Re-Set and Food Sensitivities

If you suspect that you may have sensitivities to certain foods or additives in foods a cleanse and reset may be a good way to find out. For instance, two years ago I was living with a lot of acid reflux, weight gain and joint inflammation. My Chiropractor recommended a cleanse to reveal if I had food allergies and to jump start weight loss.

Since I work with the Nutrilite company I wanted to design the cleanse around their shakes and supplements. After researching several published cleanses and reputable nutrition authors I designed a cleanse and diet reset that I hoped would identify my food sensitivities and help me form healthier eating habits. It began with protein shakes and a whole food plant based diet, then gradually re-introduced animal protein, dairy and gluten in order to discover what foods if any were causing uncomfortable reactions.

Basically you remove certain food groups from your diet for a two week period and then gradually re-introduce one group at a time over the following two weeks. I found that Bovine dairy products, except for yogurt, were causing the reflux and a lot of the joint inflammation. Wheat products came in as mildly irritating and I actually lost my taste for a variety of animal proteins.

Now, I’m working with a whole foods, plant based diet and the weight loss is happening gradually. Joint swelling and pain have almost disappeared and acid reflux is a thing of the past. See some of my former posts here on Healthchat to read about my progress.

As a disclaimer I do have a graduate degree in Nursing and I’ve worked with one of the top Vitamin and Supplement companies for over 30 years so I know a lot about nutrition, however, I do not have a degree in Nutrition or any certifications in that field. Also if you have ever had a violent reaction to food, ie., hives, difficulty breathing, or anaphylactic shock, definitely follow your doctors recommendations when it comes to changes in your diet and eating habits.

Ask me questions and post your comments here. I would love to hear from you and share more of the details.

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Detox and Travel

     In my world there are not 21 days in a row that are conducive to staying home and concentrating on a healthy Detox.  So, this past weekend covered days 9, 10 and 11 on the Detox plan and I had to fly to Denver for a conference.  Instead of giving up before I started , I decided to plan ahead and be creative.

The first thing I packed was some Protein shake powder and a good shaker cup.  I’ve found that the Nutrilite Body Key shakes work really well because they have great flavors and all you have to add is water.  I also packed some ready-made shakes in a separate suitcase.  So I had my protein shakes, 2 per day ready to go.

I made sure that all the accompanying supplements were in my travel vitamin case and I packed an empty water bottle to refill with filtered water when I found some.  Next I included apples, and carrot sticks for the plane, instead of eating sugary snacks or nuts.

Once I got to the airport it was time to be creative.  I love Dulles Airport because they have a Chipotle restaurant open early in the morning.  Before I boarded the plane I ate a bowl of brown rice and vegetables.  So satisfying and I wasn’t ravenous when I arrived in Denver.

From then on it was just a matter of making good choices from the restaurants and stores.  Would you believe I even found delicious seedless grapes at the 7-11 along with giant bottles of filtered water.  The only compromise was egg whites and vegetables on a thin whole wheat bagel for breakfast.

On Sunday, day 11, I could introduce chicken breast or fish.  So, we went to a great restaurant that served bison and I ordered grilled Salmon with asparagus and kale salad.

Now a lot of you are thinking, “how restrictive, I could never eat that way”.  I get it, but I wasn’t craving dairy, red meat or wheat products at all. I felt great, had good energy and all systems were working well if you know what I mean.  I just had to think ahead with a plan and make choices that fit the detox profile.

Day 7 Detox

This isn’t for weight loss though it can be a great side effect. The 21 day plan is for detoxification. Ridding your body of pollutants, preservatives, and helping your cells to work better. It’s also a great jumpstart for a healthy eating plan. Having said that, I weighed myself at the beginning which everyone should do and then I weighed myself this morning just for some extra encouragement and that’s what I got. I’ve lost 15 pounds!