finally started on detox diet

[abstract]

k, so i just thought i'd let ya'll know that i'm starting a diet, not to lose weight, just to stop eating toxic crap in general. After reading a lot of different posts in this particular forum, there was just too much to ignore. So i'm slowly getting myself used to fruits and vegetables, all i have to eat in here is carrots, peppers, brown rice, OJ, grapes, bannanas, organic lunchmeat, bread, celery, cutting out all processed food, no more soda, no more mcdonalds, the only real question i have is concerning supplements.

I will do more research on my own, of course, but if those of you who are knowledgable of supplements could help me figure out what i need to start out with. I was very impressed with what i read concerning ascorbic acid and magnesium (with calcium & potassium of course) although i can't know for sure, I think my depression/anxiety/etc. may be due in part to a magnesium deficiency, i've never been one to "watch what i eat" and i'm pretty positive my diet since my youth has been ineffective at best.

I'm noticing also that the breathing program has that effect (others have experienced this) where you have much less craving for junk food, it's easier to say no. I read all the stuff about how the vagus nerve, when stimulated, helps to kind of discern when you've had enough food, at least i believe that's the basic idea. The breathing program probably isn't as effective without proper nourishment, correct? I think the C's said something about that.

So I am also curious of something related to this, my sister found out a few months ago that she had many different kinds of food allergies (there was a long period where she felt unwell, saw several quack doctors who couldn't figure out what was wrong, and eventually found a doctor that specializes in natural cures, it was then she recieved testing for food allergies) so obviously, I am very curious if I have any food allergies myself, I realize they can be very subtle symptoms, too.

I've looked at the ultramind quizzes, i intend to check them again to see if i have other types of defeciencies, i used to have bad dandruff when i was younger, which is probably due in part to a fatty acid defeciency, which i believe may have had something to do with my mom constantly buying fat-free foods (seriously, everything fat-free, we had it) although that is just pure speculation (i sure ain't a doctor!)

As for detoxing, I honestly don't have enough money these days to get a far-infrared sauna (maybe n the future) so if one does not have access to such a thing, what might be some inexpensive mehtods to detox? I absolutely need a detox, there's no denying that, not with all those years of fast food and soda building up sludge in my system ('cause america is sooo great, right?)

Apologies for the length here, folks, but i wanted to get this all out in one shot. I'm awaiting your comments, corrections, etc. Thanks in advance to those that respond.

 

[Helle]

Re: finally started one

what might be some inexpensive methods to detox?

I keep an old post of Laura's handy. Doesn't get much easier than this, and cheap too !
Mentally it has proven to be NOT so easy (on me) though, but give it a try !

I'll copy it here for you :

Okay, now we know for certain that we have to deal with:

Heavy metal and other environmental toxins
Leaky Gut (candida, grain consumption)
Free radicals...

We know that we need to improve our glutathione production AND increase our magnesium intake while at the same time we have to kill of the candida and eliminate the toxins.

How best to go about doing this?

We notice in the discussion of glutathione that :


Quote
One group has attempted to overcome the challenge of administering oral glutathione and increased its effectiveness by combining it with anthocyanins. These bioflavinoids form the dark red and purple color found in certain plants such as blueberries, elderberry and beets. Apparently anthocyanins possess the ability to regenerate glutathione from oxidized glutathione even in the presence of oxidizing agents, free radicals, and toxic exposure.[17] This combination is sold as Recancostat by Tyler Encapsulations.

So, we know we want to include a LOT of berries and beets... dark red and purple things, in our diet. Especially if we are going to try to do oral glutathione.

We also know that we want to eliminate grains with gluten.

Here's an interesting item:


Quote
The most viable means of building healthy levels of glutathione would be to consume natural food substances that bind protein to glutathione and therefore deliver it via the digestive system to the body, without being destroyed in the gut. Polysaccharides/polypeptides, a whole food complex facilitate that process and increase the level of glutathione in the body.

{Whole grain brown rice} contain polysaccharides, polypeptides, amino acids, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants (gamma oryzanol, tocopherol tocotrienols).

In short, whole brown rice is perfectly suited to help deliver the glutathione to the body also.

So now we have red and purple fruits and vegetables and whole brown rice to eat.

We also need a lot of minerals, mainly magnesium. Here's a list of high magnesium containing foods that are not contraindicated because we are also considering the possible wheat factor and dairy intolerance and nightshade sensitivity in our global diet plan here: (They are listed in descending order of mg of magnesium per 100 grams.)

