Some (Good!) News at Last: Health Video Update Part X

Hi guys! Remember me?

It's been more than a year since my last post. Gosh, I hadn't realized I'd been 'unplugged' for that long, but that's how life goes... Not having internet at home has really put a big stopper on my web activities. I mostly go online once a week at the community library and just have time to have a quick look at my email and do the odd research.

Anyhoo, I'm here now... :-)

Soooooo, as you can imagine, LOTS has happened since our last 'talk'. There's no way I could cover it all, especially not in writing (well, unless I worked on this post for weeks, and you spent a few sleepless nights reading it! lol), but I go over the main highlights in this next video.

Thank goodness for technology; that saved me quite a bit of typing! :-)

Here are links to some of the resources and for more info on topics I mentioned in the vid, in case you'd like to learn more:

Local Practitioners
Michael Smith - nutritionist, Doctor of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Functional Medicine specializing in the gut. He outlines his approach to diet (Ice Age, New Paleo and Healthy Homesteader Diets) on his website, Integrative Health Solutions.ca. He has also published a book called "Returning to an Ancestral Diet".

Academy of Chinese and Oriental Sciences (ACOS), school of TCM in Nelson, BC

Auto Immune Protocol
AIP Lifestyle
Phoenix Helix
ThePaleoMom.com

Why No Nuts and Seeds
www.thepaleomom.com/2012/09/the-whys-behind-the-autoimmune-protocol-nuts-and-seeds.html

Why are Nightshades Harmful
www.phoenixhelix.com/2013/06/23/nightshade-free-survival-guide/

www.thepaleomom.com/2012/08/the-whys-behind-autoimmune-protocol.html 

Fast Track Diet (for Small Intestine Bacterial Overgrowth)
Outline by Norm Robillard

Gallbladder Health
gallbladderattack.com/

What my Diet Looks Like 
As I said in the video, I followed a very strict form of Paleo Diet for most of the last year, based on Michael Smith's approach. Basically a highly anti-inflammatory diet consisting of lean proteins (fish, a little chicken, lots of eggs from a source that uses corn and soy-free feed), pretty much all vegetables (woo hoo!), except peas, beans, corn and nightshades (potatoes, tomatoes, peppers and eggplants), and copious amounts of fat (butter, ghee, coconut and olive oil). I've been staying away from grains and starches, dairy, and, for a long time, also sugar and fruit. As a lot of spices come from either seeds or nightshades (cumin, coriander, nutmeg, paprika...) or are too hot for my gut, I've been only using garlic powder and herbs to flavour my food. I haven't been able to have anything acidic such as citrus or vinegar (and most vitamins as well for the same reason). I know that in theory these are supposed to be alkaline by the time they leave the stomach, but all I can say is that they irritate the sensitive spot in my small intestine.

Looking back through my Food Journal I'm noticing that it was pretty darn spartan for a while, but things improved considerably once I reintroduced a bit of fruit and sweet potatoes. I thought I'd give you an idea of what one day's menu looked like during that phase.

Breakfast: 1/2 sm avocado, 1/4 cup blueberries and/or strawberries, 1 tbs melted coconut oil and a bit of stevia blended up and with 1/4 cup of live water kefir grains tossed in, 1 cooked egg (usually with the yolk still soft)

Around Noon: 10 oz fresh cucumber and celery juice

Lunch: 50 g of fish or chicken, 2 cups steamed veggies, 1 tbs coconut oil, 2 tsp butter

Late afternoon: large glass of water kefir or kombucha

Dinner: 1/2 sm avocado, 2 cups veggies, sweet potato noodles, 1-2 eggs, 1 tbs coconut oil, 2 tsp butter

Dessert: jello made from grass-fed beef gelatin, stevia and medicinal extracts or pumpkin blended up with a little cinnamon, stevia and coconut oil

Since giving the Fast Track Digestion approach a try, I've reintroduced Jasmine rice, a few products made from white rice (flour, puffed cereal, crackers and pasta), small amounts of various sweeteners (cane sugar, maple syrup, honey, molasses, coconut sugar) as well as greater amounts of fruits (yippee!!!) I'm also having sweet potato and sweet potato noodles again (I stopped during the FTD), which really help in the variety department. In fact, the sweet potato and rice have allowed me to cut down on the amount of chicken and fish I'm eating. Not surprisingly, I found myself automatically having more 'vegetarian' meals. Yay!

