Blender Greens and an Alkaline Detox — A Day in the Life

Yep, it’s that time of year again.  Are you ready to empty out the trash?  Ready to detox your body and revive that vibrant You and totally Rock 2015? Well… if so… this is the post for you!  If you are feeling under the weather like many folks I know keep on reading so I can help give you a leg up and set you on your way back to health.  And if you don’t mind, I’ll share this post from January 2014 that helped hundreds to get back on track after the holidays.  Please forgive the repeat as I return to blogging new content again for you soon, now that my book is with the copy editor, finally…. whoo hoo!! (Next January 2016 is when you can expect to get your hands on a copy… patience, patience.)

I’ll try to keep it simple yet help you to find your detox groove while understanding the process and the benefits so you will know the ‘why’.  This will help to motivate you to do a thorough job and then maintain your results. It’s not rocket science thank goodness but it does take some effort to do it well. First lets briefly examine where most of us are at right now and what is happening within the body.  Please note that this is my own version of what I have experienced, learned and understood from my alkaline journey.  Typically during and after the holidays we become sluggish, and accumulate acids from a myriad of indulgent foods which of course taste sooo yummy but are not doing us any favours.

Nonetheless, we enjoy having them and so we should within reason.  No sense beating yourself up.  Best to enjoy versus stress over your holiday treats but now, lets be proactive and tidy up the imbalance we have created.  First thing to note is that if you are currently feeling ill, with cold or flu like symptoms this is not something your sister’s little kidlets or uncle Bob passed on to you.  It is completely self induced.  Sorry to say but Yes it is.  No sense denying it.  The sooner you understand this the less likely you will be to inflict this wound upon yourself again and perhaps you will notice more of the signs leading up to this suffering before it gets out of hand.  We’ve all been there and I know it’s no fun but the best part is you can easily reverse this and reduce the likelihood of getting sick again.

Wanna know the secret? Are you ready? Okay here we go….ready…..it’s all about the mucous!  I know… sounds icky but it’s true.  If you can pay attention to the building of mucous that usually appears in your throat and nasal passage especially in the morning upon rising and also throughout the day you will be able to sidestep the torturous feeling and illness that inevitably follows.

Two things can happen:

a. you notice the mucous developing, so you pay attention and begin to flood the body with water, green juices, green smoothies, green powders, alkaline veggies, lemon, all the while avoiding all sugar including that from fruit and ALL the acidic foods, strictly, for a couple days or longer depending on the degree. This mucous easily flushes from the body, no more mucous is generated from acidic foods and your alkaline buffering minerals are given a break from buffering a barrage of acids (from acidic foods) and your body easily resumes it’s healthful state.

b. you don’t pay attention to the cries for support from your body and you continue to add more fuel to the fire.  You enjoy more acidic foods with very little support from alkaline foods that will buffer the acids–this is what many of us continue to do until the body finally makes us pay attention.  The volume of mucous increases, becomes stickier and is pushed deeper into the body reaching the lungs and other areas causing undue discomfort.  It can get much much worse when decongestants are used as this stops the flush of mucous and pushes the mucous back into the body and allows it to fester.

A sore throat is merely acidic burning fluids that hurt our throat as they drip down and aggravate the surfaces cells.  Sinus and nasal congestion is an abundance of mucous that is thickening up and lodging as it can’t escape because the body can’t keep up with the production of it due to the overload that it is receiving from acidic foods.  A sinus infection is when the mucous now grows bacteria after hanging around these parts and is now spreading thru the respiratory system leading to bronchitis etc. If you are experiencing full on flu symptoms along with vomiting and diarrhea your body is desperately trying to unload a serious imbalance along with bacteria that has developed in your system.  It needs your support immediately, not drugs, but nutrients it can use to rebuild your system.

It’s no surprise that the most sick days occur in January or that the flu is rampant after Christmas.  It’s no coincidence that everyone is sick because pretty much everyone has over indulged.  If you look at those that are not sick in most cases they have indulged less, have a stronger constitution or they exercise more and flush the toxins more efficiently perhaps all the while drinking greater volumes of water that facilitate flushing.  As for the flu shot, I render it completely useless-(beware of all the marketing this month!) If this all makes sense then Yay!  Lets move on and learn how to regain our vibrancy and dump the toxins and mucous.

So what is an alkaline detox anyways?  Well… it’s where you give your body a chance to catch up with it’s duty of buffering and flushing acids and toxins from your system.  It does this by recruiting alkaline minerals, calcium, magnesium, potassium and sodium chloride from where ever it can source them.  If you are not providing it with these minerals it will rob them from your body’s resource pool (from organs and bones), become depleted, overwhelmed and inefficient resulting in a mucous overload that leads down an unhealthy path.  However, by providing alkalinity from all the alkaline mineral rich foods, most of which are green vegetables, along with volumes of clean pure alkaline water your body is able to effectively cleanse, flush and rebuild.  It’s as simple as that.

