Preparing for a series of cleanses...

[Teri]

I intend to visit my gf's chinese herbalist and get going on any and all cleanses I need...and I prolly need 'em all.

My Q is... how best should I prepare my gut for them? And for how long before starting them. Them being liver, gal bladder, kidney and spleen cleanses.

Teri

[dkornels]

It is always best to do colon cleanses first since most toxins will eventually dump into the colon. A sluggish colon will make a detox program even more miserable with organs detoxing and dumping excess toxins into it. Most natural health experts says that a healthy colon must produce a B.M. for each meal and one should eliminate within 24 hours of that meal and until that is reached, other cleanses will not be as effective.

[Cool Dude]

Hi!


I feel that we need to choose our experts carefully, as most natural health experts are not macrobiotic, that is, if we are looking to heal ourselves, macrobiotically.

The following are two macrobiotic teacher/authors and what they have said about elimination and cleanses:

Michio Kushi in The Macrobiotic Path to Total Health:A Complete Guide to Preventing and Relieving More Than 200 Chronic Conditions and Disorders Naturally http://69.94.78.222/Path-To-Health.php says in Part 1: Balancing your Condition; Section 8 Digestive Problems: Constipation , that, "A healthy person has a regular bowelmovement, usually once a day. The stools are generally long, golden in color, floating, and pass without difficulty.."


Kristina Turner in her The Self-Healing Cookbook: A Macrobiotic Primer for Healing Body, Mind and Moods With Whole Natural Foods http://69.94.78.222/Self-Healing-Cookbook.php says in Chapter 10 Practical Guidelines: To Cleanse and Rebuild:

"Feeling low energy, overwhelmed, or irritable? Trying to cope by eating unhealthy snacks? Time to pause and take positive steps to renew yourself, before you get sick.

start by listening closely to recurring signals from your body and moods. These are nature's way of telling you when stressed internal organs need cleansing and rebuilding.

The cues listed below are just a few of thousands used by traditional Oriental healers to diagnose the internal imbalances that create illness.

Study this chart and check the body/mood cues you notice most often. Then read the next 5 pages to learn how to start a cleanse and choose foods most appropriate for your needs.


Organ Stress Checklist

ORGANS * v" MOOD SIGNALS v' BODY CUES


SPLEEN-PANCREAS/STOMACH v"feeling scattered, anxious, worried, overly sensitive, big mood swingsv'erratic energy levels, bingeing on sweets, belching, upset stomach, low resistance to infections

LUNGS/LARGE INTESTINES v"sad or depressed, nostalgic, stuck, wearyv'fatigue, stuffy sinuses, phlegm, pale complexion, gas, constipation, diarrhea

KIDNEYS/BLADDER v"overwhelmed, confused, afraid, insecurev'frequent, pale urine, or scant, dark urine, lower back ache, low sexual energy, bags under the eyes, often feel cold

LIVER/GALL BLADDER v"impatient, frustrated, angry, blocked creativityv'headaches,often overeat, eyes irritaed or bloodshot, oily or dry skin, restless from llPM to 2 AM

HEART/SMALL INTESTINES v" over-excitable, can't relax, chronic tension, workaholicv'chest aching or tense, backache between shoulders, high blood pressure, red complexion

* In Oriental medicine, each organ pair listed above has complementary, balancing functions (see Muramoto, Healing Ourselves {or The Macrobiotic Path to Total Health http://69.94.78.222/Path-To-Health.php page 20, "Balancing Opposites"-Cool Dude}).



How To start A Cleanse

1]

Right Timing

First, sit quietly and ask yourself: "Is thi a good time to start a cleanse?" Don't try for a quick answer. Let images float to mind. Be alert for unusual body sensations.

You may, for example, get that same squeamish feeling you sometimes have when you find the garbage overflowing under the sink, or the unbalanced bank statements in your desk draweI If so, you know it's time to cleanse! But if, on the other hand, your shoulders sag at the weighty thought of tackling one more challengE better to wait. Get on with priority businesE Invite your body to let you know when it's ready to lighten up inside. And promise you'] listen. Cooperating with your inner sense of timing makes it much easier to start and folic through with the discipline of a cleanse.

2]

Start Simply

For 1-3 days, eat light, bland meals. Low in fat, sweet, salt, spices, and protein. Think clean tasting. Chew very well.
And keep menus easy:

Soup
COOked whole qrain (not bread or cereal) Steamed, boiled or raw veqqies
Sprinq ater and/or mild tea

":?"

Between meals, have steamed veggie snacks, optional local ruits, or occasional fresh juices (apple, vegetable or wheat grass).

Take a walk before and/or after your meals, to stimulate circulation and encourage. discharge of toxins.

Also, before and after eating, take time to relax. Listen to music. Be quiet in nature. Spend time with a nourishing friend. Stretch. Dance. Help your body let go.

3]

Take Care of Your Body
In the morning, to help circulate lymph and
expel toxins, dry skin brush your whole body

In the evening, scrub'your body with a hot, wet washcloth until the skin gets red (especially legs and feet). Dry vigorously.

4]

Exchange back or foot rubs with a friend.

After 3 Days

If you crave sweets, or your energy lags, add protein to your meals, with toasted seeds, aduki beans, lentils, tempeh, etc.

