Читать книгу The SimplyRaw Living Foods Detox Manual - Natasha Kyssa - Страница 12
ОглавлениеCHAPTER TWO Getting Ready to Detox
“The doctor of the future will give no medicine, but will interest his [or her] patients in the care of the human frame, in his [or her] diet, and in the cause and prevention of disease.”
—Thomas Edison
The SimplyRaw Living Foods Detox Program provides you with a week-by-week program outline, food lists, recipes, and recommendations for other complementary ways to enhance your detoxification process. A gradual approach is used in order to help you ease into the program. The essence of this program is to consume raw and living foods; however, a gentler option of eating lightly steamed vegetables at dinner is offered throughout the course. Although you will achieve best results by following the program 100 percent, you may customize it to fit your own lifestyle and schedule, and progress at your own pace.
The Progress Chart should be filled out regularly to monitor detox symptoms, challenges, and positive changes. A food log or journal is also recommended to take inventory of your thoughts and feelings throughout your journey.
This four-week program is a basic outline and can be personalized to meet your specific needs. Each week a new set of goals will challenge you to bring your detox to a deeper level. If you can’t go all the way, just do the best you can. Proceed at your own pace, although you will achieve more from the program by following the guidelines in the manual.
This program can help you improve your health regardless of how poor your diet has become. Whether you’re eating an unhealthy diet, overcoming a health challenge, trying to lose weight, or just interested in feeling more energetic and youthful, the SimplyRaw Living Foods Detox Program is a sure way to help bring your health to the next level. Animal products, refined sugar, and processed starches are completely omitted, and because of this, health improves considerably. The program helps clean the palate and makes the transition to a healthier body and lifestyle easier. It is also a great way to prepare your body for a fast.
If this is your first detox, make sure to ease into the program slowly. If you jump into it too quickly, you will be more susceptible to stronger cravings and detoxification symptoms. If you are consuming alcohol, cigarettes, coffee, sugar, wheat, or any other harmful substances, start eliminating them at least a week before the program to reduce harsh detox symptoms. During the program, you must eliminate all of these substances or they will defeat the purpose of the detox, and you won’t reap the health benefits. If you cannot meet this requirement, begin the program at a later time, when you can.
The program begins with one week of mostly raw foods to begin eliminating some of the more toxin-laden foods that are detrimental to our health, and to gradually prepare you for the 100 percent raw and living foods weeks. Week two of the program eliminates all cooked foods to incorporate strictly fresh fruits and vegetables. The Gentle Option is for those who wish to eat one type of steamed veggies with the evening raw meal. Keep in mind that your body will not detoxify as thoroughly when eating cooked foods. The third week moves into 100 percent living foods packed with powerful healing properties. The final week will challenge you with three days of consuming only blended foods that are easily digested and assimilated by your body. You will then gradually ease off the program with three days of living foods.
To optimize your cleanse, it is recommended you receive a series of three (or more) colonics during the program. For best results, schedule one colonic (see Colonic irrigation ) at the start of the program, one during the middle, and one at the end. During my cleanses, I always make sure to have at least two colonics every week to help eliminate mucus and toxins from my body. This can become expensive, so if it is not feasible, taking enemas (see Enemas) will suffice.
It is essential to drink plenty of pure water throughout the program to help flush out the kidneys, detoxify the tissues, purify the blood, and rehydrate the cells. Tea, juice, smoothies, and soups do not count as water!
Keep track of your progress in a journal to explore your thoughts and feelings, and to help you be aware of the changes that you’re experiencing. It is easy to forget where you have come from, and this is an excellent method of charting your progress over the course of the program.
Appendix 1 is rich with tasty and easy-to-prepare recipes to help you throughout this program. Be sure to experiment, vary your greens, and try out as many different recipes as you can!
