Food Combining

In my last post regarding Digestion, Hanlie left me the following comment:

Another very effective way to combat digestive problems (and this has changed people's lives) is to never combine concentrated foods. Either have a concentrated starch with vegetables, or concentrated protein with fruit and vegetables. It really makes a huge difference and is one of the Five Steps of The Natural Way.

I have read a lot about it but have never really taken the time to look at it. When I was eating SAD I would have flare-ups, stop eating for a few days and everything would be fine. Then I went raw and I had the worst time. It was so frustrating having stomach issues all the time.

When I started juicing I thought I would be free of all this indigestion, bloating etc. I thought it might be a problem for a while but honestly I thought by day 25 I wouldn't have to worry about it. It is not the case.

With my stomach gurgling and churning and the pain in my esophagus increasing I decided to take some time to do some research today.


As you can see by the two different charts that I have posted here there are some different opinions. The chart to the left (OFC) states fruits can't be mixed with anything other than fruits. The above chart(FCH) says vegetables can be mixed with everything and sub-acid and acid fruits are good with lettuce and celery.

Then there is Victoria Boutenko's book Green For Life that states Greens are to be considered their own category of food and that they combine well with everything. Her smoothie recipes combine bananas, pears, strawberries and more with greens.

I looked at my educational course from the Creative Health Institute that follows Ann Wigmore's philosophy and it says fruit can only be eaten by itself and that includes tomatoes which are sub acid fruits. Ann Wigmore did say that watermelon can be mixed into blended soup and the recipe section includes recipes that have apples mixed into the energy soup so there is some contradictory information here.

Then I found the following quote in The Optimum Nutrition Bible by Patrick Holford:

Protein and carbohydrate are digested differently. That is a fact. Carbohydrate digestion starts in the mouth when the digestive enzyme amylase, which is present in saliva, starts to act on the food you chew. Once you swallow food and it enters the relatively acid environment of the stomach, amylase stops working. Only when the food leaves the stomach, where the digestive environment becomes more alkaline, can the next wave of amylase enzymes, this time secreted into the small intestine from the pancreas, continue and complete the digestion of carbohydrate.

Protein, on the other hand, is not digested in the mouth at all. It needs the acid environment of the stomach and may hang out there for three hours until all the complex proteins are broken down into smaller collections of amino acids known as peptides. This happens only in the stomach because it contains the high levels of hydrochloric acid needed to activate the protein-digesting enzyme pepsin. Once peptides leave the stomach, they meet peptidase enzymes, again from the pancreas, which break them down into individual amino acids, ready for absorption.

He goes on to talk about the difference of a meat eater's diet and a vegetarian being different and finishes up the discussion with this:

I see no problem in combining rice, lentils, beans, vegetables, nuts and seeds.

Now I know that greens have a high protein content but I believe that because they are high in amino acids which are the building blocks of protein they don't have to get broken down as described above. Of course I may be wrong about this. I am not exactly sure.

I decided to break down some of my last meals to see where they fit in with some of the rules I found and to see if I am making bad food combining choices.

1. Orange (acid fruit), Spinach (green), Celery (vegetable)
   FCH - Good
   OFC - Bad
   Green for Life (GFL) - Good


2. Romaine (green), Tomato (acid fruit), Celery (veg), Cilantro (green), Onion (veg), cucumber (veg)
   FCH - Good
   OFC-Bad
   GFL - Good


3. Romaine (green), Celery (veg), Cabbage (veg), Carrot (starch), Cilantro (green), cucumber (veg)
   FCH - Good
   OFC - Good
   GFL - Good


4. Kale (green), Pear (sub acid), Cucumber (veg), Celery (veg)
   FCH - ? It says sub acid fruits combine well with lettuce and celery but it says vegetables combine with everything?
   OFC - Bad
   GFL- Not sure about the cucumber

So where does that leave me? Ha ha, I have no idea. Who do I listen to? The funny thing is that I can eat (drink) the same thing one time and be fine and then sick from it another time. For instance; the other day I had my orange, celery, spinach for breakfast and no problem. Then later that evening I had it again and I was so sick I couldn't finish it.