Kelp
Almonds
Cashews
Brazil nuts
Dulse
Filberts
Peanuts
Millet
Pecans
Walnuts
Coconut meat (dried)
Brown rice
Collard greens
Shrimp
Avocado
Parsley
Sunflower seeds
Beans (dried, cooked)
Dandelion greens
Garlic
Green peas, fresh
Crab
Blackberry
Beets
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Carrot
Celery
Beef
Asparagus
Chicken
Winter squash

To the above list we can add other vegetables that we know have essential elements we are looking for, though they may not be specifically high magnesium foods. Let's add:

Blackberries
Raspberries
Variety of squashes like zucchini and yellow squash
Cabbage
Brussels Sprouts
Bok Choy
Spinach
Chard
Lettuce
Cucumbers
Onions
Eggs
Turkey
Scallops
Millet
quinoa
Lemons and Limes
Grapefruit
Unsweetened cranberry juice (add stevia)
Herbal teas
Pomegranate juice
Olive Oil
Nut oils
Pumpkin seed oil
Grape seed oil
Flaxseed oil
Butter

That's not a long list of foods, but they are obviously the optimum things for maximum detox efficiency.

I have left off the dried fruits, gluten containing grains, nightshade plants that SOME people can tolerate, but not everyone. In short, this list is also an anti-candida list and an anti-inflammation list.

So, with this data in mind, what to eat?

Obviously, there's not a lot on the menu and the challenge is to come up with a few variations so that a person can eat a detox diet for a month or two while detoxing heavy metals, killing candida, reducing inflammation (if present) and getting more or less "clean" so that you can begin adding things back one at a time to test them and see if you have a reaction.

Here are the general rules:

Eat a lot of leafy green vegetables every day. Try to have kale, collards, cooked spinach, chard or bok choy every day.

Include some grains every day from the list.

You can eat fish, shellfish, organic chicken, turkey, or beef once a day.

Have dried, cooked beans every day.

Have nuts and seeds every day.

Have a serving of berries every day.

Have a serving of beets every day.

Eat lots of garlic.

Use organic cold-pressed oils to cook: olive oil, coconut oil, sesame oil, grape seed oil.

Use organic butter in moderation.

Take 1 to 2 tablespoons of flaxseed oil every day.

Sweeten with Stevia.

Drink natural spring water, distilled or filtered water only.

Have organic herbal teas as often as you like.

Eat sea vegetables a few times a week: dulse, nori, arame, wakame, kombu and hijiki. All of these are very high in magnesium.

Soak your nuts before eating them if possible.

Soak your rice and other grains overnight before cooking.

Soak dried beans overnight with teaspoon of baking soda then discard water and wash again before cooking.

Use sea salt.

Make your own mayonnaise from organic egg yolks, grape seed oil and fresh lemon or lime juice and organic dijon mustard.



Avoid like the plague the following:

All refined and processed foods such as cookies, cakes, doughnuts, bagels, breads, etc.
Lunch meats and hotdogs.
Soy products and soy protein powders.
All sugars including fructose, corn syrup.
Diet products of any kind.
All dairy products except organic butter and free range eggs.
Coffee and tea. Period
Any foods containing hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils.
Any foods with MSG or "hydrolyzed vegetable protein".
All alcohol
All fruit juices and sodas
Commercial iodized salt.

It is probably best to concentrate your diet on this list for at least a month or two while also taking other detox steps such as supplementation and detox saunas.

 

[abstract]

Re: finally started one

thanks, helle, seems like a good place to start, quite a bit of info! Although i disdain the thought of avoiding orange juice, is it that unhealthy? or is that just during the process of detoxifying? or because orange juice is processed?

 

[OzRich]

thanks, helle, seems like a good place to start, quite a bit of info! Although i disdain the thought of avoiding orange juice, is it that unhealthy? or is that just during the process of detoxifying? or because orange juice is processed?

I don't have "Ultramind solution" on hand, but as I remember - juices in general should be avoided. Have a whole fruit instead. I think it has something to do with higher sugar (fructose) content. Will check when I get the book back.

As to detox - MMS worked fine for me. I also used to labour and/or exercise with a lot of sweating pretty much most of my life. Now I ride the bike every day.

Quote from Laura is indeed a good place to start.

I may add here the importance of probiotics. Apparently guts have their own 'brain', that communicates with the brain in the head.
I highly recommend making your own kefir. There is tons of info on the net about it. Check this for starters:

http://kefir.com.au/9_microflora.html

http://www.kefir.org/kefir_manual.htm

http://users.chariot.net.au/~dna/kefirpage.html

Kefir with blueberries makes yummy, perfect drink - you won't go back to OJ !
I have plenty of kefir bacteria grains and can send it if needed.

Also try, if you can, to buy as whole, organic, GM-free, chemical-free foods as possible. It's of utmost importance not to put any more poisons in the body (or as little as possible).

Some supplements (like magnesium) will be very helpful.
As for depression/anxiety I make my own "prozac". It is CHIA seeds, kefir and bowl of green salad from my veggie patch.

Hope it helps.