Cleansing reactions
Cleansing reactions or “healing crises” (also known as Herxheimer reaction) occur when accumulated toxins break down and are released into the bloodstream. Toxins often leave the tissues faster than the body can eliminate them through its various systems, and this is when a cleansing reaction occurs. Detox symptoms are an indication that toxic substances are circulating in the bloodstream. The more toxins you are eliminating, the more severe the reactions are, as toxins are being released. This is a natural occurrence and essential for healing. It is important to understand that detoxification symptoms are the same as those of toxin accumulation. Toxins poison the body twice: going in as well as out!
You may feel ill; however, this will pass and you will feel much better once the toxins have been eliminated. It isn’t always a comfortable process, and detoxification doesn’t occur overnight, but if you remain on the program, cleansing reactions will become fewer and milder.
During the program (and especially during the first few days) you may experience some of the symptoms listed below. In fact, you may temporarily feel worse than you did before starting your cleanse. Try to see this as a good sign—and please be patient. Remember, we are carrying a lifetime of accumulated poisons in our bodies, and cleansing does not occur instantaneously.
As toxins are released, you may experience the following symptoms:
• headaches
• fevers and/or colds
• nausea
• coated tongue
• skin eruptions
• tiredness
• muscle aches
• lack of concentration
• weakness or dizziness
• mucus or other discharge
• short intervals of diarrhea
• constipation
• bloating
• frequent urination
• sugar cravings
• mood swings
• nervousness and irritability
• depression and negativity
• emotional upheaval
Symptoms shouldn’t be suppressed with pain killers or antibiotics as this counteracts your body’s natural cleansing process and compromises the immune system. If you regularly consume pain killers or digestive aids, stop taking them during the cleanse. These are the kinds of toxins that you want to remove from your system during a detox program, not put in. Detoxification allows healing, and this often takes time.
To help release these toxins, keep your system well-hydrated, drinking plenty of water throughout the day. To slow down severe cleansing reactions at any time during the program, you may eat a small bowl of lightly steamed mono (only one type of) vegetables.
Steamed vegetables will increase the workload required for digestion, assimilation, and elimination, and because they are cooked, the nutrient value is decreased.
Toxic emotions
Often, when toxins are being eliminated from your system, old and deeply suppressed emotions and unpleasant memories may surface. Most of us don’t want to feel these negative emotions, so we may respond to these feelings by avoiding them, ignoring them, pretending they don’t exist, or stuffing them back down with food. However, just like toxic food, negative emotions can make us ill.
When feelings are denied or suppressed, they become stored at the cellular level. This creates blockages and can often affect our thoughts, beliefs, and attitudes. Emotions such as anger, depression, or fear can also affect the nervous system’s chemistry and weaken the immune system. Accumulated emotions in the body can build and manifest into the physical, leading to an acidic body, anxiety, heart disease, liver or lung trouble, and sometimes even cancer.
In order for the body to detoxify at its potential, we must also detoxify our emotional toxins. If you are holding onto anger, fear, resentment, or other negative or traumatic emotions, your detox process will fall short of its potential, no matter how raw you are. Releasing old, pent-up emotions is essential for the cleansing process—and for our wellness in general. It also gives us the opportunity for personal growth and can bring more joy into our life.
Resolving past issues can be challenging, especially when the problem is a longstanding one. The results, however, are worth the effort. Use this opportunity to write in your journal. As emotions arise, try to relax, observe, and identify the feelings. Allow yourself to feel these emotions. Be patient, acknowledge and forgive, and simply let it go.
Essential elements of the SimplyRaw program
The Living Foods Lifestyle (LFL) is a natural health program developed by Dr Ann Wigmore specifically for rebuilding and maintaining health. The LFL Program promotes total rejuvenation of the body and mind. It is a holistic approach to life. Dr Wigmore believed that there are no incurable diseases if one lives in harmony with nature. Her thirty-five years of research indicates that disease is a result of toxicity and deficiency caused by excessive cooked and processed foods, drugs, pollutants, and negative attitudes.
