Cleansing the gut is as important to gut health as removing old oil from your car before adding new oil. Imagine returning your gut, intestines, and colon lining to the pristine condition of your childhood—clean, pink, and functioning optimally. You can do this with a cleanse and following steps to re-introduce foods that boost your colon health.
If you have any symptoms of chronic illness, anywhere in your body, the gut is where we begin the healing process. Leaky gut syndrome, for example, is a common condition that may exist in over 90 percent of adult Americans due to poor nutrition choices, toxins, medications, and stress. The syndrome causes inflammation in the body. In leaky gut syndrome, the tight cellular junctions lining the small intestines develop holes, which begin to allow undigested proteins and foreign microbials (viruses, bacteria, mycotoxins, yeast, fungus, and parasites) to pass into the blood stream unchecked.
The small intestine is where most of the nutrition you take gets into your blood stream—via the villi. The villi are the hills and valleys of surface area your body uses to block bad bugs and particles and to allow good nutrition in. If the villi of an average adult were spread out flat, it would equal the square footage of a tennis court. Imagine hundreds of “holes” in your villi allowing bad particles in, including infectious bugs, providing poor digestion and even worse assimilation (passing of vitamins, minerals, and micronutrients into the cells). This “Leaky Gut” condition is what generates the condition of chronic illness, upsetting all the systems of health in the body.
To correct the problem, one must go through the 4 R’s of Gut Healing:
- Remove – via Cleanse, & Re-Introduction of food groups
- Replace – Digestive Enzymes (before and with meals)
- Restore – 2-3 weeks of Pre-biotics (3g/day), minimum 2 billion Probiotic count (1-3 months)
- Repair – Zn, Cu, Mg, Se, K, Mn, Cr, L-Glutamine, Omega 3, B’s (methyl) especially B5 + Biotin for 1-2 months.
The Cleanse
For three days, eat only the following:
- Breakfast: Watermelon (up to 2-inch slice; get full) — in season. Out-of-season, eat berries — blueberries, blackberries, raspberries (but not strawberries).
- Lunch: Salad (unlimited) with Salad Dressing (up to 2 Tbs) — see salad recipe in Food prep section below. Then, ½ hour after Salad, eat a prepared fist-sized red Beet. Beets are great for cleansing the kidneys. Be prepared to see red in your urine and stool. This is normal. See how to prepare beets in Food prep section below.
- Dinner: Repeat Lunch
- Evening: At least 2 hrs after dinner and before bed, repeat Breakfast with watermelon (or berries).
After this cleanse, you can start the process of Re-Introducing food groups as follows:
- (Days 4-6) Broader variety of Vegetables (including nightshades), Onions, Mushrooms, Berries.
- (Days 7-9) Some starchy vegetables (Peas, Sweet Potatoes, Yam). Vegetables best eaten after noon.
- (Days 10-12) More fruits (Citrus, limit to 1/day). Fruits before Noon.
- (Days 13-15) Nuts and Seeds — Almonds, Walnuts, Pecans, Cashews, Pumpkin seeds, Sunflower seeds.
- (Days 16-18) Lentils and Beans — Lentils have more protein and less carbs than beans!
- (Days 19-21) Grains (gluten-free) — Quinoa, Brown Rice, Oats, Buckwheat, Amaranth, etc.
- (Days 22-24) Eggs (Source of Phospholipids, Inositol for mood balance and cognitive function, etc).
- (Days 25-27) Whey Protein Powder (pure source, NO Artificial Sweeteners — this includes Sucralose! Read the Label.
- (Days 28-30) Yogurt — as a source of live probiotics and protein (great snack ingredient; with fruit or nuts)
- (After Day 30) Fermented Foods — as a source of probiotics, pH balance for microbiome health (Kefir, Kambucha, Sourkrout, etc.)
With each re-introduction phase, add the next food group from the list for the first two days. On the third day, clear the gut and GI system while checking if there are any food sensitivity symptoms. Stop eating that food group immediately if you experience any of the food sensitivity symptoms such as weight gain, recurrence of cravings, fluid retention, changes in digestion or bowel function, fatigue, nasal congestion, headaches, pain, brain fog, mood problems, sleep problems, or changes in skin.
By following the cleanse and Re-Introduction process, you can set your gut on the path to total body health. Remember that healthy eating does take time—for preparation, chewing, and swallowing. Take the time to enjoy the process and eating in gratitude, realizing this is the beginning of undoing years of unhealthy habits. Allow your body to heal, and you will be amazed at how great you begin to feel.
