Juice Fast - Healing your body & Changing Your Life

I am still fasting….today is day 23 of my plan for doing 30 days this time around. It feels so good to be back to fasting – I’ve done so many shorter fasts of 2 or 4 days over this past year or so, however, my body feels like it is working at creating greater change whenever I undertake these longer fasts.

Besides all of the mental, spiritual and emotional benefits, there is no end to the physical benefits a body experiences as you fast your way to better well-being. The sheer physical changes that a person goes through each day as we detox are astounding.

Not only is my body detoxing, it is also rapidly changing out old cells, building up bacterial colonies, letting go of debris and revamping vitamin, mineral and nutrient stores. I can feel my stomach and intestines regenerating.

Because this is a juice fast, I am taking in ‘food’, but it is liquid and full of flavour. I think a true juice fast is a bit like an IV infusion….your stomach and intestines are completely empty and cleaned out. You take in liquid juice which absorbs directly into your system through that empty, unclogged stomach….

All of those vitamins and nutrients are being directed into the healing, detoxing and cleansing work that needs to be done each day of the fast. What an awesome thing to experience! I am making my own concoction of a combined fresh juice with fermented juices....truly life changing. 

Yesterday I realized I was craving meat. Of course I thought this was very strange as I have done many fasts and never, ever craved meat before. I always crave apples, grapes, onions, garlic or some other fruit and vegetables, besides, I eat very little meat and never crave it. Then I realized I was getting all of those things into me with the juice, so my mind was craving other types of foods and perhaps protein will be first on my agenda when I am done with my fast….

I am also far more aware of my skin this time around, which is exactly what I wanted….our skin contains the roots of our Energy Field, an often overlooked but extremely vital and important part of our overall health. When we nourish all of these elements of our beings we can truly enter a state of optimum health.

Looking forward to enjoying these last few days on my fast  to see what this next detox cycle brings and then on to much more,

April

Life is a bowl of fruit salad......

Fasting & Healing A Tooth - The Root of All Evil

Today is day 4 of my latest fast, another week in this journey towards bringing life back into my gut, body, mind and soul. This time around it has gotten even more interesting – to say the least! My body is balancing it's flora and living organisms - exactly what I hoped would take place.

The details.

This fast started out like any other, all the usual detox symptoms – except on day 2 I got a migraine that was so bad I had to lay low for the entire day. Nothing I did or took or thought or anything, relieved the pain - until I did one thing.

I made the connection to my mouth, teeth, gums.

And this is where things get interesting. I have had a long history of good, strong teeth – thankfully. However, years ago I had a dentist who insisted on putting fillings where they weren’t needed - often starting with a drill - he would find a cavity where there was none.

For that matter I question if they are ever needed at all – over the years I have done my research and discovered so many instances of teeth being able to heal on their own, once we change the pH of our mouths.

However, what happened with me this week is that an old swelling around my tooth I used to have years ago flared up again. More proof of underlying old inflammation that is being rooted out each time I fast.

So, my body pulled out more of this stuff and once I realized I needed to treat my mouth (tooth) – my headache went away in 5 minutes! All I did was make a poultice with Fullers Earth, clove oil and a few other healing ingredients – pack this in place and let it work.

Needless to say my body’s ability to heal itself never ceases to amaze me.

Now, getting back to the fasting – well, actually my mouth and it’s flora have become the central focus of this fast – so I am doing warm salty water daily, still using a poultice on the tooth and all the usual herbal teas, fermented drinks, apple cider vinegars.

I am feeling pretty good so far – of course with all this sunshine it can’t be helped!

One thing I am seriously considering trying is some green juicing with a pile of green leaves, sprouts and herbs – just to see if my immune system boosts even more (if that is possible and I am certain it is).

We have one twist with this fast this week – it will end on Friday in time for our Summer Solstice celebration – where I will cook, bake, eat and enjoy the delights of the season.

So looking forward to this weekend – stop by and see me in the markets!

April

A little fairie girl in the field....