Living foods are provided by nature, organically grown, and consumed in their original, uncooked state. They are the most nutritious of all raw plant foods. Living foods include fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, legumes, and grains, all prepared for optimal digestion by sprouting, blending, and fermenting. When eaten daily, these high-enzyme and oxygen-rich foods provide the body with life-giving, easy-to-digest nourishment. The chlorophyll content of Energy Soup, wheatgrass, salad greens, and sprouts helps restore and strengthen a weakened immune system. These nutrient-dense foods combat deficiencies and address problems of toxicity. When the body isn’t using all its energy to digest food, it can focus its resources on other tasks, such as releasing stored toxins and healing.
Ann Wigmore (1909–1994)
Born in Lithuania, Ann Wigmore was a holistic health practitioner, nutritionist, teacher, author, whole foods advocate, and Living Foods Lifestyle founder. She was an early pioneer in the use of wheatgrass juice1 and living foods for detoxifying and nourishing the body, mind, and spirit.
Dr Ann Wigmore dedicated her life to educating the world about the transforming qualities of the Living Foods Lifestyle. In her autobiography, Why Suffer: How I Overcame Illness and Pain Naturally (Avery, 1985), Ann tells of growing up in war-torn Lithuania. She was raised by her grandmother who exposed her to herbs and natural remedies as she observed her using them to help heal wounded World War I soldiers.
In her mid-teens, Ann joined the rest of her family in America where she quickly adopted the “new world’s” eating habits and customs. She had a disastrous automobile accident that crushed her legs, resulting in gangrene. The doctors recommended amputation of both legs, but Ann refused, although her family sided with the doctors.
She soon reverted back to her grandmother’s natural ways of healing, spending endless hours in her backyard in the sun, eating everything green she could find, mostly herbs, weeds, and grass, applying them also to her wounds. Slowly she regained her strength and eventually returned to her doctor, her wounds gone and legs healed. She recalls that the doctors “made no comment when X-ray films showed that the bones had knitted firmly.”
Later, when diagnosed with colon cancer, she stated that following an American diet had caused the cancer. Again, Ann applied various natural healing modalities. Within a very short time, the cancer was reversed. She continued to research and study various whole foods and diet approaches, which she said not only cleared up her medical problems but changed her life. After many years of experimenting with food, she found a way to grow simple and easy-to-digest indoor greens, known as sprouts.
With a desire to share her knowledge, Dr Wigmore authored many books and lectured in various countries. She was an inspirational pioneer in the raw food movement who promoted the healing properties of wheatgrass juice. She invented the wheatgrass juicer by adding a sieve to a meat grinder, thus making it possible for people to grow and juice their own wheatgrass. Wheatgrass, she found, was easy and cheap to grow, and it contained one of the highest nutritional contents of the grasses.
She soon founded the Hippocrates Health Institute in Boston where she offered the Living Foods Lifestyle Program, which included wheatgrass, sprouts, Energy Soup, fermented foods, and her signature drink, Rejuvelac2. The Living Foods Lifestyle Program also involved exercise, deep breathing, and spiritual unfolding. Many of her philosophies are as old as Hippocrates (c. 460 BCE–370 BCE), who taught that, if given the correct nourishment, the body would heal itself.
Her work at the Hippocrates Health Institute produced testimonial after testimonial from guests who had cured themselves of various ailments including high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, cancer, gastritis, stomach ulcers, pancreas and liver troubles, asthma, glaucoma, eczema, skin problems, constipation, hemorrhoids, diverticulitis, colitis, fatigue, arthritis, and anemia.
In February of 1994, Ann Wigmore died of smoke inhalation during a fire that destroyed the original home of the Hippocrates Health Institute in Boston. On that day, the world lost one of its great humanitarians and natural healers. Her work, teachings, and memory, however, live on. Today, there are several Institutes in the US that continue teaching the Living Food Lifestyle program, such as the Ann Wigmore Institute in Puerto Rico, the Hippocrates Health Institute in West Palm Beach, Florida, the Optimum Health Institutes of San Diego and Austin, and the Creative Health Institute in Michigan.
