Fall and Winter Cleansing-A Tune Up for Your Body

So, it is that intermittent season, autumn, replete with rain and dampness. The perfect time to reminisce about summer, to catch that cold that is going around, (the constant temperature variations do not help); and to begin to accept the inevitable approach of winter.www.wholelivingclinic.net

The fluctuations of late fall and early winter also make it an optimum time to go on a detoxifying dietary cleanse. It is easier in this season, say most streams of alternative medicine, to change our habits and inject new life into our tired routines.

Simply put, a cleanse can give your body a short break from the effort it expends digesting food (40% of your body’s energy goes into digestion-that’s a lot) and instead, divert some of that energy into expelling toxins and healing.

Cleansing is essential in detoxifying our bodies from the various pollutants we come in contact with in our daily lives, such as environmental toxins, residue from household or cosmetic products, pesticides in food etc. It also allows us to reduce the possibilities of succumbing to allergies, degenerative disease, and even cancer. Think of it as a tune up to keep your body functioning as health-fully as possible. It can last anywhere from 2–3 days or as long as 10–12 days, depending on your needs and goals.

And lest you shudder in recollection of your last experience with one of the many packaged cleanses that clog up the shelves at your local natural foods market, breathe. Here’s a primer on safe and effective ways to cleanse this winter, with tips from holistic health experts.

The “Gateway Approach”

As Registered Nutrition Consultant Nadine Ijaz, former faculty at the Canadian School of Natural Nutrition, whole foods advocate and Staff Nutritionist at Vancouver’s Inspired Health an Integrative Cancer Care Centre smiles, “It is very attractive for people to get involved in a fancy cleanse, with packaged products and herbal supplements.“

“However,” she continues, “the best cleanse is just cleaning up the diet, using a little more discipline than normal, i.e. opening a gateway to getting the body used to eating more natural foods, while envisioning these changes for the long term.”

Ijaz’s approach is two-pronged, focusing not only on simply eliminating the diet of harmful foods, but also on replacing certain foods with others that are more beneficial.

The first stage is to really clean up the diet i.e. evolving food preferences from the “less toxic” towards the “more wholesome.” Simple guidelines include, eating whole, natural, i.e. unprocessed and organic foods as much as possible. Replacing processed flour, baked goods, and wheat with “whole grain” alternatives. Substituting anything hydrogenated with high quality, unrefined oils such as Cold Pressed virgin olive oil and natural ghee (clarified butter) and eating foods closer to their natural state.

The second stage consists of “building up the body’s resilience, which comes from building a clean lifestyle.” This is where dedication and discipline do come in. Ijaz encourages her patients to get some exercise and choose to eat at home more often. Like most holistic practitioners, she also prescribes appropriate herbs and supplements to aid in the process.

Ultimately, Ijaz concurs, “There are no short cuts to health.”

The Yin-Yang Approach

According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, where seasons relate to various internal organs, Autumn is connected to the lungs and large intestines, organs that have strong detoxifying roles in our body. Jeda Boughton, Registered Herbologist, Acupuncturist and Dr. of Chinese Medicine agrees that, “Spring and fall are the best times for a cleanse. Spring is the time of re-growth and renewal and after a dormant season (winter), there is a lot of old build-up we need to flush out from the system. Fall is time when we get ready for the storing season so the storage vessel should be cleaned and prepared.”

Boughton believes that most people should cleanse at least two times a year. But she cautions against excessive cleansing (more than four times a year) and cautions people who are weak or deficient against cleansing as it can be quite taxing on the system.

Boughton is a firm believer in customizing cleansing programs for individuals.
“Commercial products are generic and not tailored to the person and their specific constitution.” She does acknowledge however, that some of the commercial products can be effective and that they are simple and easy to use and have a positive affect for most people who use them.”

She also recommends that newbies starting with a food elimination diet, sharing, “The cleanse that I usually recommend is a combination of food restrictions, a liver and gallbladder flush as well as a combination of herbs based on the patients constitution.”

The Ayurvedic Approach

Todd Caldecott is the renaissance man of holistic medicine. A certified Clinical herbalist, a Reiki practitioner, and an Ayurvedic practitioner who has studied at the source, i.e. in India, he exudes passion for the subject of natural health.

