Life After Detox

So, you have just been through detoxification program. The first few days were tough. Maybe you even had headaches and stomach pangs, but you stuck it out. Then your body began to adjust and you found yourself feeling more alert, more energetic and you probably lost some weight.

You felt really good about your ability to stay the course.  As you moved toward the end of the program, you not only recommended a detox to your friends and family, but you also grew confident that you could change what you eat, how you eat and how much you eat.

Then, life’s daily pressures and responsibilities began to interfere and you found yourself returning to the same old ways. You started consuming lots of the foods that harm – the processed simple carbohydrates and added sugars, the bad fats and excessive amounts of protein – without enjoying enough of the vegetables, fruits and whole grains that deliver the thousands of micronutrients that support human health.

Why Detox?

Detoxification proponents assert that a short-term, very restricted, very low calorie diet eliminates the toxins that build up in your system over time. Clear out the toxins, so the theory goes, and you will find that all your biologic systems function better. Unfortunately, the science supporting any long terms benefits of a detoxification is mixed, at best.

Other programs, however, view the detoxification as the bridge to a healthier lifestyle. People moving through a detoxification program may break their cravings for sugar and fats. Others find their taste for salt is altered and use significantly less salt for the same taste satisfaction.  A detox may also build a liking for high nutrient vegetables and fruits — raw, juiced or cooked.

Here is where the science is absolutely clear. Maintaining an eating style built on a whole, natural, plant-based nutrition foundation does improve long-term health and dramatically reduces your risk for most disease including type II diabetes, heart disease and even cancers.

The good news is that you and your health care providers can measure the improvements.  Get the right nutrition and your LDL (bad) cholesterol can drop by 30% or even more.  You can significantly lower your blood pressure and better regulate your blood sugars. Measures of inflammation, like C-reactive protein, also drop as you move to whole, natural plant-based nutrition eating. Moreover, it is far easier to maintain a healthier weight when you adopt this eating style.

All these factors are measured during routine physicals that include standard blood tests, and this one dietary “prescription” affects all these variables.  Only with a cocktail of potentially harmful medication could you hope to achieve improvements in all these areas.

Does this mean eating only raw vegetables and fruits? Hardly! Enjoying the foods we eat will forever be a natural part of the daily celebration of life. At Kardea, we start with this basic mantra:

Eat lots of a wide variety of vegetables, fruits and grains, as close to nature as possible; enjoy whatever others foods you like, just not too much (and if it is highly processed, eat even less).

Use this mantra to navigate your journey, whether you start as a meat-and-potatoes omnivore, macaroni-and –cheese vegetarian or a processed food-craving vegan.

Just remember, the closer you get to a whole, natural plant-based nutrition diet, the better the results.  Even Medicare recognizes the power of eating within a healthier lifestyle. Last year, this Federal health insurance program approved a physician- supervised, whole, natural plant-based nutrition eating for intensive cardiac rehabilitation.

Along your journey from your current food habits, keep these eating goals in mind:

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  Keep your sodium low and potassium high: restrict your sodium intake to 1500mg (most Americans consume twice as much and if you are eating prepared and processed foods, it is very difficult to hit this goal).
• Consume 4700mg of potassium each day (most Americans consume about ½ of this recommended level).
• Enjoy the good fats like those found in olive, canola, nuts and avocados regularly, but remember that even the good fats are high in calories. Enjoy a high omega-3 fish 2-3 times per week. Target levels omega-3s with DHA and EPA can be summarized as follows:
  • Adults who have not been diagnosed with coronary artery disease: 0.5-2 grams/day of omega-3s from fish oil
  • Adults who have been shown to have coronary artery disease: 1-2 grams/day
  • Adults with highly elevated triglycerides: 3-4 grams/day
  • Steer clear of all trans fats (found in processed foods and, to more limited extent, in beef and lamb) and limit your saturated fats found in meats and whole milk dairy.
  • Eat fruit at every meal, multiple servings of vegetables at lunch and dinner and whole grains like brown rice, oats, barley and quinoa to fill you up and add fiber.
  • And beware of white – white bread, white rice, white pastas and added sugars.

Choosing a Detox Program

There are countless detoxification programs now being marketed. Choose one that anticipates a healthier lifestyle after detox. These programs will offer you guidelines for clearing out and restocking your pantry and refrigerator. They will provide recipes and meal plans for daily living.  Some even provide ongoing coaching.

But remember, eating is highly personal and few people will sustain an eating style that has been dictated to them.  Use the detoxification period to define the steps you will take to secure lasting changes, even small ones, into your healthier eating lifestyle.

Take a step forward to a better life. It’s important that you kick-start life after the detox with healthy and conscious eating. Choose your food wisely and try to adapt new simple habits.  Share your sobering thoughts with others below!

 

Rob is known as a food passionisto and life’s magic moments occur over meals with family and friends. He happily wanders the aisles of gourmet food stores, farmers’ markets and ethnic delicatessens, preferring to end the day with a good cookbook. Rob brings a career as an executive in food and nutrition to sharply reduce his cholesterol levels to the point where no medications are necessary. He wrote The Kardea Gourmet, Smart & Delicious Eating for a Healthy Heart, with Mayo Clinic-trained cardiologist, Dr. Richard Collins, also known as the Cooking Cardiologist. Rob is the founder of Kardea Nutrition. Kardea, which means heart in Greek, combines a love food with a deep knowledge on how to use the best natural solutions to support heart health. Kardea Nutrition offers a scrumptious offer on their raved snack bars packed full of nutrition: Kardea Gourmet Book & 4 Bar Sampler: Read the Kardea Gourmet, a taste-inspired journey to heart health, while sampling Kardea’s heart-healthy gourmet snack bars in four delicious flavors.