When I first heard and read about a liver detox, I had my reservations not about its effectiveness but more to why I would want to do that to myself so I got CJ to agree to be my guinea pig! *sniggers* He blogged about his experience on his blog too... whaahaha!
I'm not a kind of person who would go through fasts or eat all organic food just because its good for me. I love my nitrates aka hams/sausages/luncheon meats... and I don't see the need to purchase a carrot at $3 instead of the usual 60 cents... something in that drift if you know what I mean. The only holistic thing I can appreciate would be massage therapy but leave my hotdogs alone. *smacks lips* But since we've started our new weightloss cycle, I thought that perhaps clearing out our insides a little would certainly help in the absorption of the very select nutrients and supplements that we would be taking in the coming weeks.
Thus the first detox experiment. The Liver Detox. A procedure that has been practiced with great success for untold generations. I did some research online to how to do it and I will adapt it here. While there are recommended timings to fulfill each part of the detox, I have broken it down to the timeslots that can work for almost any similar timing.
IMPORTANT: The rest of this post can be somewhat gross. Don't say I didn't warn you. If you're easily queasy about bodily excretions, skip this post and exit now.
I have adapted the content from this website but compiled it here for easier reference according to what we did. So this info below is not something I thought about randomly or created. I compared several sites on this and this one was sufficiently informative to help me get the procedure together at home. I was very methodical about all of it too y'know! :) However, please use common sense should you attempt this detox and I disclaim all liability towards any and all possible negative reactions you might have to this after reading this post if you do the detox.
Please DO NOT do this if you have doubts about doing it - have not done other research or if you are not feeling well, if you have existing health conditions -better to check with your doctor before proceeding and/or if you are pregnant.
Introduction to the Standard Liver Cleanse:
This is a natural way to effectively and painlessly remove from the gallbladder and liver, most stones, gravel, crystals, debris and residues that hinder your body's detoxification and healing. It cleanses the liver bile ducts and eventually purifies the blood stream by making the liver cleaner and more efficient. This is a procedure you can do at home, over one weekend, using ingredients from a local supermarket and pharmacy - for a little more than $10.00. In addition, it is non-toxic, fast acting, has no side-effects, promotes increased well-being, raises the level of available energy and can provide freedom from most allergies.
Purpose of the Cleanse:
This cleanse is used to clean the liver and gall bladder of gall stones, gravel and sand to dramatically improve your body's health. The liver cleanse also has the ability to expel pollutants and toxins from the gallbladder and liver. You can expect your allergies to disappear more and more with each subsequent cleanse and even improve your complexion! Each liver cleanse "cures" a different set of allergies, suggesting that the liver is compartmentalized - different parts having different duties. Incidentally, a liver detox also eliminates most shoulder, upper arm and upper back pain.
Introduction:
One of the main function of the liver is to make bile, up to an estimated 1.8 litres in a day! The liver is full of tubes (biliary tubules) that deliver the bile to one large tube - the common bile duct. The gall bladder is attached to the common bile duct and acts as a storage reservoir. Eating fat or protein triggers the gall bladder to squeeze itself empty after about twenty minutes (or after ingesting the liver cleanse solution). The stored bile finishes its trip down the common bile duct to the small intestine and eventually to the colon (large intestine).
Of course the gall bladder does not hold enough bile to neutralize all of the liver cleanse solution you have ingested. The empty gallbladder then signals its master, the liver, to dump all available bile forcefully into the common bile duct as well. In this fashion, the liver turns itself practically inside out and empties all of its available bile together with stones, gravel and crystals.
Epsom salt serves to relax the tubules so that the passage of larger stones is painless and smooth. The Epsom salt also serves to evacuate the small and large intestines of feces. See benefits of Epsom Salts HERE. For many persons, including children, the biliary ducts (tubing) are choked with gallstones. Some develop allergies or hives, but some have no symptoms at all. There are over half a dozen variety of gallstones, most of which have cholesterol crystals in them. They can be black, red, white, green or tan colored. The green ones get their color from being coated with bile.
At the very center of each stone scientists found a clump of bacteria, suggesting a dead bit of parasite might have started the formation of the stone. *Shivers.GROSS!Shudders again* Perhaps it is the liver's function to encapsulate parasites to avoid getting destroyed by such an invader. That's fine for one or two, but how about thousands of such encapsulations?
With gallstones and liver stones, much less excess cholesterol leaves the body and cholesterol levels may rise. A liver cleanse will invariably result in a lowering of cholesterol levels.
How is it Done?
Choose a free weekend where you won't be going out or doing anything much to attempt this. There was a semi-fast that they ask for prior to the detox but since CJ wasn't really eating heavily this week and was already on his low carb cycle, he had chicken for lunch on Friday and spent the rest of the day plus the whole of Saturday detoxing without solids (on liquids only - water, clear juices and teas) till I returned home to administer the process.
STEP 1
The recommended semi-fast before you commence is said as this...