I can still tolerate very few things raw other than fruits (without thick skins or seeds), But I was very recently able to introduce tender greens from our garden, as long as I remove the tougher veins and stems (various types of lettuce, baby kale, arugula, mustard, spinach, and mizuna). I can also eat raw radishes and cucumber without peel and with small seeds. Gosh, I can't tell you how ecstatic I am to be finally able to have some raw veggies! :-) Ever since the beginning of this health saga I have faithfully enjoyed a glass of fresh cucumber and celery juice daily.

At this point I'm able to use a few special ingredients from my 'raw days': kelp noodles, nori, lucuma, maca and mesquite, vanilla powder and medicinal extracts for flavouring.

In the last couple of months, I've further adjusted my diet to accommodate my gallbladder problem (I have 3 large gallstones). So now I use eggs just for baking rice goodies (sometimes only the whites) and I've cut down on the amount of fats I consume.

Natural Supplements and Herbs
In terms of supplements, Michael recommends products to help heal the lining of the gut that I've been taking pretty much since the onset of this whole thing: l-glutamine, n-acetyl glucosamine and liquid vitamin D. I also take digestive enzymes as well as HCL to assist my digestion. I've tried to reintroduce probiotics, but so far, no luck. At least I'm able to drink home brewed water kefir as well as kombucha every day.

Both Michael, and more recently Monica (the student at the ACOS clinic I've been working with), have prescribed me a number of different Chinese herb formulas over time. However, we seem to have been able to finally nail down the ones that I respond best to, and for the last 3 months or so I've been taking a combination of Er Chen Tang (to remove heat and dampness) with a small amount of Huang Lian (berberine). I also take Ma Zi Ren Wan (rhubarb root is the main ingredient) to help support my daily elimination.

Alrighty, I think that pretty much covers the technical stuff surrounding my health.

Trip Back East
After some reservation, I finally decided to go visit my family in Quebec this past spring. As you can imagine, my parents have been super worried because of my health issues and were anxious to see me, but I kept waiting to feel strong and stable enough before doing so. One major concern was that the journey itself as well as the visit would be too stressful and result in onsetting more inflammation. (As you may know, gut health is closely related to stress.) But then I realized that maybe I'll never feel totally 'ready' to go as the risk of triggering a flare will always be in the background. And so I decided to go ahead and see what unfolds. Amazingly, everything went super smoothly, from the preparations to the actual trip, to the time spent with my family. Actually I can't imagine how things could have gone any better! I had a wonderful two weeks which I spent entirely at my parents' apartment on the South Shore of Montreal. (I decided to minimize unnecessary stress and therefore didn't even go to the city or to my sister's home about 2 hours away.)

My parents are both in their 80s now and I hadn't seen them in nearly 6 years. My dad had a bout with colon cancer some years back and is diabetic but is otherwise mostly ok (other than being overweight). My mom has had no major health issues at all. I find that baffling considering their SAD diet, but hey. We made a joke of how they'd 'fatten me up' during my stay with them. See, one of the things about following a Paleo type diet is that you usually loose weight. I've been having a heck of a time getting over 100 lbs. Anyhoo, I did manage to put on 2 or 3 lbs while I was in Quebec, something we were all very happy about. :-)

This was taken on the day I arrived with my mom and dad, Jeanne and Antoine.

We spent most of the days just quietly hanging out, yet time just flew right by! Jeanne has been doing embroidery on paper for the last 20 years, but I'd never actually seen her at work. And so she showed me how and I completely fell in love with the technique. In fact, there's something utterly satisfying and even a little addictive about it. Now as soon as I have a spare moment I have needle and thread in hand.

In this pic, we happened to be both working on the exact same pattern. I later gave the card to Don as he turned 67 soon after I got back to BC.