It seems like my first juice of the day is always fine. My second juice is usually fine. My third will sometimes make me sick and the forth will usually make me sick. My stomach seems to stop working as the day goes on. I mentioned this to my hydrotherapist and she wondered if I was allergic to something I was eating. Maybe, I don't really know but again, it is weird that I am OK sometimes and not others.

The other thing that is strange is that the juice I had today was number 3 above and it was the only one that said it was properly combined by all 3 and it made me sick. Hmmmm, I will have to keep looking for answers and if anyone has any suggestions or advice I would love to hear it.

No answers from me today, just questions.

Day 24

Photo by Sage on Flickr

Juices, Supplements etc. in order of consumption
1 quart orange, celery, spinach

1 quart romaine, tomato, celery, cilantro, onion, cucumber, garlic, hemp oil, kelp

1 quart Romaine, cucumber, pear, ginger

Only got 3 quarts in me today. My stomach was upset AGAIN after the second juice. It wasn't bad but once I had the third quart I was done. I could barely finish it. Then I had an upset stomach the rest of the night.

Weight
Starting 173.5
Today 158.5

It was a nice surprise to see the scale after a few days. Woo hoo, that is now a total of 15 lbs. I love how it is so frequently .5. It is funny.

Sleep
6.5 hours

Exercise
5 min. on rebounder

I planned on going to a yoga class at 7:00 but with my stomach feeling as sick as it did I couldn't imagine bending and twisting. Eeew.

Physically
I woke up feeling pretty tired. As usual I wake up like a zombie and as the day goes on I feel better. I am beginning to think I have an adrenal problem. Here is a quote from Gary Null talking about the thyroid:

However, when low energy is most severe upon awakening, even after restful sleep, and in the early morning, it usually implies a low adrenal state.

Hmmm, I wake up tired everyday. I can barely open my eyes some days. They just don't want to function...I don't want to function. I found some good information about adrenal fatigue here.
I should call my doctor and see if I can get any of the tests that they recommend. Probably not. Going to a regular MD has always been such a waste of time for me.

There are some natural things to take for it. I am not sure I want to go that route. I am trying to steer clear from supplements and the like. I want to give my body a chance to heal itself. I decided to go ahead and take the B5 simply because it was quite apparent that I had no peristalsis and I need to get that going. I also had many of the other things B5 is supposed to help so I took it.

I am thinking I will wait and see if detoxing and cleaning myself out will help my body. I will focus my energy on getting my digestive system up and running and see where that leads. I can always re-visit the adrenal issue in 30-60 days.

Positive changes
Skin on body is nice
Pants getting loose
Face is beginning to look better. I have more of a glow again.

Detox
Tongue is coated
Geographic tongue
Still have some pimples and a bit of a rash on forehead along hairline
Dry hands

Emotionally
Not much going on in the emotional department today.

Cravings
I craved stir fry with white rice today.

Trash Bag Tango
Helped my teenagers clean out their backpacks and organize their school work

Meditation
None - I was not home in the morning and my 5 year old was home with me the rest of the day.

Ramblings
I had my second colonic appointment today and I have to tell you I was a bit worried about it. I was going at 9:30am and I was thinking that if I had another session like the first I would not be able to function the rest of the day. Thank goodness it seems like I managed to fully release any and all emotion that was stored down there the first time because nothing came up today.

The hydrotherapist said that this was a much more productive session when it comes to removing actual physical waste. I guess I needed to remove all that emotional waste before the physical waste could come out. Whatever. Bring it on.

There was some really large, clay like bits. I was really shocked at what I saw. I won't go into details (thank goodness right?) but I am guessing it was in there a long time. She was telling me that there have been cases of people having their colon explode from not moving waste out. I had no idea.

