Cleansing with Food

I will admit to being a bit of a rebel in the holistic healing world.

How to do a gentle cleanse

When a new client comes in, I do not automatically recommend an herbal cleanse or a fast. I prefer to use the first few appointments to work slowly and methodically with dietary changes and a few well-chosen supplements to begin to alter the chemistry of the body very gently. Cleansing is a labor-intensive activity. If a body is not well supported, then doing too stringent of a cleanse can cause a loss of vitality and can stress and further weaken the organs, producing results exactly opposite to what was being sought originally.

How to choose which foods to use in a cleanse

In working with foods as cleansing agents, it is important to take into consideration not only the condition of the body (including stressed, weakened, or malfunctioning organs), but also the season, the weather, and the climate. Indeed, the season, weather, and climate should all be considerations in our everyday choices of foods.

I live in the foothills of the Canadian Rockies. We usually say, with our tongues planted firmly in our cheeks, that we have nine months of winter and three months of bad sledding. While this is an exaggeration, it does help to define the climate differences that exist.

Many books about cleansing are written in California, Florida, or Hawaii. Those climates produce fruits and vegetables that are very different from what we grow here and may be different from what grows in your climate, too. Any fruits and vegetables that are produced both there and here usually come at different times of the year.

As you study this article, you will need to think critically about what grows in your climate and when it grows in your climate. Your daily diet and cleansing programs should use foods that are in their proper season of harvest and/or proper storage life where you live.

Seasonal cleansing

The earliest springtime fruits and vegetables in your climate will usually be cleansing in nature. Vegetables that are harvested in the heat of the summer are usually cooling. Autumn-harvested vegetables will begin the winter building process, and vegetables that store well in a root cellar are the builders and heat generators. By using vegetables in their natural season and their proper climate, we will reap the benefits of a natural cycle of building and cleansing.

Think about the following list of fruits and vegetables. Do they grow in your climate? If they do, you can usually consider them a helpful food in their natural harvest season. If they don’t grow in your region, you may be able to use them for a short period of time as a part of a food fast/cleanse, but they should not become a regular part of your diet.

In a food fast/cleanse,  you should be careful to choose foods that are healthful. Consuming primarily low-starch vegetables for one to two weeks (focusing on climate-based cleansing vegetables) is a fabulous way to rest the digestive tract somewhat, cleanse tissues, and lay a foundation for building and strengthening the body.

If fruits are used they should not be eaten with the vegetables, and should be climate-based. Whether the vegetables and fruits are cooked or not will depend on the weather and the strength of the digestive tract. Always cook (steam) the vegetables or fruits in cool or cold weather or if the gastro-intestinal tract is compromised in any way.

Using raw foods or juices

In hot weather and with a strong gastro-intestinal tract the vegetables and fruits may be eaten raw if desired. Fermented vegetables are even better than raw. I also believe, as the result of my work with clients, that food fasts/cleanses should be done with whole foods and not with juices. Whole foods have a balance that is destroyed when juicing occurs. Vital fibre and nutrients are discarded.

Juices may be more beneficial for severely weakened people, but dosage and choice of juice must be carefully monitored.

Using Dr. Bernard Jensen’s writings as a guide, let’s look at several foods that have cleansing properties. Again, as you study this list, ask yourself if this food grows in your climate. Foods that do not grow in your climate may be used for short periods of time to aid in cleansing, but it is my opinion that the best cleansing protocol uses foods from the client’s climate.

Fermenting vegetables to use in a cleanse provides intestinal flora, also known as probiotics, which are very beneficial to the gut, digestion, and immune system. During a cleanse it is often wise to include ¼ - ½ c of raw fermented vegetables at every meal. There are many resources online that can teach you how to ferment vegetables.