Key EOTU Food Principles & Influence
INTRODUCTION TO CLEANSES AND DETOXES
Every culture around the globe has traditionally had times of the year that are reserved for mindful or spiritual abstinence. Prior to these cultural traditions developing, early agricultural societies would have had regular periods when many foods weren’t available. As hunter-gatherers we also would have had regular enforced periods of fasting and deprivation, which our bodies are very well adapted to cope with. We may have forgotten this in the Western world but we are naturally attuned to survive well for a period of time with little or no food. The benefit of fasting is that the body is allowed to clear out and clean the digestive system and if this is done well, the result is a renewed sense of wellness. There is growing scientific evidence that regular cleanses and fasting are highly beneficial for longevity and general health. Psychologically a time of abstinence also offers us the opportunity to explore where we may have addictions or use food and beverages as a way of covering dissatisfaction in different areas of life.
- Pleasure…celebration of life – mindfulness of experience
- Wholefoods principles – Nutrient density & bio-availability
Our approach with food here at EOTU is to combine the traditional wisdom of the wholefoods philosophy with influence from ancient healing methodologies whilst always being mindful of modern scientific research and understanding. Our advice will always be that you need to connect via your feeling senses, to that which you truly nourishes you. But if you have any specific goals you wish to achieve through the season be they weight loss or cleansing that you seek advice from a health practitioner of your choosing.
General Overview for the Season
Spring is the beginning of a new energetic cycle. This is the time of letting go the more internal and sluggish states of Winter both physically and emotionally, allowing fresh growth and inspiration. During this season as with all times of the year it’s important to be mindful of what your body craves and desires for sustenance. Spring is the time when we naturally tend to eat less or even fast and cleanse the body after the heavier and often more fatty foods of Winter. In looking towards Eastern cultures this season is focused on supporting and clearing the ‘Wood Element’ and the organs of the Liver and Gall Bladder and again the best way to do this is to undergo a period of simple eating or cleansing.
Foods of the season
Our diet through this season should be amongst the lightest of the year, including pungent and sweet flavors, which supports and reflects the upward energy of Spring that surrounds us. Fresh young vegetables such as carrots, beetroots along with fresh greens, sprouts and sprouted seeds and grains provide beautiful yet light nourishment. You can include lots of raw and lightly cooked foods, while limiting how many heavy, salty and fatty foods you eat. To support the Liver & Gallbladder it’s best to eat moderately, avoiding late meals. Pungent foods and spices such as members of the onion family, mustard greens, turmeric, horseradish and rosemary are effective at stimulating the liver while sweet foods such as the young carrots, beets, grains along with natural sugars can harmonise the natural yang energy of Spring. Bitter and sour foods such as apple cider vinegar, lemon & grapefruit, radish, quinoa, dandelion and chamomile are excellent for reducing Liver excess. To help with the detoxification process chlorophyll rich leafy greens are ideal.
Cleanse routines
Every culture around the globe traditionally has times of the year that are reserved for mindful or spiritual abstinence. Prior to these cultural traditions developing early agricultural societies would have had regular periods when many foods weren’t available. As hunter gatherers also we would have had environmentally enforced periods of fasting and deprivation. We are naturally attuned to being able to survive for quite a long time without food. The benefits of fasting are that they allow the body to spend its energy on clearing and cleaning the system. There is growing modern scientific evidence that regular cleanses and fasting is highly beneficial for longevity and general well being. If you are considering undertaking any fast or cleanse further, than the simple routines that we outline below do this having visited a holistic doctor or practitioner as mentioned before. It’s essential that if you are going to approach a cleanse or fast that this is done mindfully of what your bodies actually need.
Simple seasonal cleanse – Week 1
Start this week by slowly eliminating some daily foods that bring extra load and interfere with healthy function of the gut, liver and gallbladder.
- Start by assessing your diet by looking at your intake of refined carbohydrates (e.g. cakes, white sugar, breads, cookies, chocolates, sweets, pasta etc.), and stimulants such as caffeine (coffee, black tea, black tea chai) and alcohol.
- Aim for organic or well sourced produce along with grass fed meats.