Ps. Just got this in my e-mail from Dr. Mercola about orange juice:
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/11/05/The-Great-Orange-Juice-Scam.aspx

 

[Laura]

Let me add the super importance of enzymes. There's an enteric coated one called "MegaZyme" that covers all the bases. We not only take them with meals, but between meals.

 

[Helle]

We not only take them with meals, but between meals.

Supplements has BECOME a meal for me, I can't eat a thing after stuffing down fishoils, Cal-mags, ALA and what-else-on-the suppl.-menu in the mornings :P

I'll look into Enzymes too, maybe I should even buy the book recommended on the subject!

 

[Beau]

k, so i just thought i'd let ya'll know that i'm starting a diet, not to lose weight, just to stop eating toxic crap in general. After reading a lot of different posts in this particular forum, there was just too much to ignore. So i'm slowly getting myself used to fruits and vegetables, all i have to eat in here is carrots, peppers, brown rice, OJ, grapes, bannanas, organic lunchmeat, bread, celery, cutting out all processed food, no more soda, no more mcdonalds, the only real question i have is concerning supplements.

If you're planning on doing the anti-candida regimen, then of the above you should definitely cut out all fruits and juices except dark berries, too much sugar in all that. The organic lunchmeat is no good, it's still processed meat even though it's organic. And no bread, gluten is your enemy on the diet. Your main meat consumption should consist of fish, boneless skinless chicken/turkey, and maybe some red meat occasionally depending on blood type. Carrots also have sugar so in the beginning you should avoid them and peppers are nightshades so they may cause inflammation. It's best to go a while without nightshades and reintroduce them later to see if they affect you. Get more leafy veggies for salads in your diet and use olive oil and lemon as salad dressing instead of the processed junk. Cook with olive oil or grapeseed oil mainly or ghee butter if you can get some. Also, legumes/lentils/quinoa/millet should be added to your diet if you don't mind them. For drinks, stick with distilled water or mineral water mainly in the beginning, water is a big detoxer.

As far as supplements, get what you can afford. If you have a limit, fish oils, magnesium, ALA, probiotics, a good mulitvitamin and digestive enzymes should all be considered.

 

[abstract]

i'm still considering things at the moment, at the very least the fruits and veggies are a step in the right direction.

I must admit i have a bit of a fondness for energy drinks. I usually try to get sugar free ones, i used to consume mosters like water (exaggerrating here) so i'm just going to assume that those will be a no-no as well, yes? Kinda sucks but good health is good health, and with so many illusions having been shattered before, it's time to get real and stop treating my body like s***. Btw, I forgot to let ya'll know I got a job at krispy kreme (doughnuts, if you've never heard of it) so not only am i planning on a diet, it happened right when I had to start being surrounded by confectionary delights aaaaaaall day. Not that i'm going to eat the doughnuts, not with all the crazy ingredients, it's just funny how that happened.

But back to the energy drink issue, i'm curious about the benefits of certain things like ginseng especially. Does ginseng have real benefits or is this just mostly hype? If it is beneficial, what is the correct amount to take? The label on a can of monster says it has 200 mg of ginseng per serving. It's possible also that i shouldn't even really worry about it at all...but hey, i like to know things! :D

As for food allergies, i always felt absolutely DISGUSTING after eating something like fried chicken or other, but there's hardly anything i've really had a bad reaction to. I haven't had KFC in years, thankfully! I read how laura found out she was allergic to eggs, and how she really liked eggs, and I loooove eggs! Are there any immediate tell-tale signs that you have a bad reaction to a certain food? Probably not, just wondering.

So that's just some other things i needed to know, but feel free to say "hey, abstract quit flappin' yer jaw and do a forum search already!"

 

[Ollie]

Hi abstract

Taking you at your words - do a search on 'test food allergies' posted by Psyche. It's in the Diet and Health section, probably in the anti-candida thread. I've only got a part-printout that I made for my own use.

 

[Gaby]

Yeah, I think there is more info either on the anti-candida thread or "Ultra Simple Diet" thread.

Food allergies can be the cause of headaches, eczema, psoriasis, diarrhea, colitis, asthma, hyperactivity, rheumatoid arthritis, pains, edema (general "swolleness"), anxiety, depression, crankiness... I'm one who gets extremely anxious, cranky or depressed with certain foods. Other foods just give me back aches or headaches. And with other food groups, I will have brain fog, runny nose and itchy eyes, and I will sneeze a lot, like hay fever: http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/fssa/concen/tipcon/orale.shtml

But most food allergies are delayed reactions and can take up to three days before any symptoms are experienced. This is why when you do an elimination diet like the Ultra Simple diet, you re-introduce food items one at a time, every four days. Usually, one can re-introduce foods after 2 weeks on the diet (never re-introducing evil foods though). And you test a particular food by having plenty of that food in the first day. Then you wait and see how you react to it. If you have symptoms after a certain food, you eliminate it from your diet for 3 months, but if the reaction was particularly bad then you eliminate the food for 6 months and then test it again. Sometimes you re-test the food and then its fine, but sometimes it has to be eliminated forever.