The hydrotherapist suggested I do a Liver/Gallbladder cleanse. I have an uncle who lives in Australia and he is a natural health expert. He has helped many people heal themselves of disease including himself. He has been telling me for years I need to do this. I am afraid of it. I know I have gallstones. I had an ultrasound and it is loaded with stones. When I asked about the size of them they wouldn't tell me. I am so worried that something will get stuck. Gallbladder attacks are so painful and I have already suffered so many of them, it is scary.

I am supposed to begin takingChanca Piedra (Stone Breaker) . It is to be taken on days 30-60 of the juice feast and is supposed to breakup kidney, liver and gallbladder stones. I am going to do that and see how it goes. Hopefully I won't need to do the other cleanse after taking this product but if I do I am sure I will muster up the courage.

Hanlie left me a comment the other day:

I was telling my colonic therapist about your colonic and she say that it does sometimes happen, and after a big emotional release with lots of crying, one could normally expect a chunk of weight to fly off.

Thank you so much for that comment. I am not a freak! Yipee! Really, it did make me feel good. It is nice to know that I am not the only one which I guess I know that at some level but it never hurts to hear it. And, thanks for thinking about me when you are getting a colonic. You're so sweet.

Today when my teenagers came home from school I sat with each of them independently and helped them organize their books, folders etc. Their stuff was such a mess. I told them that I wanted to do this with them at the beginning of each quarter and after a bit they would be able to do it on their own.

I didn't lecture them. I asked what kind of homework they had to do and I left them to do it. I continued their grounding from their electronics for 2 reasons. One, I felt I needed to stick with what I had said and two, I think they could use a break from it. I will most likely give them back their privileges next week but limit the use. These phones, computers, and video games can be quite addictive and before you know it, time has passed without getting anything done. I think they may need help with this.

So, we will see. Thank you for the kind comments about this. I will be vigilant to stay centered and remember this is their journey. I will help them but I will not do for them. I am working on it ;o)

Day 18

Photo by @rild (away for a while) on Flickr

Juices, Supplements etc. in order of consumption
1 quart spinach, celery, orange

Same as always

1 quart romaine, red pepper, celery, onion, garlic, cucumber, hemp oil, kelp

2 heads romaine, 1/2 red pepper, 7 stalks of celery, 1 green onion, 2 cloves of garlic, 1 cucumber

Good

1 quart spinach, celery, pineapple, mint

1/2 lb spinach, 3 stalks celery, 1/2 pineapple, handful of mint

This juice was the best because my hubby made it for me for Valentine's Day! He said since he couldn't take me out to eat or buy me chocolates he would be my juice boy for the day. He's so sweet. He also got me some flowers.

Weight
Starting 173.5
Today 162

Sleep
9.5 hours

Exercise
Yoga stretches

Physically
I was pretty drained for most of the day. I just felt so tired and I didn't want to push it. I did a lot of crying the night before so I just took it easy.

I spent about an hour in bed with a castor oil pack on my stomach hoping to help my colon. What a great excuse to lie in bed and relax.

Positive changes
Skin is soft and smooth
Tummy is flatter

Detox
Coated tongue
Canker sore
Fluid filled bubble on lower lip still coming and going
Skin on palms and fingers dry

Emotionally
I had a good day emotionally. Nothing big happened; I just took it easy all day.

Cravings
None

Trash Bag Tango
None

Meditation
None

Ramblings

Valentines day was pretty uneventful for me. Being so tired, having 5 kids and a basketball practice doesn't leave too much fun for V-day. It isn't a big deal. We love each other everyday so we don't really need a day to express it. We did sit together and watch Survivor. It is the only show my husband likes to watch on TV. He wishes he could go on the show.

I watched Phillip's video that he posted on We Like it Raw. He had some great things to say about emotions and the winter season. Living in Chicago I tend to have a hard time with the winter months (which seem to go on forever). It's funny, besides being really cold, I haven't had the normal restlessness and unhappiness that I normally get this time of year. My dad called from Florida to tell me that he saw somewhere that my area had only 11 minutes of sunshine in a month. Can you imagine? It's not really bothering me. Maybe it's all the liquid sunshine I am drinking.

