I’m on my first day of a 12-day herbal cleansing program and diet. I’m wondering if anyone can give me any feedback on what to expect. The diet forbids all sugar, wheat, yeast, fermented products, dairy products, etc. I can have tons of veggies, brown rice, potatoes, up to 20% of my diet can be meat/tofu, etc. It comes with herbal supplements to cleanse your digestive system, liver, kidneys and lymphatic system. The one thing that concerns me is the packet insert that says that you may feel like you have a mild flu for 3 or 4 days when you start, as all the toxins in your body are being released and eliminated. How badly will I feel? I feel all right during my first morning, a bit tired and spacey, but not too bad. Will I actually feel great at the end of it?
I’ve just quit smoking and have really been eating extremely poorly, so I’m hoping that this will kick-start my system into having energy again.
I’m not a doctor or a nutritionist, but I have to say that most of the information about “herbal supplements” that I’ve read hasn’t been positive. Most won’t hurt you, but I doubt they’ll do anything to help, either.
On the other hand, a more nutritious diet is great! Mr. Athena and I have cut down the processed carbs (no white bread, no sugar, etc), upped the lean meat & veggies, and decided to stop drinking for at least two weeks. We both feel so much better that I think it’s going to stick. We’d gotten into some bad habits and going “cold turkey” for a while really feels good.
Don’t know which program you are on, but cutting your diet back to some relatively neutral basics can’t be all bad…and from everybody I have spoken with, some of the flu/crappiness is actually your body dealing with withdrawl from things like processed sugars and caffeine [and probably other chemicals that we get subliminally hooked on]
Honestly, stick it out and see=) I don’t think the dietary change can really hurt you in such a short time [dont know about the herbs] but if it helps you out in the long run, go for it=)
<parenthetically, I have a friend doing that pH diet thing, and while I think the pH part is hooey, the concentration on vegtables and more complete unprocessed foods is a good thing, I know she has lost a fair amount of weight and feels great…her previous diet was fairly typical for americans, processed sugars, processed grains, fats and such and as she admitted, too much of the processed foods and not enough unprocessed stuff=)>
google alkaline diet for some info, some of the recipes are actually pretty good=)
I agree with most everything that’s been said here so far. I, too, have heard that herbal supplements frequently have little to no effect, and some of them can have very negative effects.
I don’t really agree with “detox diets;” after all, that’s why you have kidneys, liver and your colon - to flush bad stuff out of you. However, I think it’s great that you’re trying to eat healthier. It’ll make your body function far better in the long run, and when you get used to it, you’ll probably feel a lot better, too.
One comment I will make on “what to expect:” I’ve noticed that, after eating really poorly for a while, when I all of a sudden start eating super healthy, it’s a shock to my system. For about a week, I get all bloatly and constipated. Plus, if you’re going off caffeine, you might experience withdrawl. It might make you crabby, tired and headachy. Perhaps symptoms like these are what the packet insert is referring to?