So here we have the means to correct the problem of over acidity that causes us to feel ill or sluggish so that we can regain our healthful body once again. Here’s my really basic recipe for blender greens that are alkalizing and detoxifying. No juicer required. Just a blender, a glass and a straw perhaps!

I don’t consider this a typical green smoothie recipe for it’s a ‘serious detoxing beverage’ that is not meant to taste all smooth and creamy, sweet and fruity as most smoothies have evolved to.  It certainly tastes nice and is not the least bit offensive especially if you use plenty of citrus to tame the briskness of strong greens like kale and collards.  I also like mint as it softens the flavours and makes this an easy to enjoy and fairly neutral green drink.  Don’t get me wrong, I love a yummy green smoothie with some fruit now and then but the intention here is to truly shed acids from the body so why would we continue to add them in as we detox them out?  If you are surfing the net looking for solutions to your detox needs pay attention to the ingredients that are being recommended.  If they are acidic you might find that your detox isn’t as efficient as it can be and may be slower or ineffective.  This also goes for things like chocolate, sweeteners like agave and whey protein powders.  If you need proteins go for avocados and hemp seeds-whole food proteins that offer the healthy fats that will escort the acids out.  Use stevia if you need to sweeten and avoid adding in chemicals like caffeine in chocolate that you are trying to detox while you work to lose or minimize your craving for.

Next we’ll look at a typical day for an alkaline detox and why this works after you take a quick peek at this recipe.

Blender Greens

Yield: Approx 12-14 oz

1 English cucumber, roughly chopped
1 big handful spinach
2 kale leaves
1 handful fresh mint
few sprigs fresh parsley
juice of one lemon or lime
8-10 oz coconut water or alkaline/filtered water-adjust as necessary optional
add ins or substitutions: fresh ginger, stevia, chicory root, lemon grass, other herbs like dill or cilantro, chard, collard greens, romaine, baby greens, sprouts, bok choy, zucchini, celery

Method Place all ingredients in blender and process on high until smooth and not very thick.  This is ideal when it is a thinner consistency. Pour into your favourite glass and flood your body with this alkaline goodness. Repeat as often as you can with a variety of alkalizing green veggies.

The alkaline chart is here for your reference.

Lets look at a typical day in the life of detoxing or de-acidfying the body:

Upon rising
• test your urine and saliva pH and make a note of it. See testing your pH below if you are unsure of how to do so.
• drink half a glass of water with one scoop of alkaline minerals available here and here
• drink, don’t gulp, 2 glasses of water with fresh lemon juice, cool or slightly warm but not hot

After about 30 mins
• enjoy a big glass of blender greens or as much as you like

During the morning
• drink 1 litre of alkaline water with greens powder available here and here

Around noon
• drink another recipe of blender greens, drink as much as you like

During the afternoon
• drink 1 litre of alkaline water with a scoop of greens powder

Around dinner
• drink another recipe of blender greens, drink as much as you like or…. make this green smoothie or this soup or if you must chew something enjoy this salad.

Early evening
• drink one half to one more litre of plain or lemon water

At Bedtime
• drink half a glass of water with one scoop of alkaline minerals

Note: do your best to consume 6-8 spoonfuls of healthy fats during the day from coconut oil, avocados, hemp, flax, fish or Udo’s oil either in capsule or added to your food.

Repeat as necessary for 3-14 days.  If you are experiencing severe symptoms of ill health before you even begin be sure to consult a health practitioner or holistic nutritionist for support before following any detox regime.

Why this works:  By following this straight forward regime you facilitate a flush of acids by thinning the mucous build up with the volumes of water. The coconut oil binds to the acids and escorts them out of the body. The abundant alkaline minerals from the vegetables and the mineral supplement also buffer the acidic buildup and also escort it from the body.  The alkaline mineral supplement helps restore your buffering minerals to deal with the abundant acids that have accumulated from holiday indulgence.

Testing your pH:  On the first day your urine & saliva pH both may appear okay and may be just below 7 or in the high 6’s. If it’s lower, then it’s great that you are detoxing and cleansing.  After the second day you may see your test results plummet to perhaps a 5 which means you are dumping acids big time!  That’s the goal here!  Optimally you should reach a urine pH of 7.2 and the same for the saliva. This could take up to 3 to 14 days to reach this depending on your level of acidity.  The longer you detox the closer your pH will get to the optimal 7.2.  Your urine and saliva pH may slowly climb up together or your urine may surpass the saliva. The urine is an indicator of the acids being flushed and will be low on your first urination of the day as the detox process thru the night is very effective.