The Ultra Simple diet is a good diet to test food allergies, but some people are allergic to some of the stuff the diet lists as pretty safe (like almonds and other nuts), so that is another thing to have in mind.

 

[theos]

Are there any immediate tell-tale signs that you have a bad reaction to a certain food? Probably not, just wondering.

As far as immediate signs go I have one. While my diet was poor I had a constant dull, aching, numb type feeling in my arm. I thought I was coming down with some neurological disorder. When my diet cleaned up the pain went away. I have noticed on two ocassions since summer while at family gatherings and eating whatever is placed before me that my arm will give me a little throb while I'm eating the crap. Less immediate is the constipation. When I get home from wherever I was I get a headache that last for a few days, I feel bloated, sad, morose with intrusive thougths and poor ability to concentrate. On the first ocassion of bad eating my left nostril flared up and scabbed over.
As you clear up your diet you may sometimes eat crap again through circumstance or curiosity. Pay close attention to how you feel mentally and physically. Your body won't lie to you. Noticing your body respond negatively is quite effective to keep one away from fake foods rather than just knowing that it's bad for you on an intellectual level, at least for me.

If you're interested in doing a little experiment, try this. http://www.ladybarbara.net/html/self-testing.html
It's something like muscle testing or applied kinesiology but on yourself (do forum search). Hold a food/drink in front of you as in the intructions. Depending on which way your body sways you can tell if that food or drink is something that your body would think is good for you. Not exactly scientific but interesting and fun to try.

 

[mada85]

Are there any immediate tell-tale signs that you have a bad reaction to a certain food? Probably not, just wondering.

As you clear up your diet you may sometimes eat crap again through circumstance or curiosity. Pay close attention to how you feel mentally and physically. Your body won't lie to you. Noticing your body respond negatively is quite effective to keep one away from fake foods rather than just knowing that it's bad for you on an intellectual level, at least for me.

I recently ate some fresh, ready roasted chicken I bought from the local supermarket, with their ‘extra tasty’ flavouring. Well, the flavouring must have had MSG or something in it, because within 20 minutes I was sneezing and sweating. The sneezing soon stopped, but the sweating continued for an hour or more.

So, yes, there are signs that tell us we have eaten something that we have a bad reaction to, but it’s probable that reactions will vary among people, even when they ingest the same substances. As Odyssey says, our body doesn’t lie - we just need to learn to listen to its messages.

 

[Mona]

Hey Abstract,
I also started the detox program and I have included my mom on it as well. I purchased one of those cheaper versions of far infrared saunas as I also am not able to financially afford the fancy kind. I purchased a portable far infrared sauna for $450 CAN. My mom has limpho proliferative disorder and I believe that something in her body has triggered this illness. She will have her blood tested in a few months so I will let you know how effective the sauna is in detoxifying the body. I am also doing the detox myself. I noticed that I no longer crave alcohol anymore. I am not a heavy drinker but usually on Friday and Saturday I would have a few glasses of red wine after work, and I noticed that I don't like it anymore. I felt like getting drunk last week when I found out that my niece was vaccinated for the swine flu, but I could hardly finish one glass, and the only reason I finished drinking it is because I did not want to waste it by throwing it out. So, there goes my bad habit, down the drain . I used to like my bad habit, at least it helped me forgot about the crazy world for a while. Now I will have to munch on nuts instead. I can feel my butt balooning from all those calories .

By the way, does anyone know what kind of magnesium and how much of it is the best to take everyday? Is Magnesium oxide OK.

 

[Justin]

By the way, does anyone know what kind of magnesium and how much of it is the best to take everyday? Is Magnesium oxide OK.

Hi Mona,
Magnesium oxide is not well absorbed by the body. Better forms of magnesium are citrate, orotate, taurate or malate. The dosage is 500-800 mg per day, though it varies from person to person and you may want to take more in the beginning if you suspect you are deficient. More information on magnesium can be found here.

 

[Rabelais]

By the way, does anyone know what kind of magnesium and how much of it is the best to take everyday? Is Magnesium oxide OK.

The body naturally utilizes minerals in the form of ascorbates, which are formed in the liver as a natural interaction with ascorbic acid, and are actually the true form of vitamin C. Ascorbic acid is only the intermediate form of C.

There are many good calcium/magnesium ascorbate supplements available. I have been taking an L-Proline, L-Lysine supplement that is in a 1.12 g base of cal/mag ascorbate, but just discovered that it also contains wheat gluten... so that one is going to the landfill.

One should always carefully read the ingredients fine print on their supplements. There can all sorts of no-nos in them, even if its just in the tablet coating or capsule.