Summer Iced Coffee Detox

A sure sign that we’re in the sweltering dog days of summer is that the trash cans, park benches and sidewalks are suddenly littered with the ubiquitous clear plastic cups, plastic lids and straws from iced coffees – whether they’re black, flavored, or milk and sugar-filled. Just because they’re slightly watered down with ice cubes doesn’t mean they’re any less harsh on our bodies than a steaming paper cup full. And people are drinking hot coffee even on the very hottest days as well!

But here’s the thing about coffee, not only do those cups fill up the landfills, but they put toxins in our body too. Coffee is incredibly dehydrating (which is not something we want when the temperatures soar), and it’s also acidic to the body, while severely taxing the detox organs (liver and kidneys).

When you “need” it to get going in the morning, feel foggy and are unable to function or communicate without your first cup, or experience the crash later on in the day when it wears off, you are already addicted and doing damage to your adrenals while leaching calcium from your bones and causing a general state of dependency and acidity in the body.

So let’s try something that will rehydrate our bodies, give us a great boost of energy to power through all the fun summer activities and expand our drink palates.  Why not start a coffee cleanse while summer is in full swing, the days are long and sultry, and you really don’t want to be drinking a hot beverage anyway?

Here’s how:

First, keep in mind that withdrawing from caffeine can be a bit of a shock to the body. You may experience a few days of headaches and irritability, but it’s so worth it and magnesium can help with the headaches. The substitutes below not only help rebalance the body, but they taste very similar to the coffee you’re used to (with the exception of the green juice and lemon water of course!). They’re soothing to wrap your hands around and can be shared with others during your morning coffee break!

Second, drink more water – pretty easy.  Try adding mint, lemon, cucumber slices, fresh berries, even a pinch of stevia. Or make your own herbal sun tea, and then keep a pitcher of it in the fridge for refreshing hydration breaks.

Third, here are some great energizing coffee substitutions that will definitely help you forget all about coffee’s hypnotic hold on you:

1. Remineralize and hydrate the body with 8 to 16 ounces of fresh green vegetable juice instead of your morning cup of joe, either made at home or from your local juice bar – just make sure it’s fresh pressed and not pasteurized. A good combination is a base of cucumber and celery with a generous amount of leafy greens (kale, parsley, chard, romaine, etc.) with a little apple or carrot for sweetness, and some ginger and lemon. This is super energizing, hydrating, cleansing and tastes delicious.

2. Another amazingly detoxifying and refreshing way to ease into your day is with a glass of warm or cold water (depending on the season) with fresh squeezed lemon juice and a pinch of stevia.  It’s a delicious lemonade, but it’s also a great way to get the peristalsis action going in the intestines to cleanse and start your day off right with proper elimination.

3. Another way to get a healthy jump start is by using cacao powder (raw chocolate) in some warm water or nut milk, adding some stevia to taste and a dash of cinnamon or mint extract for some flavor. You’ll have an incredibly rich chocolate drink that’s loaded with minerals and antioxidants but without the sugar and dairy typically found in processed chocolate and without the crash that comes with coffee.

4. A great tasting herbal coffee is Teccino, made from roasted nuts, fruit and grains, full of probiotics and a delicious earthy flavor that goes well with some stevia or nut milk or just plain. We also like roasted dandelion root made into grounds and used the same way as the Teccino in a French press or regular coffeemaker.

5. A cup of green tea or yerba mate is another very low caffeine way to start your morning, both are full of other health benefits and are delicious iced during these hot summer days.

This powdered Yerba Mate dissolves instantly into hot or cold water and you can get it with stevia or without:

6.  Saving the best for last, here’s a delicious and energizing superfood-filled “coffee granita” that will beat anything you find at any chain coffee spot:

- 1/2  cup non dairy milk (rice, almond, hemp, coconut)

- 2 tablespoons raw cacao or carob powder

- 1 tablespoon maca powder (this is incredibly energizing and has a wonderful rich flavor)

- 1 teaspoon lucuma powder (slightly sweet taste)

- 1 teaspoon mesquite powder (optional but highly recommended)

- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

- a pinch of stevia (powder) or a few drops of liquid to taste

- 1 cup ice

Blend all ingredients together until you have a coffee-like “slushie.” Pour into a tall glass, kick back and enjoy the rest of your summer – energized and addiction free!

