OK, these are some of the comments and questions that have been coming up as we get ready to dive in to the detox.

1. You don't have to do a 3 day detox. It's a long time if you have lots of busy stuff to do - detoxing requires you to slow down and take care of yourself. It's great to do 3 days if you can arrange to be mostly at home, without a lot of stress. If your weekend isn't going to be like that, consider a full 24 hour period.

2. A mono diet is generally going to be fruit OR vegetables OR grains/ potatoes, because these things are going to be the healthiest and easiest to digest. Technically, protein could make a mono diet, because the digestive system has an easier time with just 1 thing going in, but 24 hours of eating bacon - although tempting - would probably not make me feel cleaner or cooler. Meats and Diary are hard to digest and aren't ideal for cleansing, and because we are meant to consume a much greater proportion of plants than animal proteins, I think the digestive system might just as easily back up. Seeds and nuts don't digest well either, often because we pour them in without chewing. Just the other day a friend was telling me about the hydro-therapy for colon cleansing, where you can see it all passing by in a glass tube, and seeds is one of the things you see. Raw fruits and vegetables break down quickly and thoroughly in the system.

Most detox books recommend completely raw fruits and vegetables, and here are some of the recommended foods in each category:

Fruits: apples, grapes, pears, papaya, mango, peaches. Avoid acidic citrus fruits and bananas, which form mucus, and avoid dried fruit unless it is only fruit - no sulfur dioxide.

Vegetables: pretty much anything but avoid the nightshades: tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, and also corn, soy.

Cooked Foods: brown rice, millet, potatoes, buckwheat

3. You don't have to do a complete mono diet. Here are 3 sample plans that will make you feel pretty good even after 24 hours. After that I'll tell you my plans. They are pretty tame.

• Pure Mono Diet: On day 1, eat nothing but grapes, water with lemon, and herbal tea, and clear fruit juices mixed with water. On day 2, eat nothing but apples, water with lemon, herbal tea and clear fruit juices mixed with water. On day 3, choose 1 of those again, or a third fruit from the list above. You could also do the same food 3 days in a row.
• Simpler Mono Diet: Eat a mix of raw fruits (or vegetables) through each day. You can eat one piece at a time, and wait until you feel hungry before eating another piece, or you can chop them up into salads and eat them together. Choose organic food whenever possible, wash each piece carefully, and chew slowly and thoroughly. Add lots of water with lemon, herbal teas, and diluted fruit juices.
• Mixed Fruits & Vegetables Diet: For breakfast, fruit. For lunch, a big chopped vegetable salad. For dinner, another chopped vegetable salad, and a cup of chopped fruit. No salad dressing - use lemon and dried or fresh herbs. So Sally, this is pretty close to your daily routine - maybe it's your thing.

As for me, I don't really like suffering, so I'm calculating ways to make sure I survive.

I'm going to have my coffee tomorrow, and fruit for breakfast, as usual. I'm having a Leaning Pear salad with goat cheese and pears and candied walnuts and grilled chicken for lunch, and then I'm on fruit only until Saturday evening. We are going to a big event at the local community center that night. Dinner, casino, and silent chair auction, to raise money for Arts from the Heart - a charity that creates art programs for kids in our community, since they don't really do that at school anymore. It's a pasta dinner, but I hope to find some kind of tossed green salad, and if not, I'll have fruit in a cooler in the car, and I will always have a big bag of GOJI BERRIES in my purse - they have a very high protein content for fruit - munching on those throughout the day and evening should keep me going.

For the last 24 hours, I may do all fruit, or dinner may be a big tossed salad or grilled local squash and sweet potato. If I have a salad, there will be tomatoes in it.

I am also going to cook my fruit some of the time. I bought a pineapple, a giant peach, a Barlett Pear and a Jicima to go on the grill tomorrow evening, so I can enjoy a cooked, but still cooling meal. Ron will have a piece of grilled fish and some wild rice with his fruit.

I'm going to blend fruit into smoothies, and pour it into popsicle molds too. I eat about 4 popsicles a day right now, and I'm not going to stop doing that - so I'm making sure to have 100% blended and frozen. I'm going to eat any kind of fruit that strikes my fancy, and if I start craving something salty, I'll slice up a big green apple and dip it into this funky lemon flavored salt I bought at a Fancy Salt & Spice Store in Portland last year.

On Monday at noon, I will probably be back at the Leaning Pear for the exact same lunch, or Kate's Place for a burger and a rootbeer float if I'm feeling absolutely wild. I'm pretty sure there will be a mocha frappacino in the afternoon too.

