difficult to digest and contains unhealthy fat. It also may contain xenoestrogens (foreign estrogens) as a result of animal growth hormone shots.
Eat more raw fruits and vegetables. They supply live enzymes, which ensure you get more bang for your nutritional buck. The enzymes found in raw foods help the body's digestive enzymes break down the foods we eat to free up the nutrients within. Helping the body's digestive enzymes means they do not have to work as hard, which frees up energy for other important tasks.
After the age of 40, levels of digestive enzymes begin to decrease. This means you do not digest food as well as you might, which can result in getting less nutrition, but also in more waste material remaining in the digestive tract. Thirty to forty percent of the diet should consist of raw fruits and vegetables. Try to eat some raw fruits or vegetables with every meal as they contain living enzymes, vitamin C, natural antibiotic substances and anti-cancer phytonutrients.
Less canned foods: They are often high is salt, synthetic preservatives, coloring, flavorings.
Oil but Don't Grease Your Body
Avoid the fats that present a high workload for the liver and gall bladder. These are full-cream dairy products, margarines, processed vegetable oils (hydrogenated fats), and deep fried foods, foods that are not fresh and contain rancid fats, preserved meats, animal skins and fatty meats. In those with a dysfunctional liver, I recommend avoiding all animal milks and substituting them with oat, rice, almond or soymilks.
Natural!
Avoid artificial chemicals and toxins such as insecticides, pesticides, and artificial sweeteners and colorings, (especially aspartame), flavorings and preservatives. Excess alcohol, particularly spirits, should be avoided.
Consume a diverse range of proteins from grains, raw nuts, seeds, legumes, eggs, seafood, and if desired, free range chicken (without the skin), and lean fresh red meats. If you do not want to eat red meat or poultry this is quite acceptable as there are many other sources of protein. It is safe to be a strict vegetarian, however you may need to take supplements of vitamin B 12, iron, taurine and carnitine to avoid poor metabolism and fatigue.
Conclusion
The Secret of Herbs for Good Health is the effective combination of herbal supplements with a cleansing diet, at least once a year. It’s that simple! Yet remarkably profound. To allow the detoxifying of our bodies, while increasing the functioning of the bodies filter, the liver, and cleaning the blood, is now YOUR secret. Experience the good health that this secret imparts to you. Then be sure to pay back, to someone else. Tell someone else this secret and allow them too to enjoy good health.
*The statements contained in this article have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.