Fasting with a Goal - Spiritual Quest

It is now 10 June and I am just finishing up 3 x 3 days of fasting on more of the same types of drinks….this time it has been mostly on my own as the others took longer food breaks. I kind of wanted to see how I would do on my own as well, and it was better then fine.

So, today is day 8 of my planned 9 days. I refer to it as 3 x 3 because I broke this fast down into 3 day or 72 hour increments with a goal to be achieved by the end of each section of 3 days each.

Actually I started out my fast with 3 questions that I wanted answers to and treated my time as an intense spiritual quest. And you know what? It worked far better, it has been easier and I have really found some deeper insights into the issues I was searching for. 

This is what fasting is all about – set a goal (it could be health, breaking bad habits, changing something, making or creating something or any number of questions you want answers to) then follow through with the fasting all the while focusing on your task.

There really aren’t any rules when it comes to fasting. Except, you don’t eat! LOL.

One of the things I have changed this time around is I am taking in more Apple Cider Vinegar. Of course that’s easy to do when mine tastes so good (can’t beat Rebel Foods ACV!) and I am adding it in to everything I drink.

I realized I was taking the usual amount of about 2 tablespoons each day – however, during a fast/healing situation, my body was constantly craving more. So I upped it to about ½ cup to nearly 1 cup throughout the day. 

And I immediately felt the difference. My energy went up – things started to ‘move’ at a faster pace, less detox symptoms and generally brighter all round. My body simply feels even cleaner, if that is possible.

The most wonderful thing about all of this is I do feel I have turned a corner – you remember from my initial goal of wanting to completely change out my gut bacteria into healthy colonies throughout, well that is happening. 

Only over these last 10 days or so can I say I do sense a significant shift in my internal gut flora and indeed in my overall body flora. Thankfully being tuned in really helps – but you can’t help being well informed when you are fasting.

There is only you and your body - in constant contact.

Right now I am finishing this post and I have reached my 9 days goal – just a few more hours to go and see how I will feel. I plan to take a couple of eating days to feed all of these good bacteria now living in my body and then go right back to fasting for the next phase of bringing back my life….

Onwards & Upwards

April

Rebel Foods Market Stall - Apple Cider Vinegar 

Gut Bacteria Profile Change....Days 13 to 16

Day 13 to 16

We are back fasting again after a days break – back on the liquids – this week I am taking in my fermented juices (kiwi, strawberry, orange, lemon & ginger) as well as apple cider vinegar, beetroot juice and raspberry apple vinegar plus 1 - 2 tablespoons of homemade goat’s yogurt a day in the drinks. 

Well, this time the transition from eating to fasting was a little bit more difficult. But, not because I wanted to eat or anything – my mind is clearly made up on that matter and I have no desire for food at the moment. It was something else, less tangible at first.

It actually took me a couple of days to ‘readjust’ (slip back into detox mode) into fasting again after taking a little break. Which was strange – I could feel such a resistance coming from somewhere deep in my gut and it was all to familiar.

I have some interesting thoughts on all of this – and I feel we are making significant progress. 

One of the things I noticed right away was that the difficulty was coming from gut bacteria. Of course, I would probably put these bacteria in the camp of non-beneficial ones as they have been giving me grief all along (deep inflammation).

That’s the reason I need to do a bacteria change out in the first place – my gut was never set up properly from the beginning of my life. Too many antibiotics, too many infections, reactions to vaccines, drugs, solid food way too early, and toxic exposure to endocrine disruptors. 

Whew! Anything else to add to that list....sadly all to common these days.

And that’s just what I know about! All of these same bacteria (remember they are present from the first years of our lives) or their descendants are still lurking around the place. These are the exact same ones that brought me IBS symptoms, digestive issues, arthritic pain, poor skin, non-functional hormones and cancer.

Is it any wonder I want them gone? LOL

This week, what flared up for me was an old inflammation (read hospital infection MRSA) that I had many years ago. Right now I can see how these infections (there have been 4) over the years have been the source of a lot of deep rooted inflammation leading to aches, pains and general ill health. 

