Ask The Herbalist: Free answers to questions related to common health problems (Page 9) : Dherbs, Herbal Formulas

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The best way to balance blood sugar and keep your body in a fat burning zone is to eat low fat and every 3-4 hours. Also high raw and high carb. Here are some options. Just a general outline.  

6am  Muesli - fruit smoothie-green smoothie

9am 2-3 pieces of fruit

12pm Raw wraps-raw pasta-salad with legumes

3pm 2-3 peices of fruit

6pm wraps-raw pasta-salad with legumes

9pm Sorbet   I suggest reading "Beauty detox solution" by Snyder, "Crazy Sexy Diet" by Karr, or 80-10-10 by Graham. 

Please read "Blood Sugar Imbalance", "Walking After Dinner May Improve Digestion And Control Blood Sugar", "Does The Key To Balancing Blood Sugar Lie In The Gut?".

I hope this helps!

Ready for TMI?   Healthy bowel movements are a marker of good health and naturally part of the bodies detox system. Transit time for food should be a day and a half from mouth to anus. Healthy people have 2-3 bowel movements a day. 1 or less indicates constipation. Once a week is a serious medical concern. Food that hangs around becomes toxic and rots. Colon cancer is of major concern if you are not having at least 1 bowel movement per day. I recommend a salt flush to help aid the removal of built up fecal matter.   To do a salt flush you need: 1 liter of water purified 2 teaspoons of sea salt or Himalayan rock salt   Drink on an empty stomach. Best done first thing in the morning when you have an hour or two of free time. It tastes terrible but it works. You will have a flush in about a half hour. You could also add some lemon and tiny amount of maple syrup to the mixture to hide the taste. Do not do the flush and then go out in public. Ha! Give yourself time to get it all out. This can be done every season or when you go a day or two without a bowel movement.   Try to avoid salt the day of and after the flush.     If you have a dog you will notice that after each time they eat within 15 minutes they will have a bowel movement. That is a sign of a healthy digestive tract.    A way to check transit time is to eat beets. Note the time of eating the food and when the visible markers of red tinted fecal matter shows up in your toilet bowl.    I eat a 60-90 percent raw, low fat, high carb vegan diet. It is approximately 4pm where I am and I have already had three bowel movements. I average three a day.    I also recommend watching this video: nutritionfacts.org/video/bowel-movement-frequency/.   Hope this helps!

Full Body Cleanse
Full Body Cleanse Companion (eBook)

The best way to continue the detox through diet is to follow a low fat, 60-90 percent raw diet. When you give your body whole plant foods that are low fat it can digest and utilize the food fast. The quick processing will aid your body and free up time and energy to continue the detox.    I suggest getting the book "Beauty Detox Solution" by snider, "Crazy Sexy Diet" by Karr, or "80-10-10" by Graham. Please read "The Importance Of A Maintenance Period After Dieting".

I am currently writing an eBook for www.Dherbs.com called "Losing weight the healthy way." I have been a weight loss counselor for many years. I am also a health coach, personal trainer, bodymind nutritionist, and a vegan lifestyle coach.    When it comes to weight loss most programs want you to lose weight to get healthy. My mindset is to get healthy and lose weight.    In my health/fitness/nutrition coaching program I use a lowfat/high carb/ high raw/ nutrient dense/ high alkaline diet to achieve long term weight loss success. So far I am 100 percent in getting clients long lasting weight loss.

Nuts are best kept to a minimum if you use them at all. Nuts are extremely high in fat and have the opposite omega 3- omega 6 ratio that is optimal for health. Seeds are best as far as ratios are concerned. Also nuts are truly easy to over eat and cause your nutrient ratios to be off.   A healthy vegan diet is a high raw fruitarian diet.  Example:

Breakfast: green smoothie. (500-1000 calories of fruits blended with a handful of greens and water)

Bridge: Dates and strawberries (500 calories) 

Lunch: Salad with low sugar fruits (cucumber, tomato, squash, bell peppers) topped with fruit, beans, psuedo grains, 

Bridge: 2-3 apples

Dinner: Raw wraps (collard greens) with low sugar fruit and tahini

Snack: Sorbet  

Hope this helps!

