The Great Liver Cleanse Debate also known as Huh?



BEFORE







Last year on January 2nd my New Years Resolution was to lose weight and that I did, a whopping 106lbs and counting!  The great thing about this wasn't what you'd expect.  Yes the lost pounds, astounded gasps from people I only see on a limited basis, and new clothes in sizes that I hadn't seen since my 20's were great.  However, the best gift I received from last years New Years resolution was stumbling upon the truth of health and nutrition.  That gift, more than anything else, saved my life.  This brings me to New Years 2012.  How can you top a resolution like that?  Well whats funny is that the Universe or Universal power, higher power, God, Goddess or whatever you want to call it has a way of topping things and has a twisted sense of humor.



AFTER



Towards the end of the year last year I had decided to do my first ever liver and gallbladder cleanse.  I have been reading books by Andreas Moritz and stumbled upon his book The Liver and Gallbladder Miracle cleanse.  It intrigued me because I had already read his health views in his other book Cancer is not a Disease its a Survival Mechanism and these views rang true with me.  After watching a family member suffer with cancer, I found Andreas' book to be a new way to look at that disease.  This is how I stumbled upon his liver cleanse book.  I tried the cleanse the week after Thanksgiving and I must say I believe we could all benefit from a cleanse or two or more!  The cleanse isn't a new thing in the Holistic world.  As a matter of fact, body (liver, kidney, and other systems) cleanses have been performed for thousands of years in many cultures.  Kims family joked about how their grandmother used to "cleanse" them every spring with a "tonic".  I was thinking of how much our elders really knew and we just blew it off!  So here's my experience with liver cleanse #1.  Oh and by the way my New Years resolution for 2012?  I'm calling it "The Year of the Cleanse".  A cleanse every 6-8 weeks, as my body allows, for the rest of the year.  I can hear the Universe chuckling right now.

Hols first cleanse:



It was 5 days of eating very light.  Not much fats, no animal products (meat, cheese, eggs), lots of soups, salads, rice, etc.  Each day I was to drink 32oz of apple juice for the action of the malic acid.  I was quite nervous as this was my first ever attempt at a liver cleanse.  I had been on youtube and curezone.com a lot looking at other peoples experiences.  Some of the people on Youtube scared the you know what out of me but curezone reassured me that I was on the right track.  So on the day of the actual cleanse (day 6) you dont eat much.  They recommend a light breakfast of oatmeal or rice cereal no sugar or nuts.  For lunch they recommend a light meal of rice and broth and no food after 1pm.  In the evening I got to start the "fun" part of the cleanse (joking).  There were a series of epsom salts drinks then at 10pm a concoction of olive oil and grapefruit juice.  Needless to say the flavor of the epsom salts left MUCH to be desired.  Actually it tasted HORRIBLE.  Funny but the olive oil and grapefruit juice wasn't bad.

After it was all said and done, 2 days later, I knew I felt different but was unsure as to the succcess of the cleanse.  I received a true confirmation via blood test a few weeks later as I had tested my blood prior to the cleanse and a few weeks after the cleanse and it showed a hugh improvement in my liver function in relation to my thyroid activity.  My naturopath commented without knowing of the cleanse that my liver function was much better.  It was then that I told her of the liver cleanse and she said "I can see the improvement". 

Well according to the book I've been following regarding the cleanse I have to repeat this procedure another 4-10+ times to truly cleanse the liver of years of congestion.  The book is an important tool and I highly recommend it if you've been thinking of doing a cleanse.  Andreas covers a lot of points other then the actual cleanse like why we do this and what sort of processes are occuring to create a congested liver. 

IMPORTANT:  I don't recommend doing this cleanse without the assistance of a health care professional or your personal health advocate.  I absolutely do recommend doing a cleanse to alleviate the years of stress we put on our liver and to assist it with its hundreds of essential functions.  Talk with your healthcare practitioner for advice.  If they're not open to this way of thinking maybe you should consider finding a doctor who is open to alternative methods of health as well as current standard methods.  Its your health, you have the right to take charge of it!

