This past fall, I did a system cleanse for the first time, as part of the "Ripe for Sugar-Relief" group run by Jae Steele. Steele is a registered holistic nutritionist, blogger of Domestic Affair and writer of two vegan cookbooks, Get It Ripe and Ripe from Around Here. The former includes a section on cleansing in addition to vegan cooking and lifestyle basics, and the latter offers substantial discussion and guidance about local food; both offer delicious and diverse recipes that mindfully consider other dietary concerns and source availability. I encourage you to click on the embedded links for a more detailed description of her work.
Although my cleansing process was in no way perfect the first time, I quickly and noticeably saw changes in my body and my body's behavior. As per Steele's suggested timeline and, more importantly, my own need to do some bodily "housekeeping," I'm going to do a two-week cleanse beginning on March 1. Some people with whom I've discussed this process have had an interest in this more natural way to cleanse the body, as opposed to packaged, artificial materials or the oft-stereotyped cayenne water, semi-starvation approach. I admit that I have not tried either of these other options, but as always, I think the more natural the effort to heal and help the body, the better. Certainly, I am no medical expert and am not posting this information here as medical advice; I simply thought I'd share with you (with Ms. Steele's permission) the dietary guidelines she posted for our group effort. The basic idea is to consume a plant-based, whole food diet with no/low sugar to help one's body clean itself up.
Ripe for Sugar-Relief Guidelines (as posted by Steele)
"I propose a 2 category system. EVERYONE will get rid of:
* Sugar (including white sugar, brown sugar, glucose-fructose, corn syrup, etc.)
* All alcohol (wine, beer, liquor, whatev)
* Any yeasted products (breads, etc)
* All white flour products
If this is where you're comfortable, you're a *1*.
If you want to go deeper, you'll get rid of as many of the following as you can:
* "Whole" sugars : molasses, barley malt, rice syrup, agave, maple syrup, honey
* White potatoes, white rice
* Peanuts, strawberries
* cow/dairy [really, no animal products of any kind -- most in the group were already vegan/vegetarian, so this really went without saying for us]
* Soymilk, tofu, processed soy products (faux meats, etc)
* Dried fruit (dates, raisins, apricots, etc)
* Wheat
* All gluten (incl. spelt, kamut, rye, etc)
* Corn, cornmeal
* Coffee, black tea
* Fruit juice, jams
This makes you a *2*.
However, if you cut ALL of the above items, you're a *3*."
This time around, I aim to be a consistent "2" for two weeks and redo Yoga Journal's "21-Day Yoga Challenge" to help with the cleansing (and just because consistent practice, like a conscientious diet, has done wonders for my overall sense of well-being). My plan is to post daily about my yoga/cleanse progress in addition to the usual recipe posting. I hope that during this process, you might be encouraged to give either one or both of these activities a try -- even 1-2 days a week can make an impact! If you want to join me for the full period, I would certainly enjoy the company.
As always, please feel free to forward the blog to anyone you think might be interested in its regularly scheduled programming or health special a la March Madness (elimination...elimination? It works, right?). Stay tuned for "Week 1: Gearing up with Groceries!"
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