Go Vegan The Healthy Way (eBook)

Exercises recommended:

· Yoga

· Light resistance training

· Walking

· Biking

· Swimming

· Trampoline

· Pilates

· Aerobics   

It's best to keep exercise to a minimum. When you exercise your body pulls blood away from your core and into your limbs (fight or flight response). That directs blood away from your healing response. Also high impact or weight training requires more calories and more protein which will over work the organs that should be using their energy healing.   Hope this helps!

Full Body Cleanse
Full Body Cleanse Companion (eBook)

Healthy weight loss is 1-2 lbs a week. However people on detoxes and cleanses have been known to average a pound a day. It really depends on how much you have to lose and how toxic you are. It's possible to shed 10 lbs of water weight in a couple days. Hope this helps!

Full Body Cleanse
Full Body Cleanse Companion (eBook)

Lymph-edema is a build up of fluid. Your lymphatic system like your liver and kidney are your bodies garbage men. When toxicity gets to overwhelming your garbage men go on strike or are just overwhelmed. You should do a cleanse/detox and do exercises that stimulate the lymphatic system. The best would be a mini trampoline. Just 15 minutes a day goes far. Lymphedema is healed by a high alkaline diet. Increasing greens and fruits while decreasing dairy, meat, alcohol, salt, and processed food. Tendonitis can be healed also by an anti-inflammatory diet . Increasing berries and greens while decreasing dairy, meat, salt, and alcohol.  Thyroid can be repaired also by an alkaline diet and detox. You can find a thyroid support formula at Dherbs.com. Diabetes is reversed using a low fat raw vegan diet. In 30 days you can completely get off insulin if you cut out the fat and get on a high carb raw vegan diet. The only programs who are actually reversing diabetes are using the same protocol as my program. I do not do a low carb diet especially when reversing diabetes. None of the programs healing your condition do either. Diabetes is not a carb issue but a fat issue. Fat coats your cells and blocks the sugar insulin connection. A low carb diet is a high fat diet and will only manage your condition at best. The first of many ebooks I will write for Dherbs is titled "Go Vegan the Healthy Way!" It is being edited nowe and hopefully soon it will be available at a low cost. Look for it on Dherbs. I will email you when it is available as well. A typical detox raw food program looks like this

Breakfast: Green smoothie: 1 1/2- 2 cups water / 1 cup greens / 3-5 medium pieces of fruit blended. (see "Green Smoothie Revolution" Boutenko for more info)  

Bridge: 2-3 medium sized fruits  

Lunch:  Raw Wraps: collard greens as wraps/ tomato, cucumber, bell pepper / fresh herbs / Sauce (salsa/tahini/guacamole/ etc))  

Bridge:2-3 medium pieces of fruit  

Dinner: Raw pasta: Zuchini sliced with a potato peeler / veggies / Homemade pasta sauce made in blender   

Snack: Sorbet: Blended frozen fruit in a blender  

Hope this helps!

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Go Vegan The Healthy Way (eBook)

Being raw or vegan does not have to be hard or expensive. The most inexpensive food are rice and beans. If you are budget consciense you should gravitate towards those foods. Stach based foods are super cheap. You should check out the book "Eating vegan on 4 dollars a day" or any of Dr. Mcdougal's programs.  Exercise programs do not have to be expensive either. I am a master at building fitness plans with the minimal of equipment. If all you have is your body weight than I can build you a 90 day plan. The same goes if all you have is a resistance band, exercise ball, dumbells, kettlebell, etc.

A typical detox raw food program looks like this:

Breakfast: Green smoothie: 1 1/2- 2 cups water / 1 cup greens / 3-5 medium pieces of fruit blended. (see "Green Smoothie Revolution" Boutenko for more info)

Bridge: 2-3 medium sized fruits

Lunch: Raw Wraps: collard greens as wraps/ tomato, cucumber, bell pepper / fresh herbs / Sauce (salsa/tahini/guacamole/ etc))

Bridge:2-3 medium pieces of fruit

Dinner: Raw pasta: Zuchini sliced with a potato peeler / veggies / Homemade pasta sauce made in blender / sprouted quinoa or legumes 

Snack: Sorbet: Blended frozen fruit in a blender  

Hope this helps!

