Welcome back to those who are now following and welcome to anyone who is new to my blog. I hope if you are new, you will get the chance to go back over the previous blogs to catch up to where we are now…”The Liver Cleanse”. Let’s see, a few blogs ago I left off leaving the acupuncturist’s office with my new textbook and liver cleanse information in hand, had my new prescription on file to reduce my codeine, and a new found recipe for Kale juice. I was once again optimistic for my outcome.

Funny when you suffer from a “pain” illness or probably any illness I guess, there are days or weeks when you feel “I got this under control, no sweat!” then there are other days and weeks when you are left bewildered with, “What in the world am I doing wrong, I thought I was on the right path?” Fortunately, the few weeks proceeding the Liver Cleanse I was optimistic and the few weeks after I was still riding that high. Not that I’m not optimistic now, I was just even more optimistic holding on to the hope that this was going to be the procedure to clean out my system and reboot the digestive system…and it did.

The week and a half before the liver cleanse, I started to read the information packet my acupuncturist had given me and a textbook she used during her studies called “Healing With Whole Foods Asian Traditions and Modern Nutrition” by Paul Pitchford, and tried to connect the new information with the information I had read several times from my “The Liver and Gallbladder Miracle Cleanse” book by Andreas Moritz. The information from 3 sources were quite helpful, and all along the same line of thinking. So I put all my information together and came up with a cleanse that I was comfortable with.  Knowing how easy it was to upset my delicate balance of being vertical throughout the day compared to how quickly I could end up horizontal, throwing up for days on end. I desperately wanted the previous to remain in balance.

So there were 2 theories, basically one being a 3 day cleanse for those who may have done it before or who are just maintaining their digestive system for a health cleanse, and the other one being a 6 day cleanse for those who have not done it before or who have a stubborn irritation within the gallbladder or liver. Each cleanse once completed will need 24-48 hours to get you back up and running with enough energy to get back to your daily routine, so you need to factor in those additional 2 days on the end for recovery. It involves drinking 6L’s of apple juice, and eating a few apples to soften anything in your gallbladder and liver, and magnesium citrate on day 6 to help open the passages that the cleanse will be pushing the unwanted material out through so to make it painless. I opted for the 6 day cleanse, but also threw in a few extra days in the beginning to get my body prepared for the whole thought of even proceeding with the cleanse.

About eight days before the actual cleanse, I started making sure I was eating sensibly and lightly, with nourishment and hydration in mind.  I made sure I drank plenty of water all throughout the day and started the day with oatmeal and blueberries for breakfast. I’m not an egg girl, but if you like eggs that would be a great combination, oatmeal and an egg or even a whole grain muffin (or a gluten free whole grain muffin), an egg and fruit.

I drink water with all my meals and actually in the Healing With Whole Foods, it tells you to drink a little before your meal and nothing with your meal so that your body gets the good consistency of the foods you are eating. Then about a half hour or hour after your meal start to drink your water again, but, I was not doing that at the time of the first cleanse.

So just an easy breakfast a light lunch of raw veggies with basmati or jasmine rice with a little fish, chicken or turkey on the side just enough so that you are pleasantly “not hungry”, but not full. Then in the afternoon, eat an apple for a snack if you are a little hungry. The cleanse, is very apple based because of the natural malic acid that is found in apples that help to soften up any stones or blockages that could be blocking the pathways in the gallbladder’s and liver’s vessels and ducts. Once you start to eat your apples ahead of time, it will help to soften those pesky impediments and get your body ready to absorb the larger amount you will be eating in the next few days.

Everyone’s bodies are different, and I use to find apples and apple juices would hurt my stomach.  What I didn’t realize then was that it was probably helping to soften the blockages and stones and help to move them through my system, and it was more then likely the actual movement of material that was causing pain and not the acid from the apples. Had I had stuck with eating apples, maybe it could have been a regiment to keep my gallbladder and liver functioning better. So if you are suffering regularly with the same issues it is good to incorporate apples and organic non-sweetened apple juice into your regular regime. That is also now a part of my weekly routine, is to make sure I am eating apples, now that I know how they help me.