Since I did a castor oil pack today I thought I would share a bit of information about it. I did it because the hydrotherapist said that along with the B5, the castor oil pack would stimulate the peristalsis of my colon. When I had a chance and did a little research I found that castor oil packs have some other uses too.

Apparently castor oil has been used for a long time. There is evidence that it was used as far back as ancient Egypt. Edgar Cayce was the first to popularize the use of castor oil in the modern world. He used it for many different things.

According to EarthClinic.com castor oil packs are used for: cholecystitis (inflammation of the gall bladder), poor eliminations, epilepsy, various liver conditions such as cirrhosis and torpid liver, scleroderma, headaches, appendicitis, arthritis, incoordination between assminilations and eliminations, colitis, intestinal disorders such as stricture and colon impaction, incoordination between nervous systems, neuritis, and toxemia.

It is really easy to do. I went to a local health food store and purchased a bottle of castor oil for 2.99 and the flannel cloth for 3.99. I went home and saturated the cloth with the oil. The cloth should be folded so there are at least 2 layers and 3-4 is even better. I placed it on my stomach and covered it with a sheet of plastic wrap. Then I crawled into bed with my lava buns that had been heated in the microwave. That's it. I just rested there for about an hour.

When I was finished I took 2 teaspoons of baking soda and mixed it with some warm water and washed my abdomen to get the oil off. I folded up the flannel cloth and placed it into the zip top bag that it came in so it is ready for next time. Pretty simple.

Day 17

Photo by Bitzcelt on Flickr

Juices, Supplements etc. in order of consumption
Bentonite and Psyllium Shake

1 quart orange, spinach, celery

5 oranges, 1/2 lb spinach, 3 stalks celery
Yum.

1 quart romaine, tomato, cucumber, celery, onion, cilantro, garlic

2 heads romaine, 4 oz tomato, 1/2 cucumber, 7 stalks celery, 1 green onion, 2 handfuls cilantro, 2 garlic cloves
Yum.

1/2 quart romaine, carrot, cucumber, celery, red pepper, onion, cilantro, garlic

2 heads romaine, 1 lg. carrot, 1 1/2 cucumber, 7 stalks celery, 1/2 red pepper, 1 green onion, 2 handfuls cilantro, 2 cloves garlic

Yum

You can see that I only had 2 1/2 quarts today. Not enough. Keep reading if you dare to find out why.

Weight
Starting 173.5
Today 163

Sleep
8 hours

Exercise
Yoga - sun salutations 10 minutes

Rebounder 5 minutes

I am just too fatigued to do the Five Tibetans. I did some slow gentle stretching in the morning instead.

Physically
I feel good even with the fatigue. It's not that I don't have the energy; it's just that my body isn't cooperating with me. I just feel drained.

Positive changes
Skin is soft and smooth

Tummy is flatter

I am beginning to get the glow

Sparkly eyes

Detox
Coated tongue

Canker sore

Fluid filled bubble on lower lip still coming and going

Skin on palms and fingers extraordinarily dry and feel like there is crazy glue on them

Emotionally
I had a good day emotionally up until about 5:00. I will explain down in the ramblings.

Cravings
I was craving food today. Nothing in particular, just food. I wanted that cozy, full feeling in my tummy all day. I wanted something warm and comforting to fill me up. I even tried to have a cup of tea. It didn't work.

I read something on Phillip's blog that I want to share with you. I think it is so direct, to the point and profound.

One of the most common comments I hear this time of year is:

Don’t you miss warm foods in the winter?

I need hot soup to keep me warm.

I could never be raw in the winter.

Umm…. since when has food had so many responsibilities?

We want food to comfort us when we are depressed.

We want food to be our friend when we are alone.

We want food to cheer us up when we are sad.

We want food to entertain us when we are bored.

