Any time you transition into a new food program and remain consistent, you will experience some changes (which is the purpose, now, isn’t it?). The better the program, the more severe the symptoms tend to be, as higher quality and more easily digested foods assist the body in releasing and discarding stored toxins and lower grade materials in order for the body to build new and better tissue.
The difficulty arises when you encounter experiences you didn’t expect. These may be called a cleansing, purification, or healing crises and healing reaction. They could be recognized by such symptoms as less energy, skin breakout, joint or muscle pain, mucus discharge from sinuses or other cavities, headaches, or the “retracing” of symptoms you have been free of for years, such as asthma or joint pain.
What many people don’t realize is that what they are calling “colds” is the body’s natural self-healing system doing what it is supposed to be doing. When something gets into the body, such as a virus or some bad bacteria, the body will naturally do what it is designed to do to rid itself of this invader. What most people will do is stop the process by adding drugs, thereby keeping the invader inside and having to eventually go through the cleansing process again AND also having to eliminate the drugs.
When you change your food program and start adding more natural foods, juices and higher quality water, the toxins and dead materials that are ensconced within your system will start to be eliminated. You may think you are getting “sick” and not realize it is one of the first steps to getting healthy. Many times when someone buys a house, they will “gut” it — meaning tear out everything they don’t particularly find to their liking. It doesn’t look good. When a body starts receiving new input, it needs to clean out the old to make way for the new. It doesn’t feel good.
When foods containing toxic substances such as caffeine are eliminated, energy levels tend to drop and many people experience headaches. Part of this is due to the lack of stimulation of the adrenals and the heart, and the cleansing process itself. Usually, the symptoms will end within about three days, and a new, more relaxed being evolves.
Other symptoms of the cleansing process will usually last 10 days to two weeks, or may only last a few days, then come back at another time for a few days.
One thing many people experience is weakness during a cleansing. This is because your body only has so much energy. During this time, its focus is on purifying and eliminating toxins and dead tissue, so it can make way for healthier regenerated tissue. If, at this time, you add any of the things you’ve eliminated, such as coffee or tea containing caffeine, you will stop the process.
The cleansing process is broken down into three phases: Catabolism — where the focus is on breaking down and eliminating old tissue; Stabilization — where the amount of waste material being discarded is equal to the amount of new, vital tissue being replaced; and the third — Anabolism, which is the build-up phase. As your body becomes used to better foods, your assimilation of them will improve.
With a better food program, you may find that previous cravings are no longer there; you’re able to maintain your weight at a reasonable level; your mental faculties are more stable; you have more desire to live life to the fullest!
Understand also that the body runs in cycles. Even though you are eating better than ever, there will be periods of greater elimination. If the body tried to eliminate all the toxic waste and materials you put into it in a lifetime, it would kill you. (Interesting how it can hold so much in the tissues and still survive, isn’t it?)
Just remember, every time this happens, if you don’t do anything to stop it, in a few days, you’ll feel stronger and better.
The thing you want to remember is, don’t stop the process! Every time you do, you have to start over.
Tags: cleansing process, food program, joint pain, natural self-healing