Try A Healthy Cleanse

Autumn is the time for a healthy cleanse. The kids are back in school and adults are back into the swing of things at work. After all you’ve put your body through during the summer months you may be feeling a little sluggish. You know, all those ice cream cones, drinks on the patio and glorious barbeques with friends. This might be the right time to plan a cleanse.

There are all types of cleanses out there. People put themselves through fasts, restrictive food diets, and various pills to get rid of the garbage and start anew for the fall.

Cleansing can be quite harsh on the body, and may come as a shock compared to your normal fare.

Fasting usually involves water as your main intake. Other fasts include a juice fast or a lemon-water fast with various laxatives or other flushing agents. I must say, I'm not a fan of these processes. BUT, if you want to try it, your body will be able to live off its stores for the first little while.

One thing you should be aware of is that you do not get all the nutrients you need daily on these plans, and the notion of taking a syrup or other sweeteners to add flavour to your liquid diet dispels the idea of getting the sugar cravings out of your system. The yeast, bacteria and fungi in your system live off sugar, especially the processed kind. Also note that 10-14 days is a reasonable amount of time for a liquid cleanse, but not longer than that, as an absence of solid food for long periods of time combined with a forced flush can cause your natural bowel process to slow down or, in some cases, shut down.

Cleanses can be liquid, or raw food, or a combination of both and can also incorporate foods to balance your pH. There are many plans out there and in my opinion you should review the plan thoroughly before proceeding.

Here's an alternative healthy cleanse that might be a gentler way to go: Healing Soup for 10 Days.

Start with a cup of hot water and the juice of ½ a fresh lemon each morning before breakfast.

Breakfast should include green, red, and orange vegetables.

Eat only vegetables and fruit during the day, with an emphasis on vegetables and make a batch of healing soup for lunch every day for the next 10 days.

Healing Soup

Ingredients should be grated, or juiced, or run through a food processor to produce a thick paste.

• 2-3 whole cloves of garlic, crushed
• 1 large onion
• 1-2 tbsp fresh grated ginger
• 2 tbsp fresh cilantro
• 1 whole cucumber (wash off the wax, cut off the ends, leave the skin on)
• 1 small head of cabbage

After the ingredients are processed, add them to a pot of water (2 quarts water) and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Enjoy.

If you have a Vita-mix, simply combine ingredients with 2 cups boiling water and blend on high for 3 minutes. This will give you hot soup - no need to cook further.

This is a variation of the Healing Soup found in the book Sick and Tired? by Dr. Robert Young.

The program combines whole raw foods cleansing with pH balancing. It won't interfere with your normal digestive process (you will actually improve it) and you will get the fibre you need and the nutrients you need. The ingredients in the healing soup are super foods and have anti-fungal, anti-viral and yeast reducing properties.

Employing a healthy cleanse is like saying hello to a brand new you!