Detox Your Body And Mind

In the previous post Eat For Your Health And Spirituality, I suggested you explore your own best way to eat by consulting with your body. I don’t think it’s a good idea to let someone else — whether they are professional nutritionist or spiritual leader — decide that for you. Because each of us is different. And because you are responsible for your truth. (Of course, this is not just about diet — don’t buy into someone’s else’s truth just because he or she has a nice title or reputation).

Learning from the pros and more experienced people is good, but you make your own final decision.

Now here is one caution in doing so. Are you really free to make your own decision? Or is your decision influenced by internalized ideas and years’ of habits that have taken roots in your body? (Photo credit)

Addictive thinking

Most of us are addicted to certain substances and behaviors. It doesn’t matter if the substance is legal or not (that’s another aspect of the problem) — if you are conditioned to do / eat whether you really want to or not, then you are addicted.

All addiction share one common patten of thinking: It tries to justify itself. Whether your addiction is to drugs, alcohol, sugar, caffeine, or something more specific like hamburgers or fries or chocolate or ice cream, while the substance and the behavior pattern is in you, you are not really making your own decisions. Your addiction is making your decisions.

So, in order to make your own decision, you need to detox yourself. Otherwise, it will be like, “Okay, I’m going to eat meat. Let’s collect all the supporting data that justifies meat eating. Which famous spiritual leaders eat meat? Which nutritionists support meat?” Pretty soon, you do have a very strong argument how wonderful meat is.

My experiment with caffeine

Let me explain by example. I used to drink a small coffee almost every day. I could say I didn’t particularly like coffee, but I was in the habit of going to coffee shops anyway.

To find out if caffeine is really okay or not for me, I decided to stay away from it for a while. In theory, there are both studies that supports caffeine and cautions its negative effects on health. And as long as I keep drinking coffee, I naturally tend to listen to comforting opinion that says caffeine is fine. Further, I have no problem making a long list of famous coffee drinkers who seem to be quite fine.

But none of such things really matter. The best, most fair way to find out my truth with caffeine is to distant myself from it.

If I felt no change without caffeine, at least it’s not doing any wrong. If I felt better without caffeine, then I know caffeine is not good for me. If I felt bad without caffeine, then I need to figure out if it’s withdrawal symptoms or deficiency symptoms.

For withdrawal symptoms to calm down, it usually takes two to four weeks, so I decided to stay away from caffeine at least two weeks. No coffee, no tea, no soda, no chocolate.

Bam. I had horrible headache in the first few days of withdrawal. Then, it cleared like a magic. By the end of two week experiment, I didn’t even think about coffee.

In this case, it was obvious that the initial negative effect was withdrawal symptoms. And if a substance gives withdrawal symptoms, we know it is not good for our physical and emotional health.

How to do find out if a certain food is affecting you or not

So whether it’s meat, dairy, eggs, soy, wheat, sugary foods, or specific junk foods, the best way to find out the true effects of the food on YOU is to stay away from it for at least two weeks. Come on, I’m not saying forever. You can always go back to your old eating habit if you so decide.

Think of it as an experiment, not a diet change.

Now if the food in question is addictive, you are likely to have withdrawal symptoms and cravings. Deal with it one day at a time. It’s only for two weeks. Or you may be ready to go without it, like me waking up to be vegetarian one day, with no cravings or withdrawal symptoms.

Major detox

If you are more ambitious, you might want to do a major detox to cleanse your system. This will reset your overall food preference.

Water fasting would be ideal because it insulates you from all kinds of foods and their effects. Second best would be juice fasting. Third best would be to eat only vegetables with limited amount of carb vegs and fruits. (There is practically zero evidence that low carb vegetables such as greens can have negative effects on our health.)

You might want to use detox supplements like this along with controlling the food intake. Detox bath, such as adding 1 – 2 cups epsom salt, may help, too.

I’m currently doing the third option (eating plant foods only, paired with supplement and occasional detox bath).

What happens when you eat “bad” food when your system is clean

Here is an anecdote you can take amusement from. And a caution.

I ate cheesecake two days ago. I finally completed the draft of my eBook, so I was in a mood for celebration, and . . . my mind led me to cheesecake. Old habit dies hard.

