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Meditative Munching
27—All the benefits of fasting — while eating
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Lisa’s Faux-Fast Cleanses
Most of you will have heard of cleanses like The Liver Cleansing diet, and The Lemon Detox diet. You may also know about fasting for improved health, for religious reasons, in preparation for surgery, or for certain blood tests. But have you ever heard of Lisa’s Faux-Fast Cleanses? Probably not — unless of course, you’re one of my clients!
What are Lisa's Faux-Fast Cleanses?
Yes, our body was designed to be self-cleansing. But in actuality, how effective is this process? Today, we are overwhelmed by pollutants. This is made worse by the majority of us being deplete in health-providing nutrients, and suffering from digestive complaints.
Rather than just ‘hoping for the best’, why not give your body a nudge along by engaging in one of Lisa’s Faux-Fast Cleanses? These cleanses have all the benefits of fasting, without the actual need to avoid food! Instead, what you will avoid is all the unpleasant stuff that generally goes along with fasting, such as the ill effects of low blood-sugar, and the horrible feeling of being overburdened by toxins. And because this type of cleanse is free and easy to do, you can practice it on a regular basis.
How can cleansing benefit you?
Cleansing can help to improve the appearance of your skin, promote proper digestive function, balance your immune system, increase your energy, enhance your cognition, and help you to generally feel better physically, mentally, and emotionally.
A different take on having 'left-overs'
Lisa’s Faux-Fast Cleanses are designed to create surplus digestive energy. This ensures that not only is there a sufficient amount of ‘grunt’ to perform correct digestive function, but that there’s left-over energy to do additional chores! My cleanses are intended to:
Make your digestion quick & effective
Strong digestion maximises the nourishment we get from food, and desensitizes us to food & environmental intolerance. It also helps to regulate the amount of toxins produced by our intestinal flora.
Slowly detoxify your system
The surplus of digestive ‘grunt’ moves out into the bloodstream and begins breaking down cellular debris (unwanted crud). It also starts to use up our body’s stored reserves in order to keep it running effectively, including using up our fat storage.
This article is about quick and easy cleanses.
Lisa's Faux-Fast Cleanses
The Bait & Switch
For this cleanse, take a pre-breakfast ‘digestive stimulant’… but don’t eat breakfast!
Digestive stimulants include: aloe vera, Apple Cider Vinegar, lemon or grapefruit, ‘Swedish Bitters’, peppermint, ginger, dandelion root, and cayenne pepper.
The digestive secretions that you produce in response to this request will be re-diverted to cleansing duties instead. I recommend you water down ACV, lemon and grapefruit at a 1:4 ratio. Check out my ACV blog-post for more information.Try not to eat until 11am–1pm (depending on what time of day you start the cleanse). You’ll feel quite hungry, but this is how you know the cleanse is activated.
Note: While it’s okay to feel hungry, it’s not okay if it makes you feel unwell. If you suffer from severe blood-sugar regulation issues, or anxiety, it is not advised that you do this particular cleanse.
The Sip & Swish
For this cleanse, simply drink vegetable broth or vegetable juice until 11am–1pm (depending on what time of day you start the cleanse). Because there is no chewing involved here, to promote surplus digestion secretions (and thus the cleansing process), ‘sip and swish’ the broth or juice in your mouth for a few seconds before swallowing, as carbohydrates begin digesting in the mouth.
Your aim is to feel a little hungry! This is how you know the cleanse is activated.
Note: If you suffer from moderate blood-sugar regulation issues, or anxiety, it is not advised to go more than 2-3 hours without eating.
The Chew & Pause
For this cleanse, there is no need to avoid breakfast. You can eat throughout the day! However, you need to reduce the amount of food that you are eating at every meal (assuming you are not currently under-eating…) The trick is to eat until you are 80% full. To achieve this, you need to stop ‘hoofing back’ your food, and aim to eat it slowly – and to chew well. It’s also a good idea to eat by yourself (or in silence) until you figure this process out. By doing this, you’ll actually notice there is a ‘natural pause’ taken during a meal. It’s the time where you put down your knife & fork (or the actual food, if eaten with your fingers). You may find that you ‘naturally pause’ to take a deep breath in and out, or that you move to unfasten the button on your pants! The take-home message is: eat to feel satisfied – don’t eat to feel full.
Do not eat again until your next scheduled meal. You should feel a little hungry. This is how you know the cleanse is activated.
Note: I actually advise some of my clients to incorporate this way of eating into their daily lifestyle, as it creates positive stress in the body (which is good for your health).
How often should you perform these cleanses?
For maintaining health, you might like to perform a one-day cleanse once per week. For therapeutic effect, you could perform a three-day cleanse as required.
Note: You could try a different Lisa’s Faux-Fast Cleanse on alternate weeks to see which one of these cleanses works best for you.
General guidelines for eating and drinking while cleansing
Eat a whole-food diet that is predominantly fresh, varied, & seasonal (and ideally organic)
Check out the produce department at your local organic store to find out what’s in season in your part of the world.
Drink purified water
Drink approx. 30ml of water per kg of your body weight.
Minimise your anti-nutrients
Avoid sugar, coffee, alcohol, cigarette smoking, and recreational drugs.
Very few people are aware of Birch Juice, let alone it's amazing cleansing properties...
Boost with Birch
Organic Birch Juice stimulates your lymphatic system to purify, and to regulate fluid. This juice is also rich in flavonoids which help to tone, and strengthen your body. Birch also aids in fat metabolism.
Add 30 ml of Birch to a 750-1000ml bottle of filtered water and consume throughout the day. Do this for a 3-6 week period to gain the maximum benefit.
Note: At this dosage, one bottle would last approximately one week. You would need 3-6 bottles. Each bottle is $26.90.
Make an appointment with Lisa
Lisa Fitzgibbon is a degree qualified (2006), experienced and registered Naturopath & Medical Herbalist. She runs her own private practice – OOMPH in Grey Lynn, Auckland, New Zealand.
Lisa has been involved in the Natural Health industry for 16 years. She draws on her professional training and experience, as well as her own personal experience to bring you realistic, holistic health advice.
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