The idea of a spring cleanse may or may not appeal to you. As a bit of a health nut, I have always been drawn to healthy eating, but the idea of needing to purify one’s body through deprivation seemed puritanical and unnecessary if already eating fairly well. Nonetheless, I was feeling like my immune system needed a boost prior to allergy season, so I decided to go for it.
What is a cleanse? A cleanse is a protocol for clean eating in order to:
encourage detoxification
reduce inflammation
give a nutritional boost
and promote tissue repair, especially gut healing
You can also use a cleanse as an elimination diet in order to learn about possible food sensitivities. Food sensitivities are different from allergies. They may or may not be immune mediated, but are generally foods that cause an adverse response in your body like bloating, acne, or headaches.
I decided to follow a specific protocol called the Purification Cleanse through Standard Process because I am familiar with their high quality products, some of which we carry at Vitalize. It is also based around eating real food, not just juice or fasting. I modified the diet so that I felt I was getting enough to eat since weight loss was not on my agenda. With past cleanses, I had felt kind of terrible in the beginning, so I wanted to make sure I was getting good nutrition with the help of the Standard Process supplements. I also cut back my caffeine in preparation and continued to drink green tea. I was pleased to find that I felt amazing, energized and not hungry. The down side is that it is a lot of work to be prepping and cooking satisfying whole food meals. But it was a great opportunity to try new recipes and break the habit of eating out.
I’m not done with the cleanse yet, and I am looking forward to adding in meat in the next few days, but it has been a great experience that I would wholly recommend. Let us know if you are interested in doing a cleanse and we can discuss a program that coincides with your goals. Happy Spring!