Friday 19 August 2011

Detoxing the digestive system...

I have never been a fan of the " detox" school of thought. In an attempt to live healthy , i have been researching on all avenues to maintain health because we have established - loosing weight is really not as hard as we thought. What is hard though is keeping this weight away .I have always shied away from detoxing because i think its for extremists - or yo-yo dieters and am neither. I also had this ill conceived notion that detoxing equals spending a whole two days in the house - in bed , with frequent trips to the bathroom.
Obviously i had it all wrong . Yes there is a way you detox and have to spend half the day in the bathroom- if you use a colon cleanser. And there are also diets called detox diets - mostly done by yo-yo dieters ,which involve eating and avoiding a few things for a few days , a week or more- turns out i was not 100% wrong .
HOWEVER , that's not the kind of detox i went and researched on . Yes you can still do it that way . But heres what i learnt . So am sure you know have experienced ,a sink before - and a clogged one at that. And when that happens you may pour hot water in - which may work but if its too much  - we use a declogging agent , or vinegar and baking soda and sometimes it dissolves that stuff away . But occasionally this does not work quite so well , so you need to go under the sink , remove that lid down there and let the spew out (yak) .
So our bodies digestive system work quite in a similar way . If you doubt this try this- eat fries and chicken for a friday dinner , and some sausages and bacon , plus good old eggs for breakfast, and soda the following day , and soda for snacks , and for lunch , pizza, and for dinner , some nyama choma - mbuzi with sizzling fries.I guarantee you , you will be feeling all bloated and clogged by Sunday . ( Even from typing this am bloated)

So imagine your digestive system, from days ,months and even years of eating the wrong things- is lined up with plaque.God made us in unique way so am sure it does not work the way the sink does.However , God did not make our systems to withstand pizza,sausages and cheese ,all down the drain. Not to mention cakes-black forest comes to mind , icecream , and the list is quite long .What a, trying to get at is this - there is a reason when God created adam and eve he put them in a GARDEN people. This may mean - the fruits he created are perfect for our bodies .I will not build this argument further , but i have been eating a healthy helping of fruits , and just recently i started drinking vegie smoothies and my body is already thanking me. I dint go extreme and avoid anything , all i do is have a platefull of fruit when i get home- and it has revitalised my tummy , in addition i would like to attribute my smooth face to this fruits ive been indulging in lately .


So i was not amazed when i was researching to learn that fruits and veges do clean the digestive system. And even without necessarily going on any kind of diet, adding a healthy plate of fruits in the course of the day , floods your intestines with enzymes that not only clean and dissolve the plaque, but it also reawakens those enzymes that are meant for digestion.
So instead of waiting for our systems to get clogged up ,so we can clean up am saying why not , regularly ingest food that cleans and keeps our systems in check. And it will not only give us lot of energy burst to operate on , it will work magic on our skins and help us maintain weight while we are at it . A friend wrote to me and confessed how she would stop junking  and hate junk , but at some point, turn to junking because of being a rebel- and naturally hating what is good and loving what shes meant to hate. Am kinda like that so how do we really do this? How about embracing and enjoy indulging in other foods - .Like am so inlove with apple mangoes- i can eat these babies when ripe for b-fast snack- lunch and dinner . So nowadays , i find myself lighting up when i go to the fruit vendor and i want to love more of this foods that God has cooked - and lets admit it nothing comes close . If you are in kenya you are so blessed . Fresh fruits are all over -and the price is cheaper compared to going to galitos or the new KFC  like so many things around . Veges- just google the magic of kale and you will know what am talking about.
At this rate i cannot help but fall inlove with fruits and veges. So heres what am doing from next week -
Just to spice things up in my digestive system- i will have two platefull of fruit - one for breakfast , and one before dinner - say at 6. And i will have a vegie smothie after lunch. That will mean fruit/vegie in every meal.

Since i have been making this smoothie and the fruits - ill use that for the time being and if i discover somthing else, i will definitely share .
Fruits for breakfast

  • Wedge of water melon
  • local oranges - seems they are in season 
  • Grapes - been seeing hawkers shoving them through my window so also in season.
  • Pawpaws- in season 
  • Strawberries
  • Mangoes - the  mombasa ones are in season ( ok everything is in season)
  • Bananas- are they ever not in season 
  • cucumber 
Ok i went on with this list and realised - fruits are always in season in kenya. So anyway the more color on my plate the better - and for 500ksh i find that i buy fruits that last me atleast 3 days of serious fruit eating .The more color you can add to your fruit the better.Dice into pieces - and indulge in a plate full.

For the smoothie this is what i have been doing
  • Peeled carrots diced into pieces 
  • Cucumber 
  • Ginger - this improves the taste and excites the tastebuds 
  • an orange- i know its a veggie smoothie but i love tasty drinks so am a sucker for this
  • Beetroot- found at the green grocers and has great purifying qualities 
  • two ripe tomatoes 
  • Lemon
  • Brocolli
  • Mint leaves- for flavor
So throw everthing into the blender and let it whirl like for 3 minutes and you have your smoothie.
Aparently mine is realy mild , i wanna try the ones i got on the net - they have kales , cabbages, ginger and stuff- yaiks.The mint leaves are just for color- and you can experiment with veggies you like .

Also from next week, i plan to consume more of beans and lentils, and have red meat just once in the week. Beans cooked in coconut milk are all so tasty - wow. So God created such wonderful food- no need eating re-invented things like sausages - they do not come close.
So next week is " eating clean week" lets see how we do.
Keep me posted healthiess  :-) - its a lifestyle we are embracing .

Lets keep loosing girls
Xoxo
Wambui


2 comments:

  1. Great blog and post! Will try the fruits and smoothies - and you are so right!There are always fruits on season , and you cant compare with galitos or steers which even if we crave for- leave us bloated. Keep loosing girl!

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  2. Hey Hey:)
    As I said Wambui, QUEEN of SMOOTHIES here! They are healthy, delicious and the best type of fast food around!
    One of the best fruits to make smoothies with is berries. I like berries a lot, so buying them frozen is a great advantage to keep them fresh for as long as I have them and you're always guaranteed a cool refreshing drink after a workout or a long day.
    I like them thick so adding-at most-three tablespoons of water ensure maximum deliciousness:)
    With all that, you can use pretty much any fruit or leafy green veg(if you dare) like mango, peach*yum*, papaya etc
    Enjoy!

    Mwesh

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