Authors: Mark Hyman
Tags: #Health & Fitness / Diet & Nutrition / Diets, #Health & Fitness / Body Cleansing & Detoxification
The Blood Sugar Solution 10-Day Detox Diet: Activate Your Body's Natural Ability to Burn Fat and Lose Weight Fast (28 page)
You’ve probably been in a low-level funk of feeling crappy all along, perhaps without even realizing it. When we eat junk and sugar, our blood is literally inflamed, toxic, or poisoned. We have just gotten used to it slowly, over time. When you stop eating those foods, your immune system is still activated, and you can feel worse for a few days. It takes that long for the body to flush the effects of the inflammatory and toxic foods out of the system.
Another reason for adverse symptoms like irritability, agitation, or
anxiety is a true biological withdrawal from an addictive substance. This is exactly the same syndrome that happens in alcohol, nicotine, or cocaine withdrawal. It even happens in rats addicted to sugar.
Fortunately, it usually takes only those few days for this to pass. I recall a detox workshop I held a few years ago during which, in just five short days, the participants saw radical results from following a protocol much like the one you are following now. The first few days, people were tired, lying on the floor, feeling spacey and out of sorts. But by the fifth day, one person was wiggling her fingers, looking at them quizzically. When I asked what she was doing, she said, “This is the first time I haven’t had pain in my hands in years.” Others found relief from chronic migraines, insomnia, joint pains, irritable bowel, reflux, allergies, and congestion. They lost excess fluid and dropped weight quickly. Many of them left saying they felt like different people.
So I know this from experience: You are only a few days away from feeling well.
And if you follow the strategies and tips I outline below for getting through the initial detox stage, you
will
make it through. Just like your cravings, the detox symptoms will quickly be gone. Hang in there until you get to the other side, because you’ll soon feel better than you can imagine.
Give yourself some downtime
in the first few days. Rest, take a nap, relax. It’s essential for the process. Actively engaging your parasympathetic (“rest-and-relax”) nervous system gives your sympathetic (“fight-or-flight”) nervous system a break and helps restore your energy, which your body needs to repair itself. Make room for a brief retreat period when you can feel less than great for a couple of days if you need to, and trust that this will pass. Remember, these first forty-eight hours are where a lot of the detox magic happens.
Embrace the symptoms as proof that the detox is working.
It may be hard to believe right now, but if you feel lousy, it’s a good sign. It means your body is doing what it needs to in order to eliminate the toxins from your body.
Flush your system.
Take a sauna, get a massage, do gentle yoga or stretching to flush your circulation and lymphatic system, or take an extra UltraDetox Bath. Any of these increases circulation, reduces inflammation, and thus reduces the achiness and soreness, moves toxins, increases excretion of chemicals, and helps you purify your body.
Make sure your bowels are clean and working well.
This will prevent headaches. If you are constipated, please see Day 3 (
here
) for effective strategies to get things moving.
Move.
Gentle exercise keeps your circulation going and flushes out all the toxic fluids that build up in your lymphatic system. Even just lying on your back and putting your legs straight up against the wall for twenty minutes can make a huge difference.
Take 2,000 milligrams of buffered vitamin C
once or twice a day; this can help relieve symptoms.
Drink plenty of fluids.
Be sure to have your minimum of eight glasses of water each day. You can also drink herbal teas if you like (try the Detox Tea from Yogi teas).
How am I feeling physically?
What thoughts and emotions are present for me today?
What detox symptoms (if any) am I experiencing?
How am I responding mentally and emotionally to these symptoms? (E.g., are they making me feel frustrated, worried, motivated?)
Can I see that these mental responses are just “the chemicals” talking, and that nothing is actually wrong right now? Or do I still believe that these mental responses are real and justified?
Can I give myself permission to have a down day—to accept what’s happening and allow the process to unfold?
How can I nurture and support myself through this initial detox process?