Energy Soup
Energy Soup is the most important food in the Living Foods Lifestyle. It is the ultimate high energy, easy-to-digest nourishment made from blended sprouts and greens. Energy Soup is a complete meal and contains every nutrient that your body needs in a balanced form. Because it is blended, the nutrients are rapidly absorbed, enabling your body to cleanse and rebuild in the quickest way without burdening the system. Energy Soup was developed by Dr Ann Wigmore and has helped with many health challenges that people suffer from every day. It is used to both nourish and detoxify the body. Since it is easy to digest, it is vital for those suffering from allergies and digestive problems. It is instrumental for correcting nutritional deficiencies, restoring health, promoting energy and weight loss, and is very easily assimilated by the body. Energy Soup is the first step to healing and is optimal for rebuilding health quickly.
It is best to prepare Energy Soup as close to the meal time as possible to keep it fresh. If using Rejuvelac (see Nutritious ingredients in Energy Soup), Energy Soup can be eaten up to twenty-four hours after it is made because the high vitamin E content in Rejuvelac slows down oxidation. (If using filtered water, Energy Soup should be consumed within six hours.)
The following is a list of basic ingredients, used only as a guideline (see full recipe in Appendix 1). Use your own judgment and allow for creativity, but always include these basic ingredients. The recipe can be made for dinner, and leftovers stored in the fridge for the following day’s breakfast or lunch.
• 1 tbsp seaweed (dulse)3
• 1 cup water or Rejuvelac
• small handful bean sprouts (mung, green peas, or lentils)
• large handful organic greens (spinach, kale, collard, chard, purslane, dandelion, watercress, parsley, etc.)
• large handful of sunflower greens (sprouts)
• small handful of buckwheat greens (sprouts)
• handful of alfalfa, fenugreek, or clover sprouts
• peeled apple, pear, papaya, or piece of watermelon
• avocado (use avocado only when nuts and seed dishes are not eaten at the same meal)
Pour one cup water or Rejuvelac (see Rejuvelac) into blender with the tablespoon of dulse. Do not overblend. Gradually add the rest of the ingredients, beginning with harder vegetables first. Leave sprouts and avocado for last. (Makes four servings).
Extras:
• leafy greens (for more chlorophyll to cleanse and rebuild blood and cells)
• cilantro, dill, basil, herbs
The most important elements, and the ones you should use in the largest quantity, are the sunflower sprouts. (Ann Wigmore called these “greens.”) Instead of using avocado for the fat, you can use Flax Cream (see recipe in Appendix 1).
Sweeten your children’s Energy Soup with a whole-food sugar, such as banana, apple, or fresh apple juice. Energy Soup topped with chopped or blended papaya makes it more palatable for kids. Diced avocado, green onions, and/or tomatoes give Energy Soup different textures and flavor. Experiment, and don’t forget to chew your soup!
Nutritious ingredients in Energy Soup
Rejuvelac: Contains vitamins B, C, E, friendly bacteria, and enzymes for digestion. Rejuvelac prevents Energy Soup from oxidizing and enables you to keep your high-energy nourishment throughout the day.
Dulse: Any seaweed can be used, though dulse is preferred for the nutrition and taste. Dulse and kelp contain all the trace elements and minerals that we know of. Seaweeds provide some vitamins and are a great source of organic iodine. Using seaweeds ensures that you will be getting all of your trace elements and minerals in a balanced form.
Sprouts: Mung beans, lentils, and green peas (whole green peas and lentils, not split peas or split lentils). Mung beans contain protein, vitamin C, iron, potassium, and other valuable elements. Lentils provide protein, iron, and vitamin C. Green peas provide carbohydrates, vitamin A, iron, potassium, magnesium, and vitamin C. Sprouts are loaded with enzymes and oxygen, which make them a high-energy food. Sprouts also contain high amounts of fiber. In the sprouting process, the nutritional elements in sprouts are predigested, making them an easy-to-digest food.
Leafy greens: Healthy, organic greens are our connecting link to earth. All life comes from healthy Mother Earth. Only fresh, organically grown food has the capacity to rebuild diseased bodies. Leafy greens are high in essential minerals and chlorophyll. Any healthy organic greens can be used—including watercress, turnip greens, spinach, endive, escarole, lambsquarter, purslane, and dandelion.
