Holistic Approach to Life/?? about Cleanses

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[down2earthspirit] Tuesday, June 07, 2005 8:14

AM [Raw Food] Wholistic Approach to Life/?? about Cleanses

 

OK first off, Elchanon you rock. I love your wholistic approach to health.

I enjoy the way you lay out your answers and how thorough they tend to be.

 

I am in the process of converting to as much raw as I can handle!! My

approach was to begin with the emotional/energetic healing to be able to

listen to what my body and spirit tell me about my own health. Then for a

few years I have been slowly weaning outl much of the processed foods.

Quite frankly, I just feel kind of sick and sometimes queezy when I used can

foods, greesy prepared foods and most packaged 'meals'. In the past year I

have been letting go of all sorts of animal proteins, being led to buy only

organic, hormone free when I feel I need the stuff. I backslide but I am

doing my best.

 

So my question is what is it about cleanses. I have seen some inferences to

them not being healthy or not needed on this list. Anyone have any

recommendations of where I can go online to read about it? I tried checking

the local libraries for all the recommended books on this list and

rawjourney and not ONE is in the local library system. I can't afford to

buy any at this time. So where can I look online or even within this list

to find out more?

_____

Greetings, , and many thanks for your kind words.

 

A number of recent posts address your curiosity about cleanses. Bob Farrell

is much more adept than am I at finding such things. Bob, would you be

willing?

 

, I'm on my way out of town, but I'll just share a few quick thoughts.

I understand and perceive the body as a self-monitoring, self-cleansing,

self-healing organism. That is, the body cleanses itself, this is Nature's

" divine design, " as I perceive it. From a more spiritual perspective, I

embrace loving gentleness over force in almost any circumstance.

 

First, let me say that I have indeed done several cleanses in the past.

During my last one, a colon cleanse, during the second week I felt so

clogged and " weighed down " that I finally decided to listen to my body and I

just threw the stuff in the trash. That was about 5 years ago.

 

For me, any cleanse is an act of force upon the body. When the body has the

energy and other resources it needs to release a given " toxin, " it does so,

but in ITS own priority order. When I use a cleanse, I attempt to force the

body to release something I don't even know is present, regardless of my

body's present energy and other resources, and in accordance with my

conscious mind's priorities.

 

The contrast between these two approaches, these two ways of thinking, seems

transparent and clear to me. I can either live in harmony with Nature's

design, or push against it. I choose the former at every opportunity of

which I am aware.

 

Using colon cleanses as an example of the use of force upon the body: All

colon cleanses of which I am aware contain primarily psyllium husk, as well

as dozens of other minor ingredients. (By " minor ingredients, " I refer only

to quantity, not toxicity.) Based upon my reading of ingredient lists in the

past, ALL of these ingredients are toxic to some degree. But for now, I'll

focus only on the psyllium husk.

 

If you put a spoonful of this material into a glass of water, the entire

mixture turns into a thick, gelatinous mixture within seconds. You can

barely move it with a spoon, i.e., even substantial forces barely moves this

stuff.

 

The digestive tube, in particular the small intestine, is long and

convoluted (changes direction back and forth many times), with an inside

diameter about the size of your pinky finger, give or take a bit. There is

no pump, nothing to force anything through, other than gravity, gentle

peristalsis, and your next meal.

 

When this material enters the small intestine, a major clog occurs. Your

body must draw MASSIVE quantities of water from throughout your system to

dilute this material sufficiently so that it moves forward.

 

And your body recognizes this gooey glob as foreign matter, so that the body

immediately begins the arduous process of removing the stuff at almost any

cost. You see, your body knows that if the digestive tube becomes clogged

completely, you will die. Quite often, the stuff comes out in big ugly

chunks, " ropelike " structures, any form in which your overtaxed body can

push it out. And it is easy enough to claim that your body has cleansed

itself of something significant -- for it has, indeed!!

 

Also, please note that many cleanses, particularly colon cleanses, ask that

the user reduce food intake over the course of the cleanse. This reduction

of food intake creates a state of RELATIVE rest in the system, which may

allow the body to engage in some true cleansing. However, it is the rest,

not the cleanse, that creates this benefit, and there are far more enjoyable

and less costly ways to rest!!!

 

Hope this is helpful.

Elchanan

 

PS I believe " holistic, " not " wholistic. " The term arise from physics, more

in an upcoming post.

 

 

 

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