For more information on how to optimize your health, see http://www.cleanprogram.com/.

Photo credit: EJP Photo

Big Nutrition for Small Bodies

Virginia Woolf said, “One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well,” and I couldn’t agree more. Especially when it comes to kids.

Fresh, whole, unprocessed, low-sugar fuel is like filling a vehicle with premium gasoline (or better yet, with sustainable butynol); it runs better, cleaner, faster, and lasts longer. Not that children are necessarily to be compared to cars, but it’s a commonly used metaphor in the food world to make sure we understand the importance of healthy food/fuel for all of us.

However, with kids, the stakes are higher. What we put into their tiny, growing bodies sets the groundwork for the future of the entire world. Their small hands hold our collective fate, so wouldn’t we want them to grow up clear-headed, calm, centered, strong and responsible? Wouldn’t we want them to be the best possible co-inhabitants of the earth, living in harmony within each ecosystem, and working energetically to ensure that there is a world for us to continue enjoying?

Anyone who has, works with or spends any amount of time around kids knows that the fuel described above (fresh, whole, unprocessed, etc.) is one of the cornerstones of happy, healthy little ones. Or do we? If we truly were aware of this, why would some of the population be washing down the packaged, processed, chemical-filled “foods” with caffeinated, sugar-filled drinks? Why are kids eating in a constant state of stress, melting down, hurrying from one activity to the next, in the car, or parked in front of the television and computer screens?

This isn’t just for those taking care of kids, either. It always has and it still very much does take a village to raise a child, and our villages have grown substantially in size.

So what can we do? We can all make it our number one priority to feed all kids everywhere the best food possible (which is most often right in our own backyards and does not require fancy equipment, skills or a lot of money), whether you’re a parent or not. If you buy organic, support your local farms (or become a CSA shareholder or buy from farmers’ markets); if you vote with small farms and the environment in mind; if you pay attention to food additives and chemicals and sign every petition going around to ban and further regulate them; if you avoid chemicals in your beauty and household products (therefore sending a clear message to corporations), you are helping feed our kids the right foods. Recently, two small towns in coastal Maine became the first in the country to achieve food sovereignty (deciding they had the right to go to their neighbors’ farms, look them in the eye and buy whatever amazing healthy foods they chose without the FDA telling them raw milk, butter, etc. was not allowed). Every single person who voted on that proposal did something huge for the health and well-being of our children.

As a consumer and taxpayer/voter, there are things you can do. Replace the dangerous, hormone-disrupting chemical bisphenol A (BPA) with safer alternatives in baby bottles, sippy cups, and other reusable food and beverage containers. We can work to replace herbicides at schools, public parks, even your own backyard, with non-toxic alternatives. We can actively recycle and ban BPA plastic items. Again, none of these things require you to be a parent, but if you care about the future of the world, I would hope you might care about laying the foundation for those who are very close to inheriting it.

You can create something like Crazy Sexy Life contributor and all-around wonder woman/mom Latham Thomas did, with Panela Productions, “a company designed to educate kids and families about healthy ethnic cuisine through hands-on cooking classes and cooking-themed parties.”

If you make food fun, kids will eat and love it, because what kid doesn’t want to always be having fun? Eating healthy, real foods never has to be boring, and kids shouldn’t feel like they’re being lectured or punished when they eat vegetables, whole grains or fruit instead of fast food, soda and candy bars.

You don’t have to have kids to be an incredible role model. In fact, many kids may respond better to seeing “cool adults” around them eat healthy foods, participate in growing food, talk about how rad composting is; in other words, the more adults they see around them “walking the walk,” the more into it they’ll be. When they see singers, actors and sports figures, not to mention a whole host of cartoon characters on TV, digging in the dirt, talking about composting with worms, munching on huge, colorful salads and promoting local farms, suddenly it seems pretty “cool.” The power of advertising may not be able to be stopped at this point, but we can certainly redirect the flow of it for the greater good!