In keeping with his practice of Ayurveda, a system of medicine allied with the natural laws of the universe, Caldecott philosophizes, “During Fall, all of the earth’s energy returns to the earth, then winter comes and the environment undergoes a kind of death. Our bodies are also affected by this dynamic – in actual fact, what we need to do isn’t simply to just cleanse in the fall, but also to restore our vital energy.”

Of course, this is something that traditional cultures did well, celebrating the harvest by eating and sharing rich foods that sustain and nourish the body for the approaching winter.

Sounds a little Thanksgiving-ish? Well yes, but there’s a caveat. Ayurveda also recommends that in order to feast, we do need to fast, or at least adopt a dietary regimen to enhance and promote digestion during late summer, and while summer is transitioning into fall.

Caldecott continues that this allows “metabolic toxicity, one of the five causes of disease, usually resulting from imbalances within the eliminative systems of the body,” to eventually regain harmony within the body’s delicate machinery, thus “balancing out the negative effects “ama” or undigested food with “agni” or digestive fire. “

When “Ama” occurs, often a cause of eating too many rich and sweet foods with cold and heavy properties (pie or cookies anyone?); or consuming foods in the wrong combinations at the wrong time (the post dinner midnight-munchies), in large amounts or when scarfing down too much junk food, the body’s digestive fire is weakened, thus denying the body access to nutrients.

“The resultant energy that the body feeds back to power the processes of digestion becomes further diminished as this vicious cycle continues.” And, so, continues our Ayurveda expert, “Ayurveda’s first aims to restore digestion, before cleansing, often with a period of fasting or following a prescribed diet of easy to digest foods.

Caldecott beams, “Almost everything will be improved after the first week, digestion, metabolism, mood and energy. “

He recommends such a lifestyle change to continue even up to three months, (the approximate time it takes for the body to completely replace the blood).

With a nod to commercially available products such as the wild rose detox kit target, Caldecott agrees that these kids target important detoxification organs such as the liver and kidney by enhancing and supporting their function in some way–e.g. people notice they have to pee more frequently.

“The kits are convenient, and can be helpful to gently mobilize a plugged up system, while simultaneously deriving benefit by eating a diet of whole, natural foods,” he says.

However, and in agreement with many natural health practitioners, he offers these parting words, “This type of detoxification however really isn’t detoxification – its more like occasionally spraying WD-40 on your bicycle’s gears, rather than taking all the components off the bike and cleaning each one by hand.”

And Caldecott, it goes without saying, would prefer us to clean each one by hand.

Overall Tips from the experts quoted in this article:

• Fall is a great time for a gentle cleanse with lightly steamed veggies and soups.
• Do drink camomile tea: It has a nice cleansing effect, gentle enough for most people
• Do sip tea made from Dandelion, yellowdock root, cleavers, and nettle (all local and in season now)
• Do Eat Beets, steamed, baked, or drink their juice
• Do add lemon to your drinking water in the morning
• Take a good probiotic. Ijaz recommends Primal Defense
• Do move towards a vegetarian / vegan diet a short while
• Avoid processed soy or soy milk
• Do approach Bitters with caution: they are not always appropriate to all constitutions
• Do eliminate allergen such as wheat and dairy and meat for a while.
• Get a massage and steam bath with herbal aromas
• Post a cleanse, rejuvenate with a healthy fall diet rich in the bountiful harvest of squashes, leafy greens, crunchy apples, whole grains and organic meats and dairy
• Supplement with Vitamin D and an extra B vitamin if needed.

For information:
Nadine Ijaz BArtsSc RNCP RST

Dr. Jeda Boughton TCM
www.bodahealth.ca

Todd Caldecott
www.toddcaldecott.com

The New Detox Diet, by Dr. Elson Haas
Available at Banyen Booksyoguestyle.blogspot.com

About Insiya:

Insiya Rasiwala-Finn teaches vinyasa yoga and writes on health, yoga, eco-travel and spas for publications such as the Vancouver Observer, Vancouver Magazine, vancouveryoga.com, Shared Vision, Asia Spa and Luxury Latin America. She has been a frequent commentator on the topics of health, wellness and sustainability for Canadian media such as CBC, Shaw, Global and City TV.

She has traveled frequently to Costa Rica, Bali and Mexico to lead YES (yoga.ecology.surf) retreats with her partner Eoin Finn and avidly seeks out eco-travel options wherever she happens to be. Insiya is currently completing a creative writing program at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, Canada and writes a blog on the sustainable yoga lifestyle.
Author/References
Insiya Rasiwala-Finn