How to do a Liver Detox at Home

How to do a Liver Detox at Home

As we learnt in the last Blog Post how important the Liver is, today we will look at a home detox protocol for the liver.

There are many, many Liver detox out on the market and here at Santosa we incorporate a gentle Liver Flush on the 4th day of your detox to assist your overall experience.

Yet the one I am about to describe is a detox that I have done consistently over the years and have seen amazing results from reduced muscle & joint pain, migraines disappearing, digestion improving and losing weight and improving skin – just to name a few.

Do you have a deeper interest in clearing out your liver of thousands of toxins?
Read on and do this Amazing Liver Cleanse.
This Cleanse helps you eliminate the toxins that are supposed to be transported out of your body through your bile but have turned into “stones” of various sizes.
If our Liver and Gallbladder are congested with these stones it can be very painful and these organs cannot perform their usual functions. And as we learnt in the last post they do a lot for your body!

The Amazing Liver Flush Protocol

The liver cleanse requires six days of preparation,

This is followed by 16-20 hours of actual cleansing.

Things you’ll need:

  • Apple juice 6 x 1-liter containers (fresh pressed is even better but for convenience organic store bought works well too)
  • Epsom salts – 4 tablespoons dissolved in three 250ml glasses of water
  • Virgin olive oil, cold-pressed One-half glass 125ml
  • Either fresh grapefruit (pink is best), or fresh lemon and orange combined
    Enough to squeeze 2/3 glass of juice (160ml)
  • 1 liter jar and a small (250ml) jar with a lid

*Look for oral Epsom salts – not bath flakes!
*Don’t worry if you can’t find grapefruit – the other citrus fruits have the same effect!

Six Days Preparation period

  • Drink 1 liter of apple juice per day for a period of six days. (You may drink more than that if it feels comfortable). The malic acid in the apple juice softens the gallstones and makes their passage through the bile ducts easy. Drink the apple juice slowly throughout the day, between meals (avoid drinking the juice during, just before and two hours after meals, and in the evening). This is in addition to your normal water intake.
  • Dietary recommendations: During the entire week of preparation and cleansing, avoid taking foods or beverages that are cold or chilled; they chill the liver and, thereby, reduce the effectiveness of the cleanse. All foods or beverages should be warm or at least room temperature. To help the liver prepare for the main flush go vegan so try to avoid foods from animal sources, dairy products and fried food items. Otherwise, eat normal meals, but avoid overeating.
  • Be good to yourself

Day 6 of drinking apple juice:

If you feel hungry in the morning, eat a light breakfast, such as a hot cereal or fruit.
Avoid sugar or other sweeteners, spices, milk, butter, oils, yogurt, cheese, ham, eggs, nuts, pastries, cold cereals – basically stay vegan and eat whole foods!
For lunch eat plain cooked or steamed vegetables with white rice and flavor it with a little unrefined sea or rock salt.
To repeat, do not eat any protein foods, butter or oil, or you might feel ill during the actual cleanse.
Do not eat or drink anything, except lots of water after 2PM, otherwise you may not flush out any stones!
Follow the exact timing given below to receive the maximum benefit from the liver flush.

The Actual Cleanse (day 6 of drinking apple juice) Evening

6:00PM: Add four tablespoons of Epsom salts (magnesium sulfate) to three 250ml glasses of filtered water in your 1 liter jar.
This makes four servings, ¾ glass each. Drink your first portion now.
You may take a few sips of water afterwards to get rid of the bitter taste in the mouth or add a little lemon juice to improve the taste.
Some people drink it with a large plastic straw to bypass the taste buds on the tongue. It is also helpful to brush your teeth afterwards or rinse out the mouth with baking soda. One of the main actions of Epsom salt is to dilate (widen) the bile ducts, making it easy for the stones to pass. Moreover, it clears out waste that may obstruct the release of the stones.

8:00PM: Drink your second serving (¾ glass) of Epsom salts.

9:30PM: If you have not had a bowel movement until now and not done a colon cleanse within 24 hours, take a water enema; this will trigger a series of bowel movements.

9:45PM: Thoroughly wash the grapefruits (or lemons and oranges). Squeeze them by hand and remove pulp.  You will need ¾ glass of juice. Pour the juice and ½ glass of olive oil into the small jar.

Close the jar tightly and shake hard, about 20 times or until the solution is watery. Ideally, you should drink this mixture at 10:00PM, but if you feel you still need to visit the bathroom a few more times, you may delay this step for up to10 minutes.