It didn’t taste as good as I though it would. Oh, well.

Next morning, I had terrible stomachache. And embarrassing trips to bathroom. My head felt cloudy, and I had to take a nap afterwards. Ouch!

I didn’t have such a reaction when I was eating dairy often. It means my system is getting clean that even a bit of nasty stuff can cause major results. This is good — this way, my system is protecting itself. But it’s uncomfortable.

(Just to let you know — I know the cheesecake wasn’t spoiled. If it were, my system would have rejected it at the mouth, by automatically spitting it out, or at least at the stomach, by vomiting. I know this because my system does this with most of the fish sold in America or non-organic milk.)

Think about it — if you ingest a slightly toxic substance, which would be an effective way to protect your system, quickly getting rid of it or doing nothing? In the latter, the toxin stays in your system, your liver has to work hard, and still most of the toxins accumulate in your system. (And you may have though I’m the “weak” “sensitive” type. . . the truth is I’m healthier than the people who are okay with compromised foods.)

Detoxing and freeing your mind

The important point is this is not just about physical health. As I said in the beginning of this article, this is about freeing our mind. When we are physically addicted, our mind is addicted as well.

And my experience says detoxing the mind takes even longer than detoxing the body. My body is already out of cheesecake – the sugar and fat just don’t taste very good any more. But the conditioning in my mind still led me to have one. (Okay, lesson’s learned.)

How does our belief affect our health?

Just one more thing. Dr Bruce Lipton makes a big point about the placebo effect in his book The Biology of Belief. So, are all the effects of good eating really coming from our mind? For instance, raw food diet is all the rage now. There are so many stories of miraculous healing with raw foods, from obesity to cancer and other degenerative diseases.

Is it really raw foods that’s doing the good (physically), or is it because we hear these wonderful stories about raw foods and believe in them that bring out the miracles?

I don’t really know. I’d say, if it’s a positive effect, I care little if the cause was purely physical (foods) or belief. Or the mix of both.

I do think we are wise to be careful with negative beliefs. So if you are going to eat something that’s supposed to be no good to your health, have complete belief that the food is good for you. If you have any doubt or hesitation, even in the subconscious level, it can negatively affect you.

Dr Lipton says, in one of the YouTube video, “Belief is like pregnancy. You either believe or not.” Wanting to believe is not belief. Belief is simple and clear.

If you don’t 100% believe your food is good for you, you might want to change your eating habit.

So what do you think? Did this article inspire you to quit any foods or habits that you are addicted to? Please share in the comment.

Update: Here is a great article that beautifully explains the emotional side of food addiction. I think it helps a lot to understand our relationship with foods.
What Food Is Not at Choosing Raw

Review: The Biology Of Belief By Bruce Lipton

As a starter, here is a quiz.  Which of the following statements are true?

1. Our genes (DNAs) determine who we are, including our health and characters.
2. The nucleus of the cell (the part that contains DNAs) is like the brain of the cell, so the cell dies immediately when the nucleus is removed.
3. Cells can sense only chemical changes in their environment, so energy healing has no scientific basis.

Answer: They are all false.

Shattering the scientific myths

Dr. Bruce Lipton, who taught cell biology at University of Wisconsin’s School of Medicine and did research work at Stanford University, shatters the popular myths such as these in his The Biology of Belief: Unleashing the Power of Consciousness, Matter, & Miracles, which is written for laypersons.

The fatalistic view of our genes like #1 is common not only among laypersons but also among doctors.  However, Bruce Lipton explains how certain proteins work as an on-off switch to DNAs and how environmental factors, including our own beliefs, can create such switches.  Genes are only computer programs — information entered to the program determines the outcome, and we, as operators, have the key to choose which data to be entered. This is called epigenetics.

He then shows us how the cell membrane is the true smart guy that sense the signals and also responds to them.  DNA is like the CD disk of the software; once you installed the program, you don’t need it until you need to re-install it.  So the cell can survive quite a long while without the DNAs while the day to day, or second to second survival of the cell relies on the membrane’s sensing and responding function.