Hospitals are filthy places for anyone, sick or otherwise! 

Actually I am quite pleased this has come up – this has shown me how much the probiotics are doing and hopefully (finally) taking root deep within my gut. I know they have to battle the other ones first and I am giving them space to do just that, through the fasting. 

That’s what this fast is all about.

Quite a few other things have surfaced for me as well. Mostly about how much our gut flora (and skin organisms too - one and the same?) must affect our thinking, behaviour, habits, moods, cravings, energy levels, nutrient absorption, digestion, immune system and all else. 

When our guts are down – so is everything else. Including our moods, thoughts and thinking, that's the first thing we learn as Nutritionists.

There really is a link between what inhabits our guts and how we go about our days – feelings, thoughts, and perhaps all else. I have long ‘known’ this was a fact, but only now am I getting a chance to watch it and feel it shift and change as my gut does the same. 

And of course, I have been talking about ‘obesity bacteria’ for years – they are generated and sustained from all of these medications, chlorinated water, rubbish foods and chemicals we are subjected to….not the least of which are these deadly antibiotics.

Our bodies are extraordinary places, and our gut flora is a living matrix capable of amazing healing – it’s not to be tampered with, only supported! Out with the trash....LOL

April

Dandelion Coffee is fabulous for your gut health! And it tastes great too....available on my Market Stall or by mail order! 

A Spring Cleanse!! Day 2

Today I am fasting….it’s actually now day 2 of a spring detox I want (need) to do. I haven’t been writing very much over these past few months….well, actually I have but it’s of a different sort – mostly for the market and stuff.

But, that doesn’t mean I don’t have this need to write things down. It’s more of a record actually….I have written down so much of what has been taking place in and around me as well as my dreams over the years that I could fill many books. 

And of course, I have done exactly that!

So, getting back to my fasting. The last time we did a big fast was before Christmas and it felt so good! In the meantime, since Christmas, I have done several small and different types of fasts – things I would never have thought of before.

For instance, one week I was feeling quite off – so I did a garlic fast. Basically we just ate guacamole with large amounts of garlic (8 to 12 cloves) on very thin crackers/toast for 3 days and drank lots of water. 

It felt so good that I did it for the next 3 weeks as well. And now continue to do this for a day here and there whenever I feel I need a boost. There is something special about garlic, it uplifts and heals like nothing else. I always feel as if my thinking and my head is clearer when I take enough of it in…

Then we have had a few fasts on just my Butterfly Juice (in case you have not yet experienced Rebel Foods Market Stall Butterfly Juice – you have to make a special trip to west Cork! LOL). This is nettle, dandelions, Irish apples & ginger and it is pure heaven…..

We refer to it as ‘spring in a jar’. Including this in our fasts has been very effective for boosting energy levels, clearing skin and getting sluggish digestive systems moving properly again. And, it tastes greats too! Somedays it's all I take in and I feel it really helps with general well-being, especially suited for this time of the year. 

So….for this fast – I might incorporate nearly everything or just some of these things. I plan to take it day by day and see how we get on. At this stage we are still working on our goal – or the purpose of doing the fast in the first place. 

Also, I am learning so much more about gut bacteria this time around as well. And perhaps that is one of my aims here. I have a few questions I need answered and my body is taking me on this fabulous trip to find those answers….

I’ll keep you posted…..

April

Rebel Foods Market Stall - Butterfly Juice and Rebel Juice (fermented health tonics) 

What if everything you have been told about your body is WRONG?

What if……we were able to take a few things we ‘think’ we know about our bodies, our health and living on this planet in general and look at them a little differently?

For, instance, are we really meant to age? What if we are, but not in an accelerated falling apart, memory losing, decline that we currently face…. With most of humanity sliding into home base barely holding it all together after 70 or 80 short years? 

To age might mean something altogether different if we were living in a healthy chemical free, non-gmo body.

Maybe, our bodies are perfectly designed to seal, heal and repair quickly and efficiently. So why don’t they? Just where does this leaky gut, allergy syndrome, inflammation, chronic pain, wear and tear damage come from and why doesn’t it ‘heal’?