I'm feeling pretty good right now. Haven't had chocolate for 3 days, except that morning mocha. I ate fruit most of the day - added a couple of slices of ham for lunch, and for supper Ron's famous GORP - an avocado, cottage cheese, tomato, onion, jalapeno smash-up dipped in strips of organic whole wheat tortillas. Yum.

Daily popsicle count: only 2. Not bad. I might have to try to pack a few in befo

Last day before the cleanse and I pulled out the supplement stash to look for the detox herbs. It's not a bad idea to add a detox tea or a few supplements if you like them. I'm iffy on supplements. In the brilliant book "Food Rules" by Michael Pollan, rule 40 states:

"Be the kind of person who takes supplements - then skip the supplements.
We know that people who take supplements are generally healthier than the rest of us, and we also know that in controlled studies most of the supplements they take don't appear to be effective. How can this be? Supplement takers are healthy for reasons that have nothing to do with the pills. They're typically more health conscious, better educated, and more affluent. They're also more likely to exercise and eat whole grains. So to the extent you can, be the kind of person who would take supplements, and then save your money."

Then he adds:

"(There are exceptions to this rule, for people who have a specific nutrient deficiency or are older than 50. As we age, our need for antioxidants increases while our body's ability to absorb them from the diet declines. And if you don't eat much fish, it couldn't hurt to take a fish oil supplement too..)"

This mirrors my experience. I've bought a lot of supplements, but I'm very unfaithful about taking them, because on a regular schedule, I don't really find they make much difference. Yet, when I'm feeling run down, or I'm teaching a lot, taking a handful of pills for a few days does seem to perk me up again, especially a plant based iron supplement like Floradix, plus the B vitamins, D, and the fish oil supplements. Although when I am pill popping, I generally add a mix of whatever is in the cupboard at the time. Right now I've got a collection of Chinese herbs to boost my cooling yin energy, several different things for balancing hormones in menopause, a few that are supposed to keep my skin looking younger, and a large collection of things to protect us from cedar fever that I bought during an episode of cedar-fever paranoia 2 seasons ago, includ a couple of detoxing / immune boosting herbs: burdock root and dandelion.

Because they are there, I'll take them through the weekend, starting today, and ending on Monday. 5 days oughta do it.

If you are interested in adding an additional boost to your weekend detox, maybe to target one part of the body that gives you a hard time, here are a few of the major players in the detox world:

MILK THISTLE (liver),
DANDELION (gall bladder and kidneys),
PSYLLIUM SEEDS (intestines),
BURDOCK ROOT (antiviral),
STEAMED NETTLES,
GARLIC (bacteria)
CASCARA SAGRADA (colon).


Party on.

Confession. I brush.
When there is something stuck in my teeth, I floss.
When I feel guilty about not flossing, I floss. Sometimes.
Four days before I go to the dentist, combined with feeling guilty about not flossing, I floss. A lot.
And when I cleanse, I floss.
Sorry, Dr. Dentist, but there it is.

During a cleanse, lots of toxins and bacteria will be coming into the mouth, onto the tongue, and into any little hiding places they can find. You can get bad breath from toxins building up on that filmy white layer that grows on the tongue overnight. So in addition to brushing your teeth regularly and flossing, add a tongue scraper to your shopping list. They are just a couple of dollars, it's a little plastic or metal loop that you can scrape across your tongue - from back to front, along both sides and the middle, several times - and then give the scraper, and your mouth, a quick rinse. Lots of people brush their tongues with their toothbrushes, but the bacteria can stay alive in them, so change your toothbrush often, or scrape.

Then there's oil pulling. Oil pulling is said to pull toxins out of the entire body through the mouth, and according to the big percentage of web sites that advocate for pulling, they claim it can cure almost every disease. There seems to be an equal number of websites out there saying it's a hoax, so I put it here, in the mouth cleaning section, because the one thing most sources agree on, and I know from experience, is that it does make your teeth noticeably cleaner, whiter, and brighter. I first heard about it from my sister-in-law, but when I did some research on it, there are some sources who say it is an ancient Ayurvedic practice, so maybe it's a yoga technique, maybe not. I tested it for 30 days last year and didn't feel healthier, but as a detox tool, I thought it was interesting enough to try again this week.

The first time, the oil was very different in my mouth for 3 or 4 days. Don't expect to love this right away, by the way, if you try it. First thing in the morning, you swallow a tablespoon or two of oil and swish it around in your mouth for 20 minutes, then spit it out, rinse, brush, floss, and scrape. Drink lots of water.