The cell membrane has receptors not only for chemical signals (from foods, drugs, internally-produced chemicals such as hormones, etc.) but for vibrational signals as well. (page 53)  This is a critical fact in considering the effectiveness of the energy healing as well as the effect of our thoughts and feelings on our wellbeing.

Quantum physics and new biology

Then he moves on to physics.  This is necessary because he is talking about cell level biology, which is all about chemical reactions, and chemistry is based on physics — physics is the basis of all science.  The astonishing fact is — Bruce Lipton introduces us to quantum physics!

Gee, I thought quantum physics was considered to be a quark pseudo science.  Quantum physics is accepted in the academics?

Bruce Lipton is firm in maintaining the new cell biology cannot be adequately explained by Newtonian physics — quantum physics understanding is essential. Which means, matter and energy are one and the same, and we are all interconnected.  Ah, so spiritual, isn’t it?

After reading this book, I went to my local Borders bookstore and walked through the aisle of science.  I so wish I could understand these physics books!  There are even books about potential time travel written by serious scientist!!  We laypersons are left behind in the dark ages.  We need more scientists like Bruce Lipton who can explain new science in our terms.

Biology and belief

The climax of the book is chapter 5, Biology and Belief.  I had to put down the book so many times to take my breath.  If I weren’t reading it in Starbucks, I would have screamed and run around, too.  It is loaded with clinically proven cases in which belief played the critical part in healing (or death):

• Knee arthritis patients who received fake surgery recovered just as well as patients who received real surgery.  (Both groups received the same post-operation care, including exercise.)  They believed they received real treatment, and that was enough to throw away their canes and play basketball with their grandchildren.
• In depth analysis of FDA data shows antidepressant pills did not outperform the sugar pills.  The reason the depression patients got better was because they believed the pill would help.  (Don’t ask me why then those pills got approved by FDA.)
• A case of a cancer patient who died some time after the initial treatment, as expected with this type of cancer.  However, the autopsy revealed he didn’t die of cancer — meaning he died because he, along with the doctors, believed he would die.

So you can kill someone if you can convince them what they swallowed was a poison.  It would be a perfect murder because doctors won’t be able to identify the cause of death.  Belief is this powerful.

What I like about Dr Bruce Lipton and The Biology Of Belief

This book is a great resource to gain the scientific understanding of energy and information healing, or what some would call miracles.  It’s an eye-opener and I strongly recommend it even if you are not particularly interested in science.

His view of positive belief affecting our reality can be considered the scientific ground for the Law of Attraction, at least when it comes to health and happiness.

I love the author’s attitude that “there cannot be exceptions to a theory; exceptions simply mean that a theory is not fully correct.”  (page 96)  Whether it’s a placebo effect or never-heard-of type soul shifting, this is the truly scientific approach.  Don’t dismiss the exceptions as messy flukes.  (Sorry about putting in my own promotion, but this is something I feel strongly about. Defending the theory by dismissing the cases that the theory fail to cover is very UN-scientific.)

How to change your belief in the subconscious mind

Bruce Lipton explains that there are actually two minds in us, the subconscious and the conscious, and the subconscious mind runs the show of our life most of the time.  So when the response is not desirable, whether it is ill health conditions or inappropriate behaviors, it is critical to change the subconscious response pattern.

The trouble is, we can’t change the subconscious by reasoning things out.  The subconscious mind is like an automated computer program, so we need to reprogram it.  It’s like my word-processing software automatically correcting my spelling.  Most of the time it’s fine, but there are certain words I use that are not in the software’s dictionary, and when the program corrects it, it irritates me.  And I can’t fix this problem by talking to my computer.  I need to take action to get it learn the new words.

How can we do the same to our subconscious mind?  Bruce Lipton mentions PSYCH-K.  But there are other effective methods to reprogram the subconscious mind, including EFT and hypnosis.  I guess introducing all kinds of reprograming methodology is outside the scope of this book, so we need to explore this further ourselves.

Bruce Lipton is in the movie What If?, so you might like to check it out too.

What do you think about the new science uncovering the mystery of life in such an unexpected way?  Please share your thoughts in the comment.