Hopefully this information helped.  Let me know if you have questions, need advice or have some advice.
Cheers to Health!
Hols



Pondering Pau d' Arco

Pau d' arco



Pau d' arco has been chasing me around the health circles for some time now.  At first, I would see the it on the shelf shredded and in little bags and think to myself "hmpf, Pau d' arco, funny name I wonder what it's all about".  Then I'd get side tracked while in the store and forget to go back and do research on this funny named herb.  Eventually, after many visits to several of the nice health food stores around Atlanta, I came to realize this herb was calling out to me.   I know that sounds funny but I've always been one to look for the clues in nature and around me.  I've noticed this skill even more as I've shed the layers of weight.  I can tell if a food or supplement is "working" by the way I feel and other clues.  Of course, I do a lot of blood tests and work closely with my health team to make sure my "feelings" are accurate.  This all leads me to tell you of my experience with Pau d' arco. 

Recently I saw Pau d' arco in my local health food store for the umpteenth time and this time I decided to purchase a box of tea.  There are many forms of Pau d' arco.  Its available as raw bark, already sealed in tea bags, in pill form, or as a tincture.  For my first experience (or experiment lol) I thought the tea bags would be the easiest to use and test.  Once I'd purchased a box of tea, my hound dog research skills took over and I found out a lot of interesting facts about Pau d' arco that I'd like to share with you and then I'll share my personal experience upon trying it for myself.

Pau d' arco grows in Central & South America, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Haiti, the islands of Hispaniola and north into Mexico.  It is possible for it to grow in areas of south Florida as well.  It grows from 16 to 160 ft depending on climate and location.  There are approximately 1,000 species of Tabebuia Avellanedle tree.  Pau d' arco has been used for many hundreds of years (if not longer) by south American tribes to include the Incas and Aztecs and other Indio tribes.  The herb Pau d' arco is retrieved from the inner bark of the TAHEEBO tree.  It can be made into a tea, tincture, or ground up and put into a glycerin capsule to swallow.

Below, I've listed are some of the supposed benefits of Pau d' arco.  Some of these have been tested and researched on animal subjects over the years.  Some of these conditions have been treated using Pau d' arco in clinical situations in south America and central America.  Some of these benefits are claims of the locals who have used Pau d' arco for many years and many generations.

Claimed Benefits of Pau d' arco: 

Relieves Inflammation, Anti-Fungal or Yeast (beneficial in candida treatments), Anti-Viral, Anti-Bacterial, Helps Lowers Blood sugar in diabetics, Anti-Parasitic, cancer & tumors, immunodeficiency, skin disorders, rheumatic conditions, liver boost, blood purifier, fever, and pain.  Please check with your doctor or health care advocate before using or trying any new supplements or herbs as they may counteract with medicines or existing conditions.

My personal experience with Pau d' arco was far from uneventful.  Since I've hopped on the holistic health train there are many foods and medicines I will not ingest anymore.  One of the things I've stopped taking is over the counter pain medicine.  Everybody has the choice of what they will and will not put inside their bodies and for me its chemically manufactured medicines.  Instead, I look for natural sources to alleviate the symptoms that i have which would typically require the use of over the counter meds.  For example, if i have an upset stomach I might drink water infused with ginger.  I didn't have a go to for pain as of yet but I was about to find out that for me Pau d' arco tea alleviates pain.  From time to time I have pain in my body from lifting heavy objects, which my work requires me to do.  I found that after a cup of Pau d' arco tea I was without pain for 3-4 hours.  I also noticed an enhanced feeling of well being.  So for now I plan on drinking a cup per day and continue monitoring how my body reacts to this herb with the funny name. 

How to make a Pau d' arco tincture at home:

For those advanced botanists, I'm including a recipe of how to make your own Pau d' arco tinctures to save money.  The key is to use high quality herbs and vodka but you will still save money as opposed to paying the health food store prices. 