With lemon.

When I spit out the oil the first few days, it was colored, and had a slightly rancid taste. After a few days, it became a white foam, tasted clean, and stayed that way. That made me feel pretty clean, and so a week or two of pulling every once in a while might be a very good thing. The mouth is a dark, damp cave - there's all kinds of stuff hanging out in there. It seems reasonable that oil could pull out different things than the more abrasive toothpaste - just like household cleaners.

So grab an oil - safflower or sunflower are generally recommended; coconut oil is nice, too. Nut oils are on the super food lists now; I'm not sure the nutritional value of pulling, but they taste good! I used almond oil for my 30 day experiment, and this time, I'm using a locally made pecan oil from the Wimberley Valley Nut Company. I'm kind of a nut for shopping local, and what's not to like about pecan oil? It can stay in the fridge and not thicken, so it's a little bit cooling in this heat.

As we start the week into the cleanse, pay a little extra attention to mouth care, and if you feel like walking on the wilder side - grab a bottle of nice oil, and swish.

I did not give up anything yesterday. And today is not off to a good start. Last night we went to Duchman Winery for a silent auction, art sale, and wine tasting, to raise funds for the high school band. The event was 7 - 10, and I was enjoying a "summer Friday" afternoon away from the studio, so Ron and I and our friends and neighbors Marc and Megan, met next door at the Trattoria Lisina for an early dinner.

So, yummy, delicious wood fired fantabulous pizza with arugula and prosciutto and a platter of antipasti aren't the worst things I could do, pizza = bread. Antipasti  = processed, but OMG so delicious sliced Italian meats. At the winery, several of our other local restaurants offered various delicious yummies, and I ate half a brownie from the island of chocolate. Pretty good, pretty good, but still white sugar and flour.

But the wine. I love the taste of red wine, but my body does not enjoy the sugar rush/crash of alcohol the way it does chocolate. I'm a lightweight with booze. A glass and a half is manageable. After that, I'm too buzzy to be happy. Everything seems noisier and more chaotic and I can't get my mind still. It worries at things. So generally, alcohol is the first thing to go when I'm cleaning up the body, and the easiest.

But 4 hours of free flowing wine and salty snacks is a long time to not finish off that second glass, and find your way to a third one. I'm pretty sure I stopped there, because I wasn't drunk, but this morning I've got the parched mouth and the queasy belly, and energy a little bit too jangly in my body, the light a tiny bit bright.

Aah, the bright side. as young Melanie said in her second class at Black Swan Yoga: "Maybe it's good to party Saturday night, so that you have some good toxins to squeeze out the next day."

This morning, with no obvious hangover remedy food at home, I've fled to town sipping for an icy cold mocha, in total agreement with Mel.

So, it's a week before our cleanse and time to start weaning ourselves off the things that are keeping us sluggish and over-heating. Yesterday Maya and I were both whimpering about the coffee, so that will be the thing I'll give up on Monday. It's just a week.And it's for our own good. Drastic detoxing can cause headaches and fatigue and nasty stuff in the bathroom. We're supposed to be cool about this one, so weaning off our junk over a couple of days, although it does stretch out the yearning, makes the total experience easier. So pick a few things today, a few things tomorrow, and a few more on Monday, Tuesday at the latest, until all of the following are off the table:

Caffeine, Soda*, Booze
~ Replace with water + lemon**, herbal and fruit unsweetened tea + lemon

* If you give this one thing up, you will be significantly healthier. Say goodbye, never look back.

** Lemon is a natural cleanser for the liver, one of our major garbage dump areas in the body. Squeeze lemon in and on everything you can think of: water, tea, fruit, salad, vegeys, tuna, etc. Lots and lots of lemon.)

Processed Food
If it comes in a package and has any other thing in it besides 100% FOOD, wean yourself off it. Even things you think are healthy: most dried fruit has sulfur dioxide in it. By the time you begin the full detox process next weekend, you should be on a 100% food diet. FYI: As Michael Pollan says, if you can get it from the window of your car, it's not food. ~ Replace with food. Fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and meat / fish / chicken / eggs / dairy if you eat it. Preferably organic, and as fresh from the earth as possible. Shop local!

White Sugar & Flour
Bread, pasta, cookies, chocolate, popsicles and ice cream.... sigh.