Full Body Cleanse
Full Body Cleanse Companion (eBook)

It is my philosophy that we shouldn't be losing weight to get healthy we should be getting healthy to lose weight. If losing weight is your focus it will be temporary but if you get healthy it will be permanent.  The best way to lose weight in a healthy way is to change nutrient density of your foods (eat more raw vegan low fat foods) and to do a Full Body Cleanse or cleanse. You can see detoxing options at www.Dherbs.com.  Hope this helps!

Full Body Cleanse
Full Body Cleanse Companion (eBook)

A typical detox raw food program looks like this

Breakfast: Green smoothie: 1 1/2- 2 cups water / 1 cup greens / 3-5 medium pieces of fruit blended. (see "Green Smoothie Revolution" Boutenko for more info)

Bridge: 2-3 medium sized fruits

Lunch:  Raw Wraps: collard greens as wraps/ tomato, cucumber, bell pepper / fresh herbs / Sauce (salsa/tahini/guacamole/ etc))

Bridge:2-3 medium pieces of fruit

Dinner: Raw pasta: Zuchini sliced with a potato peeler / veggies / Homemade pasta sauce made in blender 

Snack: Sorbet: Blended frozen fruit in a blender  

Hope this helps!

Full Body Cleanse
Full Body Cleanse Companion (eBook)

Cooked foods slow down the healing process. When you eat cooked foods it taxes your imune system and forces your body to work harder digesting and spend less time cleaning. That being said. Here are some quick tips to eating more raw foods. Fruit smoothies or green smoothies are perfect in a pinch. The travel well and can be really filling. Here is how to make a smoothie. Liquid: 1-2 cups water Base: Bananas 2-6 or 6-8 dates Antioxidant: cup of berries (Optional) Greens: cup of baby spinach or other greens   Large salads with sprouted grains or legumes   Always keep fruit on hand (natures fast food) Non sulfured dried fruits work as well. Hope this helps!

Full Body Cleanse
Full Body Cleanse Companion (eBook)

You can absolutely do the master cleanse for 10 days. You should keep exercise to a minimum during the fast. Stop if illness occurs or you feel exhausted of course. Although weight-loss occurs during fasting it is not a long term solution to weight loss. Most cleanses achieve the 1 lb a day weight loss depending on water weight lost. Juice fasting is another route to go. You should consider a dietary program such as a low fat high raw vegan diet for sustainable fat loss. Hope this answers your question!

Could you explain a little further? What do you mean by allergic to the fruit? Do you have certain fruit allergies or getting a reaction to the fruit?  Changes in your body are going to occur. Know that your body builds up a culture of bacteria designed to digest your current diet. Your taste buds may have been hijacked by high fat, high sugar, high salt, chemically processed foods. It will take 3 days or more to begin the chance in culture. You will find as your body cleanses your taste buds will be significantly different. 

If you are under a doctors supervision I am forbidden to give you any advice that may alter a doctors advice. They have little to no nutritional training but their word trumps everyone.  What I can do is point you in the direction of programs getting the results you desire. Those three are Dr. Neil M. Barnards "program for preventing and reversing diabetes" (DVD,book), Dr. Gabriel Cousins "Raw in 30" program (DVD) and "There is a cure for diabetes" (book), and recently The Gerson Therapy has released a program for diabetes (book).  The common denominator in all three programs is a low fat vegan diet. The differences are that Barnard's program is a cooked vegan diet while Cousins' and Gerson's program are raw. All get results but the raw programs have a 75 percent success rate in 1 month where as the cooked version of Barnards get results in 6 months. Big difference. I have gotten people off of insulin in around 2 months using a high raw and low fat vegan diet. I use no oils and nuts. I do encourage avocados and seeds for fats. However, with diverticulitis you must avoid seeds until your body repairs itself through a high alkaline diet. I suggest getting a bulk of your fats from avocados and coconut. I usually limit myself to a half an avocados worth of fat a day.  I would look into those books first and if you are under a doctors supervision bring those materials to him/her and see what they say. I hope this helps!