Buckwheat greens or sprouts: These greens are an excellent source of chlorophyll, vitamins A and C, calcium, and lecithin. Buckwheat lecithin contains natural phosphorus and is a fat solvent. This means it is very effective as a way of removing fatty deposits from the tissues and cholesterol from the hardened arteries.
Sunflower greens: These sprouts will eventually grow into large sunflower plants. They contain an excellent balance of protein, chlorophyll, B-complex vitamins, vitamin E, calcium, iron, potassium, magnesium, and phosphorus. These greens have a very strong nutritional value and should be consumed daily.
Avocados: Avocados are an ideal food because they are a complete food. They are packed with nutrition and contain vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, and generous portions of such minerals as iron, phosphorus, and magnesium. Avocados are about 12 percent oil and 8 percent carbohydrate—more like a nut than a fruit. The essential fatty acids in avocados are unrefined and beneficial to the body.
Apples: Apples mix well with vegetables, especially when used in a blended recipe. Apples contain protein, fat, carbohydrates, calcium, phosphorus, iron, sodium, potassium, vitamins A, B1 and B2, niacin, and C. They provide necessary natural sugars. (If papaya is used in place of apples in your Energy Soup, you will have about the same nutrients but will be adding valuable digestive enzymes.) Always peel non-organically grown apples and remove cores.
Rejuvelac
Rejuvelac is a fermented, enzyme-rich drink made from sprouted grains. It’s a great aid for digestion and elimination, due to the fermentation process. Rejuvelac is one of the three most important items on the Living Foods Lifestyle Program, along with Energy Soup and wheatgrass juice. It is an excellent source of vitamins B, C, E, amino acids, simple sugars, and enzymes. Since it is a fermented food, Rejuvelac is also used for improving bowel flora.
Rejuvelac replaces the missing enzymes that cooked foods have destroyed. Because one of the biggest health problems is a deficiency of enzymes, Rejuvelac plays a vital role in restoring good health. Rejuvelac contains all the nutritional nourishment of wheat, is easily digested, and also works as an appetite suppressant. Although a beverage, Rejuvelac is actually so nutritious it could be classified as a food by itself.
How to make Rejuvelac
• 1 cup soft or hard wheat berries (or rye, kamut, or quinoa)
• 2 cups purified water
• 2 wide-mouthed Mason jars
1. Place wheat berries (or grain) in clean Mason jar. Add twice as much water as berries and cover with gauze, held securely with an elastic band to soak overnight.
2. In the morning, rinse and drain wheat berries well. Sprout by placing the gauze-covered jar upside down at an angle, and rinsing twice a day. Sprout for two to three days or until the tail of the sprout is the same size as the grain.
3. When sprouts are ready, rinse well and drain one last time. Add water to the Mason jar (about two to three times the amount of sprouts).
4. Ferment at room temperature for two days. Cover the jar with cloth, but do not seal! Rejuvelac is ready to harvest when you see a thin, creamy foam on top of the water, which is rich in vitamins and minerals.
5. Pour off liquid Rejuvelac into another jar. Refrigerate. Refill original jar (still containing sprouted wheat) with water, reducing the amount of water, as the grains are milder. Let sit for one day and pour off the second batch. Refill again with even less water for the final batch of Rejuvelac. Compost wheat berries. Refrigerate.
Note that the strength of Rejuvelac also depends on the climate (the warmer the climate, the faster it ferments). If you prefer a stronger batch in the winter, let it ferment an extra day.
When preparing Rejuvelac (or Cabbage Rejuvelac, next page), be sure to keep the Mason jars sterile, otherwise bad bacteria can also grow in the jars during fermentation.
Two reasons Rejuvelac works:
Reduces toxicity—A healthy colon is the most important means for eliminating toxins. If your colon is not functioning properly, you are toxic. The healthy bacteria in Rejuvelac and other fermented foods enable the colon to function properly by introducing healthy lactobacteria.
