Hi Everyone,
The blog is back from a short hiatus. Just coming off having 3 weeks worth of family staying with us. The last visitors included my niece and nephews. So that brought the kid total to 5 under 5 years of age in our home at once……yeah, crazy, crazy, crazy. Anyway, love and miss them, but some peace and quiet (relatively speaking, I mean my two kids are still here, of course) is a happy thing.
Around the office you may have noticed info on the cleanse workshop a couple of weeks ago and currently lots of buzz around doing the cleanse. We have a number of practice members who are doing the cleanse and we are so proud of them! Many are already seeing weightloss and are getting benefits, healthwise, that they aren’t even aware of yet: better cholesterol levels, mental clarity, less toxins in the body, etc.
Here are the basics of the cleanse: it is through Standard Process (SP). SP is an all natural whole food supplement company/farm in Wisconsin. They are organic and every supplement is mad only with food so there are no side effects. While on the cleanse you use the SP cleanse supplements which include powder to make into shakes/smoothies which are really good once you figure out how a good fruit combo (Kathleen and Sharyn have some good ones!). The cleanse lasts 21 days. You primarily fruits and veggies, but you can still have some brown rice, lentils, butter, and after day 11 you can add in lean protein like beans, fish, and chicken. Lots of people love the cleanse and many are freaked to try it. I’m probably from the latter camp, but whenever we have the cleanse, a staff member usually joins in….this time I was selected. I am on day 5, which means I’m, by most accounts, past the worst of it. The cleanse has good and bad sides, but the good definitely outweighs the bad.
The bad: some people get headaches, fatigue, and cravings at the beginning of the cleanse. This is due to the body getting rid of all the junk that we’ve gathered over the years from junk food, caffeine, alcohol, tobacco, etc. These symptoms are shortlasting. It is basically like an addict kicking their habit. Due to all the chemicals in our foods today, we are literally addicted to the garbage we eat. I had horrible headaches for the first few days. This is my own fault, as I have not eaten a clean diet over the majority of my life. Side bar: this is why we have to get our kids eating clean, pure diets! My wife is super healthy and she has our family doing the same now. For example at church they were having Kentucky Fried Chicken. My son has never tasted fried chicken. He took his piece and said, “what is this?” I told him it was chicken and this time he could eat it. His response, “this isn’t chicken!” I broke it open and showed him the inside. He said, “what….do I take the chicken off the brown (the cripsy outside)?” He then refused to eat it….my wife was so happy with him/ wondering why I had handed him fried chicken to being with. The point is these things are learned habits, that turn into lifestyle and lifestyle is hard to change…better to start our kids out better than that as my wife reminded me.
Now, for the good: the benefits are awesome! I’ve lost 6 pounds already and others have lost more! The last time we did the cleanse we had a couple who each lost 25-27 lbs. in the 21 day period. They had weightloss, but really it is wasteloss…getting rid of all the junk their bodies were holding on to that they didn;t need. We have had people get off blood pressure meds, cholesterol meds, and diabetes meds. You can get off allergy meds and food allergies can disappear. I have a friend who had their cholesterol levels go from 240 to 170!!!! In a month! No med could work that quickly/effectively, but your body with proper fuel can! Everyone who does the cleanse reports feeling “amazing”, “awesome”, etc. after the initial days. They feel boundless energy and new mental clarity.
I am so excited to see my benefits continue to multiply!Good luck to all you cleansers! Keep it up! We will be running the cleanse again later in the year, so if you missed it get set for this fall and maybe start cleaning the diet up anyway. Stay tuned for future cleanse updates!
Talk to you all soon. Thanks for being the best! We love you and are always thankful for the chance to help you learn new strategies for healthy living.
In health, Dr. Graham, chiropractor