I have always found the correlations between detoxing the body and detoxing the mind to be a fascinating insight into human nature.

In my lectures when I worked at Hippocrates Health Centre, I always talked to people how when they are juice fasting and detoxing, that quite often emotions and feelings will come up to be “released” as well.  It is like these feelings were trapped in the body, and as toxins are released and eliminated, so too are the feelings buried within.

During a juice fast it is perfectly natural to have different thoughts and emotions surface - some people get very angry and irritable - which as a generalisation can mean that their liver is cleansing - others get weepy and teary, or a past incident might play on their mind.  Whatever happens is quite OK, and part of the healing is to not buy into or get too caught in the feelings, but just observe them as they move through, and recognise any parts that need attention or greater work to resolve.

This is where I find journaling is so important and I make it an essential part of my Embracing Life! Retreat program.  When these feelings come up, it is valuable to write out exactly how you are feeling - without censorship or judgement - and see what might be underneath these emotions.  Quite often they lose their power when written down; and other times you realise that the issue you are writing about isn’t actually the issue at all - but relates to something completely different that you need to resolve.

There is enormous power in understanding that the body heals on all levels simultaneously.  As you can’t selectively heal one area of the body on it’s own - as Charlotte Gerson famously says - “when you truly heal - EVERYTHING heals; you also can’t cleanse the body without some cleansing of the emotions too.

I talk about this in a lot more detail in my DVD, The Emotional Aspects of Healing.

Nearly everyone reports at the end of a detox that they feel lighter in body and mind; clearer in their thinking, it renews their passion in life, gives them a fresh outlook and highlights areas of their lives that need restructuring. 

By taking the time to attend a retreat or participate in a cleanse, not only are you doing wonders for your body, you are also doing wonders for your state of mind - and that can always do with a shake up and clean out every now and then!

In exploring food as medicine, one food that you just can’t overlook is the humble apple.

There is a lot of truth in the old adage “an apple a day keeps the doctor away.”

One of my first introductions into the healing benefits of the apple, was after reading a book called “The Biogenic Diet” by Leslie Kenton, when it first came out in 1987.  It was one of the first books I ever purchased on raw foods and food combining and was an essential reference in my library for a long time.

In this book there is a chapter on apple fasting, it starts off:

“One of the best ways to trigger rapid detoxification of your body and get you into the biogenic way of living is to do an apple fast for a few days before you begin.”

This is not actually a fast at all, because you can eat as much as you like – but only of apples.  Fruit is very cleansing, and the fibre and pectin in the apples are wonderful binders of toxins lodged in the bowel.

I’ve done many 3 or 4 day apple fasts, and they are a great tonic – they are full of antioxidants, vitamins and minerals and when we are eating whole fruit, the fibre slows down the absorption of the fruit sugar so we have sustained energy throughout the day.

Its not your usual type of “fast” but its easy, delicious and after a few days you feel lighter, with more energy, a clear mind and glowing skin. 

Don’t overlook the amazing apple as a part of your health routine!

When I think about the things that I’m grateful for (as per my last blog post), one that comes to mind quite regularly is my work at Hippocrates Health Centre.

I know, I know, everyone is supposed to hate their jobs (!), but that’s certainly not true in my world!  If I need to work, then I want to be doing something I enjoy, that is fulfilling and inspiring – which is what I have every day!

You wouldn’t believe the changes that I am privileged to see every week at the health centre.  People come in looking weary, fatigued, stressed, and unhappy – but by the end of five days they have turned that right around, and it is amazing to see.

The benefits of taking a week out and doing a detoxification program are enormous.  Especially for those that have never done anything like that in their life, it is something that you have to actually experience, to understand how good you do feel by the end of it.

Aches and pains are gone, kilo’s of excess fluid are lost, skin is clearer and brighter, energy is up, digestive systems are working again, and many people gain a new perspective on their life and a new found confidence from successfully participating in the program.

It is an absolute delight to see people who come in with very little knowledge on health and how to get well; leave a week later feeling empowered to be able to turn their lives around, through both the experience of spending a week on raw vegan food, and through the health education they receive there.