I arrived baring all kinds of gifts. I'm not sure why; I just felt like pampering them. :-) Before I left, Don and I made a bunch of raw chocolates. I hadn't realized how much I missed working in the kitchen with him and how well we operate together. It was a little tricky as I couldn't really try the chocolates and fillings, but after a while I found a way around that; I'd put a bit in my mouth to check on the flavour balance then spit it out. I know, I know, sounds like a sacrilege but a girl's gotta do what she's gotta do! To my delight, it worked as I was told the end result was yummily decadent. Yay!

I happened to be there for both Mother's Day and Jeanne's birthday which is only a few days later. I had knitted her a lace shawl in a beautiful delicate Estonian pattern, called "Echo Flower." She loved, loved it!

The timing of my visit couldn't have been more perfect as the ornamental trees surrounding their residence all bloomed a few days before I left.

One of the biggest challenges about undertaking such a trip was to accommodate for my food requirements. While I can eat a great deal more things than I could before, there is still a lot that I must carefully stay away from. As a result, nearly half of my luggage consisted of food or supplements! lol It was a little tricky for the first day or two as we had to do a huge shopping and I had to cook a whole bunch of veggies. But once I got my bearings it went quite well. Sadly, we could almost never enjoy the same things, but at least we ate together at the table.

I haven't been able to eat at a restaurant for over 2 years, but after making a few calls I was able to find one close by that served plain white rice and fish served sans seasonings or sauce. And so we took my mom out for her birthday. As it turned out, I was even able to have a side of plain cooked veggies, so my plate looked almost 'normal'. :-)

For our last meal together, we all ate the same thing which was such a treat! I stir-fried tons of veggies in coconut oil and we served them on a bed on Jasmine rice, along with sauteed shrimps and scallops and steamed fiddleheads. Yum! Yum!

The evening before my departure. My sister, Josee, came to spend the night and then gave me a ride to the airport early the next morning.

Crazy About Embroidery
As I was just saying I'm now totally hooked on 'embroidery on paper'. My mom was a huge help in setting me up for it and I continued to build my supplies once I got home. Amazingly, it looks like this new passion is supported by The Mystery; after seeing me at work a volunteer at our library gave me what we figure must be over $100's worth of thread that she inherited from the estate of a local lady who used to do embroidery. What a blessing! :-) She was glad to find someone for whom it would be useful.

Don laughs at the sheer amount of cards and bookmarks I keep 'pumping out', but I can't help it! In fact, I love it so much (or perhaps, because of how much of it I do every day!), I even dream of doing embroidery at night! hehe It's hard to explain, but I find it both soothing and deeply gratifying (perhaps it's to do with 'connecting the dots'?) It's also so nice to have a short term creative outlet since I no longer have food prep/recipe creation. I still love lace knitting, but it's a much more involved long term activity. For my embroidery projects, I find myself naturally gravitating towards nature-based patterns or mandala type designs. There's something really magical about watching a piece gradually come together, stitch by stitch.

Here are a few examples of my work:

The Gardening Bug
Last year we were able to grow our first 'real' garden, as before that we were never in a location that was conducive for it. I did get involved in community gardens for 2 or 3 summers, but it was always such an ordeal to get there. It's sooooo nice to be able to just walk down the driveway in order to water or tend to our 'green babies', as we've nicknamed them.

There were already several established beds as well as a greenhouse on the property, but these hadn't been used for ages, so last year we began to gradually dig them back up again. Well, this spring Donnie gave me a surprise: he dug out a whole bunch more while I was away. Yippee!

Last year we only grew a few things, as pretty much the only veggie I could eat was potato, but this season it's a whole different story! I think we've got something close to 30 different veggies and herbs! :-)

June was exceptionally sunny and warm, plus we got a major head start as I planted most beds mid-April before I left for Quebec. And so our garden is already growing like crazy, and we've already been able to enjoy some of its produce.

But wait, how about you join me as I walk you through our little piece of lush paradise?

