Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Detoxing
That's right. We need help. We've hit an all time low (or high...depending on how you look at things). After a week of eating lots and lots of yummy food, we're starting to feel the effects of all those huge dinner parties! I don't know about you, but after the holidays or after a vacation with all the eating and celebrating, I always feel so...blah!
We go back to our regular routine and cut back on intake, but I still feel that something more needs to be done. This time my solution is... A 7-Day Liver Detox Program!
At home it's just lots of veggies, properly portioned meals, and dessert usually comes in the form of fruit. I'm not a fan of refined sugars, additives, lots of sodium, and preservatives to begin with. I know it's hard to avoid them all together, but I'd rather not have them in our food.
I had never really thought about how much our liver does for us. The liver detoxifies many substances (caffeine, pesticides, alcohol, drugs, food preservatives and additives, environmental toxins like tobacco smoke, gasoline fumes, etc).
I've been doing lots of research on liver detoxing (in books and online). I have been thinking of doing a liver detox since the holidays, but wanted to do more research first. I wouldn't do something without reading about it because being the worry wart that I am, I get nervous about these things.
Many of the books Hubby and I have read have stated that a liver detox program is a good idea if you want to boost your liver health and function. It is said that it gives your liver some well-deserved rest. By not eating food that make your liver work hard, your liver gets to rest.
Hubby and I completed our first day of detox yesterday. Hubby survived, though he complained only a little bit :) The things he does for his wife!!
I've already received a few e-mail messages from friends asking about our liver detox program, so I'll just post it on here. Basically, we're following the program from one of Zita West's books. She's a nutritionist, acupuncturist, and midwife who has a clinic in London.
For 7 days, Hubby and I will be avoiding food that are:
non-organic, alcohol, caffeinated & decaffeinated alternatives, orange juice, sugar and sugar ladened food, refined carbohydrates (white bread, pasta, rice), red meats, dairy products, wheat, food containing additives and preservatives, packaged and processed food, and salt.
We're on Day 2 and Hubby's still alive. He's not complaining too loudly yet :) He's worried about one of his upcoming meetings though. "Everyone will be eating pizza and I have to eat bean soup???" LOL! For the record, it wasn't bean soup!!! It was a vegetable, bean and legume soup! It was chock full of yummy veggies, beans, lentils, and other good stuff!
There are a lot of delicious meals we can eat. I'm not finding it too difficult to avoid food that stresses the immune system or is pro-inflammatory...but I know that I will be happy when the next 6 days are up! I love dairy and cheese too much to ever give them up for good!
This may not be something for everyone to do, but in our case, I feel like it's the best thing Hubby and I can do for ourselves right now.
We go back to our regular routine and cut back on intake, but I still feel that something more needs to be done. This time my solution is... A 7-Day Liver Detox Program!
Image from Google Images
As Hubby grumbles and groans in the background, I am making a menu plan that will help us cleanse and detoxify our systems. Don't get me wrong. I love it when my family comes to visit! They cook the most delicious food. The only thing is that when it's just the two of us at home, Hubby and I don't eat that much. We don't need to eat that much! Hubby gets spoiled when my family is up to visit us. Every night, it's tons and tons of amazing food. There are loads of desserts to choose from, and lots of rich food.
At home it's just lots of veggies, properly portioned meals, and dessert usually comes in the form of fruit. I'm not a fan of refined sugars, additives, lots of sodium, and preservatives to begin with. I know it's hard to avoid them all together, but I'd rather not have them in our food.
I had never really thought about how much our liver does for us. The liver detoxifies many substances (caffeine, pesticides, alcohol, drugs, food preservatives and additives, environmental toxins like tobacco smoke, gasoline fumes, etc).
I've been doing lots of research on liver detoxing (in books and online). I have been thinking of doing a liver detox since the holidays, but wanted to do more research first. I wouldn't do something without reading about it because being the worry wart that I am, I get nervous about these things.
Many of the books Hubby and I have read have stated that a liver detox program is a good idea if you want to boost your liver health and function. It is said that it gives your liver some well-deserved rest. By not eating food that make your liver work hard, your liver gets to rest.
Hubby and I completed our first day of detox yesterday. Hubby survived, though he complained only a little bit :) The things he does for his wife!!
I've already received a few e-mail messages from friends asking about our liver detox program, so I'll just post it on here. Basically, we're following the program from one of Zita West's books. She's a nutritionist, acupuncturist, and midwife who has a clinic in London.
For 7 days, Hubby and I will be avoiding food that are:
non-organic, alcohol, caffeinated & decaffeinated alternatives, orange juice, sugar and sugar ladened food, refined carbohydrates (white bread, pasta, rice), red meats, dairy products, wheat, food containing additives and preservatives, packaged and processed food, and salt.
We're on Day 2 and Hubby's still alive. He's not complaining too loudly yet :) He's worried about one of his upcoming meetings though. "Everyone will be eating pizza and I have to eat bean soup???" LOL! For the record, it wasn't bean soup!!! It was a vegetable, bean and legume soup! It was chock full of yummy veggies, beans, lentils, and other good stuff!
