I was in the hospital on a naso-gastric tubefeed and IV for 2 1/2 weeks. The "nutrition" going into that tube was anything but: second ingredient was corn syrup, third was canola oil (the first was water). Not organic, not whole, certainly not raw. Now I want to cleanse my system of this trauma. I was eating a raw diet of mostly fruit, some veggies, and some seeds, plus occasional cooked quinoa or manna bread. Would this diet be "cleansing" enough to detox effectively, or should I do just fruit for a few days? Juice? Master cleanse? I know every body is different, but I wanted some other opinions and shared experiences. Thanks!

Opinion:

-Don't try to 'cleanse' or 'fix' yourself from previous bad treatment. Setting goals for gradually increasing your fresh, raw plant food intake over the course of 6-12 months will do a good job of cleaning you out....if YOUR goals are small, consistent and motivated. Make sure YOUR dreams REQUIRE healthy eating.....and you'll have no problems (but SOME work!) LOL.

-You CAN juice occasionally, but most 'refinements' like juicing, fasting, cleansing, mono-eating, expensive equipment, colonic irrigation, etc., can often wait until you've been getting your feet wet for many months will healthy food, light exercise, fresh air, small goals, and joyful living.

-How we live/output determines our level....not the results of what we are doing.

-David Z. Mason

WWW.RawFoodFarm.com

ooh that sucks. canola oil and water? hmmm very nutritious!

I agree with David. Don't stress about it, just include more and more fruit into your diet everyday.

Our bodies are great at cleansing, food isn't cleansing - it just helps the body to cleanse when it has lots of fruit in it : D

you'll be fine, good luck and hope you are feeling better x

Heh...heh. I just wanted to add that people often want to DO the most....at the beginning...when they are the MOST toxic. This is the time to do the LEAST. Make the 1000 small changes in daily lifestyle, friends, environment, thinking, and priorities that are going to make this change permanent and lifelong. ANY good change is worth that.

-David Z. Mason

WWW.RawFoodFarm.com

I had a medical incident that wrecked several months of my life after the fact, and that made me want to dive right in to all kinds of different cleanses to get my health, life, and sanity back. I was also willing to do whatever it took to have the results NOW! .\/.

But the demands of my job (a job demanded by my rent) didn't allow the environment I needed to water fast. That fast lasted about 36 hours. I took it very hard. My body wanted nothing but sleep. After spending $$$ on the doctors, I also couldn't really afford the high-grade maple syrup to do the Master Cleanse again, though I wanted to.

Cleanses are great if you are prepared to do them, but they can bring extremely violent detox symptoms, and you have to be willing to match your lifestyle to the purity brought on by the cleanse to keep the effects. I've also read that it's MUCH easier for people to juice/water fast when their bodies have high mineral reserves, especially if your body has to flush out a lot of things that are keeping you acidic. So how well you are already eating can affect how easily your body handles a cleanse. Considering the poor nutritional content of the IV, it might help to pack down a LOT of greens a week before cleansing, if that's what you do decide to do.

In the end, I sadly quit my quest to fast and started going 100% raw, which has been for 5 weeks now. Over the month I've gotten more results than I did with a previous 10-day Master Cleanse. The results are definitely permanent, and while it took a few weeks, my mind and spirit really sorted themselves out. Not only did I heal the medical traumas, but I gained something infinitely more awesome that's here with me every day, inside of me.

I'm sure you could meet your goals either way. In hindsight, in my experience, I'd say eating healthier (mostly raw) is the easier route to take because there is no end to the cleansing process, it's more transforming. Cleanses and fasts, however, I find very inspiring to make the subsequent changes in my lifestyle that will keep improving my wellness.

Thank you all so much for the insight. Fasting/cleansing is probably not the best route for me right now, being that the cause of my hospitalization was anorexia, and I still need to gain weight (a cleanse would most likely have the opposite effect), which is why I wanted to do it for only a couple days, rather than a couple weeks. Tomorrow I'm going out to a raw food restaurant for dinner, so that'll be the end of the fruit-only feast .

good fortune dealing with your challenge. i know some ladies that have been through it. we are all dragging a sack of hammers...sometimes good choices lighten the load.

sending you a hug
charlie