Just in case you don't have time to watch it, here are a few pics taken over the last few weeks. With the gorgeous weather we've been having, we can see changes daily, but you'll still get an idea. :-)

When I planted greens, I was expecting these to be for Don since my gut complained when I introduced them last summer. :-( As it turns out, this time they're fine as long as I only eat the tender leaves and remove any tough parts. I've been enjoying a salad daily (sometimes even twice a day... Call it SGB ('Serious Green Backlog')! lol

Our very first cuke! Again, I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to tolerate it, but I can! Woo hoo! Keep 'em coming!

While we opted to plant tomatoes and cucumbers in the main garden, we still put a few in our greenhouse. See, since it's been built, trees on the property have grown quite a bit, so it really doesn't get that much direct sun anymore. With the combination of lack of sunlight and extreme heat, our tomato plants are pretty leggy. Nevertheless, the greenhouse is still starting to look lush, what with the few mystery squashes that volunteered from our compost. Even though these are usually tasteless, I didn't have the heart to kill them all.  I figure that in the worst case we'll be able to use them for pies and soups. ;-)

We're using the two beds in the front garden mostly for root veggies - beets, carrots, rutabaga, daikon (which I just plucked out as it all went to seed), and parsnips, but we also have broccoli, lettuce, cucumber, garlic and a couple of squashes.

Surrounded by a sea of green; just the way I like it! ;-)

Donnie has been super helpful; watering, weeding and just looking after the general well-being of our plants.

We had heaps of bees hang around our arugula, bok choy and mizuna flowers.

Our gorgeous zucchini patch; one of my favourite parts of the garden, with its almost daily offering of beautiful yellow blossoms as well as zukes.

We ended up with several squash beds since in addition to the few varieties we started indoors, I tried to rescue as many volunteer squashes as I could. Carmi, Carmi; you have to learn to be a more ruthless gardener!

With my talk of deer in the video, wouldn't you know it, one came to visit us later that day. He kept creeping closer and closer to our flower bed, and in the end we had to scare him off.

Sadly, he came again a couple of days later and did quite a number on Don's potato patch. It's one of the only areas that isn't protected by netting as, well, we ran out of the stuff, and we found that it seemed to weigh down on the plants and cause them to slouch. (I don't know why but, just like last year, ours insist on being giants; some of them over 5 feet tall!) Plus, I had just that morning removed one of the nets on the lettuce bed in order to put it somewhere else, so of course the deer had to munch on a few lettuce heads too while he was at it. Anyhoo, we were not happy campers! :-(

As a matter of fact, we encountered Mr. and Mrs. Deer on our walk yesterday and I gave them a stern lecture to leave our garden alone. There's tons of greenery everywhere at the moment, so surely there's no need to eat our little plants, right?

Birthday Girl

I just turned 44 a few days ago, so I figured what the heck, might as well post a few pics of that too! lol

I spent this beautiful sunny day mostly lounging around, eating fruit (can you think of a better way to spend your birthday?) and doing embroidery. I worked on a sunflower pattern which I thought was particularly appropriate, considering. It later occurred to me that I actually made myself my very own birthday card. he he In fact, I can't think of a better one for me! See for yourself.

For my birthday dinner, we started off with the best part: dessert. I can't eat fruit after a meal, and I just HAD to have strawberries for my birthday, so we had fresh strawberries and blueberries with a dollop of Coconut Whipped Cream (made from the thick cream in a refrigerated can of coconut milk with a little stevia.) Decadent!

The main dish was baked sockeye salmon, Jasmine rice topped with a Mushroom and Carrot Sauce (fancy for me as I usually just eat my rice plain with a little oil, garlic powder and avocado) and a side of steamed broccoli. 

And of course, a beautiful salad made from our garden greens, cucumber and our first nasturtiums.

About My Fellow Furries...

But 'nuff talk about myself!

In the video you got a chance to look at Miss Puss being mischievous in the garden. She had a good winter (other than early getting in a fight with a visiting neighbouring cat). She continues to have a knack finding good, cozy and, of course, warm spots. ;-)

She's especially thriving now that the weather has warmed up and she gets to spend most of the day outdoors. She usually follows us to the garden at least once a day and finds a quiet shady spot between beds for a little lie down. So cute!

In the most recent heat wave (we had temps in the 100s F which is unusual for us), she was staying close to the house and moving as little as she could. Poor thing; I can't begin to imagine how it must feel to be wearing a fur coat in such heat! Eeeek!