Then in the evening for supper, once again, would be a small serving of rice or vegetable salad (no dressing, I found pineapple juice from pieces of pineapple gave a nice dressing flavor) and a small serving of fish, chicken or turkey. It is best to keep with plain rice and not flavored rice full of salts and spices. Plain rice is easier on your digestive system and does not turn to sugar like the starch from a potato will, plus the potato is a bit heavier.

 NOTE

Do not drink the apple juice with your meals or eat the apples with or directly after your meal, it could diminish the malic acid that your body will need for the actual cleanse. Drink water all other times or diluted tea. As much as possible do not drink sugary juices, pops, coffee, or alcohol. With my second cleanse coming up I will also drink the Kale Juice with my supper meal to get added nutrition and hydration.

While on the cleanse, you do not want to be eating large meals or meals with large amounts of red meat. I’m no longer a red meat eater as such, I find it just hurts my system and takes too long to digest.  Now if I have red meat, I usually only have a piece about the size of a tablespoon or less.  I was a girl who liked her steak, and if it was over medium rare you could throw it out, but I do truly feel incredibly better without red meat. Now I understand those who like it, and the good protein and Vit B that is in red meat, like my husband says, “A skilled vet could still bring it back to life,” but for me, as I age, it is just better this way, and with less amounts of red meat, I actually savor it better and enjoy more of less.

Okay back to the cleanse… so light meals; oatmeal, granola, boiled eggs, fruit, veggies, light meats; fish, chicken and turkey. Starting your first day, you drink your container of apple juice, 1L/day, drinking it in between the hours of 9-11:30am, (an hour after your breakfast, and stopping a half hour before your lunch), then continue again an hour after. So for instance, 1pm-4pm and reducing the portions of your meals as the days progress, so there will not be a lot of undigested food in your system for when you need to do a laxative on the night before your big cleanse (day 5). You will also be drinking your regular water through out the day, so you won’t be hungry. I was very surprised that as I reduced my portion intake and increased my vegetables, that I was not hungry throughout the day. With the amount of apple juice, it kept my body satisfied and even satisfied with not wanting sweets, due to the natural sugar I was drinking from the apple juice. You will be finished with your liter of apple juice a good hour before your supper and will still find you don’t need as much supper because you are still working on your apple juice from that day. If you want a snack that evening, you guessed it a nice apple. It’s only 6 days you can do it!

So day 1 and 2 are pretty much the same. By day 3 and 4 you will want to really decrease as much meat as possible, as well as spices and sauces, and increase your veggies so you won’t be hungry. Don’t forget to work in some of the good protein veggies like peas, lima beans, kale, broccoli, sweet corn, spinach, asparagus, squash, snap peas and kidney beans.  There are a lot of good protein to choose from in the veggie isle too. Incorporate a couple with a small handful of mixed (unsalted or unseasoned) nuts, and you have your protein for your supper with some rice. I liked splashing a little vanilla or pineapple juice or mashed mango on my rice it kept me from using sauces.

Day 5 no meats at all, and before you go to bed you will want to take a mild laxative to be sure you are cleaned out for day 6 when you start the big part of the cleanse. In my information packet and in The Liver and Gallbladder Miracle Cleanse book they talk about using a more alternative method with distilled water and doing a natural enema, but I kept with my Peg that I had to take because of the codeine I take daily for my vestibular migraines.  It is a more gentler western laxative so I opted for that, especially not knowing how to do the natural enema. For any of you who know, and are confident in doing so, that could be a good choice for you, but for me I stuck to the Peg, you can get another over the counter laxative called Lax-A-Day which is pretty much similar and as gentle as Peg if not the same. I usually only take a teaspoonful of powder in a large 24-28oz glass of water but on the night of day 5 I took the recommended dosage on the container to be sure I was ready for the cleanse.

I’m going to continue with Day 6 and the actual cleanse in a separate blog because it will be this length again. But from day 1 to day 5, I was feeling surprisingly much better then I thought I would have. The amount of apple juice and apples was actually quite soothing, which I thought might be sickly. And I guess because I was sooo concentrated on my nutrition and hydration, the first five days did not cause any increased headaches. From time to time I did feel a bit nauseous if I moved to fast, but that was more or less do to all the liquid that was in my stomach. It just reminded me to slow down a little until I finished the cleanse.

Be back with Day 6 and The Liver Cleanse finale in just a bit.