- Reduce, avoid or ideally cut out these foods completely. Depending on the amount of consumption of caffeine you might decide to slowly reduce the intake of coffee and black tea. If you are addicted to coffee allow yourself a little green tea to avoid madness!.
- Cutting out these foods and stimulants might temporarily make you feel tired, grumpy, or lacking focus. To help you can replace these foods with alternatives such as activated raw nuts, fruit and fiber rich foods such as buckwheat, brown rice, wholegrains and seeds. These foods give you the sense of being satisfied and support your nervous system, while helping to stabilize your blood sugars.
- Fibre is also important for healthy intestinal bacteria and helps to transport toxins out of your body. Therefore consume a diet rich in vegetables, legumes, nuts, seed, grains (uncontaminated soaked oats), and fruits.
- Eat unprocessed high integrity wholefoods with a local seasonal focus. Lots of green leafy vegetables and seasonal fruits as desired but especially brassicas such as kale, broccoli, cabbage.
- Drink filtered water to support energy, flush out toxins, and stay hydrated. Aim for at least 2 liters of water a day.
- Try to avoid adding any extra toxic load by using glass water bottles and glass or ceramic containers. Avoid microwaving especially in plastic containers and drinking hot drinks out of plastic or Styrofoam cups, instead use a “keep cup”!
- Use good quality skin products that are aluminum and paraben free.
- Try to start by cutting out carbohydrates such as pasta, rice etc out of your dinner. Rather eat some protein, plenty of vegetables and some healthy fats such as avocado, olive oil, some raw nuts (except peanuts)
- Fill out the questionnaire to help get clarity on what you currently do to support proper detoxification of your body. (Link: https://forms.gle/vH8tJ8aHd8zGxeQu6)
- Daily Focus. Take time to eat mindfully. Notice what the body is asking for: If you are not hungry – skip a meal or eat relatively small amounts. When you do eat, be aware of how you feel afterwards…heavy, bright, happy or anxious.
- Plan a visit to a nutritionist, naturopath or Chinese Doctor to discuss supplemental and herbal support for a Spring seasonal cleanse. Jan is the owner and nutritionist of our in-house clinic Upāya Wellbeing in Rozelle. This is a good place to start https://upaya.com.auAt the end of this week see how you feel?!
Complete elimination – Week 2
This week further lays the foundation for week 3, which is the fasting or semi-fasting week.
- This week try to eliminate completely caffeine, sugar, alcohol and any other stimulants. Again a little green tea is acceptable! Focus on gradual elimination over a few days.
- Avoid hard to digest and fatty meats such as pork, lamb and beef. Replace for easy proteins such as chicken, fish, legumes and beans with maybe some tempeh(fermented tofu).
- Avoid fish at the top end of the food chain as they can be high in heavy metals.
- Avoid dairy products made from cow’s milk, including milk, yoghurt, cheese and ice-cream. Replace with home-made almond milk, coconut milk or goats milk.
- Try to remove gluten containing grains from your diet, including: Barley, Oats, Rye, Spelt, Triticale, Wheat.
- Only eat unrefined wholefoods and exclude white starchy foods such as potato and white rice. These can be replaced by more complex carbohydrates such as sweet potato, brown rice and legumes.
- Begin to explore Time Restricted Eating – This means eating between a 6 to 11 hour window, ideally after sunrise and before sunset.
- Again ensure you are drinking lots of good quality filtered water and herbal teas.
- Daily Focus is to stay mindful of how any of these changes in your diet make you feel emotionally and physically.
Fasting and semi-fasting – Week 3
After these initial two weeks of simple living you may like to consider semi-fasting or full-fasting.
- Again, full-fasting, which involves not consuming anything other than water (plus sometimes coconut water, fruit juice or broth) needs to be undertaken with advice and supervision. For us this is best done on retreat, in nature, when you can spend the time just to be and let go, so this may not be for you this time around.