There are essentially two types of raw food diets. There is a high fat low carb gourmet version and there is a high carb low fat version. The gourmet raw vegan diet is promoted by chefs and super food promoting gurus. The low fat high carb version is promoted by athletes and health/medical professionals whos protocols are healing all types of disease.  Most people who go on the high fat/superfood route end up spending a ton of money and end up burning out pretty quickly. All the sucessful long term raw fooders I know follow the high carb version. A typical day would look like. Green smoothie for beakfast (fruits and greens), fruit for snack, large salad with a cup or two of quinoa and salsa for lunch, fruit for snack, raw pasta or raw wraps with hummus for dinner, sorbet for snack. A great book to consider as a guide is "The paradigm diet" by Adam Dave MD.

Animal products are not part of the detox program. The detox protocol is a raw food detox as well. Most if not all food should be consumed raw. Organic meat is a double edged sword. On one hand you have an animal pumped full of anti biotics and on the other hand you have an animal refused antibiotics if they are sick. Which they routinely are being that they are crammed in sheds. The amount of land required by the USDA to be considered free range is the size of a sheet of printer paper. Birds kept in such close quarters communicate diseases fast. I do not recommend any animal products when on a detox.  The main issue with detoxing is lessening the workload of the livers and kidneys so they can clean house. Animal protien is acidic to the body and forces the body to work overtime digesting the excess protein. 

Almond milk is fine if you make it yourself. It's really not that hard to do if you have a good blender. If you can't blend it yourself you can buy it from the store but remember that it's pasteurized and probably has added sugars which you want to avoid.

Hope that answers your questions!

Thanks for the question. During a detox you want to do low intensity weight bearing exercises that get the lymph system moving. Here are some recomendations. Exercises recommended:

· Yoga

· Light resistance training

· Walking

· Biking

· Swimming

· Trampoline

· Pilates

· Aerobics    

Hope that answers your question!

Full Body Cleanse
Full Body Cleanse Companion (eBook)

The most efficient way to lose weight from working out are high rep/low weight circuit training and through HIIT (high intensity interval training). Your goal should be to increase metabolism and fat burning potential throughout the day. Both HIIT and circuit weight training are both effective. To be maximized you should exercise for 1 hour 5-6 times a week. You could alternate between cardio days and circuit training days. Here is an example. 

Mon: HIIT

Tues: Circuit training

Wed: rest Thurs: HIIT

Fri: Circuit training

Sat: HIIT

Sun: Rest  

Here is an example of a circuit and  HIIT Circuit. 15-20 reps 1 minute rest between sets. Repeat for 20-30 minutes. (feel free to use the template and build your own) Upper: pushups Lower: Squats Core: Crunches Plyo: Burpees Upper: Clean and press or curl to press Lower: Alternating weighted lunges Core: Reverse crunches Plyo: Step ups    HIIT (can be done on almost any cardio machine) 3 minute warmup -30 second sprint  -1 minute recovery *Repeat for 15 minutes to 30 minutes* 3 minute cool down Top fat loss mistakes for cardio and weight training Cardio: Doing 1 speed with no resistance cardio. This kills me. Your fat burning potential begins and ends when you do. If it doesn't challenge you it will not change you. Atleast put the resistance on mountain or random.  Weight: Resting too long in between sets. Super sets are key here. Work one set while resting the other. Example of a superset is chest press and seated row together. Quad machine and ham machine. Pullup and shoulder press.  When you ramp up your metabolism you are going to have to eat more. Losing weight isn't about calories. Losing weight is about nutrient density. 

The answer is quite simple. Raw food is healing food. Raw food is easier to digest, puts less strain on the liver and kidneys, has more enzymes, usually less fat, and is simply healing the way nature intended. Nothing gets you from being a health zero to a health hero faster than a raw food diet/cleanse. To understand the healing power of raw food just look at the two top programs for helaing diabetes naturally. You have Dr. Neal M. Barnards program "Preventing and reversing diabetes" and Dr. Gabriel Cousins program "Raw in 30". Same principles of a low fat vegan diet. But one is raw and one allows cooked foods. In 6 months on Dr Barnards program 75 percent are off their insulin. That's fantastic. On the Dr. Cousins program 75 percent are off insulin by 30 days. The healing power of raw foods!!! Hope this helps!

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