*This recipe does include alcohol, but the dosages are so small that its not likely to have much of an effect. If you abstain from consuming any alcohol, however, you can substitute apple cider vinegar for the vodka. Vinegar tinctures have a shelf life of around one year when stored in a cool, dark place.

Ingredients:

• 6 to 8 ounces dried pau d’arco bark
• Quart-sized glass jar
• 60 proof or higher vodka
• Dark glass bottles for storage

Directions:

1. Place the dried pau d’arco bark in the quart-sized glass jar, and then fill to the top with vodka (or apple cider vinegar).
2. Secure the lid on the jar and place in a cool, dark place. Allow the mixture to stand for three to six weeks, shaking the jar once each morning and once each night.
3. Strain the bark from the liquid, squeezing it out before discarding.
4. Store the resulting pau d’arco tincture in dark glass bottles.

*recipe courtesy of themodernherbal.com 

Happy New Year aka Happy Anniversary

As the New Year rings in, many of us get restless about what we have or haven't been doing in our lives.  This is the time of year most of us decide to get on the health train to lose weight, exercise, or quit something (smoking, overeating, or other). 

Last year, I did that same thing.  I decided I was going to lose weight.  I was wondering if I would do my usual new year's resolution dance.  Say I'm going to stop or start something to live "better" with all of the best intentions but end up frustrated and quit within 2 weeks of the initial declaration.  On January 2nd of 2011 I started my journey to health.  At that time, I weighed 289lbs and I was miserable.  My "fatter" clothes were tight and I felt tired, heavy, and uninspired.  I was willing to try anything.  There were times during the 2010 year that I had considered lap band surgery or even gastric bypass.  Luckily I was a chicken about hospitals and knives.  I've never been one to have an overabundance of will power but due to an unfortunate event that occurred in Aug 2010 my inspiration had arrived.  A tragic event can be a catalyst to permanent change.  At the time of the event, I didn't see any sort of silver lining but a year and a half later I now understand that most, if not all, tragedies come with lessons.  Fortunately (or unfortunately), these can change our lives for better or worse.  The trick is to use them to our benefit.

This plan to health has morphed many times from point A to point L (I'm not to Z yet).  At first I eliminated all sugar from standard table sugar, to the more hidden sugar in sauces and condiments and prepackaged highly processed foods.  Some of these items consisted of high fructose corn syrup or just plain corn syrup, white flour baked goods and pastas.  It took 30 days for most of the cravings for sugar to subside but they eventually did.  I started cooking almost every meal and reading the labels very carefully when grocery shopping.  These first stages were tough to me for two reasons, I love to eat out and once you start reading the labels you find that there are chemicals in almost everything we eat.  The chemicals are everywhere including most canned veggies, beans, boxed foods, and sadly, our meat.  When you drop the highly processed overly packaged items from your diet you will be shocked at how fast the weight drops off.  You will "melt" in places you never thought would be "fat free".  I know how hard it is in the beginning because I was a twinkie-a-holic most of my life.  Once you make the committment to be "box" free your body will respond with weight loss, energy gain, less moodswings, and general feeling of well being.

FYI:  You don't have to do it ALL at once.  I wasn't able to exercise early on.  My motivation wasn't UP enough at that time but after about 3 months of being "on track" I started warming up to exercise.  I started playing tennis in March and I absolutely love it.  I also started riding a stationary bike on cold and rainy days.  I was only able to peddle for 10 minutes in the beginning but eventually worked up to 50 minutes on the bike.  Conquer the food first and continue to work in additional changes as you feel ready.  Remember to always give yourself a little push in the right direction but don't give up and "throw the baby out with the bathwater" if you slip up.  NOBODY IS PERFECT.

You can do this.  Believe me if I can do it ANYBODY can.  More tips and nutritional finds in upcoming blog posts.

Cheers to Health!

Disclaimer:  Always check with your MD, NP, or health care advisor prior to starting a new eating plan.