What is the hold up inside of our bodies and why does life take us from energetic youth into breakdown mode so quickly…..what if it’s just not supposed to be this way? 

Perhaps, we are here for a long time as well as a ‘feel’ good time. Shouldn’t we feel good, maybe great, enjoy wellness – bordering on fabulous, at least some of the time….ahhh, yes, but we must be healthy first. 

Then, just like nature outside of us, it is also in us. Therefore, our bodies are self cleaning, self regulating and perfect ecosystems of balanced life – always striving to maintain and find that inner homeostasis.

We should crave balance….

What if only water, real food (as opposed to rubbish…), herbs, fresh air and nature – is the cure for all that ails us? Using anything else just shunts the symptoms around, buries us in toxins and interferes with the healing process.

Just saying….

April

Healing Powers of Garlic - On A Garlic Fast

Right now I am taking raw garlic crushed in food just to generally clean up my system after a long winter. In the past I have used it many times for naturally fighting illness, infection and inflammation. And it works far better then anything else I have come across.

Garlic is an amazing herb and works on many levels within the healing processes of the body. For instance it helps with DNA repair, carcinogen metabolism, inflammatory response, hormone regulation, apoptosis, cell cycle shifts and of course detox. Each one of these are vital functions in our bodies. 

If you are ready to boost your immune response to be able to handle anything that comes your way perhaps you might consider taking a medicinal dose of raw garlic from time to time and especially whenever you have a flu or illness to deal with.

Over these past 2 days I have only taken in several cloves of raw crushed garlic in guacamole (avocado, lemon juice, olive oil, parsley & garlic) on thinly sliced sourdough bread. I have sipped my Apple Cider Vinegar and drank my fermented juices as well while I am doing my little garlic fast.

Last week I did 3 days in a row of the same thing….5 – 6 cloves of raw garlic each day in guacamole on 3 slices of bread and then the fermented drinks. That’s all I took in for each day with plenty of water. 

I also kept up nicely with my running, weights and yoga and generally treated these days like any other fast days. I just had to get my head around ways of getting the garlic into me without a hassle, while it does have to be in food.... so the bread worked perfectly. 

I felt great afterwards and am now doing it again this week....and perhaps next week as well to keep going with this much needed spring clean!

If you wanted to give this a try yourself, I have included some of my notes from my clinic......

Healing Powers of Garlic

Garlic is medicinal when crushed, allowed to stand for 10 minutes and then eaten raw in food. 5 to 15 cloves per day over 72 hours is best when fighting acute infection or illness. 

I would recommend taking it in the same way as any other antibiotic – every 4 or 6 hours around the clock for 24 hours, then every 8 hours, then every 12 hours over the first 3 days to ensure a constant blood level of this potent herb. 

It works best to take the garlic raw for the first 72 hours in oily food, then stop for 72 hours break. Start another 72 hour cycle following the same pattern to complete the healing process. 

This allows the body time, energy and space to shift into an immune response, and use the garlic as part of its’ defences.

Have A Healthy Day!

April

Garlic ready for guacamole 

3 Point Turn…..Life Changes

I can’t always say in what order my life has changed. Over the years so many things – incidents, situations, even a spoken word, has had occasion to rock my world. 

Often to the core.

But, there are those very few times in life, when I made a decision or found myself in a particular predicament, where I had no choice but to discover for myself exactly what I am made of.

And I have done that, time and again.

Looking back as I often do at this time of year, I can remember times when I have not felt as strong in myself as I do right now. Or times when I really doubted I could see something through to the very end.

These were the situations that held onto me and kept me back. 

I had a tendency to be surrounded by people who left me feeling fearful and doubtful and for years I would blame myself for a lack of will power, an inability to stay the course or self-sabotage. 

Yet, when I distanced myself from these groups of people and the mind-set that went along with them, well I found my own mind and the rest quickly became history. Because, I finally had the energy, the courage and the fortitude to make the necessary changes to my life. 

