Avoid Constipation
Maintaining regular, healthy bowel movements is one of the most important elements in the detox phase. Keeping things moving in your intestines is crucial because it allows for efficient toxin elimination and enables you to clear out some of those troublesome fungal colonies. In fact, one of the main ideas behind the high-fiber vegetable diet and the Feminine Blend is to get you experiencing more frequent bowel movements. If you are feeling constipated, or haven’t had a bowel movement in more than 30 hours, you need to take action.
First, make sure that you are eating enough food. Even though you are restricted to a diet of mostly vegetables, you should still be eating enough to feel reasonably satisfied. This is not a fasting diet, and the ultimate goal is not weight loss. If you are struggling to feel satisfied after a meal, try eating more avocado and eggs. The important thing is that you are getting enough soluble fiber from the vegetables to promote those regular bowel movements.
You can also try some natural constipation remedies like a good herbal tea. One example is Dandelion tea, which has a mild laxative effect. It is also high in nutrients and helps with digestion. Drinking 1-2 cups per day may be enough to get things back on track. Consider applying a hot water bottle to your lower abdomen to promote better peristalsis. Some gentle exercise can also loosen things up and prompt a bowel movement -especially things that help support better circulation, such as cardiovascular exercises including rebounding. Try to avoid sitting for lengthy periods.
Even if you’re in the office, remember to stand up and take a walk around every once in a while. This will not only help your circulation, but it will also improve your digestive health too. Some people will recommend fiber supplements to relieve constipation. In our experience, choosing the wrong fiber supplement can actually make things worse. For example, psyllium can occasionally cause constipation in some people, rather than providing relief from it. If you would like to try a commercial fiber supplement, look for something that contains other sources of natural fiber.
Avoid Eating Out, And Plan Ahead!
For some people, this will be a challenge, but eating out can often be the biggest ‘saboteur’ to your successful completion of the detox phase. This is because you are not in control of exactly what is going into the pot or frying pan. Almost inevitably, chefs will add a sweetener or something else that isn’t on the ‘approved’ list of foods.
If you have a local organic cafe or restaurant that you trust, this might be an option. However,it should go without saying that fast-food restaurants are absolutely off the list. A lot of what goes into a lot of fast foods may not really even resemble real food when examined closely! Don’t forget: if it’s not on the list here, don’t eat it!
Also remember that this phase lasts for only one week, at most. Planning ahead can help too. Some people choose to pre-make all their meals and do all their veggie chopping on a certain day each week. Then they have minimal meal prep time for the rest of the week and don’t have to think much at all about their meal planning. Figuring out the system that works for you is key in helping you to be successful in this phase, and to not fall victim to ‘sabotaged’ restaurant food or to poor meal planning.
We also suggest minimizing grilling foods. The act of grilling and charring foods actually creates carcinogenic, toxic byproducts which put extra stress on organs of elimination such as the kidneys, liver,and bowels. This is at the exact time when you are trying to minimize stressors. Although grilling foods is perfectly acceptable later on in the plan, during this phase you should wherever possible stick to light sautéing, steaming, or eating your foods raw.
Make Yourself Some ‘Magic Mineral Broth’
Soup broths, when made from organic and nutritious foodstuffs, can sometimes be some of the most nourishing foods to us. Traditional cultures have known this for centuries. Even in Western culture, what have we tended to feed those who are sick and indigent? That’s right -soup!
Stay Hydrated
Many people are chronically dehydrated. The liver relies on making many toxins water-soluble for excretion, and our blood and lymph fluids are primarily made out of the water, so you certainly don’t want to be dehydrated during this process. This is especially the case if you are doing colonies or sauna therapy as part of your detox because you will lose some water volume through either therapy. Drinking the Detoxifier drink before each meal will help to keep you hydrated, but if you are not drinking that you will still need to ensure optimal hydration:
1. Drink a glass of water just after rising (6-8 ounces of filtered water)
2. Have a glass of water before each meal
3. Watch the color of your urine. If it is darker than light yellow, you are dehydrated (unless you recently just took your multivitamin or B complex) and need to increase your fluid intake.
A general rule of thumb used by some holistic practitioners is to take your body weight in pounds and divide by two. The resultant number is the approximate number of ounces of hydrating fluids you should be consuming daily. So, for a 150 lb. person, that would mean 75 ounces (about 9 cups) of water or herbal teas.
Colonies
Although a little controversial, depending on whom you talk to, colon hydrotherapy (or colonies) can help during your initial detox. In an ideal world, we would use a high-fiber diet alone to cleanse the colon, but sometimes this is not quite enough. This is true particularly if you have been eating a diet rich in red meats and carbs for many years, already suffer from bowel irregularities and constipation, and feel that your body might need a little extra assistance.
A course of colonies with an experienced colon hydrotherapist can flush out more of the fungus toxins from your gut and give you a great start to your detox. Make sure, as you would with evaluating any healthcare professional, that you are confident in your therapist. He or she should have proper training, experience, and a supportive bedside manner to help you through this process. The right or wrong therapist can make a world of difference to your comfort and stress levels. There are a couple of issues that should be considered before doing colonies, to determine whether or not they may be a good choice for you.
Before going any further, it’s important to know that when you wash out all those fungus toxins (and potentially colonies), you will also lose some good bacteria as well. If you have a very severe fungal overgrowth, this is probably still worth doing. However, if you have a mild fungus overgrowth you may not need this intervention; different practitioners have different perspectives on this point. At the very least, you should consider supplementing with probiotics after your treatments to replace these good bowel bacteria. ‘Bifido’ bacteria especially are found in the large bowel and can be used to offset this potential loss through treatment. If you do colonic treatments, you should look for a probiotic that contains several varieties of bifidobacterium as well as lactobacillus bacteria (which are more commonly concentrated in the small intestine).
Secondly, regular colonies can sometimes interfere with natural bowel movements. Some colon hydrotherapy patients become so addicted to colonies that their bodies almost forget how to expel the waste themselves! So whenever they stop the colonies they become immediately constipated (and then need to go for more colonies). An experienced colon hydrotherapist can help decide what frequency might be too much for you and thereby reduce the likelihood of this becoming a problem. A couple of sessions is unlikely to instigate this type of long-term issue.
If you are considering colonies as a treatment option, start by finding a reputable local therapist. Discuss how many treatments he or she thinks may be the best fit for you, receive your treatment, and then set aside at least an hour after the therapy to go home and relax. Many people want to take a short nap or rest afterward, which is a great way to support more Parasympathetic Nervous System activity (this is the ‘rest and digest’ nervous system). The therapy itself is not as daunting as many people make out, especially when in the presence of a good therapist who makes you feel comfortable and welcome.
Keeping A Positive Frame Of Mind
The power of your mind to impact your physical progress and physical body has been well-documented in the scientific literature. Most people have heard of the ‘placebo’ effect, where marked changes in wellbeing can happen simply because an individual believes they are doing something beneficial (such as taking a vitamin, medication, etc.). In some cases, the placebo effect even outperforms actual results from taking a supplement or medication.
You’ve already made a positive, supportive choice for your health in seeking out this information. So relax, trust the process, and try not to worry. Stay positive and let your body begin to purge, heal, and regenerate.