If you crave oily/salty foods, have Sesame Salt or Sunflower Sea Palm Crunch with your meal. Also, try veggies sauteed in a few drops of toasted sesame oil and soy sauce.

Be quiet with your body every day. Listen
,for changes. If you feel great, keep going! Trust your intuition to tell you when to ease back towards social eating.

5]

Be Kind To Yourself

Don't expect to do it perfect. Plan to indulge in a few treats, even in the midst of cleansing. Celebrate your humanness.

6]

Cleanse With The Seasons

Just like your car needs a regular oil change, your boqy needs regular cleansing to run smoothly.

Oriental healers know that in every season two inter-related organs get
stimulated to cleanse and rebuild. Your food choices can either block this natural cleansing cycle, or help it flow. See the preceding (in the book, full, sideways, horizontal, page-C.D.) chart,
(based on the 5 Element Theory
from traditional Chinese medicine)
to fine-tune your diet for specific organs and seasons."

(continued to next message-Cool Dude)

[Cool Dude]

Hi!

To continue from the previous message...

"INTESTINAL CLEANSING

- Almost everybody in America could use several weeks on a good, cleansing diet designed to renew the colon. Here's why.

Most of us grew up eating plenty of dairy, meat and other high-fat foods, sugar, and chemicals. Many of us have taken frequent doses of antibiotics or birth control pills.

These foods and drugs, when routinely consumed, can destroy beneficial, aerobic bacteria in the intestines, which help to digest our food.

A healthy gut has millions of these friendly bacteria. They thrive on grains and vegetables, and produce B vitamins to help. us cope with stress. But if we eat too much sugar, meat, etc., they die off. Unfriendly, anaerobic bacteria take their place, inhibiting proper digestion.

The result? Foods stagnate and putrify inside us, especially if there's no fiber to keep things moving. Pocket_ of hard fecal matter line the colon walls. Abdominal muscles become too tense or loose
(either way, losing their ability to push). Constipation, loose stools, unpleasant
_as and odors become the norm.

Recently, with the increasing use of antibiotics, many research doctors report that the candida bacteria, which originally
overgrows in the intestines, can apparently spread throughout the body, causing a wide variety of seemingly unrelated.symptoms: headaches, confusion, bloating, food allergies, gas, and more (see William Crook, The Yeast Connection_L.

A cleansing diet can do much to reverse these symptoms, re-establish beneficial
bacteria, and encourage new muscle tone in the colon. See the next page, for colon cleansing guidelines.


Gentle, Colon Cleanse Guidelines

EASE IN

For 3-7 days, take a break from protein, fat and sweet. Eat soups, grains, and seasonal veggies.

SOUP

Warm soup relaxes the intestines. Have some every day, and include cleansing sea vegetables.

GRAINS
& VEGGIES

Emphasize whole-cooked grains (brown rice, millet, quinoa, etc.), and organically grown veggies.... especially qu_ck-cooked leafy greens and fat-dissolvers, such as kale, chinese cabbage, daikon and scallion.
(Choose proportions of grain to veggies according to your moods--see Slim Rhythms, pp. 180-181.)

EAT GENTLY

Chew everything well. De-stress your colon by avoiding most flour products and hard, dry foods (rice cakes, popcorn). For easily digested variety, have noodles, rice cream, or a slice of steamed unyeasted bread.

PROTEIN

After 3-7 days, include protein as needed for warmth and strength...aduki, lentil, garbanzo, toasted seeds.

SIMPL.IFY

Eat 2 meals, unless you're hungry for three. Reduce salt and spices. Avoid mucus-forming foods: nuts, oil, tofu, and dairy foods. Season with a little ginger, garlic, umeboshi, caraway seeds, fennel, dill or thyme.

TEA
JUICE & FRUIT

Drink spring water and mild teas (clover, nettles, twig, roasted b_ey, etc.). For treats enjoy local fruit, apple or vegetable juice, or Mellow Jello.

RENEW FLORA

To renew intestinal flora, have small amounts of miso or tamari in soup, and a little daikon pickle or sauerkraut after supper. (If, however, these cause candida flare-up, s_itch to non-fat yogurt, acidophilous or megadophil_us).

KEEP IT MOVING

Walk daily (or dance and stretch!). movement stimulates colon action.

Gentle, rhythmic

To increase circulation and expel toxins, apply ginger compress on belly 2-4 times a week (see p. 198).

For the most thorough cleanse, continue to eat simply for several week_, while taking intestinal herbs and psyllium husks, marketed by Holistic Horizons. (For details on these herbal aids, see The Colon Health ,Handbook, by Robert Gray).

To view the missing page/chart Cleansing With The Seasons that includes 5 organ systems, the good season to cleanse for each organ system, foods that stress those organs, and each organ system's most beneficial foods, plus around 150 of the most easy to prepare and cook, delicious macrobiotic recipes, and so much easy to read, and simple to understand, helpful, healthful information, see The Self-Healing Cookbook: A Macrobiotic Primer for Healing Body, Mind and Moods With Whole Natural Foods http://69.94.78.222/Self-Healing-Cookbook.php by Kristina Turner.

Check it out!

Be Well

Cool Dude

Dear Macrobiotic Friends,
I am looking for an Englis Macrobiotic Food Chart.
I lived in Japan for 25 years and had a great chart in Japanese.
Does anyone know whee can get an English chart?
arigatou
lindanoelkawabata11@yahoo.com