Kids who eat well will think more clearly, grow up with greater compassion for each other and the world they live in, and have the strength and energy to literally change the world.

Photo credit: SunnySideUpStudio

Is Your House Ready for Guests?

My son — a very important guest to us — was born last month. For nine months, my wife and I had been asking ourselves: Will our house be clean and ready for his arrival?

Before this, I’ve been working at cleaning the planet (one person/body at a time) telling anyone who would listen that what is making everybody sick isn’t bad genes, bad luck or bad karma. It’s bad food and lots of toxins. And while this is all true for normal day-to-day life, there was suddenly added urgency because such a precious guest seemed to require some extra special cleaning.

These are some of the questions we asked in preparation of our son’s birth:

-What is clean nutrition during pregnancy?
-Should Mama take supplements; which ones?
-Are there any toxins in Mama’s body that need our attention and/or action; should either of us do a detox   program?
-Should we have sonograms?
-What cosmetics should Mama use to avoid toxic chemicals absorbed through the skin?
-Should we get induced if we are past the due date?
-Should we get an epidural?
-Where should the birth be, how and with whom?
-What clothes should we get him?
-What vaccines (if any) should he get?
-Should we breastfeed?

The list goes on and on. This is what we ended up doing:

Mama ate mostly from the Clean Program’s Elimination Diet: mostly vegetarian (99% organic, 60% in season, local and 50% raw), some free-range, organic chicken, occasional grass-fed red meat and no fish (to avoid mercury and parasites).

We decided on absolutely no full-blown cleansing while pregnant or breastfeeding to protect our son from exposure of re-circulating toxins, which is common when the body is detoxing. Mama may have had toxins in her system, but she had no symptoms and never really gets sick, so we decided not to test for anything.

We had only five sonograms during the whole pregnancy and did not “need” any more because everything was always perfect. Mama nagged me about turning the Wi-Fi off when not in use (I don’t know enough about those effects to disagree or give it that much importance).

She only used cosmetics without petrochemicals, preservatives, coloring agents or anything remotely processed. We filtered our kitchen, drinking and shower water to avoid chlorine and many other toxins commonly present in tap water today (medications, sediment, toilet paper particles, heavy metals).

We went one week past our due date, refusing any form of inducing intravenously, even a swipe. Instead, Mama had acupuncture a few times, exercised as much as her body said was okay, and we had lots of sex. Mama had one glass of wine during the lunch hours before labor started as our midwife said she could. We chose to have the birth in a midwifery room attached to a modern hospital with top neonatologists. The birth was natural, under water, without an epidural, but instead with Mama, Papa, midwife, and doula.

So far we have decided not to vaccinate him for at least one month and are only giving him vitamin K to avoid bleeding as he will be circumcised. (This is a tough decision and we are researching voraciously, so any tips are welcome!)

We are avoiding any clothing made of synthetic fibers and not using fire retardant mattresses, which may very possibly increase the chance of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Mama took prenatal vitamins, fish oils, probiotics, calcium, magnesium, selenium, lots of green juices, and yes, we are breastfeeding for at least nine months.

We welcomed our son into as clean a world as we could provide. Through this example of the arrival a very special guest (arguably the most special), you get an idea of how complex it is to be a good host in our modern world.

But, even if you weren’t expecting guests, wouldn’t you want to answer these questions for yourself?

4 Steps to Overcome Cravings

Feel like you absolutely need that piece of chocolate, pint of ice cream or huge plate of mashed potatoes to satisfy your craving? Rather than true hunger in a physical sense, cravings are more likely a sign of one of two things: an emotional hunger or possibly a deficiency in some key nutrients. Follow these four steps to restore balance.

