> Holistic Healing > Detoxification and Cleansing

Cleansed? What's Next?
by author Nigma T. Sciortino, ND

Congratulations! You’ve cleansed your body’s vital systems of toxins. Now you’re feeling good, and it’s time to get back to a regular diet that doesn’t include the foods that were responsible for creating toxicity in your body.

In order to stay healthy you’ll need to reintroduce foods into your diet in a way that won’t create a shock to your body. This is also a good time to assess the foods to which you may have allergies or intolerances.

Avoiding Inflammatory Foods

Foods that more commonly cause sensitivities, such as wheat, dairy, corn, soy, yeast, and sugar, should also be reintroduced slowly. Eating these highly allergenic foods too early may give you a “food hangover” and cause a severe reaction in your body. Avoid those foods that were causing inflammation in your body. The key is to eat foods that enable proper absorption of vitamins and minerals and to reintroduce foods one at a time, every three or four days.

As you reintroduce certain foods, you will be the judge how they affect you overall. The best way to assess food sensitivities or allergies is by using a detailed diary outlining what food was reintroduced and the symptoms associated with that food, if any.

Furthermore, an enzyme-linked immunoassay test (IgG food antibody test) can be performed by your naturopathic physician to identify delayed food allergies that cause ongoing illnesses difficult to assess through elimination diets, such as chronic sinusitis, fatigue, arthritis, eczema, migraines, bloating, and constipation.

Two weeks after your cleanse, you may incorporate these foods back into your diet. Introduce them one at a time, every four days:

• milk and dairy products
• eggs
• corn, wheat, rye, oats, and barley
• sugar
• citrus fruits
• soy
• peanuts
• pork
• white potatoes
• yeast
• chocolate
• coffee, tea, and alcoholic beverages

Greens

The best foods to reintroduce are vegetables. Green leafy vegetables–kale, mustard greens, turnip greens, and bok choy–are particularly useful, not only for their nutrient content but also for their cleansing and alkalizing properties and antioxidant content. Green vegetables help flush toxins from the body and are important to your diet on an ongoing basis.

Other vegetables to reintroduce include onions, carrots, beets, leeks, celery, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, green beans, and broccoli.

Grains

Healthy and hypoallergenic grains include steamed brown rice, quinoa, amaranth,
wild rice, and millet. They are high in protein, fibre, and B vitamins. These whole grains offer complex carbohydrates that can provide a steady supply of energy throughout the day when
combined with legumes or other protein sources, enabling blood sugar to be released slowly into the bloodstream.

Fruits

Fruits may also be reintroduced into the post-cleanse diet. The best fruits to reintroduce early in the post-cleanse phase include noncitrus fruits rich in antioxidants, such as organic apples, blackberries, raspberries, and blueberries.

Protein

The best sources of proteins to reintroduce first are beans and legumes, which are not only great sources of protein but are high in fibre, vitamins, and minerals. Healthy animal proteins to reintroduce post-cleanse include boneless, skinless chicken and turkey breasts that are free-range, organic, and antibiotic-free.

In addition, fresh fish are a great source of protein, vitamins, minerals, and essential fatty acids, especially the smaller ocean species, such as sardines and mackerel, and white fish, such as flounder or cod. For individuals who eat red meat, grass-fed organic beef is recommended–but no more than 12 oz (340 g) per week.

Good Fats

Introducing good fats–essential fatty acids (EFAs)–into your diet is important after a cleanse. Avoid the bad fats–saturated and trans.

Fatty (dark meat) fish is an important source of the omega-3 fats. Other sources of EFAs include a variety of nuts and seeds. Make sure you consume raw nuts and seeds without processed oils, salt, or sugar. Replace butter, margarine, and shortening oils with flaxseed, macadamia, coconut, and olive oils.

Seasoning

Spices and herbs offer another way to add an infinite variety of antioxidants to the foods you choose to add to your diet. Turmeric, cumin, and fennel, for example, can restore antioxidant levels, regulate blood sugar levels, and decrease inflammation.

Nigma T. Sciortino, ND, is an editorial advisor to alive magazine, resident naturopathic doctor to Whole Foods Market, “The Good Life” radio show, and City TV’s “Breakfast Television.” healthydoc.com

Source: alive #293, March 2007