In my reflections at this time, I see strong patterns of change throughout this past decade in particular where I have made significant shifts in my thinking or mindset around certain expectations (placed on my by society, others, myself?)- which resulted in profound change in the path I am on.

Perhaps it’s as simple as making the choice, seeing it through – sticking with that new energy and then forging ahead on this new-found road. 

One of the most significant decisions I (we) made as a family was to move away from modern chemical methods of treating and dealing with sickness and health. In its’ place I committed to completely adhering to all natural means of creating and maintaining health and healing.

Since the premise of any life altering, world changing shift is the fact that you don’t go back – you keep moving forward no matter what happens…..this decision pushed all of my buttons and of course I had to deal with everything that came my way, naturally.

Working my way through the fear and ill health of cancer with only my intuition to guide my healing process gave me hope, courage and a profound new respect for the powerhouse of healing stored deep within my body cells.

Another monumental shift occurred when in keeping with my no drug or chemical intervention framework a few years later, I knew I would be having my baby at home in a free birth. You can read the story for yourself here– but even 7 years on from that time, I have to say it changed me forever.

I gave birth to some part of me that day, an elemental force that had not existed on this planet in nearly forever. Perhaps not since my first incarnation before the shock of life’s hardships in this physical dimension took a toll and seared their way onto my soul.

Taking the birth of my child into my own hands – thus avoiding another surgery and MRSA infection, potential harm to myself and my baby, not to mention the indignity of it all – taught me one more thing about myself; life has a force all of it’s own and when we allow it, the living of it takes over.

Lastly, we took the decision to go it on our own without seeking, searching for or believing we needed money or jobs from sources other then what we created ourselves. Cutting ties that bound us to this just over broke endlessness, which left us feeling useless and in despair most of the time. 

It was hard to feel motivated on emptiness…..so a truer sense of sustainable living was what we were after - we had to sustain ourselves with no outside help.

After all, we have education, training, many skills and brains that work (LOL), so why not find it in ourselves to make our own way in this world and stop the forced slavery of following someone else’s dream or worse, losing your dreams to nothingness. 

Should be easy, right? Not! Besides, at the end of the day, we didn’t feel we had a choice….backed into a corner by the recession sorts out the reality on the ground in short order. 

Come out fighting or die trying!

Not one part of any of these changes, was an easy decision or a comfortable situation to find oneself in with a family in tow – at least not in the beginning. However, like all the other intuitive, life altering leanings in my life, it is working out, we are moving forward and I am happier then before.

Perhaps, I am happier then I have ever been because I have taken back some measure of control – finally steering my own ship. Here’s hoping for smooth sailing and warm seas….

April

Sailing Camp - Glandore 

Getting On With Living….

Today I am fasting again….however, it was nice to eat loads (read way too much!) over the Christmas holidays and equally nice to be experimenting, cooking and tasting the rich seasonal foods on offer. Life really does revolve around food and eating in this house!

But, that's all behind us now, so, getting back to today. I felt is was time to get this month started for me on yet another footing (self care is paramount) and I am doing a bit of a fast. At the moment, I am not sure how long I will fast this time around. Perhaps a week or two – or maybe longer, I like to take these things one day at a time whenever I can.

Already today I had my first little detox challenge…..I started feeling achy and sinusy as if I was coming down with a cold (like the one the kids had 2 weeks ago!). And my first thought was to just go back to bed….but alas, that isn’t really an option.

I just followed my instincts (or a very strong intuition in my case) and mixed up some of my Apple Cider Vinegar into my fermented Rebel Juice and sipped on that for the rest of the morning. By the time I realized I was feeling back to myself, the juice was gone and I had been busy with all my chores around the place.

It works so quickly!

And now here I am with quite a few things done including 2 mini workouts and still marveling that I am feeling much better – and glad I never went back to bed. The moral of the story here seems to be – to never underestimate the healing power of your body when given the right ingredients.

