Stop Your Sniffles

Cold season is here and people have been getting sick and passing around their germs faster than a quick-burning joint. When you get the first signs of a sickness it's frustrating to know it's there and it's going to get worse. There's no magic pill to stop it and cold medicine may dull the symptoms but prolong your illness. What are you to do?

• Get your priorities straight: The human body is an incredible machine than can fight off illness the best with very limited to no food intake. When animals get sick they instinctively stop eating to allow their body to heal itself. Your main concern should be drinking at least 8 glasses of water a day (preferably more to flush out toxins), drinking plenty of hot tea, and as much fresh fruit/veggie juices as you desire. After making sure you're getting enough of those, load up on fresh, preferably raw fruits and vegetables. If you'd like a little extra, feel free to have some nuts, beans, or rice. Definitely avoid dairy, especially if you're prone to ear infections or mucous.

• Avoid smoke exposure: If you're a smoker this is a great time to test your will power and put down the smokes for a few days to a week. Try to avoid being near smokers and even limit your close-range fire exposure as smoke depletes the body's vitamin C and wreaks all kinds of havoc on the entire system.
  

• Limited alcohol: I've heard stories of chugging an 8 oz. glass of vodka before bed to sweat it all out, and if you'd like an excuse to get more incoherent than an Alzheimer's patient then you could try it, but I'd recommend doing some research beforehand if you'd like to go that route, although personally I really don't think that's a good idea. Excessive alcohol intake depletes the body of B vitamins amongst other things making your body have to work harder to run. If you must drink you shouldn't have more than a glass a night.

• Keep it clean: Hopefully washing your hands frequently is already a priority. Aside from that, sanitize the things that get touched most in your house: doorknobs, light switches, toilet seats/flushers, etc.. Replace your toothbrush every 3 months, and if you get sick within that time frame and don't want to replace a new brush, fill a shot glass with peroxide and soak your toothbrush overnight. I recommend gargling with peroxide before or after brushing your teeth as well.
  

• Exercise: Our bodies were made to be active. Being sedentary enables toxins to sit around longer which prolongs ill health. When there are foreign toxins in the body, a great thing to do is get your blood pumping and sweat some of it out. Try not to do anything too intense, maybe just some cardio. Listen to your body and don't push it too far.

• External hydration: The worst is when your nasal passages are clogged beyond your control. Sitting in a steam room or hovering over a steamer is helpful but mind-numbing if you're impatient like me. Try setting up a humidifier in you room so you get extra moisture while you sleep. It does wonders.
  

• Relax: Stress releases all sorts of chemicals that attack the body. Don't let it eat you away. Chill out and wind down with a hot bath or some yoga/meditation.

I've dodged a cold with this regimen many times. The worst I've gotten while following a healthy routine is the sniffles, scratchy throat, and some mild nausea that doesn't last more than a couple of days.

Fasting Tips

After living a life of generally eating every single day, it can be difficult to get comfortable going without. The first time I fasted I only made it 2 days because I couldn't handle it. Since then I've managed to find comfort without food for extended periods of time.

• Drink plenty of water: It not only facilitates in detoxification and hydration, it fills the stomach long enough to make yourself satisfied you've had something in it. Try adding some lemon juice to a few of your glasses to add taste, more time in the stomach, and for extra cleansing as lemons have wonderfully strong cleansing properties.

• Treat yourself to warmth: A tough part about juicing can be to stop consuming warm things, especially because your body temperature gets a bit cooler while fasting. Drinking hot water or tea does wonders to warm up the hands and stomach. Plus it induces a cozy, comfortable feeling. A personal favorite drink of mine is a variation of the Master Cleanse which consists of hot water, 2 tbsp. lemon juice, 2 tbsp. raw honey, and a few dashes of cayenne pepper. It's warm, flavorful, detoxifying, and has a kick to it :) I've noticed that consuming spicy things suppresses my appetite.

• A few small glasses of Kombucha: As with other teas, Kombucha leaves the stomach feeling fuller longer than plain water. The difference is that this delicious, mildly fizzy beverage has a tummy tingling effect that feels very relaxing. Likewise, this is another detoxifying elixir.
  

• No gum: Fasting can be difficult for some because they don't use their jaw muscles nearly as much as they're used to. If it's a problem then lightly make a chewing motion while consuming your juices, which is actually better because it allows the beverage to get mixed with saliva hence making digestion easier. Chewing does a lot more than exercise your jaw. The act of chewing stimulates the release of acids and enzymes that aid in digestion. The more you chew, the more gets released. If you only have juice, water, or tea in your stomach then you really don't need any help with digestion, and certainly not if your stomach is empty. Excessive digestive juices can cause ulcers and other avoidable unpleasantries.
  

• Don't dwell on the days: I've found that reminding myself what day I'm on makes it more difficult. I wait until my body craves a break from food and decide by assessing my prior fasting time frames and my mood how long I should go before I begin. I also consider the upcoming events such as family get togethers, holidays, and the like. After I look at all the angles I write down my end date somewhere out of sight, but where I can see it when the day comes (I have a daily tear off calender which makes it very easy).
  

• Follow a regular schedule: When I got off my first extended fast I was left with a very messy eating pattern because I figured that juice wasn't a meal so I could help myself whenever time I pleased. Breaking it down, eating is supposed to serve as an act of survival to give your body nutrients; sounds similar to juice doesn't it?. It took me a very long time to get my eating straightened out afterward. Try to consume your juices at your regular meal and munch times. In between just have water or tea. Likewise with food, try not to have any at night. My cutoff time is 8pm.

As with anything else you're not accustomed to doing, juice fasting takes time to get used to. If you approach it with the right mindset and have done enough research to know what you're doing, I highly recommend it. It's enlightening, relaxing, cleansing, and a wonderful alteration in your habits and mindset. Just be sure not to push yourself too far.

Why Cleanse the Body?

Humans are beings of hygiene: We wash our skin, clean our teeth, brush our hair, swab our ears, wash our clothes, and keep our bedding and other personal things clean, but what about the inside of our bodies? I guess it's slipped our minds because we can't see the toxins. You may experience them as fatigue, body odor, stomach pains, headaches, insomnia, or other illnesses, but here in American it's common to regularly consume caffeine, use deodorant, take alka-seltzer, use aspirin, pop a sleeping pill, or get some other pills to mask our symptoms but not take care of the root causes. If your house was on fire, which would you do first, find the fire extinguisher or repair the peeling wallpaper?