Month: January 2013

When I first found out how serious the situation with my own health was, I sought the help of a Naturopath. Those of you who know my story will also know that the doctors opinions and suggestions were frightening and delivered with healthy doses of arrogance.

So what did Lionel my naturopath suggest? Diet, of course. Really?? Some salad is going to fix this? Not even that. It was going to be nothing but water for a couple of days, then juice. Lots of it, lots of variety, mostly vegetable and organic.

It seems that even then, in 2002, we were overfed and undernourished. We had taste, gourmet, class, peer pressure, speed and convenience. We were eating for almost every reason besides nutrition.

Until we find ourselves in a situation that just may cost us our life.

Is it difficult? In the beginning, yes.

Your mind can really start to play tricks on you when you go against the grain of orthodoxy. I’m already really sick, but Im not going to eat anything for two days. Then I’m just going to drink a variety of fresh vegetable juice. Then I’ll add in a little fruit. Then some herbal wormer. Introduce some healing smoothies. We might progress to some salad with some special salad oil. In a couple of months, maybe some salmon with our salad.

You know what? Things begin to change faster than you would believe. Water only and no food for 48hrs can be a great leveller as far as your gut is concerned. You might be starving the good gut bugs but you are also starving the bad ones. Those bad ones that are used to living on sweet carbohydrates like flour and sugar, processed chips, bread, cakes and biscuits, and living in the heavy decay of red meat. The patches of weeds in the rainforest of your gut.

The good forest is still there, even though it has been repressed and over run with weeds. Water gives the whole digestive tract a rest for a couple of days, re-hydrates and flushes. Diluted fresh juice brings easily absorbed nutrients and the right type of insoluble fibre to grow the healthy bacteria. The good bacteria creates and nurtures the gut lining, feeding and healing the cells.

Of course, regressing to old ways of eating processed foods, gluten, flour, sugar etc will take you in the other direction and just as quickly.

I have always kept the practice of mini fasting. It does no harm to have one day of the month where we consume only water (unless of course you have a medical condition that contraindicates this). I also try to have my last (light) meal early in the evening and delay breakfast until 9am. This gives me a nano fast every day where my digestive system can rest for 13-14 hours each night.

Why wait until something is life threatening before we optimise our health? So much money, stress, sadness and indeed lives can be saved if we take the simple step of eating for health over all other reasons. Good food tastes so much better too.

Prove it to yourself starting with this gut healing smoothie that is a great breakfast or an equally good desert!