In this case it was my own apple cider vinegar and fermented beetroot juice – it packs a powerful anti-oxidant punch as well as provides nourishing probiotics for the gut. Because our immune system is gut mediated (if your tummy isn’t working, your immune system is compromised) all we need to do is boost ourselves from the inside with beneficial organisms….

Then they do the work for us. 

When I think back to how I used to treat myself when I felt low, poorly or even completely under the weather – well, needless to say, it was a world apart from where I am today. I would often just ignore symptoms or worse, just push them down with a pain reliever and carry on.

If I have learned anything about health, healing and detox over these many years living this close to nature and in tune with my body, it’s this; when you are gentle with your body and provide natural, equally gentle means of healing, you only have to walk down this road once. 

Pushing something down or aside, simply means it will pop back up to be dealt with on another day and perhaps be far worse then what you started with.  Best to face up to whateveritis that’s around us on the day and provide our body with what it needs (nutrients, herbs, probiotics, exercise, quiet time, laughter, detox) to move forward – then we can get on with living our lives. 

And that’s what we are doing here, right?

April

Unity in Soul - Ushering in the Solstice

I have finished my fast – we stopped after 20 days, it was long enough and we were ready! LOL

But, seriously, we felt we broke through to the other side of something….into a higher level of this path we have been walking and seeking. So, now is the time to re-build, recover our selves, enjoy the season and eat some wonderful food.

However, today after only a day of eating I feel really well, strong and have been out running. It’s quite a feeling to be detoxed, ready for anything and clear about what has to be done during this next phase of life arriving in the new year.

I have been thinking on these things today as I have been eating lots while working out and getting the house ready for Solstice. This is my absolute favourite time of the year and we have spent the day the sun returns in several locations throughout the years.

Yet, no matter where I am, it’s always nicest to be home, of course, and home is anywhere my family is. 

I find it intriguing how much we are spiritual creatures, yet we can get so caught up in the mundane we often forget it’s deeper connections to these important seasons. Our spiritual selves are actually more accessible, open and in tune with us, as the sun shifts and moves closer to the earth.   

This upcoming Solstice for example, ushers in such an undercurrent of inner soul work with the return of light as well as a festival of great food. This time of feasting has also quite wonderful soul connotations – the beginnings of which are about nourishing all parts of our beings.

After the detox comes the real work of piecing our lives back together, through food, exercise and the closeness of family with the season; we find ourselves – the centre point of our hearts, unity in soul.

April

Gourmet Seaweed & Sea Salt Blend at my market stall 

Seasonal Energy Shift.....

What an interesting week we have had after the new moon….this time of year we are in the middle of great seasonal changes. But, perhaps at this time in the history of the world we are also in the middle of great revelations – about ourselves and how the world has been run for us, certainly not by us.

I have noticed how jaded we are, cynical and more then a little unfocused with all that is taking place around us. But, as many of these things rise up to the surface to be revealed I have also noticed another great anomaly of this current age….

There is so much we just don’t want to know (indifference?) or at least I tend to meet someone every now and then who feels this way about themselves and the world around them. It’s such a sad state to be in!

I know I certainly don’t feel that way….I want to know everything about everything and how it all works and then some. LOL. This Universe we call home is filled with wonderful things just waiting for us to discover, re-claim and re-cover –never a dull moment around here…...

Over the years my body has taken me on this incredible journey (and continues to do so) which only gets deeper, more focused and rewarding with each step of this age old path….however, along the way the single most thing that must be pulled out from these spaces is fear.

Fear, there’s that terrible word again, it has taken root and grown so deeply into the light places of our bodies and minds, that in some instances,  we are completely paralyzed (energy block) because of it.

Perhaps the best way to overcome some of this fear is to take one thing that you are afraid of and talk about it, write about it, pursue it and otherwise explore what it means to you and your life here this time around.

Then, once you have gained some new perspective on it, jump in the deep end of it and see what happens…perhaps it’s time to see where you are at on your journey within and certainly to find out if the hope, faith and love you find inside will ‘float’ you onwards towards your goals.

April

Rebel Duck......