As for Mr. Don, he's been doing well too. He's been having to fend for himself in the kitchen, but we've been sharing our evening meal since my return from Quebec. Yay! He continues to be fascinated by what all is going on in the world of macro economics, especially as things seem to be heating up in the European Union/China. He just wanted to pass on to you guys a few words...

Hello Everyone! Don here with a short note of Warning!

 Perfect Financial Hurricane directly ahead! 

As some of you know, we both feel certain that society is in Big trouble, just count the ways, eh? One important aspect is the ongoing financial/economic crisis, now heating up in Europe and China.

The question to ask ourselves is how important is our financial security for us and our loved ones? Very, very critically important, right? Given the very unstable situation, what is one to do? Finding the answer to that deserves all the attention necessary, doesn’t it? ‘Head in the sand’ is surely not a viable strategy. After many years of research for me all roads keep coming back to Physical GOLD.

For a short version of why, see here: A Quick Look At Why GOLD and Why NOW?

I have created a new blog with one simple approach which I am certain will work wonders, whatever happens. I highly recommend you take a look HERE.  

Note: BitGold was initially not available in the US but now it is.

Anyone with questions can feel free to contact me at: freedomroad999 @ gmail.com (remove spaces)

All Blessings

On this note, I say we call it a day! Phfew, I'm no longer used to being at the computer for so long and my hands are getting sore from typing so much!

And while I'm in a blogging spree, keep an eye out for an upcoming post offering all of my raw recipe books on sale in the next few days. :-)

I hope you have a blessed and bountiful summer!

Links to my Previous Health Updates...

Health Update Video - Part I

Health Update Video - Part II

Health Update Video - Part III 

Health Update Video - Part IV 

Health Update Video - Part V

Health Update Video - Part VI 

Health Update Video - Part VII

Health Update Video - Part VIII 

Health Update Video - Part IX

My Experience With the Liver and Gallbladder Flush

Looks like we've made it to the other side of the infamous December 21st of 2012! Woo hoo!

Whether a shift has truly occurred and we have indeed entered a new era remains to be seen. According to the Monarchs' YouTube video about this important date, a rare planetary alignment took place on December 3rd and the following 18 days (3 x 6 or 6-6-6) were to be increasingly chaotic, ending with "3 days of darkness." Obviously not in a literal sense but rather figuratively speaking. All I can say is that this certainly seems to coincide with my own personal experience, as I've been going through one of the most challenging physical ordeals of my life!

As usual, I feel compelled to share my story in the event that it can be of assistance to anyone out there. 

A Wink From Life
Many years ago, when Don and I first got into raw, we heard about the Liver and Gallbladder Flush through a friend of ours. He had done several back then and we recently discovered that he has continued ever since. (By the way he has posted a series of videos on YouTube in which he shares what he's learned in the process under the alias of Liver Flush Man.) Anyhoo, Jordan was a little extreme in those days (I think he used to drink a whole quart of oil at once!) and we sort of discarded the cleanse altogether, feeling it wasn't right for us.

Now fast forward to this past fall... When we conducted a raw workshop at Ulla's in October, two of the participants had just done the Liver Flush the previous day. It was the first time in all of these years that we were hearing about it again. To our interest it popped up once more a few weeks later at Matt and Dawnen's. Matt, much like Jordan, has done several (he's lost track but he thinks probably around 30 flushes or so), and was getting ready to do another one at the upcoming new moon. (The idea behind that is that on the full moon our bodies retain most water while the day of the new moon is when it releases the most.)

Don brought back a book that Matt lent him on the topic: Andreas Moritz's The Liver and Gallbladder Miracle Cleanse. To my surprise (he's not usually interested in that sort of thing), Don almost immediately picked it up and read it from cover to cover. One of the reasons why he had discarded the flush before was that he suspected that stones were actually created by the large quantity of olive oil that is ingested during the Cleanse. But by reading the book many of his doubts were put to rest. Don saw that it simply could not be the case, as there are so many different types of stones that are known to be released, varying greatly in color, texture and density. Not to mention that one person can pass very different stones from one flush to another.