We want food to party with us when we are happy.

We want food to warm us up when we are cold.

It’s all a lie!

Food only has one responsibility, to nourish and heal us. That’s it…. anything else is a bonus.

Yes… you can make it pleasing to the eye.

Yes… you can make it tasty for your palette.

Yes… you can put your love into creating it.

That’s all real, and all good.

Just don’t get it twisted. If you are replacing dealing with an emotion, with food… you are doing yourself a disservice.

Lets take responsibility and own what is really ours.

Let us be free to experience the emotion, let it flow and let it go, and be the overcomers that we were all born to be!

I can see the truth in those words and that is exactly where I want to be. I want to release my need for food to "fill me up," to soothe and comfort me. I see the connection and I truly believe that I have the ability to get there.

Trash Bag Tango
I went through my 5 and 7 year olds' shirts and got rid of a bunch that they don't wear anymore, are too small or look like they have been dragged behind a semi across the country.

Meditation
None again. Hmmm, I don't know why I haven't been fitting this is in.

Ramblings
So, I am warning you, what I am about to write is NOT a normal story that the majority of people will tell you. It is however MY story, so in an effort to be real and true I am sharing it with you. It is a bit uncomfortable but I am doing it anyway.

I had my first colonic today. I was very excited about the prospect of getting some help with my digestion issues and have been waiting a week to get over there.

For those of you who have never had a colonic, it is a machine that puts water into the colon and then removes it. It is very gentle and not really uncomfortable. Now, as you all know who have been taking this juice feasting journey with me, I have had some digestive issues. So I was prepared for anything physically to happen once we got started. Physically, I had a bit of nausea as the water was coming out. It felt a bit like when I have had diarrhea in the past. Just a little bit of a sick feeling. It wasn't horrible and I could definitely deal with it no problem.

I found out that I have little to no peristalsis in my colon. I had a feeling. She told me to take B5 to help increase it. It is also good for stress, bruxism, nervous conditions, alcoholism, joint pain, joint stiffness, adrenal support, allergies, constipation and fatigue. She also suggested digestive enzymes taken with meals because she could see that I am having trouble digesting my food. She also suggested a parasite cleanse. She asked me if I had animals in the house and said she suggests that anyone with animals in their house do a parasite cleanse once a year. Eeeeeww, I didn't ask any more about that. I know that the juice feasting protocol includes a parasite cleanse so I will just hold off on learning anymore about it.

What I wasn't prepared for was the emotional state I found myself in. I was lying in there and feeling increasingly emotional. When I felt like I couldn't hold it back anymore I let the woman know how I was feeling. She said that the gut holds onto a lot of emotion and that I should just let it come and not worry about it. In hindsight I wonder if she regrets that comment. :o)

Tears started rolling down my cheeks and I couldn't really stop it. After a bit of this I told her that it was really strange because I felt like a little kid lying there. She asked me what age and I told her I wasn't sure, maybe 5. She asked me if I felt safe. I said yes and then she asked if my 5 year old self felt safe and I knew the answer was no. At that, I began a full out crying spell. It felt like the floodgates were opened (hence today's choice of photographs).

She brought me over a teddy bear and had me talk to it as if it were my 5 year old self. She had me tell it that she was safe and other comforting things. It felt very strange doing all of this in front of a complete stranger but there was no way I was able to keep it all in. Pretty much I cried through about 30 minutes of it, probably more.

When we finished up I went into the bathroom and continued to cry. I got myself together and went back out into the room. She was there and asked how I felt. I told her I was weak and felt pretty bad. She came and gave me a hug and you would have thought she opened up the dam. I completely lost it and started sobbing like a little kid. She held me for a while and I tried to gather myself, I felt rather embarrassed by the whole thing. I laughed and said, "They don't tell you about this when they tell you about getting a colonic." Her reply was, "That's because this isn't something that normally happens." That made me cry even more. I felt like some kind of weirdo.

