Juice Fast and Herbal Cleanse

About three weeks ago, mostly inspired by the documentary "Fast, Sick, and Nearly Dead", Emily and I decided to try a juice fast. We did it for four days and felt really good about it. We have been planning to do an herbal cleanse for several weeks and decided we'd put it off another week so we could start with a juice fast. It was really hard the first two or three days, but not too bad the fourth. Emily ended up feeling sick near the end and had to eat some food. I felt like I had more energy at the end, but I also felt like I needed more substance at that point.

Then, about two weeks, we began taking some herbal supplements that supposedly help cleanse the body of toxins. I had tried some herbal cleansing of my sinuses a couple months ago and felt like all my worst sinus problems came back as the herbs, obviously doing something, seemed to be breaking up mucus and clearing out all the junk my body had produced and/or stored in that area. This lasted maybe 3-4 days and then I felt quite a bit clearer, the nasty symptoms slowed down and then stopped, and I felt like things were moving the way they were supposed to. Based on that experience, I have felt motivated to see what a whole body cleanse might do for my allergies and overall health.

Herbal Supplements

Since the juice fast and the last two weeks of herbal treatments with a diet of vegetables, fruits, beans, nuts, seeds, limited whole grains ... and not much else, I've lost about 12-13 pounds in three weeks. I wasn't expecting that, but my stomach does look a little better and I have mostly felt better. I got a bit dizzy and lethargic a couple days ago and, not really wanting to lose any more weight, I decided to introduce a little meat into my diet, which seems to be helping my dizziness/weakness and I think may be helping my weight to stabilize. I think the diet had more to do with the weight loss than the herbs, but the herbs have definitely had an effect on my digestive system - in a good way. Things are definitely working better in that department.

This coming week begins the full regimen of herbs including a combination that supposedly cleanses the bloodstream. I'll report on further positive/negative symptoms as I go along. I can't promise it will be regular or timely (see my posting track record - not always really good), but I'll do my best.

For the sake of posterity (and you, dear reader, if you're interested), the herbal combinations were inspired by Dr. Christopher and sold under his name. He died several years ago, but his company continues to operate. Although we're taking them slightly different than prescribed, the cleansing kit found here contains all the herb combinations we're using.