There are a lot of delicious meals we can eat. I'm not finding it too difficult to avoid food that stresses the immune system or is pro-inflammatory...but I know that I will be happy when the next 6 days are up! I love dairy and cheese too much to ever give them up for good!
This may not be something for everyone to do, but in our case, I feel like it's the best thing Hubby and I can do for ourselves right now.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
From Our Farm to Your Table
Farmers Feed Cities
You Can Find Me Here!
Affiliates
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
Brand Ambassador for
For Fellow Bloggers
|
|
 |
 |
Proud Recipient
About the Blog Author
City girl moves to the country, falls in love, and marries a farmer. She tries to incorporate her city ways with her new country lifestyle and blogs to keep in touch with friends, family & students who live far, far away :) Can this city girl go country? Watch as she learns all sorts of exciting things about life on the farm and in a small rural community. *UPDATE* We are now parents! Our baby girl was born on Nov. 11, 2008 (at 28 weeks gestation- 12 weeks premature, but she's quite the trooper)!!!
Les Boutons!
Let's Connect
Subscribe To
Posts
Comments
Support
19 comments:
oh lord! i dont know how you can do it chris! not eating anything prepared? as i look at the salsa, nacho cheese and tortila chips i was snacking on i cannot imagine not eating anything processed and ready made. and vegetables! what's that? i made this thing i call "tater tot pie" for the kids and dh last night. its sort of like sheperds pie but instead of mash potatos on top i put those frozen tater tots. layer browned groundbeef, corn, tater tots and bake in oven. corn is a vegetable isn't it? hah!
I am impressed. My eating habits have gotten worse since I had Graham. I don't eat processed foods at all but I'm not as great with my veggies, I eat a lot of butter and cheese and a glass or two of wine almost every night. I have to do better...
I think you'll do fine. :) A week isn't too hard, but a lifetime would be!
Hot Mommy:
I've never heard of a tater tot pie before! Was it good? Okay, I may sound really "sheltered", but what's a tater tot?
P.S. One of my favourite snack foods is tortillas with homemade salsa! We just can't have them this week because of the sodium, etc.
Don Mills Diva:
5 more days to go! You know, my Dad's cardiologist in Toronto told my parents that they should drink a glass of red wine each night. The cardiologist also said that if they don't drink wine, a shot of brandy or any other spirit is good too.
I'm not much of a red wine drinker, but if I have a glass of wine, it's got to be a nice white wine or a nice rosé. (I get massive headaches from the tanin in red wines)
J:
Day 2 is now out of the way. 5 more days to go! I'm finding it okay and for some reason, I've got massive amounts of energy. Hubby, on the other hand, is doing fine, but I can tell he wants to have MEAT soooooon!!! LOL! Oh...and bread! Hubby ALWAYS has toast and cereal in the morning before work! He's surviving though. I think he's seeing that there are lots of recipes out there that can fill you up but don't contain wheat, dairy, etc.
You're right...A week is not bad, but a lifetime? I don't think I'd be able to. I love dairy too much to ever give it up! Cheeeeeese! Yogurt! Though I love tofu, soy beans, and soy milk, I'm not big on tofu cheese and tofu yogurt. Oh, and carib chips in place of chocolate chips??? I just don't like the taste of carib. I've tried them before and have not been able to acquire a taste for them :(
Blimey! I think you did some damage to your head when you were in that car accident! No bread, pasta, meat, cheese, ALCOHOL? Are you mad, woman? I do not think I could do your detox plan. If I stopped eating the food I am eating and drinking the amount of alcohol I am drinking, I think my liver would go into withdrawal and I would die.
Good luck with the remaining detox days!
-Pete
Funny, I just posted how I gave up sugar yesterday. It looks like a few of us are on the cleanse. I don't think I could do what you are doing right now, but that is only because of the baby. When she is older I might just be up for it :)
Good luck with the detox! No way could I do that! I'm scared my liver would get lazy and quit on me if I ever gave it a break?
Excellent, C.! This sounds like what I've been trying to do for the last four months. Mostly with a nutritionist and NP, and then bits and pieces from other reliable sources, hand outs and stuff.
If this encourages you at all, I've lost 40 lbs. and still eat the stuff you see on my blog, just less.
I'm not cutting out pizza, but hoping to eat less of it on a permanent basis. Same with everything else with the exception of soda and juice, which are notorious sources of sugar.
Did you find out anything about Ibuprofen and Tylenol and effects on your liver?
Pete:
You're right! I think I must be out of my mind! LOL! :) What am I thinking???
Beach Mama:
Congrats on the no sugar! It may sound weird, but even though Hubby and I are only on Day 3 of our detox, I feel a lot better already! I think that after our detox period is done, I'm not going to completely write out all the stuff that isn't on our list of "eat liberally", but we'll just eat those things in moderation.
Like I mentioned to you in a comment I left on your blog, Hubby is craving pizza and lasagna! LOL! Carbs are not bad for us. We need some carbs. It's just the processed and modified stuff that isn't great. Same with sugar. At least you can get it in the form of fruits :)
Uncivil:
LOL! You know, you're not the first person to say that! Pete said the same thing!