Rich in enzymes—The biggest deficiency most people now face is a deficiency of enzymes. Rejuvelac has a very high level of enzymes and replaces the missing enzymes in our bodies, enabling the healing process to take place.
Avoid using tap water because chlorine will interfere with the production of the bacteria. Like sprouts or any cultured food, it is possible for Rejuvelac to spoil. You can generally tell if Rejuvelac is good by the taste and smell. It is a cloudy liquid that has a tart lemon-like flavor, tinged with a doughy, yeasty flavor. Rejuvelac should keep in the fridge one week. Drink in place of water or juice between meals, or add to green smoothies or Energy Soup to reduce oxidization.
Cabbage Rejuvelac
When lactobacteria are to be taken, the recommended form is that of Cabbage Rejuvelac, which is obtained by fermenting fresh cabbage. Cabbage is teeming with lactobacteria. No starter is needed—Cabbage Rejuvelac is made with organic green (or purple) cabbage.
Good-quality Rejuvelac tastes similar to a cross between carbonated water and the whey obtained when making yogurt. Poor-quality Rejuvelac has a putrid odor and taste and should not be consumed. Always use good-quality water when making Rejuvelac (distilled, reverse osmosis, or filtered).
How to make Cabbage Rejuvelac
• 3 cups purified water
• 6 cups coarsely chopped, loosely packed fresh organic cabbage
Add water and cabbage to blender, and start blending at low speed for thirty seconds. Advance to high speed, and blend for another thirty seconds until well blended. Pour into a clean Mason jar, cover lightly with a cloth (do not seal!), and let stand at room temperature for three days.
Strain off the liquid Rejuvelac using a nut milk bag (used for making creamy nut and seed milks or for sprouting and available at many health food stores). Refrigerate liquid Rejuvelac, and compost the pulp. (All the nutrients are in the liquid.)
Cabbage Rejuvelac takes three days to mature. It will keep one week in the fridge.
I don’t particularly care for using measuring cups, which has delayed me from writing an un-cook book, and find that a much easier way of preparing Cabbage Rejuvelac is to fill the blender to the top with cabbage and then just fill it up with water and blend!
Wheatgrass juice
The third essential element of the Living Foods Lifestyle is wheatgrass juice. Dr Ann Wigmore popularized wheatgrass for its healing properties. High in oxygen, minerals, amino acids, enzymes, and vitamins A, B-complex, C, E, and K, it is very helpful in building the immune system. Wheatgrass juice is the juice extracted from hard wheatberry seed sprouts. This strain of wheat has been used for thousands of years all around the world for its healing properties.
Wheatgrass juice is also rich in chlorophyll, the pigment which gives plants its green color. The molecular structure in chlorophyll is very similar to that of hemoglobin in humans, and some health experts believe that when wheatgrass is consumed, the production of hemoglobin is increased. Higher amounts of hemoglobin in the bloodstream lead to more oxygen-rich blood. It is easily absorbed by the body and uses little energy for digestion. Additionally, wheatgrass juice is a powerful blood cleanser and can help remove toxins from the bloodstream.
• The vitamin and mineral content of two ounces of fresh wheatgrass juice is equivalent to roughly four pounds of organic green vegetables.
• Wheatgrass juice improves the body’s ability to heal wounds, release free oxygen, and may play a role in preventing tooth decay.
• It creates an unfavorable environment for unfriendly bacteria growth and can help drain the lymph system, carrying away many toxins from all body cells.
• Wheatgrass juice stimulates healthy tissue-cell growth.
• Wheatgrass contains up to 70 percent chlorophyll, which helps to purify the blood, and it helps keep hair from greying.
• It can neutralize toxins and carcinogen in the body, and helps purify the liver.
• It can improve blood sugar disorders and digestion.
• Wheatgrass can reduce high blood pressure and may play a role in the prevention and curing of cancer.
• It is a complete protein with about twenty amino acids.
Why wheatgrass juice?
You can purchase fresh wheatgrass “shots” at various juice bars. Some health food stores sell trays and/or bags of fresh wheatgrass as well as frozen wheatgrass in individual servings if you can’t get it fresh.