Drink apple juice for three days preceding the liver cleanse. For these three days, eat frugally, if you must, and then only small amounts of raw unprocessed fruit and/or vegetable salads. Every day take at least one full quart of high quality, unfiltered, preferably home-made apple juice. You should be able to see the sediments on the bottom of the container. The pectin in the apple juice helps to soften and flatten the stones in the gall bladder and liver. This will also help their passage through the bile ducts. This semi-fast also empties the intestines of their food content and makes the collection of stones less problematic.
Ingredients needed:
4 Heaping Tablespoons of Epsom Salts (you can purchase this box for less than $5 from Guardian Pharmacy)
3/4 cup of Good Quality Olive Oil (we used Extra Virgin Olive Oil - purchased from any supermarket)
3 Fresh Grapefruits (freshly squeezed to give you at least 3/4 cups worth)
1/2 Teaspoon of Vit. C powder. We used 2 of our usual Vit. C tablets aka Redoxon dissolvables - easily purchased at any supermarket or pharmacy.
They also suggest some natural sleep supplements if you need them if you have problem sleeping usually. Ie Ornithine but these are not really necessary.
Apparatus needed:
1 drinking cup
1 citrus fruit juicer *if you don't have this just manually squeeze it. Just that grapefruits however are quite hard to squeeze without one*
1 strainer to remove the pulp
1 measuring cup for liquids
1 bottle or jar big enough to hold 3 cups of water.
1 125ml disposable bottle
1 tablespoon for measuring/stirring
STEP 2
Choose a day like Saturday for the cleanse so that you can rest the next day. Take no medicines, vitamins or other pills that you can do without. They could hinder success of the cleanse. Eat a no fat fruit breakfast and light fat-free lunch such as cooked cereals with fruit but no butter or milk. This allows the bile to build up and develop pressure in the liver. Higher pressure pushes out more stones.
2:00 PM.
Do not eat or drink after 2:00 o'clock. If you break this rule you could feel quite uncomfortable later. Get your Epsom salts ready. At 2:00pm, mix 4 heaping tablespoons of Epsom salts in 3 cups of water, add 1/2 teaspoon of Vit C powder and pour this into a jar. This makes four servings, 3/4 cup each. Please keep in mind that the first serving begins at 6:00pm and the 2nd serving for the evening is taken at 8:00pm. The other two required servings are reserved for the following morning. Place the jar in the refrigerator to get ice cold (this is for convenience and taste only).
6:00 PM.
Mix and shake the jar. Pour and Drink one serving (3/4 cup) of the ice cold prepared Epsom salts water. You can certainly drink a few mouthfuls of water afterwards or rinse your mouth.
Reaction: CJ started feeling stirrings in his stomach. Felt a little bloatedness. He said the bitter salty solution was vile.
8:00 PM.
Repeat the above by drinking another 3/4 cup of Epsom salts water. You have not eaten since two o'clock, but you won't feel hungry. Do something light like watch tv, read or use the computer for the balance of the evening, extremely light leisurely activity only. The timing of the actual cleanse is relatively critical to achieve success. Do not be more than 10 minutes early or late for anything that follows next.
Reaction: CJ started going to the bathroom at hourly intervals with slight watery diarrhea. Slight stomach cramps and the start of an "ass burn" where you eliminate so much that your butt starts too hurt.
9:45 PM.
Pour 3/4 cup (measured cup) of your high quality olive oil into the disposable bottle. Pour the prepared 3/4 cup of squeezed grapefruit juice into the measuring cup, adding this to the oil. Close the bottle tightly with its lid and shake briskly until well mixed, almost watery. Only fresh squeezed juice will do this. Now visit the bathroom one or more times, even if this makes you slightly late for your ten o'clock drink. Be ready to go to bed and STAY in bed.
10:00 PM.
Take the solution to your bedside if you want, but drink it standing up. Drink the potion you have mixed. Get all of it down immediately, if possible. Very elderly, or weak persons, should space this over a period of five minutes. CJ found this the hardest to do of all the processes as it really isn't the most pleasant of drinks to chug down.
Reaction: CJ found it quite difficult to drink down the bottle of oil & grapefruit juice solution but did it at one shot. It was just THAT gross so he had a little nausea after finishing it.
Lie down immediately. The sooner you lie down, the more stones you will get out. Put your knees up to your chest in a fetal position. Lie on your right side for at least half an hour. The oil/citrus juice mixture will go to your gallbladder and liver. These organs will not know what to do with THAT much oil emulsion, so they will spasm and throw off all the available bile - plus stones, gravel and crystals.
10:30 PM.
You may turn on your back with a good thick feather pillow. Try to think about what is happening in the liver. Think loving thoughts - your liver is sensitive and responsive to feelings of resentment, vindictiveness and hate. Try to keep perfectly still for about half an hour or at least 20 minutes. Visualize the cleansing action taking place. You may feel a train of stones traveling along the bile ducts like marbles. There is little likelihood of pain because the bile duct valves are open - thanks to the Epsom salts.