A good detox often involves fasting on raw juices of either fruits or vegetables or a combination of both – I prefer mainly green vegetable juices for fasting.  Just drinking those with plenty of water during the day can give the digestive system and the liver a break, and the body can start to dump some of its stored toxins for excretion.  Because the body is not busy dealing with the digestion of food, it gets to start “cleaning up”. 

Fasts such as these can be done from anywhere from three days to several weeks – many alternative cancer programs rely on juice fasting as part of the healing process for extended periods of time.  It is not advised to do a fast of more than three days without the supervision of a practitioner who is experienced in this regime.

It can be a little daunting for people who have never missed a meal in their lives, to tackle a juice fast – many people think that they will starve to death in a matter of days, or that they will be so ravenously hungry that they will go crazy.  Neither are true, and I have sustained a two week juice fast without any problem at all.  The body goes into a different mode, and most of the time a mild hunger pang is about as hungry as you get.

Alongside the fasting, there are many other natural remedies that you can do to enhance the fast.  Spending time in a sauna can help to sweat out many toxins, bowel cleansing in the way of enema’s or colonic irrigation helps to rid the bowel of toxic residues, skin brushing is one of my favourites, gentle exercise and massage such as lymph drainage, can all lower any detox reactions and speed up the process.

There are also many cleanses that use herbs to promote the function of, and support different organs in the body.

It is probably best to either go to a retreat such as Hippocrates to participate in a guided detoxification program – or have a program designed specifically for you by an experienced Naturopath.  You probably won’t want to go to work through your detox, so you would need to put a few days aside to rest and relax during it.

I hope this encourages a few more people to experience the benefits that periodical juice fasting or a specific detoxification program can bring.  It re-affirms for me every single week, how important it is to include this as a part of a healthy lifestyle, when I see the results that people get, and how sensational they feel.

Cheers!

For most people a holiday means lots of reckless self-indulgence, eating rich food and drinking lots of alcohol – but my most recent holiday didn’t involve any of that at all.

Yes, my family and friends think I’m a bit strange (!), but my partner William (who is as health conscious as I am) and I had a week’s break recently, and decided to do a cleanse – just for fun!

We tucked our juicer into the backseat of the car like it was our child, and off we went to a gorgeous boutique hotel (pictured) on the Sunshine Coast of QLD.  Once we arrived, we visited the local produce market and stocked up on a car load of fresh fruit and veggies.

Our goal was to really rest and rejuvenate, so our routine didn’t differ much each day.

First thing of a morning was a veggie juice - mainly celery and zucchini, with a small amount of carrot, apple and beetroot, and the herbs parsley and coriander.  We followed that with an hours brisk walk along the beach and then we were back for another juice.  Our second juice of the day was a fruit one, and we used watermelon, lemon (peel and all), and ginger which is a fantastic combination.

The morning passed with reading, watching DVD’s, laying in the sun or having a nap – pure relaxation.  We had another green juice for morning tea, and another for lunch. 

As part of the cleansing program we also included herbal remedies for bowel and liver detoxification, daily skin brushing, plenty of water between juices, meditation and very hot Epsom salts baths (unfortunately the resort didn’t have a sauna).

Our afternoon continued in much the same manner as the morning and we had our second and last fruit juice for the day which was my absolute favourite – orange, pineapple and coconut, it’s just divine!  In the evening we finished off our juicing with more greens and often added some very hot chili’s in with it for a different flavour altogether :-). 

All in all we did five full days of this routine, and then gently broke the fast with some fresh fruit and a small amount of soaked nuts and dates.  It was a terrific cleanse and we felt absolutely fantastic afterwards.  I often do 3-4 of these juice fasts every year, for a length of between five days and two weeks depending on my schedule.  I don’t always get the opportunity to cleanse and rest quite like this though, as I often just work right through – but this was definitely the way to get the most out of it.

So, now you know all the gory details of what dedicated Naturopaths get up to on their holidays!  (Just in case you think I am totally health obsessed and completely boring, keep posted because in a few days I might just share with you what happens when a Naturopath goes a little crazy!)