Those are the big ones. From Tuesday - Friday we'll work closer and closer to the mono-diet, and wean you off some of the food that doesn't go as well with a detox. In the mean time, say goodbye to these addictions for the next 10 days and see how great you feel.

I don't do dry-skin brushing regularly, because I kid myself that it takes a long time, but it really only takes 4-5 minutes to mindfully and gently "brush" your skin before you shower, and the rewards are immediate and lasting. Your skin is your largest elimination organ - about 10 - 15% of your "stuff" gets processed there. Great for the lymph, the softness of your skin, and the brightness of your complexion. At cleansing time, dry skin brushing is a must for me, and I began that practice yesterday evening, sitting out on the front porch at sunset, when it was finally ok to be outside. Technically, morning is better, but evening is when it's possible for me.

The method is very simple. I start with a natural fiber wash cloth (glove or brush will do too) and after 2 - 3 days graduate to the rougher loofah. Start on the bottom of the feet and then brush upwards toward the heart - 7 long, smooth strokes over each patch of skin, from foot to foot, calf to calf, thigh to thigh, and then gently over the hips, buttocks and sides. On the belly, smooth big circles in a clockwise direction, and very gently around the breasts - always toward the heart.

When you finish the lower body, start at the face (very gently, maybe switch to an even softer cloth) and head and work down toward the heart, in long smooth strokes from the back of the neck to the front, sides of the face to the throat, and all around the front of the chest and upper back - have someone help you for even more good clean fun. Stroke the arms from fingers to shoulder, even lift your arm up overhead to do it.

Then sit for a minute, breathe slowly and deeply, and feel the tingling of the skin before you shower.

Last night, after my shower, I scooped up a hand full of coconut oil and started spreading it over my arms, and what they felt was cool. Tingling, delicious, clean, vibrant coooooool. And so far today, they still do.

Give this a try in the morning, and every day in the week leading up to our cleanse, and you will definitely notice a difference!

These loofahs were grown by my neighbor, the rough washcloth above comes from the Climb On! store on the square, and the oil is Wimberley Valley Nut Company's Pecan Oil. This is what I'll be using to pull the toxins out through the mouth and the skin.

I tend not to go in for dramatic detoxes. I do yoga all day long and eat mostly local food, use non-toxic products. I also love mocha in the morning, chocolate in the evening, frozen fruit pops in the afternoon. Not to mention the iphone attached to my hip. So an occasional tip toe into the deprivation tank isn't a bad idea, and in this heat, now seems as good a time as any to cool the belly and refresh the body. Here are the things I'm using to prepare and enhance the cleansing products - mostly ancient yoga techniques that are easy and fun.
I'll write about each of these topics....

Oil pulling
Dry skin brushing
Cleaning the mouth, nose and eyes
Pranayama (breathing techniques)
Yoga for detox, digestion and toning the belly
Choosing your detox food plan
The best foods to add
The "temporary withdrawals"
... etc.

6:04 am. Day 1: Prep Week for me is beginning, or reinforcing, the practices that make cleansing easier: more water, more tea, more fruit, and a little bit more structure. I like to focus on all the things I ADD to be healthier before I tackle the stuff I have to take away. That’s tomorrow. Today, instead of munching on dried apricots while I wait for the coffee shop to open, I’m making a smoothie with orange and pineapple and mango and the juice of a whole fresh lemon.

I don’t normally go for full-on organized detoxes and cleanses, but this year, I’m a little desperate. It’s August 10th, so you might think - suck it up, summer is almost over - but here in Texas Hill Country, in the middle of a drought and one of the hottest, driest summers EVER, we’re really only half-way through the hot season. It could be October before we get a break, and I’m already feeling worn out, dazed and confused.

So I was at the farmer’s market smelling the cantaloupe and heard a farmer tell a customer that the watermelons are going to be sweet perfection this summer because they LOVE the drought, and I thought, “I could eat a ton of watermelon right now. Maybe I should do a fruit detox…”

And here we are.

On August 19, right after lunch, I’ll go for a simple MONO-DIET - (1 food or food group only) until lunchtime on Monday, August 22.

I’m choosing fruit because all I want right now is crisp, juicy, cool and delicious. If you have concerns about all the natural sugar in fruit, you can choose vegeys or something like brown rice, which is great for the giving the digestive system a good break. But I want FRUIT! Fruit popsicles, fruit smoothies, big chunks of crunchy watermelon, grilled peaches and pineapple. Fresh, perfect, delicious, delightful, delectable FRUIT.

Wanna clean out and cool off with me?