Jeanna:
WOW! That's amazing!!! You are my hero! LOL! The more research I have been doing about all the additives that are put into many of the foods we buy, the more I'm glad we don't eat too much of that stuff.
We definitely won't be cutting out pizza...Hubby would freak!!! LOL! He LOVES pizza! We don't have it often anyway, and when we do, I make our pizza from scratch. When we're visiting my brother, Hubby always likes to have pizza. He likes the gourmet pizzas with the feta cheese, chicken, artichokes, etc.
I did find out some info on Tylenol and Ibuprofen and their effects on the liver. They're not great for the liver, but in small doses, they shouldn't be too harmful. I guess if we don't abuse them and take them too often...or if we only take regular strength and not always extra strength, it shouldn't be too bad. I try not to take anything if I can help it. I usually only take Tylenol if I am really needing it. Otherwise, I try a lot of more natural methods.
Thanks for sharing, Jeanna! I look forward to hearing more about what you're doing! Congrats again! You're awesome!
oh my god christine!please tell me you aren't serious about not knowing what a tater tot is! their like tiny hasbhrowns, grated potato, crunchy goodness! they tast so goood!
i think i need to school you on some fast n easy recips!
TATER TOT CASSEROLE
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 bag tater tots
shredded cheese
1 lb of ground hamburger meat
serves: 6 or 7
Brown hamburger meat. Add cream of mushroom soup and stir together continuously.
Let simmer on low heat for 15 minutes.
Place mixture in the bottom of a casserole dish. Lay tater tots neatly on top of the mixture.
Place in oven on 350' and let the tater tots brown.
Sprinkle with cheese; melt it in the oven and ENJOY and i gotta run. the kids are getting off the bus as i type
Let us know how it progresses and the benefits you both get from it!
PS - check my blog - there is an award for you.
Hi C, it's me.. you left a message on my blog the other day via ms.mamma so I thought I'd come to your space and check ya out....
I hear the Cabbage Detox is good... 'cept for the gas it can create... and in the process of the 5 days (it could be 7) you can loose up to 10 lbs.... if you stick to lots o'lots of cabbage. I was thinking of doing it (not for the weight loss cause I'm 'normalish' but more for the cleaning out the inner's.. if ya know what I mean. I don't think I'd dig an anemia but a cabbage detox may be more tolerating. My hubs would NEVER tolerate a veggie diet of any kind. I won't even ask.
hotmommy:
Ohhhh! So that's what a tater tot is! Sounds tasty.
mrinz:
Just checked it out! Thank you! You are so sweet! You're also one of my daily reads! You are wonderful...and I am jealous that you live in NZ! I want to go there someday!!!
Christine:
Looks like we share the same name! I think one of my aunts went on the cabbage soup diet years ago and lost weight. Cabbage does have a "gassy" effect! LOL!
Hubby and I are detoxing more for a cleanse than anything. I may sound like a freak, but I am just so concerned about all the added preservatives, artificial this and that, etc that are added to food these days. This said, I had to run past the tortillas and salsa aisle in the grocery store today! LOL! I never knew how good salt makes food taste!
Iodine is an essential... salt up babe! it's one of my favorite condiments besides mustard. I'm have a dying penchant for a fine fine mustard. Is cheese a condiment.. cause i love some ol' danish bleu or burnt norweigian milk cheese.... hmmmmmm. oh sorry, yer detoxing.... :(
I'll tell you what I'm staying away from, Tater Tot pies. Drool.
You make the pizza dough as well?
You're not supposed to lose much more than 1/2 a pound to a pound a week if you want to keep it off.
Because I'm making a permanent "lifestyle change" it allows me to push aside my cousin's undercooked pasta indefinitely. Will the benefits never end.
Christine:
Yum! I love cheese. I don't think I could ever give up dairy. I just love cheese too much. I love cheese of all kinds. How about warmed up Brie topped with red pepper jelly and some poppyseed crackers? LOL...Is detox almost over yet??? ;p
Jeanna:
I make my own pizza crust. I use my MIL's recipe. She makes almost everything from scratch!!! Which is why I started making most of our food from scratch. Hubby's used to a certain level of homecooked meals. He didn't grow up with fast food or instant anything. After I started cooking this way, I discovered that it's actually a lot healthier for you too.
We do have the occasional stop at a fast food joint if we're on the road/traveling. Once in a while won't kill us. It's if we do it too often that it becomes a problem.
I have a friend who taught with me overseas and he never had money because he was always drinking away his earnings. The only thing he could afford was a McDonald's Cheeseburger...Every day! Imagine eating only cheeseburgers every day??? It wasn't until years later that I saw Super Size Me and it reminded me of my friend! Except he didn't super size anything. He just ate only cheeseburgers! GAH!
Jeanna:
I admire you! It must take great discipline to make it a lifestyle change! :) Keep up the great work! I am truly impressed! I was telling Hubby how I want to try to incorporate this into our lifestyle. I don't think he would like to though.