She was really good about it and said she thought I was there for more than just a colonic and offered to do an quick energy balance on me (Reiki). I said yes of course and we went into the massage room where I kept right on crying. As she began the energy work I could feel myself unwind a bit. I became more centered and calmed down enough to get out of there and drive myself home.

Once home I got right into bed (it was 7:30). My hubby came to snuggle with me and once I started telling him what happened I started crying again. I cried and cried lying there in his arms for what felt like forever. I really couldn't figure out why I was crying, it just felt like this huge release so I let it come. Once I calmed down again I was just so tired that I lied there and fell asleep.

Ever since I was a little girl I have known that when I got scared, nervous or upset I felt it in my stomach. Throughout much of my childhood I had a sick feeling in my stomach. I guess I learned to shut it down a long time ago and the process of releasing it physically also released it emotionally. While it was a bit rough to get through I know that this is part of my journey to vibrant health and I am so grateful for the opportunity to let go of all of it, whatever it is.

When I was leaving the hydrotherapist's office she suggested that I take more time for myself, that I do more self care. I laughed because since starting this juice feast I feel like I have been doing so much self care that I couldn't imagine doing more. She said she thought a nice warm bath would be good for me too. I told my hubby that I might just have to move into the bathroom soon.

Digestion Part 2

Now that we know where digestion begins and the importance of chewing our food we can move onto the second stage of digestion.

Once you swallow your food it goes down the esophagus. The esophagus has smooth muscles that contract to carry the food down into the stomach. This is called peristalsis and is found throughout the digestive tract. The average amount of time it takes the food to travel through the esophagus is 9 seconds.

At the bottom on the esophagus there is a muscular ring called the lower esophageal sphincter or LES. When you are not eating the LES squeezes shut to keep the stomach contents from creeping up into the esophagus. When you swallow, the muscle relaxes and the LES opens to allow the food to pass through to the stomach and it quickly squeezes tight once again.

When there is a problem with the LES you get gastro esophageal reflux or heartburn. There are many reasons one may get heartburn that are detailed here. The obvious communication that can be received from heartburn is that the body is out of balance. It is estimated that 10% of the population has heartburn at least once a week and 25% of pregnant women will experience symptoms.

When heartburn becomes severe it can lead to further complications such as inflammation, bleeding or narrowing of the esophagus. There is a condition called Barrett's esophagus where the cells in the esophageal lining change. This can lead to an increased risk of developing cancer.

There are many things people can do to reduce the amount of acid reflux they experience from the foods they eat or don't eat to when to lie down after eating. Conventional medicine has medications that are given to people who are suffering with reflux. My experience with these medications is that while they do offer short term relief there are many problems associated with them.

First, they are curing the symptom of acid reflux. They do not get to the root cause of why the body is not working correctly. The body is trying to say something when it is giving symptoms and by taking a pill we are basically saying "shut up, I don't want to hear you." Guess what. If you keep shutting it up it will simply get louder and louder and send more and more symptoms until you can't shut it up anymore. Trust me.

The other problem with these medications that I have found is that they shut down the production of acid in the stomach and slow digestion. The truth is that most people who suffer from indigestion have too little stomach acid and not too much. When the antacids are taken they neutralize what little acid is in the stomach and in its effort to seek balance the body produces a surge of acid causing even more problems. It becomes a never ending circle of imbalance in the body.

Lastly, these antacids have toxic ingredients like aluminum and artificial colors and sweeteners that can cause headaches, diarrhea and abdominal pain.

One of the best ways to begin to balance the body is to work to begin to consume foods that are alkaline. The body becomes acidic when it is fed acidic foods like instant, processed foods and red meats. Alkaline foods include nuts, seeds and vegetables, especially greens like kale, parsley, wheatgrass and barley grass. Juice feasting will quickly get the body into an alkaline state by providing large quantities of green juices and natural vitamins and minerals.