Step 1: Eliminate the bad stuff
Get rid of sugar, caffeine and anything processed and/or refined. If you really struggle with mood swings and depression, eliminate gluten, dairy, red meat and alcohol. Do this at least until you feel the symptoms are under control, or you have healthy doses of serotonin being produced and maintained in the body.

In my opinion, sugar and caffeine are the main two culprits and cause the greatest amount of damage. You’d be doing yourself a huge favor by releasing them from your diet. Sugar can, indeed, make us momentarily uplifted because this refined molecule temporarily boosts blood sugar and actively alters brain chemistry. But like any drug, the depression after it wears off is far worse than the brief happiness it appeared to give us. And in the worst cases, we sometimes fall into a pattern of treating that mental rut with yet another hit of sugar to keep the happiness going.

This downward cycle of sugar dependence leads us to long-term obesity, diabetes and depression. Sugar also contributes to adrenal exhaustion, metabolism malfunction and overall poor health, which opens the door to a whole host of illness and disease.

While there are six definite tastes that we need for balance (salty, sweet, bitter, astringent, pungent and sour), the sweet taste is not abundant in whole and natural foods. We’re meant to have it in small amounts and seasonally. In the summer, the days are longer and we’re more active. We have more of a need for the bursts of energy that we get from berries, melons and other fruits. Maple syrup in the spring, and sweet vegetables, honey and apples in the colder months provide the sweet taste year-round.

Step 2: Add more good stuff
· Adaptogens: yerba mate, ashwaganda, ginseng, rhodiola, cordyceps mushrooms, etc. Adaptogens stabilize moods, ease stress and promote feelings of well-being. They also add an infusion of balanced and sustained energy without stimulation like caffeine. Herbs like St. John’s Wort help fight depression and can be taken with dandelion root and milk thistle to aid in liver detoxification and cleansing.
· Healthy fats that contain omega 3′s: nuts like almonds, pistachios, pecans, macadamia and walnuts; avocados, coconut and other cold-pressed oils; seeds like pumpkin, sunflower, sesame, hemp, chia and flax; olives as well as good quality fish oils.
· Green vegetable juices. These alkalize the body and help bring everything back into balance and release our cravings for sweet and processed foods.

Step 3: Bring in (or get back to)
· Living in the present moment.
· Removing complication: simplify, simplify, simplify every area of your life that you can. Move away from rampant multitasking and being plugged into a myriad of technological gadgets constantly. Take technology breaks and focus on one task at a time as much as you can. Eliminate clutter. Clean out your cupboards (which will probably lead to healthier eating as well) by throwing out or donating the packaged, canned and less than optimal things buried there.
· Moving out of the thinking mind and into the feeling heart.
· Meditating. Any amount of being still brings immeasurable benefits into our lives even if it’s five minutes when you’re waking up or falling asleep.
· Enjoying everyday moments. There are a million beautiful things that pass through our days. What are five of them that have happened today so far?
· Exercising, through yoga, dance, or whatever you prefer, to release endorphins. When we feel good about our bodies and are generally happier, we move more, so we become fitter and have more energy, so we move more. This creates a positive circle of cause and effect.

Step 4: Release and Be Empowered
During any cleanse it’s inevitable that not only will you clear out toxins and old sludgy buildup, but old emotions will most likely be released as well. For some, this is unexpected and a little unsettling, but the best way to handle it is to look at those emotions or feelings as they’re surfacing. Don’t delve in and live in the past, just let them go. They no longer affect you, after you realize that they brought you to the place you are now, and that it’s exactly where you’re supposed to be. They do not affect your future. How you act and think right now is the only thing that affects your future, and that’s not meant to make us anxious or stressed, but to excite and enliven us as every moment is truly a gift full of promise and a chance to create exactly the future you want!

Photo Credit: canadapost

5 Simple Tips for Your Spring Cleanse

As a doctor, some of the most powerful tools that I have found are detoxing and cleansing. By ‘detoxing’ I mean this: a program that will create optimal conditions for the recirculation of toxins that have been trapped in our body’s mucus, as well as support for the liver in its work of neutralizing and preparing those toxins to be eliminated via sweat, feces and urine.