Relax and go to sleep if you don't already need to go to the bathroom. Let nature do her thing. Tomorrow you will be cleaner, much cleaner, and also healthier than before.
Reaction: CJ went to the bathroom again! No major stomach cramps but watery diarrhea for sure. He didn't wake up through the night after that till it was time for the next dose the next morning.
Next morning (est. 10 hours later at least, after 6:00 AM)
Upon wakening, take your third dose of prepared Epsom salt solution. If you have indigestion or nausea, wait until this is gone before drinking the Epsom salts. Do not take this before 6:00 AM. It would be best if you don't get up and have someone else give you this potion.
Reaction: This was where it got a little scary and mightily gross. He went to the bathroom to eliminate and they came shooting out fast, furious and explosive. The first sitting of the day saw little black specs floating. The 2nd to the 4th onwards after literally came at 30 minute intervals and it was shocking! It works and he's now a convert!
The toilet bowl was filled with floating mushy green lumps, foam and hard fingernail sized stony bits in the green pea like soup concoction. Sample image of a liver stone HERE. <-- these are not his stones - I found this online incase you were curious how it looks like. But you've got to check out your own eliminations if & when you do this yourself and shock yourself.
2 Hours Later
Take your fourth (the last one - Thank God!) dose of Epsom salts. Drink 3/4 cup of the mixture. You may go back to bed if you like. After 2 more hours you may get up and take something into your empty stomach. Start with some fresh-made fruit juice. Half an hour later, eat some fruit. One hour later you may eat regular food but keep it light, uncooked and natural. By dinner time on Sunday, you should feel fully recovered and ready to slay a dragon.
What to expect?
Expect diarrhea in the morning of the second day (Sunday). Alot of it. CJ claims that he had never gone to the toilet so many times before in such a short time frame..even with food poisoning. Wahhaha! It wasn't as painful as actually having food poisoning though as there wasn't the element of bad stomach cramps or vomitting.. the only issue was the ass burn!
I doubt you would want to filter what you had eliminated. Peering into the toilet bowl would be sufficient. Look for the greenish kind, since this is proof that they are genuine gallstones and not food residue. Only bile from the liver is green. The bowel movement (if there is any) sinks, but gall and liver stones float because of the cholesterol content and it is actually VERY obvious! Eventually, you may have to eliminate up to 2,000 stones, in several sessions, over a period of a year or so, before the liver is clean enough to rid you of all allergies or upper back, or other symptoms, permanently.
Overall Reactions: A total of 16 diarrhea visits that ended around 4pm on Sunday. With a heck alot of green & black floaty stuff that came out mostly on the 2nd day within the first 5 eliminations of the day. The rest of the evening, he was back to normal feeling lighter and cleaner. Normal and very light bowel movements resumed on Monday morning. We'll probably do this again in 2-3 months time again! Liver Detoxed!!
I have had the pleasure from time to time to have generous sponsor partners that appropriately offer me products and services that suite my lifestyle and needs. In December, some packages were delivered for me and I discovered several bottles of different flavored Verlaque splashes. What are splashes? Well, they're gourmet mixtures of Olive oil with various mixes of fruits or flavour dense ingredients for cooking, marinating or eating with salad or fruits. Check out the product range here at the Verlaque website.
In our house, we have many variations of our salad mixes. From various sliced or diced vegetables such as iceberg lettuce, carrots, green & red peppers, tomatoes, peas, broccoli, fresh red onions *sliced thinly* as seen above to adding others like snowpeas, fresh mushrooms, cucumber, celery... practically any vegetable you like would work but above are our usual mixes.
Finally, we always top it with a meat of sorts. Whether its grilled sausages, grilled beef slices, roasted chicken, Teriyaki Wings *as above*, pork ribs, hotdogs, crispy fried luncheon meat or canned tuna. And that completes a very satisfying meal for the day. Heavy in flavor, Big in quantity and overall very Satisfying with the best part that we eat so much and we lose weight while at it! :)
I'm a splash fan for sure, you might want to check it out if you were thinking of something great to eat this coming week. NTUC Finest!!
And another product from the same sponsor partner was this bottle called So!Go White Chocolate Sauce. Most of my dance students would have received a bottle of this in December before Christmas. Its sinfully decadent and completely delicious in any way possible. If you are currently attending my classes and haven't gotten a bottle of this, I still have 6 bottles left so if you want one - let me know this week and I'll bring it to the next class for you! While stocks last.
One of the best things that came out of spreading the joy of chocolate sauce out to my friends and students were that a box came back to me of homemade cupcakes made with a mixture of the white chocolate sauce with cream topping! It was crazy yummy!!
In picture, Tracy's friend & team teach instructor, my very gorgeous GF (who guested me into Pure Fitness but will remain anonymous), me and 