MSM will aid the body in its quest for acid/alkaline balance and Digestive enzymes are a very important part of the picture when it comes to relief from heartburn and reflux. According to Laura McCready N.D. there was a study that showed 75% of antacid users were able to reduce or stop taking medication after just one week of taking MSM and enzymes.

Note: I am not a doctor or a nutritionist. This is simply my experience combined with some research. If you are suffering from symptoms of reflux you should see your doctor and learn all you can about how to take proper care of youself.

Digestion Part 1

In my quest to learn more about my digestive system I have decided to create some posts about it to share. I will be breaking the digestive system down into sections and today I am starting with the mouth.

All digestion begins in the mouth when we chew our food. The salivary and parotid glands secrete alkaline enzymes in the saliva that begin to break down the food. The goal is to convert the food into a liquid before it is swallowed. Failure to do so can cause undigested food to pass through the system and be expelled through the feces.

Chew your food, your stomach doesn't have teeth.

So often we tend to eat in a mindless fashion while we are watching TV or reading that we don't really pay attention to how much we chew our food. It is a good idea to take some time to relearn the art of chewing. You can begin by counting the number of times you chew before you swallow. It should be between 30 to 50. Once you spend some time doing this you will get a sense of how the food feels in your mouth when it is properly chewed and you will lose the need for counting.

When consuming something like juice and smoothies that are liquid but contain nutrients it is a good idea to slow down and "chew" the liquids. Swish them around in your mouth and do a bit of chewing to get the saliva production going. In her book Green For Life , Victoria Boutenko talks about the importance of chewing in more detail.

The tongue is a good indication for how your digestive system is functioning. There is actually something called tongue diagnosis where a practitioner can look for discoloration and/or sensitivity of particular areas.

This diagnosis goes all the way back to the Shang Dynasty (1600 B.C. -1000). It has been used in Traditional Chinese Medicine and Ayurvedic Medicine. It is believed that the tongue body is an accurate reflection of the inner organs and the coating is a reflection of the Qi as formed by the stomach and kidney.

A practitioner who is examining the tongue will look for color, shape, coating, and moisture. A normal tongue has a general healthy look, is pale red, supple, not cracked, neither swollen nor thing, has no sores on it, has a thin white coat and is slightly moist.

If you would like to try your hand at tongue diagnosis you can go to the Beyond Well Being site where you can go through a step by step tongue diagnosis. Get a mirror and match your tongue up to the pictures they have and see what your tongue has to say.

One of the things that happens when we are cleansing is that we get a heavier coating on the tongue. This is said to be a sign that the body is releasing toxins. Not only does it look bad, it also doesn't feel so good and can smell bad too. So it is important to keep it clean and the best way to do that is with a tongue scraper.

They are quick and easy to use and will make your mouth feel and smell better. The tongue scraper isn't just for fasting, feasting and detox. It is good for everyday use to keep your breath fresh and to keep all that bacteria that likes to hang out on the tongue from getting on the teeth. You might even want to give one to your loved one so you can get some cleaner kisses. ;o)

I love mine and since my tongue is heavily coated right now I have been using it just about every time I drink a juice so my tongue won't be green. I took a picture of it and was going to post it but it looks so yucky that I just can't bring myself to do it. You'll just have to use your imagination.

Day 9

Juices, Supplements etc. in order of consumption
1. 1 quart water with lemon

2. Bentonite and psyllium shake

3. Orange, grapefruit, spinach, chlorella, spirulina
4 oranges, 1/4 grapefruit, 1/2 lb spinach
This is quite tasty. I decided to add the grapefruit in a small amount because I don't like grapefruit. I used to really dislike celery and now I don't even taste it so I thought the same might be true of grapefruit. Taking it slow.

4. 1 quart water

5. Romaine, carrot, tomato, basil, garlic, celery, kelp, hemp oil
2 heads romaine, 4 oz. carrots, 4 oz tomato, handful basic, 1 clove garlic, 7 stalks of celery.
I love the way this tastes. It is so good.

