HEALTH WISE
(04/10/2009) By Valerie Greguire,
Certified Herbalist, Natural Health Consultant

Spring Cleansing to Trigger Weight Loss…

Weight loss is an area of concern that most of us ponder at one point or another in our lives. For most of us, it is an ongoing struggle with a mound of information that sends our heads spinning to decipher it all. When I start on the path towards weight loss the first area of concern that I like to focus on is cleansing. We live in a country of excess fats, sugars, chemicals, and hormones. These excess foods and chemicals overload the body, and give it very little if any nutritional value. Your body has four channels of elimination the Lungs, Kidneys, Colon, and Skin. The typical American diet eaten over a period of years is going to create a lot of waste products and contain a lot of chemicals that the body simply isn’t designed to handle. Eventually one or more of the channels of elimination will become overloaded and can no longer do its job. Example: an overloaded colon = constipation. When the body is unable to properly eliminate toxins it has no choice but to store them. The body needs to get them out of the bloodstream where they can poison your cells. These toxins are sent to fat cells to be stored until the body can deal with them. In order for the body to break down stored fat, the body must be able to deal with the load of toxins stored in the fat cells. When people are on a weight loss program and then hit a plateau where they can’t seem to lose any more, this is often because the body in unable to deal with the toxins stored in the fat tissues. This is the time to focus on cleansing the body and restoring proper function to the eliminative channels.

Your body is always talking to you, trying to get your attention, and point you in the right direction. We need to pay attention to the language of the body. When the need for cleansing arises the body produces many symptoms to alert you. Here is a list of common symptoms exhibited by the body when the liver is overloaded and in need of cleansing. Symptoms of liver stress: “Flu-like” symptoms, nausea, diarrhea, stiff & aching muscles, cold hands and feet, headaches, gallbladder attacks, tenderness or swelling under the right rib cage, dizziness, puffy eyelids , skin eruptions, difficulty falling asleep (late night energy) followed by difficulty waking in the morning. Creating the Cleanse… As you prepare to cleanse your body you need to evaluate your diet and lifestyle and look for areas that you can clean up or improve. Drink plenty of clean filtered water, eat simple natural foods, avoid heavily processed foods, white sugar and white flour products, cut back drastically on caffeine beverages and eliminate soda pop. I find that most people who are not accustomed to eating naturally have problems suddenly changing their diet to something healthier. Many of us have such a busy schedule; it’s hard to think about making new and special foods. In these cases, I recommend you use a natural meal replacement shake for one or two meals each day. Make sure to get them at your health food store to ensure good quality. I like the one called Nutri-Burn from Nature’s Sunshine as it is targeted towards weight loss as well. I like to add a ½ cup of fruit to make a delicious healthy shake. Another important ingredient that I add to my weight loss shake is a product called Ultimate GreenZone. We all know we need more green foods, fiber, and whole grains in the diet. This is even more important during cleansing. The green foods provide lots of antioxidants and help alkalize the body which allows toxins and fat to be released from the body easier. Ultimate GreenZone contains protein-rich grains such as quinoa, amaranth seeds, brown rice and millet, as well as the nutritious blue-green algae called spirulina. It contains flax hull lignans as well as the ancient Aztec seed chia (Salvia hispanica) which provides unsaturated omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. GreenZone also contains nutrient-rich greens such as kale, broccoli, alfalfa, chlorophyll, artichoke, asparagus, parsley, spinach and chlorella—plus carrots, beets, acerola fruit, lemon bioflavonoids to provide lots of antioxidants and foods which alkalize the body. Each serving also provides 1 gram of a prebiotic fiber blend (scFOS) that helps feed the body’s friendly bacteria, plus enzymes to support digestion. A healthy digestive tract is very important for cleansing and weight loss. I add 1 tablespoon of the Ultimate Greenzone to my Nutri-Burn shake to optimize the effects of cleansing.

For the herbal part of the cleanse, we need to add a formula that contains bitter herbs. Bitter herbs take their name from the way they taste; they contain phenols, alkaloids, and saponins; which are the part of the plant responsible for its ability to clean things. Bitter herbs stimulate digestion and activate the liver and gallbladder to release toxins.

There are a couple formulas which stimulate cleansing which I particularly like. One is called SF formula (Skinny formula) which was formulated to help assist in weight loss. SF contains herbs which help the body expel accumulated fluids and toxins by way of the kidneys, colon and liver. It contains black walnut hulls which are a good source of iodine to feed the thyroid. Fennel, papaya and safflowers are added to the formula to enhance digestion and decrease gas or bloating. The formula also contains herbs to relax muscle spasms so the colon can eliminate waste more efficiently and comfortably. This is a great formula to gently cleanse the body. I normally take three to four capsules twice daily, with a meal or my weight loss shake. For a more powerful cleanse for you seasoned cleansers, try the Dieter’s Cleanse along with your weight loss shakes. This is a 14 day cleanse which focuses on all the eliminative channels of the body. It contains herbs to help balance the glandular system as well as chromium to help curb the sweet tooth.

This spring start your weight loss program out right by cleansing the body, improving the diet and starting a regular exercise program.

For more specific information or to have your questions answered. Please visit Nature’s Remedy at 18 Monroe Street, Ellicottville NY or by calling 716.699.HERB (4372).

DISCLAIMER: The information contained in this publication is for educational purposes only. It is not intended to diagnose illness nor prescribe treatment. Rather, this material is designed to be used in cooperation with your nutritionally-oriented health professional to deal with your personal health problems.