If you measure your 2nd urine of the day it will rise somewhat. As you continue to detox your urine slowly returns to a more balanced pH as you are no longer assaulting your body with acids and your buffers are returning to a more desirable level and are in less demand. The pH of the saliva is an indicator of your physical and mental state. It reflects what you have recently eaten or drank and what your emotions are doing.  It can often be lower than your urine pH as you slowly let go of some emotional issues or let some of the stress go in your life. As you continue to feast on alkaline veggies and liquids, flushing old emotional issues (you may not even notice this) your saliva will slowly climb back up to a healthy pH alongside your urine pH, to ideally reach 7.2. By the time you have completed three days, if your urine pH is not higher than 7.2 it might be a good idea to keep cleansing.

If you choose to continue cleansing you will be proactive in excavating the acids that are locked away in your tissues, not just in your bodily fluids and mucous.  The beauty of this is that you will find that your body will feel comfortable releasing any excess weight because it knows that you are supporting it with the alkaline buffers and nutrients that make it safe to let go of these acids into your  system knowing they will be flushed out versus navigating their way to a vital organ that could in turn cause problems.  Essentially this is why we gain weight.  Our body encases the dangerous acidic nature with fat and tucks it away to keep if from reaching the vital organs where acid would wreak havoc on our body.  But beware….if you are highly acidic and have never cleansed before this could be a difficult release of acids for your body to let go of.  You could experience extreme detox symptoms from headaches to diarrhea, nausea and flu like symptoms.  If you feel the effects of detoxing are too severe to handle then it’s best to scale back the operation.  Return to pure water versus the greens powder, or dilute it further and use the phor salts only once a day and cut the dose back to half. Aborting the entire operation would be disappointing and would leave you in a partial detox state.  I highly recommend continuing with a high alkaline diet and lots of water if you can and eventually you will slowly release the toxic acidic load that is bogging your body down and threatening your health.

After even just three days of flushing you will begin to feel like you have more energy and your head my feel clearer with a less foggy feeling.  If you can only manage one or two days, it’s better than none at all.  If this is the case do your very best to eat a diet high in alkaline vegetables in salads, stir fries, steamed veggies, green smoothies or green juices.  Your body will most certainly thank you and you will notice the changes in your body. If you are really serious and make it to 7 or 14 days then that will be fantastic.  You may notice clearer and more supple skin, the whites of your eyes will be brighter, your skin colour will be fresher, your energy level will soar and you will sleep better.  If you are experiencing any symptoms of ill health they may diminish or disappear.  It’s truly amazing how your body embraces change so readily and shows you it’s appreciation!

*Please note that with extended cleanses or detoxes you may notice feelings of emotional upset as acids that were created by these emotions are released. This is completely normal but pay close attention if it seems intense and seek support and/or ease back on the detox regime. Phew, that’s the just of it.

Honestly….I could write a book! errrr……I think I just did–but that won’t be published for a year!  I can’t help my enthusiasm for sharing all this info because it continues to guide me everyday for my own health and that of my family’s. I hope this all makes sense for you.  If not leave me a question below and I’ll do my best to explain further.

My wish for you is that you find your way to a balanced alkaline lifestyle that serves you and provides you with the desired level of health that allows you to live your life with vibrancy and zest!  Starting this year of 2015 with a clean slate, a fresh squeaky clean body is an ideal way to reach optimal wellness and avoid the dreaded diseases that are affecting nearly every other person we know.

I’d love to know how you are now and how you make out on your detox journey so be sure to leave me a comment below.

Happy Detoxing and a Green Blender Drink cheer for a fantastic 2015!

Note: Testing your pH Your saliva and urine pH are easily measured with a yellow piece of litmus paper that changes colour.  You can compare the colour with an enclosed chart to see what your measurement is.  These rolls or strips of litmus paper are available at most any health food store or here on Amazon among other vendors. For testing your saliva it’s best Not to put the strip right in your mouth.  Instead, deposit the saliva on the strip and watch for it to change colour. This will happen almost immediately.  Dispose of the strip and record your result. For testing urine place the strip in your stream of urine and then watch for it to change colour, then compare it to the chart. Dispose of the strip and record your measurement. Test your second urination of the day before eating or drinking anything at all.  You want to see it at 7.2 to ensure you have regained balance.  If you have a medical condition you will be looking to reach 8.2 and then should maintain that high score for as long as you have symptoms. This is really only meant for those who are working with an alkaline coach during recovery from a serious illness or are doing a group cleanse with support.  This group cleanse and this cleanse both offer support if you find you require this level of detoxing.

Note: Alkaline Water Please ensure that you are drinking water that is pure, clean and filtered from toxins that lurk in our drinking water.  Alkaline drops or an alkaline filter are two ways to create water that is beneficial for your daily consumption.  For more info and other options see this post here. Disclaimer Please remember by following any recommendations here you are doing so at your own risk.  I have followed this regime many times but every body is different and may experience a variety of responses.