Summer Cleaning

I know the saying is "Spring Cleaning" but it is July....I am also not talking about my house, though that could use a really good cleaning as well, and it really doesn't matter whether it is Spring or Summer - or Fall or Winter for that matter. Around our house something always needs a good shoveling out! No, the cleaning I am writing about today is the cleaning out of ME. Yes, I am in the middle of a ten day cleanse....UGH! I know it is a sensitive topic, but I thought that some of you may be interested and I really want to document how things are going. This way next time I get such a really ridiculous idea, I can look back in my archives and remember, and then decide whether it was worth it.

So, here goes. I will try not to be too graphic. I decided a few months ago that I would like to do a total body cleanse. I really feel good and since we decided a few years ago to start eating organic food and using herbal remedies, we have all been really healthy. However, I have never done any type of cleanse before, and I know that natural health gurus recommend a cleanse a few times a year, so I thought surely my body must have toxins that need to be released. I began to research different cleanses. I don't recommend too much research by the way, it is completely confusing. Just ask someone who has done it before what to do. Anyway, I referred to a wonderful website that I would love to recommend to you, www.welltellme.com - This site is a message board format and you can go on and ask a health question about any topic you can possibly come up with and within minutes there are responses from wonderful, knowledgable men and women from all over the world. It has been a life saver for our family.

Through my research I decided to do The Master Cleanse, or some people call it The Lemonade Fast. I chose this one because it seemed to be a good overall cleanse that detoxes most of your major organs in 10 days. Now, the catch is, that is 10 days of NO food. Not some food, not limited food, but NO food. Now, I am not a big eater, actually, sometimes I simply forget a meal here and there, but I do like to eat at least a few times per week, so the thought of no food for 10 days was a little stressful. I spent a couple of months reading everyones experience on this cleanse, the website allows you to post an online journal of sorts and many, many people have shared their experience. I was assured that I would not be hungry. So, I got my mental state in order and I set the date.

June 29, 2007. The date was circled on my calendar. Today is July 5, 2007 and I can say that I have successfully completed six and a half days of no food. I am going to make it to Sunday!!! Am I hungry? I know that question is burning in your mind. The honest answer is, no. I am not at all hungry. However, the other half of that truth is that I am really ready for a solid meal. I am going to write a more philosophical post later about why I think that is and what God has shown me through this cleanse. Even though I did not start this "lemonade fast" as a spiritual kind of fast, I certainly could not face 10 days of no food without a lot of prayer and requests for Divine help with my will power, so I asked the Lord to help me focus more on Him and on spending the extra time I had in prayer and in His Word. He has honored that request and quite a few things in my life have been rooted out this past week, both physically and spiritually.

I will talk about that later. First, I want to tell you, in case you are interested exactly what to do for this cleanse and I want to be painfully honest about how you will feel physically. The specific directions for the cleanse are as follows:

Lemonade
per 8 oz of purified water (no chlorine or flouride)
2 tbls fresh squeezed lemon juice (about 1/2 large lemon)
2 tbls Grade B organic Maple Syrup (you have to get this at a health food store or online)
1/10 tsp. of cayenne pepper

You mix these ingredients together to make a lemonade. The cayenne gives it a little kick, but it is not very hot, nor is it a bad flavor.

I usually make up a quart at a time and drink on that during the morning and early afternoon. Then, I mix up another quart for the afternoon and evening. So, all in all I have been drinking about 2 quarts a day and maybe some extra water in between if I was outside a lot. The maple syrup gives you minerals and calories that you need and truly does prevent hunger. The fresh lemon flushes your kidneys and other organs, and the cayenne increases circulation and warms the blood.

That is the good part. There is one more thing that I think is very important. Every morning, before drinking anything else you are supposed to drink one quart of water with 1 teaspoon of sea salt in it. I can not tolerate the salt water all mixed up, so I have been mixing the salt into a smaller cup of water, just a few swallows and holding my nose and downing it all at once and then chasing it with the quart of fresh water. It seems to have worked the same. You do this first thing in the morning and the salt in the water causes the mixture to flush through your intestinal tract, rather than your kidneys. You will be in the bathroom within the hour. I won't post any details, but suffice it to say, you will realize early on that you are indeed "cleaning house."

So, that is the cleanse. Now, how do I feel? I am on Day 7 and I can honestly say, I feel great......now. I never had any hunger at all, that much was very true. I do want to eat, I won't lie, but it is from force of habit rather than real hunger. The first day or two I had a slight headache, which I attribute to lack of caffeine rather than the cleanse, though the cleanse can cause a headache as well. The second and third days I had pretty severe aches in my lower back, hip and joints, and I was kind of sluggish, like you feel when you are coming down with the flu. My research tells me that this is the toxins sloughing out of your kidneys and joints. The third and fourth days I had a knotty feeling in my gut, kind of like you have after you have the flu and you are just getting back to normal, kind of a full feeling. Again, I think this was the toxins being deposited from my liver and other organs into my intestinal tract for elimination. Now, for the past couple of days I really feel good. I can not complain about any ache or pain anymore and I have normal to high amounts of energy. I feel more alert and clear headed.

I have three more full days to go. I know I can make it, and I intend to see it through to the end. Then, it will take me a couple of days to get my digestive system going normally again. The first day of breaking the fast I will drink fresh squeezed orange juice and have some vegetable broth. The second day I will have some of the vegetables cooked in the soup, more fresh juice, and maybe an egg. The third day I should be fine to eat pretty normally, though it is recommended that you stay vegetarian for a week or so, or limit your meat and dairy consumption to very little. Basically, during this fast your digestive system completely shuts down because it is not being used. This is good because you do not feel hungry, but then when you start to break the fast, you have to ease your system back into action.

I would highly recommend this cleanse. It has been fairly gentle as far as cleanses go and I have had enough energy to still be able to care for my family and carry on normal activity. It has also taught me a lot about myself and my level of self-control. God has graciously pointed out a lot of things in my life that I need to work on. I can't say whether or not this will become something I do on a regular basis, but I definitely think that a good "summer cleaning" is good for anyone!!