- Semi-fasting is the easiest way to approach this while going about your daily business and it involves reducing how much you eat to 1-3 meals a day of quite simple foods. Focus on having very few starchy foods and have lots of green leafy vegetables, lots of good fats, which your body can transition to burn for energy rather than carbohydrates, supporting a ketogenic state. On a typical semi-fasting day I might consume the following:
- Green smoothies or coconut smoothie
- Chicken broth
- Simple salads and or steamed vegetables with good oils & fats + seasonings
- Kicharis Fasting is an ancient Ayurvedic cleansing technique that means you still have plenty of food in your belly…it’s a great way to start semi-fasting. Simply eat as much of it that you like but only eat kicharis…for about 3-5 days.
Slow Introduction – Week 4
This final week of the immersion is about slowly re-integrating into your regular routines.
- If you did fast or semi-fast in week 3 you definitely don’t want to slam back into a regular diet(depending of course on what this normally looks like!).
- Take it slowly and gently by reintroducing any of your more regular diet but particularly with meats, fats, dairy along with starchy foods, sugars and any stimulants.
- When reintroducing yourself to these foods pay particular attention to how they make you feel and adjust your lifestyle accordingly…you’ll be amazed by what can naturally change without much effort.
- Try eating smaller meals, giving your body time to adjust to a higher digestive load.
- Use some longer gaps in between meals to support digestion.
- Still aim to eat spring foods that are light and easy to digest.
- Support the gallbladder and liver with: Brassica, radish, artichoke, easy digestible fats and small amounts of saturated fats from organic (grass fed) beef, lamb or pork. A dressing with apple cider vinegar supports stomach acids and assists the gallbladder and liver.
- After a detox it might be tempting to bring alcohol back in! Just take it easy and maybe try to buy organic and preservative free red wine which is highest in polyphenols, powerful antioxidants…and let’s face it tastes pretty good.
- When it comes to reintroducing coffee consider drinking bullet proof coffee which is blended and contains grass fed butter and medium chain triglycerides from coconut oil. The added fats slow down the uptake of caffeine in the body. It gives satiety and provides longer energy. Egg of the Universe sells this as Butter Bullet. Limit, if possible, coffee intake to 1 a day
Tonics & Supplementation
Along with herbal support for your cleanse you may want to consider the following taking extra tonics and supplements to encourage the body to cleanse and repair.
- Ginger, turmeric, lemon brew in the morning & or our ginger turmeric shots from the cafe
- Aloe vera & Chlorophyll morning & night
- Probiotics
- Fish oils/flax oil
- A good multi-vitamin
- Daily green super food powder
Specific herbs and nutrients may be used to support detoxification pathways and enhance the body’s resistance to toxins.
- Known common deficiencies of Zinc, Selenium, Glutathione, Vitamin C, and protein can reduce liver detoxification and might need supplementation.
- Spirulina is known for its highly nutritive qualities and useful for heavy metal detoxification and may be useful alongside turmeric, zinc and coriander for this application.
- Cleaver is traditionally used to enhance the removal of wastes via the lymphatic system and kidneys, two of the key channels of elimination whilst potassium (citrate) may assist in reducing urine acidity, further supporting the urinary excretion of toxins.
- Glutamine is an important nutrient for the gastrointestinal mucosa, which is complimented by the actions of curcumin (from turmeric), liquorice and zinc.
Cleanse Program Detox Packs
You can use these packs for stand-alone detox days or multiple days in a row. You can also mix and match over a week or two and see what feels good for you.
Detox Pack No.1 – Tonics, Juice, Smoothies & Broth + Organic Greens
This is a predominantly liquids semi-fast. You will have the option to steam your organic greens in the broth provided to offer some optional additional sustenance at any time of the day. It’s also recommended that you drink lots of high quality filtered water. Set yourself up with quality organic nuts, seeds and tart green apples in case you need extra sustenance
Immunity Booster // Fresh ginger and turmeric extract, orange juice and cayenne pepper.
Cleansing Juice // 200ml celery and cucumber juice (organic & chemical free)
Clean Green Smoothie // avocado, spinach, cucumber, celery, diatomaceous earth, fresh lemon juice, a hint of maple syrup & organic coconut water
Acai Hemp Smoothie // banana, organic açai berry blend, camu camu, hemp seeds, fresh lemon juice & organic coconut water
Daily Allstar Smoothie // kale, spinach, cucumber, apple, lemon, mint, activated chia seeds, raw prebiotic greens powder & organic coconut water
Chicken Broth & Organic Greens or V/VG option Shitake Dashi & Organic Greens
Magic Bullet // Australian organic aloe vera juice, chlorophyll & citrus
Detox Pack No. 2 – Tonics, Smoothies, Yogi Miso Salad & Broth + Organic Greens
This option includes a simple seasonal salad along with the broth and greens and is recommended if you are new to cleanses or have a heavy work load.
