"The wounds of winter are starkly revealed before they are healed by spring, and only the most hardy of livings things survive renewal. Healing is not for the faint of heart."
January and February, with the abundance of citrus fruits we have here in the desert, is a perfect time for a Liver Flush. This is a great opportunity to heal our liver with a gentle cleanse. We will be healing the wound from the large amounts of sugar, fat, alcohol we traditionally consume during the holidays.
Choosing to give our body the opportunity to clean out is extremely beneficial. The debris from any non nutritive, refined substances and added hydrogenated oils in our foods creates mucus or catarrh in our systems. These warm, moist, thick, congested areas are the perfect environment for opportunistic organism to take up residence. These "visitors" can take hold and overwhelm our immune system especially if we have been feeling stressed.
When we are stressed and have over indulged in sugar and caffeine our body functions with it's sympathetic, fight/flight, nervous system which down regulates our cell mediated immunity, our secondary line of defense. In this stress state we can begin to experience symptoms of "catching a cold" or "coming down with the flu". Actually we have hosted these organisms, giving them a warm place to stay and wonderful garbage to eat. These visitors are alerting our body's intelligence that we have quite an accumulation of waste material that these opportunistic critters have taken advantage of. This is a "Healing Crisis" and is signaling us to clean up our inner environment.
Before we find ourselves in a "Healing Crisis" we can make the choice to cleanse and get rid of the accumulated residue. We can decide to take the time to deep clean and rinse so our inner habitat is not as inviting to unwanted colonization. Right now we have a gift of an abundance of cleansing citrus fruit, rich in vitamin C and bioflavonoids, both powerful antioxidants. This Liver Flush, from Dr. Randolph Stone, the founder of Polarity Therapy, requires lots of citrus. The Tea which follows the Flush is made of some delicious herbs that are available individually. Using the seasonal abundance of citrus in the Liver Flush helps bring us into harmony with our outer environment as we are cleaning up our inner environment.
Begin by preparing the Liver Flush Tea.
Into 2-3 quarts of water add 1 heaping tablespoon each of:
Licorice Root
Fennel Seeds
Bringing them to a gentle boil for 5-10 min.
Decrease the heat adding the same amount (l heaping tablespoon) of
Fenugreek Seeds
Flax Seeds
Let them all simmer 5-10 min.
Now add the same amount (l heaping tablespoon) of
Peppermint Leaf
Turn off the heat and steep 5-10 min.
Drink 1-2 cups after your have your Liver Flush each morning.
You can store the extra tea in the refrigerator.
Now the Liver Flush:
Freshly squeeze 8-10 oz of organic citrus juice.
Combinations of any of the following:
grapefruit, orange, blood orange, tangelo, or tangerine are lovely.
Put the juice in a blender adding:
1 large lemon, juiced (the Meyer Lemons are super for this)
Ginger root, about an inch fresh grated
OR a large clove of garlic
Olive oil, 1 tablespoon
Cayenne, just a pinch
Blend it all up and enjoy this zesty drink on an empty stomach followed by 1-2 cups of the Liver Flush Tea.
Refrain from eating for about one hour after drinking the Liver Flush and Tea. Remember to drink enough water while doing this cleanse. The rule of thumb is ½ your weight, in pounds, is the amount of ounces of water you need per day. (I am 125 pounds so I need approximately 65 ounces of water/day to rinse my body) Prepare and drink this each morning for a week, or up to month, and notice the wonderful results.
The Liver filters the blood so this Flush has a systemic effect, like putting a new oil filter on your car. The herbs in the Liver Flush Tea, especially the Flax and Fenugreek, are mucilaginous and very soothing to the intestinal walls helping the bowels to move. What a great way to start the day (plain orange juice will taste bland after this) and a wonderful healing gift for your body.