Cleansing is a method of enhancing the elimination of these toxins, as well as the mucus, that the body has generated to defend itself from the irritation caused by toxin accumulation. Cleansing encourages and assists the channels of elimination, through skin, kidneys and intestines.

Quantum physicists have clearly shown that “The Universe is made of Light,” and light behaves both as a particle and a wave, depending on what instrument is used to measure it. Waves uplift, resonate with and attract each other. The stronger the wave, the more other waves will begin to imitate it.

All of these waves are ultimately interconnected with each other; our emotions and our bodies are waves within waves and are continuously affecting each other, and all of us in turn are subject to the effects caused by larger and more powerful ones. We can see these effects in the winter when it seems everyone is a bit more sad and struggling with depression, and the trees and plants mirror that empty and bare feeling as they lose their flowers and leaves.

However, with the arrival of spring, when nature seems to be having a seizure of awakening, everything explodes with waves of life, and all animals, plants and even our own bodies become influenced by this activity. Winter’s depression is swept away by joy and plants bursting with life. Whatever you can do to align yourself with this force will enable you to ride the wave to the other side of the cold and dark remnants of winter.

Here are 5 simple things you can do to enhance these cleansing and expanding waves, and the reasons behind them:

1) Give your digestive system a break. Digestion takes work and slows down other functions, the detox functions in particular. As digestion work eases, there is a point at which the body receives a signal to enter detox mode intensely and releases trapped toxins and mucus.

Be safe and choose your program intelligently. Stopping digestive work completely, as in a water fast, can be dangerous and even deadly. Jesus did it for 40 days, but he didn’t have the chemicals in his food, soil and water that we do now.

Juicing is an effective way to detox and cleanse, but still too intense for most Americans, especially if they are living in the city, working, taking care of children, and socializing. This schedule is too demanding to subsist on juice alone as it does not deliver the amount and variety of nutrients needed to safely and effectively complete this work. Toxin recirculation overwhelms the ability of our liver to detox effectively While juice provides many antioxidants, this is the half of the work of detoxing. People that cleanse regularly and have a clean diet the rest of the time do really well with juicing programs, but juicing fails for so many of my patients because it really needs to be done in the right way.

What I do, myself, is have a liquid breakfast, a solid meal and a liquid dinner. In my book, “CLEAN,” there are recipes enough to never repeat a meal in 3 weeks, providing plenty of nutritional support and variety.

2) Give your immune system a spring break. 80% of our immune system lives in our intestines, and because of the damage caused by modern toxicity, it is constantly in a state of alert and in attack mode. There is a list of foods that really stir things up for the immune system and create a damaged intestine. Dairy, sugar, coffee, and gluten are the obvious culprits, but there are fruits and vegetables that do the same, even if organic. The list of foods to avoid to calm allergies and even autoimmune waves is called “The Elimination Diet.” Following this food plan alone will enable a detox to happen seamlessly and powerfully.

3) Cleanse your kitchen. Nature knows what it is doing. Any time of year, animals all over the planet are eating whatever is in grown locally and in season, and we’d be wise to do the same. Go to the farmer’s market, learn what is in season, and eat whole foods when they’re fresh and abundant.

4) Drink lots of water. Filtered water is best. Not distilled, unless you know what you are doing. Water with lemon is great for cleansing, as lemon is nature’s magic cleaner. In the spring, the ice melts and the rivers run strong. Imitate spring in your body with fresh water flowing through it constantly. Be careful not to overhydrate and wash out your body’s natural minerals with distilled or less than optimal water. Still, if there is a time to drink lots of water, it is during a cleanse—and especially during the spring.

5) Spring has its distinct qualities but shares qualities with all seasons. Day and night happen regardless of season or weather. To sleep at sundown and wake up at sunrise is one sure way to sync with all of nature, the planets and beyond. When was the last time you did that?

These are simple and effective ways to cleanse your body and prepare for the warm weather and necessary expansion of the next season.

Wishing you all a Clean and healthy spring,
Dr. Junger and the Clean Team