It’s also recommended that you drink lots of high quality filtered water.
Set yourself up with quality organic nuts, seeds and tart green apples in case you need extra sustenance.
Immunity Booster // Fresh ginger and turmeric extract, orange juice and cayenne pepper.
Cleansing Juice // 200ml celery and cucumber juice (organic & chemical free)
Clean Green Smoothie // avocado, spinach, cucumber, celery, diatomaceous earth, fresh lemon juice, a hint of maple syrup & organic coconut water
Acai Hemp Smoothie // banana, organic açai berry blend, camu camu, hemp seeds, fresh lemon juice & organic coconut water
Yogi Miso Bowl // White Miso, Organic Brown Rice, Radish, snow pea shoots, shiitake mushroom, Kimchi, Cucumber, Wakame, Sesame, Edamame
Chicken Broth & Organic Greens or V/VG option Shitake Dashi & Organic Greens
Magic Bullet // Australian organic aloe vera juice, chlorophyll & citrus
Detox Pack No. 3 – Kitcharis Fast
Kitcharis is an Ayurvedic semi-fasting dish of brown rice, lentils, vegetables and simple spices. Traditionally given for many different digestive ailments the idea is you eat this dish for breakfast, lunch and dinner over a number of days. This is a great way to get many of the benefits of fasting while still being able to eat more substantial foods.
3 x 500ml jars of kitcharis to be reheated whenever you are hungry
ORDER YOUR CLEANSE PROGRAM DETOX PACKS HERE
Resources
Books:
Nourishing Traditions – Sally Fallon (Harry’s wholefoods bible)
The Yoga Of Eating – Charles Eisenstein (Book to find your way with food)
Detox & Diet Resources:
Harry Lancaster’s Ted Talk on Wholefoods
Additional Detox info by Jan ( https://upaya.com.au/detox-basics/)
Bloating e-book by Jan (https://upaya.com.au/e-book-guide-to-reduce-bloating/)
Immunity e-book by Jan (https://upaya.com.au/balancing-point-immunity/)
Zac Bush (podcaster and Instagram leader who is an amazing man)
Research fasting, semi-fasting
Intermittent fasting and Ketogenic diet can be used in a patient with type 2 diabetes who is normal weight. Glycaemic control can be achieved without resulting in significant weight loss. (2020, BMJ, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/342768114_Therapeutic_use_of_intermittent_fasting_and_ketogenic_diet_as_an_alternative_treatment_for_type_2_diabetes_in_a_normal_weight_woman_A_14-month_case_study)
Fasting, semi-fasting and intermitted fasting can improve blood sugar balance and insulin sensitivity, reduced leptin(starvation hormone), and reduced inflammatory markers in healthy individuals as well as obese, diabetic adults (2015 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4516560/)
Intermittent fasting brings monocytes in a “sleeping state” reducing circulation of these highly inflammatory immune cells and in modern (processed) diets a large cause of tissue damage (2019, https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(19)30850-5 )
Long term effects of fasting and vegetarian diets in patients with auto-immunity Rheumatoid arthritis had reduced pain, and a reduction of Proteus mirabilis I(gram negative bacteria) implicated in RA and Escherichia coli, implicated in RA, Coeliac Disease , Ulcerative Colitis (Hechtman, 2019
Prospective observational trial of 697 subjects concluded that periodic fasting with weight reduction leads to significant rapid improvement of liver function (2019, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6893587/)
Food suppliers:
Orange Grove farmers markets on every Saturday
We will be offering organic and chemical free veg boxes available for pick up from Egg Rozelle – stay tuned.
Our local sustainable, ethical butcher (used to be Mr. Baille but new owners are following the same quality principles) www.emilios.com.au