To cleanse or not to cleanse.....

In Chinese medicine we treat all the organs so that they function optimally. Food is medicine and to ensure strong digestion, the spleen and stomach must be kept warm and dry.  Ideally food should be local and in season. In New England we eat more cold and raw in the summer time and in the fall/winter cooked and warm foods.  If these basic principles are followed, then the elimination systems will function on their own. When they don’t then we add herbal medicine and/or acupuncture or tuina.

Most people in America do not use high quality herbal medicines or even high quality food. The result of this is that toxins build up in the elimination pathways. The result is poor metabolism (fat around the middle of the body), skin outbreaks, gas and bloating, itchiness, fatigue and migraines. These are all signs of poor digestion and elimination.

In the style of acupuncture I practice, most right sided issues are related to the liver. Very often menopausal women have issues with their right shoulders or right sided sciatica. In menopause the symptoms women have are very tied into the health of their liver. Very often most symptoms can be alleviated by cleansing and dietary changes. Identifying where the pain is localized in the body is just one of the ways we diagnose the body during a consult. It gives us a deeper understanding of the internal causes that contribute to physical pain.

If a client is having symptoms that are related to a toxic liver, I will suggest a cleanse as long as it is within the months of march to late october. The 21 day purification program by Standard Process helps the body clean out the lobes of the liver while helping you to reset your taste buds and reestablish a healthy way of eating. The cleanse allows 2 or 3 meals of vegetables a day as well as 2-3 protein shakes and supplements and herbs specifically for the liver, all of which are formulated for detoxification.

People who have done the cleanse report losing 6-12 pounds on average, have less cravings of sugar, fat and salt, have seen their skin clear up, have more energy and want to continue to eat in the way that the cleanse has taught them. This is the most important factor in this cleanse. Clients are taught to change their eating habits in the cleanse and want to continue eating in a way that makes them feel good, helps to maintain an ideal body weight and cuts their cravings for biological or stressed induced eating.

We only have about a month left to cleanse. The body is still preparing for its slow down in metabolism for the winter by eliminating toxins built up from the summer. We do not cleanse in the winter, during new years here in New England because it is in the middle of winter. The body does not have the energy to eliminate.

Now is the time. Set up an appointment for a consult by texting or calling.

Look forward to helping you feel your best this fall.

Kim