What to Eat: Cleansing Diet vs What Is a Healthy Diet for Me?

It used to be that people just fasted. Water or juice fasts of one kind or another were once considered the norm for cleansing.

When you are feeling the ill effects from a modern diet, overloaded with empty calories, chemicals and toxic substances, fasting and eating cleansing foods can help unburden toxicity from an overloaded system.

Keep in mind, it's best not to overly stress your system if your health has been compromised. We believe that if you are feeling weak or your immune system is weak, it is better to nourish the body with enough protein, healthy fats, minerals and vital nutrients to rebuild. Then you can better withstand the stress that detoxification might cause if there are not enough nutrients to build and repair with. You can also provide plenty of the right kind of minerals, fatty acids, protein and vitamins to prevent toxic elements from being uptaken again for use by the body. If there aren't enough, what do you expect the body to function and repair with?

Long term, there are requirements for good health. Getting enough fresh vegetables, fruits and resistant starches to feed your beneficial bacteria is essential to building gut health. This can aid cleansing by ensuring that bowels are able to move daily and thoroughly so your system is not constipated, and you can experience vibrant health.

Another view of healthy diets:

You may hear people say they experienced improved health and energy from various different diets that restrict certain foods. Look at what they are leaving out to see what caused the improvement and what is still eaten that may not be so healthy:

• Low-Carb Dieters, keto or carnivore leave out sugars, white flour and many processed plant foods which are empty or loaded with synthetic "nutrients". Much better!
  
  But the quality of the animal foods eaten is also important. Are the animals factory-farmed and sick? The cheapest and most easily available foods are from antibiotic- and hormone-laden animals, consuming very questionable genetically-modified feeds or feeds containing other animal parts & even feathers! Animal who are grass-fed and pasture-raised humanely are much healthier. Are these available to you from honest, non-scammy suppliers?
  
  Another factor is lack of fiber to feed beneficial gut bacteria, and whether your bowels are slowed down so much that toxic waste substances are reabsorbed into the body before they can be excreted out. Artificials sweteners, including sugar alcohols are not kind to the gut either.



• Vegans leave out all the animal foods which may be loaded with excess toxicity from added hormones, antibiotics and disease-ridden "cruelty feeds" - like ground up parts from sick animals or the feathers and skins, etc., or just unnatural foods for that animal which make them sick. Vegans avoid all dairy and meat from cows, chickens, pigs or even fish raised in overcrowded, industrialized factory-farms. Ethical choices and important for health … but what about the sugars or glyphosate-sprayed, empty, processed or genetically altered soy, bean, corn and wheat products that are often used to substitute for animal foods?



• Vegetarians of various types leave out some industrially-raised and processed animal foods - maybe eating fish or eggs instead meats. Safer. But how safe are toxic-free are the eggs (from sick chickens taking antibiotics and eating GMO feed with seed oils?) or fish (mercury or factory fish-farm chemicals and antibiotics?).
  
  Seed oils (corn, soy, canola, safflower, sunflower) for cooking and packaged foods ALL have mega-transfats from their processing, no matter what the label says. Extra-virgin, unadulterated olive and coconut oils are best to eat, but harder to find pure - and are expensive.
  
  Again, vegetarians often eat too many sugars, and genetically-modified soy products and canola oil, glyphosate-sprayed beans, grains and corn products which may also be processed and empty of vital factors, or spray-extruded (like chips and shaped cereals) and toxic. Health is still a problem.



• Eating organically-grown foods avoids many chemical toxins found in practically everything grown in America or imported by multi-national corporations. But many items sold in health food stores that claim organic ingredients are questionable, and often also have excess 'organic' sugars or fake sweeteners, and cheaper seed oils (canola, saflower, sunflower), not to mention extruded grain products saturated with transfats, or other processing. Regular grocery stores now offer organic white sugar - anyone falling for that?



• Raw Vegan eaters leave out almost everything bad, and many good things too. When leaders of the raw vegan community called for blood test a few years ago to prove their "superior health" - oops, they were deficient! Long term, they were missing especially the healthy animal fats provide necessary nutrients that can't be found in plants-only diets. Great cleansing diet, but still missing the mark for true health.

Any of these diets might be good short term to give the body a break from certain toxic items in those foods and to wean one away from food addictions. They can be problematic long term with a concentration on only certain foods that can have missing nutrients or have their.own toxicities. Our nourishment by the modern food supply is not easy, and takes some care and attention. Varying the diet can be a good way to manage things.

Since Homo sapiens has lived in so many climates and locales and is able to adapt to whatever is available to eat there, it seems that paying attention to how the foods are raised, stored and prepared has a greater impact on health overall, than adhering to a specific diet.

In fact, it is OVERLY PROCESSED FOODS that are the killers: Empty, unnatual foods loaded with distorted nutrients that can't nourish anymore, and chemicals that pretend to noursh and give synthetic sweetness or flavors but aren't food -and other chemicals intended to make foods last on the shelf "forever".

No wonder everyone is getting sick and fatter!

We in the United States are at a particular disadvantage, because our food supply seems to be the most adulerated, unnaturally raised and processed of any country. There are countries that have done better insisting on more natural food, or regulating addtiives with more care..

Part of our Mission is to educate about choosing food to be better nourished and have your body functioning well!
See Recommendations for a Healthy Diet During or After Cleansing and to Help Eliminate Constipation.