And so we decided to experience the Liver and Gallbladder Cleanse for ourselves, following closely Andreas Moritz' protocol as outlined in his book. (You can also read the summary of it here.)

Liver Flush #1
We began to prepare 6 days before the Cleanse by each drinking 4 cups of fresh apple juice daily. (Actually we drink apple juice every day in our morning blend so we just made an additional 2 cups.) The purpose behind this is that mallic acid contained in the juice helps to soften the stones. At first we'd drink the whole thing almost at once but it gave me cramps. While mentioning this to Matt I learned that we were actually supposed to sip the juice throughout the day so that the stones are constantly being doused with mallic acid. It did solve the issue.

On Day 5 we each took 2 tablespoons of castor oil in the morning. Castor oil has a laxative effect and therefore helped to start cleansing our digestive systems.

On Day 7 we had our usual apple-carrot-beet-lemon-ginger juice as well as an extra 2 cups apple juice in the morning, followed by a green smoothie for lunch. Andreas recommends to not ingest anything besides water past 1:30 pm, so that we can rest the body and also make it easier to see the stones being passed.

Puss likes to keep me company during enemas.

In the late afternoon, since we didn't have access to colon hydrotherapy, we took turns in giving ourselves water enemas. It was a very good thing as my colon still needed a lot of cleaning. We then continued to follow the protocol, drinking Epsom salts and water at 6pm and 8pm. The purpose of the Epsom salts is to relax the ducts so that the released stones can travel freely down to the colon. Before taking the olive oil and grapefruit mixture at 10pm we prepared castor oil packs over our liver/gallbladder area, which we secured with saran wraps and wore for 2 hours.

Surprisingly I had no trouble drinking the olive oil and grapefruit juice, but boy did the Epsom salts and water ever turn out to be a challenge! Yuck, that stuff is sooooo foul!

Don was a bit concerned that drinking so much oil would affect his kidneys, which have been weak ever since he had an internal infection some thirty five years ago. I learned that in fact the large amount of oil isn't even processed by the liver or the kidneys, but rather triggers the release of bile, which carries out the gallstones. As it turned out his kidneys were just fine.

During the night we both experienced a very mild discomfort and didn't sleep very soundly, as there was too much action going on inside.

After my first morning dose of Epsom salts there still were no signs of stones, so I began wondering if it really worked. I've read since that most people in fact don't release any stones at all for the first few flushes. But then it all started... After many trips to the bathroom and three water enemas during that morning/early afternoon, to my amazement I released what must be close to a total of 1 1/2 cups of stones! Wowsers! They were mostly small and pea green or light brown in color. I also had some fairly big agglomerations of stones that had loosely bundled up together.

I must admit that I was surprised to release so many, especially since I have been eating mostly raw foods for the last twelve years. On the other hand I believe that it is thanks to my healthy diet that I was able to have such results on my first flush. Another positive thing according to Matt is that the stones weren't smelly at all. My colon hydrotherapist friend, Ulla, had actually never seen anything like it!

One testimonial to the fact that the stones that came out were genuine is how different the experience was for the three of us. In comparison, Don passed perhaps 2 tablespoons of stones altogether and of a lighter green color than mine.  Matt, for his part, didn't release anything at all except bile. Andreas suggests that we continue to do Liver Flushes until we no longer release any stones for one or two cleanses. I guess that's where Matt is at now.

Needless to say that I found the whole process really quite interesting. Because of the combination of fasting and the laxative effect of the Espom salts, our intestines are squeaky clean and therefore only release liquid (a mixture of water and bile). As a result, whenever we pass stones the flow is momentarily interrupted. It's actually kind of fun methought. ;-) Not to mention that it also makes it easier to collect the stones. While 'younger' stones just float on the surface, older, calcified stones will sink to the bottom.