10:00PM: Stand next to your bed (do not sit down) and drink the concoction, if possible, straight. Some people prefer to drink it through a large plastic straw. If necessary, take a little honey between sips, which helps chase down the mixture. Most people, though, have no problem drinking it straight. Do not take more than 5 minutes for this (only elderly or weak people may take longer).

LIE DOWN STRAIGHT AWAY! This is essential for helping to release the gallstones! Turn off the lights and lie flat on your back with 1-2 pillows propping you up. Your head should be higher than the abdomen. If this is uncomfortable lie on your right side with your knees pulled towards your head. Lie perfectly still for at least 20 minutes and try not to speak! Put your attention on your liver. You may even feel the stones traveling along the bile ducts like marbles. There won’t be any pain because the magnesium in the Epsom salts keeps the bile duct valves wide open and relaxed, and the bile that is excreted along with the stones keeps the bile ducts well lubricated (this is very different in the case of a gallbladder attack where magnesium and bile are not present). Go to sleep if you can.

If at any time during the night you feel the urge to have a bowel movement, do so. Check if there are already small gallstones (pea green or tan colored ones) floating in the toilet. You may feel nauseous during the night and/or in the early morning hours. This is mostly due to a strong, sudden outpouring of gallstones and toxins from the liver and gallbladder, pushing the oil mixture back into the stomach. The nausea will pass as the morning progresses.

The Following Morning

6:00-6:30AM: Upon awakening, but not before 6am, drink your third ¾ glass of Epsom salts (if you feel very thirsty drink a glass of warm water before taking the salts). Rest, read or meditate. If you are very sleepy, you may go back to bed, although it is best if the body stays in the upright position. Most people feel absolutely fine and prefer to do some light exercises, such as Yoga.

8:00-8:30AM: Drink your fourth and last ¾ glass of Epsom salts.

10:00-10:30AM: You may drink freshly pressed fruit juice at this time. One half-hour later you may eat one or two pieces of fresh fruit. One hour later you may eat regular (but light!) food.
By the evening or the next morning you should be back to normal, and feel the first signs of improvement. Continue to eat light meals during the following days. Remember, your liver and gallbladder underwent major surgery, albeit without harmful side effects.

If you want to know more – read the book ‘The amazing Liver Cleanse’ by Andreas Moritz where you can find more detailed information. This cleanse should be done every 3 months until no more stones appear. Then a bi-annual cleanse is recommended.

The Liver – miracle organ of detoxing

The Liver – miracle organ of detoxing

We all kind of know about our Liver. We know it gets affected by drinking alcohol and we know it does something for our digestion.  But did you know how important your liver is for detoxing and your overall health?

In fact the Liver is much more than we may think! It’s a miracle organ of detoxing and it is involved in around 1000 daily functions such as:

  • cleansing and detoxing our blood
  • breaking down hormones and toxins
  • metabolizing fat
  • storing vitamins, minerals and glucose for energy
  • producing vital building blocks for blood production
  • as well as playing a big role in our immunity against disease

By abusing the liver with alcohol, processed, fatty and deep fried foods as well as medication of any kind (including the “Pill”, ladies) we put a strain on this vital organ. It is already dealing with a lot of the above, as well as keeping us safe from all the other environmental toxins we ingest every day.

So what can we do to take care of our liver?

First thing first – cut out the crap. Get rid of that (daily) evening glass of wine for a while, stop eating that finger licking deep fried chicken and if you can stop all over the counter medication that is not prescribed by your doctor that is a HUGE step to help your liver stay healthy .

To get you started and prepared for any detox follow these steps for a happy liver:

  1. Drink more water!
  2. Eat lots of leafy green vegetables, cooked and raw
  3. Upon rising drink a big warm glass of water and squeeze in half a lime
  4. Incorporate beetroot into your diet – cook it, juice it, pickle it or blend it!
  5. Take some Milk Thistle Extract either as a supplement or as a tea.

 

Once you have eliminated these bad habits and have started being kind to your liver, you can get to work at repairing your liver more intensely by doing a detox and a specific Liver flush – we will talk about this protocol more in depth in the next blog post – so stayed tuned!

