Bouncing Back?

Start Afresh with a Liver Cleanse

	Well, it's been over 4 years now since my last child, and I am still awaiting the bounce back. I read a post today about liver function--which was a problem for me during and ever since that last pregnancy. (Good thing Jasen is such a cutie--and worth it!) And today I came across this article, and didn't want to lose it. This is the third time today in my searching I come up with "Beet Juice" as the answer (or one of them). Awwww--I really hate beats. But I can swallow anything quickly. We'll see how it goes. Hear's to your health! aj
	By Cherie Calbom, “The Juice Lady” Cherie Calbom is the author of The Juice Lady’s Guide to Juicing for Health It’s time for those New Year’s resolutions again. If you’ve indulged in too many goodies or drunk too much alcohol over the holidays, you may be feeling sluggish and tired, or noticing that your clothes are fitting a bit too snug. If you are planning on getting in shape, then it’s time to de-junk your body, energize your cells, and lose those extra pounds. I have just the plan for you, my 7-Day, Kick-Start Liver Cleanse and Weight Loss Program. Many people struggle with weight gain and a sluggish metabolism most of their lives, and go through lots of yo-yo dieting unsuccessfully. “So why doesn’t anything really work?” we may ask. We have been tackling the symptom when we should be addressing the cause - weight gain is often due to poor liver function. Congestion throughout the body and a sluggish liver can contribute not only to fatigue and malaise, but also to weight gain, especially around the abdomen, cellulite, and water retention. Eating too much fat, sugar, dairy (mucous forming), salt, alcohol, preservatives, additives, and pesticides causes internal congestion. And all this stuff is hard for the liver to process. The liver is the largest internal organ in the body, weighing between three and four pounds, and it is also the major fat-burning organ. When we eat the wrong foods, the liver will actually make more fat and store the excess. When we cleanse the liver and then eat the right foods, liver metabolism will improve and we start burning fat. As liver function improves, so does energy. With more energy, fitness improves, because we have the ability to excercise more and improve our muscle tone. As we cleanse the body, not only will we shed excess pounds, we’ll also lose some of that lumpy, bumpy cellulite. Two French physicians, Meus-Blatter and Laroche, discovered that cellulite is cause by inefficient removal of wastes from the body. As toxic materials collect between the cells, they are held by hardened connective tissue where they build up to create pockets of water, toxins, and fat that give the skin that unsightly peau d’orange (orange peel skin) appearance. Cleansing the body with high amounts of raw food, and especially vegetable juices, not only helps flush away the lumps and bumps, it also raises cell vitality. The 7-Day Kick-Start Liver Cleanse and Weight Loss Program is one I’ve used successfully for over a decade. It is adapted from my book The Juice Lady’s Guide to Juicing for Health (Avery, 1999). The 7-Day, Kick-Start Liver Cleanse and Weight Loss Program For seven days, eat only a vegan diet, which means excluding all animal products (meat, poultry, fish, dairy). Completely avoid all sweets, soft drinks, alcohol, junk food and tobacco. Drink no more than one cup of coffee per day; avoid completely if possible. Make at least fifty percent of your vegan diet raw food-salads, sprouts, fresh fruit, veggie sticks, and freshly made vegetable and fruit juices. Drink at least 64 ounces (eight, 8-ounce glasses) of purified water daily. To this program add the following foods daily: Hot Water, Lemon Juice and Cayenne Pepper Lemon and cayenne are excellent liver cleansers. Squeeze 1/4 of a fresh lemon in a cup of hot water and add a small dash of cayenne pepper. Stir together and drink upon rising. Fresh Beet Juice Beets are used naturopathically to cleanse and support the liver. Drink from three to eight ounces of fresh beet juice each day. It is best to start the day with this juice. Because of its strong taste, it is best mixed with milder tasting juices such as carrot, cucumber, celery, lemon, and apple. To this mixture, I add freshly juiced ginger root. Carrot Salad Place one cup of finely shredded carrots, or carrot pulp leftover from juicing, in a bowl. If shredding the carrots, they should be a mushy consistency; use a food processor or fine grater. It’s easiest to use the carrot pulp. For the dressing, combine one tablespoon extra-virgin, cold-pressed olive oil with one tablespoon fresh lemon juice. Whisk together. You may add more dressing, but not less. I also like to add a dash of cinnamon to the dressing. Pour the dressing over the shredded carrots (or carrot pulp) and mix well. Green Drink Each day, preferably afternoon or early evening, drink 10 ounces of freshly juiced green drink - cucumber, parsley, spinach, kale, celery, or any other green herb or vegetable. You can add fresh lemon juice and/or fresh ginger root to improve flavour. Potassium-Rich Vegetable Broth This vegetable broth provides important nutrients, especially minerals, your body needs during the cleansing process. Eat one to two cups of the broth daily. 2-3 cups chopped fresh string beans (frozen is acceptable when fresh is not available) 2-3 cups chopped zucchini 2-3 stalks celery 1-3 tablespoons chopped parsley 1 tablespoon chopped garlic Steam the string beans, zucchini, and celery over purified water until soft, but still green and not mushy. Place the cooked vegetables, plus the raw parsley and garlic, in a blender and puree until smooth. Add a bit of the steaming water, as needed, but keep the broth fairly thick. Season to taste with minced ginger, cayenne, vegetable seasoning, or herbs of your choice. Milk Thistle (Silymarin) Take one capsule of the herb milk thistle after each meal. Milk thistle contains some of the most potent liver-cleansing compounds known. Silymarin, the most active ingredient in milk thistle, enhances liver function. It has excellent antioxidant properties that help prevent damage to the liver. Liver-Friendly Foods For the seven days of cleansing, eat an abundance of liver-friendly foods, which include: beets, artichokes, peas, parsnips, pumpkin, sweet potatoes, squash, yams, beans, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, chives, cucumber, eggplant, garlic, kale, kohlrabi, mustard greens, okra, onion, and parsley. Choose organically grown produce as often as possible to avoid pesticides and lighten your body’s toxic load. Colon Cleansing During the 7-Day Cleanse, your body will definitely benefit from colon-cleansing in the form of colonics, or if you want a do-it-yourself, E’s as they are called at Optimum Health Institute (enemas). Flushing the colon can greatly facilitate the elimination of toxins and speed your cleansing and weight loss process. Cheri Calbom is a Certified Nutritionist and author who has appeared on more than 400 television and radio programs. At the end of January she is holding a four-day “Shape up in 2003” weekend at the Sanoviv Medical Institute on the ocean in Baja, featuring gourmet raw foods, a one-day juice fast cleanse, water aerobics, and instruction. For information call 800-726-6848.