Some people report feeling a burst of energy after doing a Liver Flush, for my part I didn't notice much difference. In fact I soon began experiencing digestive troubles afterward. I learned that it's not unusual that it takes a couple of days for our digestion to get back on track, but it got to be so bad that I became hesitant to eat anything at all, not knowing how my body would respond. While my digestion finally did improve over time, I discovered that I had developed an intolerance to fat; I felt nauseous whenever I had more than, say, 1 tablespoon or so, be it in the form of nuts, avocado or oil. After doing much research online I learned that what most likely happened was that a gallstone got stuck in the ducts leading to my pancreas, resulting in my experiencing the symptoms of pancreatitis. See, when you begin to cleanse your liver and gallbladder of stones, more begin to travel down, hence the importance of continuing to do Liver Cleanses until no more stones are being passed.

Besides limiting my fat intake, as an immediate solution I began to drink liver teas as well as Chanca Piedra, which is known as the 'stonebreaker' herb. It is said to help dissolve both kidney and gallbladder stones.

Liver Flush #2
In light of the results of my first Liver Cleanse, it was clear to me that I had to pursue the process, for there could only be more stones waiting to be released. Plus I was growing increasingly uncomfortable with that 'stuck stone'. At first I wasn't sure when the next flush would be, as being on the road definitely complicates matters. Andreas Moritz suggests to wait at least four weeks to give a chance for the body to recover. As we were approaching the three week mark and knowing that I would most likely not really get a chance to do one for another two or three weeks, I decided to delay our departure for Utah by a few days in order to do a second Liver Flush.

Because I was a little squeezed for time I drank apple juice only for 5 days instead of 7. My original intention was to replace some or all of the Epsom salts with Oxy Mag (similar to Oxy Powder) which is used by a different Liver Cleanse protocol explained in Annie and David Judd's LifeFood Recipe Book: Living on Life Force. When talking it over with Ulla, because of the large stones that were released in the first Cleanse she recommended that I stick to the Epsom salts to ensure that my ducts are as wide as possible to prevent further stones from getting stuck. (Not that it seemed to help the first time, mind you.) I wasn't a happy camper but I trusted her take on the matter.

During my research I did come upon an instance where Andreas Moritz told a person of slight build to take a child dosage which is basically half of everything, including the apple juice. And so, being all of 100 pounds, I thought I'd do that. When the time came, however, I decided to stick to the protocol and to suck it up. (As you'll soon learn, this turned out to be a HUGE mistake!) This time I added a bit of lemon juice to the Epsom salts/water mixture and drank it with a straw. It did go down a little easier, but don't get me wrong, it still tasted terrible!

I had a rough night, not sleeping much as again, there was just too much going on in there. The next morning I first began to release a sort of cloudy mixture that floated on the water, then stones started coming out around 11 am. Unlike the first time I practically had no little stones at all. First came a single one that was approximately 1/2" long. Soon afterwards I could feel that something was stuck; it felt much like being constipated actually. Boy was I ever glad when it finally did come out: it was a monster of about 1 1/2" in diameter all around and undoubtedly the culprit that was blocking my ducts! I had several more fairly large stones come out after that, still hardly any small ones. Interestingly, all of them were of the same light green/brown color. I weighted them afterwards and it came to nearly the same amount as those released in my first flush, but with fewer stones.

Post Flush
In the aftermath of the Cleanse I felt drained. I could feel that it had been a major strain on my body, especially my kidneys. These grew increasingly painful. I looked and looked online and couldn't find anything suggesting a connection between the Liver Flush and kidney issues other than as a result of dehydration due to all of the liquid coming out in the process. I had made a point to drink during the cleanse though, and thought that the latter was unlikely. Plus there was also the fact that Don hadn't felt any discomfort in spite of his weak kidneys.

My first meal went down fine - soup, sauerkraut and cooked squash, something I was craving. As it turned out I was right to listen to my body, as cooked squash is very easy to digest. Over the next day or so I began to have trouble with some foods; it seemed that fermented products made my belly ache, and complex combinations were downright rejected by my body altogether. And so I decided to give my digestive system a break and mostly have liquid foods in the form of juices, fruit smoothies and soups sans miso, onion or garlic.  When I felt like consuming something more solid I ate cooked squash with coconut oil for dinner.

My kidneys continued to hurt, especially my left one, but as Don reminded me, I was putting good stuff in so I could trust my body to do its job of healing itself. I still drank Chanca Piedra twice a day and took probiotics before bed.