6. Several quarts of water


Weight
Starting 173.5
Today 165.5

Sleep
7 hours

Exercise
Sun salutations
Five Tibetans
15 min. on rebounder

I am pretty proud of myself for all this exercise. It is really good for me who has been pretty sedentary since high school

Physically
Well, I had another rough day. Seems the stomach is just not cooperating with me. After my first juice I felt bloated and kind of yucky but not too bad. I couldn't eat anything until 2:00. Then I had the second juice and once again it sat in my stomach forever. I didn't feel like I could eat anything until 8:00 and then it was too late so I didn't eat anything else.

I have my appointment for my colonic scheduled for tomorrow so I am looking forward to getting some help with this challenge. I have to get a grip on it or I don't know what I will do. I am spending a great deal of time in bed because I feel so sick and tired. I drift off to sleep over and over again.

Now, I know this wasn't caused by the juice feast. I have had these kinds of problems before. They just don't last this long and because I am juicing I can't do my usual, eat a banana or some bread and help things along. I am sure if I stopped this fast and went back to eating SAD food my stomach would get better. Does that mean that is best for me? No! That is what got me here. It's just that there is this status quo that I am able to keep up when I eat like that. I have to break the pattern and that is exactly what I am doing with this feast.

I read this on Matt Monarch's Blog and I think it does a fantastic job explaining what I am talking about so I will post it here:

A drug addict, who snorts cocaine twice a day, becomes accustomed to his/her typical amount. If they cut back to once a day, withdrawal symptoms such as low energy, moodiness, and cravings for “a fix” will inevitably follow. This is not because their blood sugar went down. Do you see the inaccurate justification for what is really a system going through detox? With the help of a reliable alternative health practitioner, listen to your body and let it run its course for your healing.

I was reading on the Juice Feasting website about the liver and gallbladder. I can see that I have many, many of the symptoms of a weak liver and I know I have tons of gallstones. They wanted to take my gallbladder out and I refused.

You are supposed to begin the breakstone tea on day 30 to begin to break up and clear out gallstones. I wonder if I can begin early or do something to help the liver or if I just need to wait it out. I will see what the colon hydrotherapist has to say.

Detox
Coated tongue
Fatigue
Mucus after drinking lemon water and some juices
Underlying heartburn, bloating, indigestion

Emotional Symptoms
I think the above picture pretty much sums up the day. Just kind of blah. Nothing horrible, just blah. Since I have been spending so much time up in my bed and I can't seem to concentrate enough to read anything I have been watching a lot of TV. I think it makes it very easy to run away from any emotional problems that may be lurking around. I have a history with using the TV to soothe myself. Lately I haven't been watching it at all, not even Oprah which is the one thing I watch everyday. I know this is an escape but I guess when I am feeling so poor physically, I just need an emotional break.

Cravings
A craving to feel good. Does that count?

Ramblings
My husband used to have this habit of coming up to me and smelling behind my ear. He loved the scent I had and always said it was my pheromones. Well guess what, the smell is gone. He has been searching for it for days and all he can smell is celery! He hates celery! I told him he better start eating it so he gets used to it like I did and he can stand the way I smell :o)

I took my first bentonite and psyllium shake today. I was nervous that it was going to be horrible but it was no big deal. The taste wasn't great but it didn' t make me gag or anything. Hopefully this will speed my recovery along.

I love my rebounder. It is so great. I jumped on it while I watched this show on Veria about raw cooking. The show is called The Sweet Truth and the woman made 3 different desserts. They were pretty nut heavy but they had stevia and agave in them. It was weird though, at one point she was making these Blueberry Mousse Tortes that had 4 cups of cashews and she said she wanted to add something to increase the protein in the dish(?). She added whey protein powder! Is that even raw? or vegan? I am not sure because I have never used it.

Still, raw cooking on TV is great. I just got this new channel and I am excited to check it out. They have all kinds of interesting shows including yoga, aromatherapy, feng shui and more. Now that's good TV.

Photo by SkeletonKrew on Flickr