8 Plants that can detox your home

8 Plants that can detox your home

Since the 1980’s it’s been scientifically proven that house plants are natural air purifiers.  Housing plant life not only brightens décor and mood, but effectively cleans and purifies the air we breathe from harmful toxins and pollutants.  No matter how clean and tidy you are, the home may still be full of contaminants.  In fact many of the products we use to KEEP our homes clean are the very causes of contamination.  There are several household cleaning products that leave chemical residues behind.  Anything with the label “keep out of the reach of children” is an automatic red flag.  However, your kids ingesting these products is not the only danger.  Inhaling and/or touching these detergents can still transfer dangerous chemicals into the body as well.   Children are at further risk as they are still growing and have an immune system that is more susceptible to infection.  Yet adults and pets can be at risk as well. Even if you are using all homemade organic products, your home itself may be releasing harmful toxins into the air you breathe!

Where do these toxic fumes come from?

Formaldehyde is one of the main culprits,it is an organic compound found in a multitude of household building materials and furniture.  It is a common component added to glues that hold pressed-wood, cabinets and carpets together, is emitted by natural gas stoves and is an active ingredient of flooring caulks and sealants, paint, furniture finish and upholstery stain repellants.

Formaldehyde is only emitted in low levels but the accumulation of materials utilizing this compound can be quite dangerous.  In fact some governments have begun to regulate the amount of formaldehyde that can be legally used in insulation and particleboard furniture.  It is theorized that formaldehyde may cause cancer in humans and has been known to trigger asthma attacks and allergic reactions when present in high levels.

8 Plants that can detox your home

Luckily, we can reduce our ingestion of theses harmful particles by investing in a few house plants.  Seems simple enough yet, which are the most effective?
We have compiled a list of 8 effective air purifying plants that you can keep indoors.

  1. Areca Palm (Butterfly Palm)
  2. English Ivy
  3. Gerbera Daisy
  4. Snake Plant
  5. Spider Plant
  6. Aloe Vera
  7. Peace Lily
  8. Goosefoot plant
Tropical Parfait

Tropical Parfait

Today, Santosa’s chef, Susanna Eduini, gives us a mouth watering recipe for Tropical parfait.

I created it for breakfast.

Breakfast is breaking our fast of the night.

Starting each day with a smooth concoction of fruit, nut milk and nutrition-dense seeds, gives us energy and good mood for the day.
This recipe for Tropical Parfait contains all of that, plus raw cacao and buckwheat, for pleasure and taste without guilt and gluten.

Serves one person.

Chocolate pudding layer:
2 tbsp of chia seeds
1 glass of almond milk
1 tbsp of raw cacao powder
1 tsp of raw cacao nibs (optional)
In a bowl put all the ingredients and stir gently and in few minutes the liquid will turn into a pudding.
Refrigerate it.

Fruit layer
Your fruit of choice (here I used half ripe mango)
3 tbsp of cold pressed coconut oil
Lemon juice

In your blender process the ingredients until you have a smooth mousse.
Refrigerate until serving.

Serving:
Scoop the chocolate pudding into the serving glass.
Top with the fruit pudding.

Decoration:
Sprinkle with germinated buckwheat and a mint leaf as final decoration.
If you don’t have buckwheat, sprinkle with some raw cacao powder.

Enjoy!

Taoist Qi Gong

Taoist Qi Gong

We live in a field of qi, “vital breath” or “life energy. ” Nevertheless, like a fish in water or a bird in flight, we are not aware of the medium that helps us. Qi Gong means “working with qi.” It will be the ancient Chinese art and science to become aware of this existence energy and learning tips on how to control its flow by way of a precise choreography of healthy posture, movement, respiratory technique, as well as meditation. Like biofeedback, Qi Gong instructs psychophysiological self-regulation; the student becomes conscious of bodily functions conventionally considered involuntary– blood pressure, the respiratory system rate, even the blood circulation and nutrients to central organs– and learns to revive a healthier balance. Even so, unlike biofeedback, no technical devices are expected. Qi Gong is one of the very cost-effective self-healing methods on this planet. The only investment required is time, a half-hour to an hour each day; the actual dividends of better well being, increased vitality, and peaceful alertness accrue daily and are cumulative.

Want to relax, refine your movement and increase energy?

This seminar will explore the practically unlimited applications of Traditional Chinese Medicine techniques of Tai Qi and Qi Gong to personal health, energy generation, empowerment, and healing others. We will touch on the microcosmic orbit, the five elements, Taoist healing touch, and the origins of acupuncture and the meridian theory of energy flow.

Please join us for fun filled interactive class with movement, touch, and knowledge this Saturday at 2.30pm in Santosa.