After almost a week of that, at last I stumbled upon a woman's post on a forum who experienced something very similar to me. She had a number of tests done at the hospital which revealed that her kidneys suffered from mild toxicity caused by the amount of Epsom salts that she took. When I read that, something immediately clicked inside me! From the very beginning I had reservations about taking the Epsom salts, and I really should have followed my initial instinct to at least cut down on the amount in light of my small size. Thankfully it looked like I'd been doing just the thing to help them recover: lots of raw fruits and veggies and drinking dandelion tea.

This discovery put to rest my concerns regarding the actual Liver Cleanse. It wasn't so much the process itself and the release of stones that were taxing, but the overuse of this one ingredient. It helped me entertain the idea of continuing on with it.

There was a point where I began to question whether I should have gotten into the whole liver cleansing thing in the first place. But then I looked back and saw how all of the pieces had fallen together and seemed to point in this direction. It was meant to be, however hard that was for me to see.

After about 10 days of liquid foods I began to carefully reintroduce solid foods, and later cultured veggies. I was doing pretty well until I splurged at a raw potluck, consuming more nuts than I had in quite some time. Interestingly enough, it was on December 15th, exactly at the end of the second cycle of 6 that Matt was talking about. I had difficulty digesting my dinner but at least I held the food in. Going to an Indian restaurant the next day, however, turned out to be the real kicker. I barely had time to get back to our friends' home before I got sick as a dog. ;-(

Once again, I felt I had little choice but to give my digestive system a big break. While I considered returning to a liquid diet, I decided to do a Master Cleanse instead, a topic that also started to creep back up after several years. After feeling it out I modified it slightly, as I felt that my body was badly depleted in nutrients. And so I continued to enjoy our morning juice before drinking the Lemonade for the rest of the day. On Day 4 I switched to juices: orange juice, our usual apple-carrot-beet-ginger-lemon, and the Mean Green recipe from the Reboot Your Life website. Really yummo! It's the favorite blend of Phil, the truck driver who decided to juice fast in the documentary Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead. (By the way you can watch it for free here!)

Today I'm incorporating smoothie and soup, see how that goes. *fingers crossed* After spending a good chunk of the month of December on liquids and being down to 95 lbs, I must say that I'm very much looking forward to getting back to eating normally again.

I can't say at this point whether I want to continue with the Liver and Gallbladder Cleanse process, as I don't have it in me right now to go through this ordeal again, especially since I haven't fully recovered yet. I guess I'll take it one step at a time.

Dececember 26 Update
I'm pleased to report that after an initial failed attempt at introducing solid foods on Day 5, I was finally able to keep a meal of cooked squash down. Phfew! Since then I have been VERY slowly and for the most part successfully expanding my repertoire of ingredients. Tonight will be raw soup, salad and steamed broccoli. The latter worries me a bit as it can be difficult to digest. We'll just have to see...

Helpful resources I've stumbled upon:

Andreas Moritz's site 
Moritz's FAQ

Curezone forum
A page dedicated to Gallbladders and Liver Flush on Curezone

 WARNING!!!

If you are queezy you better stop here! I'm now going to be sharing photos of my stones. I figured that others who are interested in doing the Liver and Gallbladder Cleanse might find them helpful.

Stone Harvest from Liver Flush #1

As I mentioned above, it's apparently quite unusual to release so many stones on the first flush, so don't feel alarmed by what you're about to see.

Here you can see how they float in water.

To give you an idea, these are the ones that Don released.

Everyone's experience is so unique!

Stone Harvest from Liver Flush #2

And now the harvest from my second flush. Still when I look at them I can hardly believe that these were inside me! Better out than in, that's for sure!

A line up of my largest stones

This was the big monster that I suspect was blocking my duct. Matt insisted that it must be a world record! lol It was indeed huge, also much more compact than the stone agglomerations from my previous flush.

 

This one had a bit of red in it. 

That's it folks! This sums up my rather unusual experience with the Liver and Gallbladder Flush.

Now off to make myself a detox tea... ;-)