SPRING CLEANING FOR YOUR HEALTHIEST SUMMER YET

Have you noticed a theme here lately? We seem to talk a lot about cleansing and detoxing. So what's the deal? Are we incapable of doing what bodies have been doing for thousands and thousands of years? Are we just full of toxic waste all the time and doomed from the start? NO! Of course not silly. We do expose ourselves to a much higher level of toxin buildup than any of our ancestors could have imagined.

The good news is our bodies are brilliant! Brilliant, I'm telling you. Think of how our food, stressors, external environment and literal consumption waste has changed over the last million years. Yet still our bodies are relatively good at adapting to whatever we throw at it. If it were not for the rapid fire daily assaults of low nutrient, processed foods, overprescribing of medications, high stress, go go go lifestyles, hours of daily screen time and the ever increasing environmental pollutants from our existence in our modern world then we likely wouldn't need the word DETOX in our vocabulary. But alas, we are under siege in our daily lives from toxic assault on every corner. I'm being overly dramatic for effect but seriously, we ask a lot of these amazing bodies of ours.

In a perfect world we would all eat three freshly home cooked meals each day that are perfectly balanced for our doshas. Well...I said in a perfect world not real life. It's always my perspective to make things practical, to make it work in real life...this life...NOW.

The Ayurvedic approach to living healthy seems strict and rigorous to many Westerners but the entire philosophy that a happy and healthy life is all about balance makes this practice very moldable to our lives. Very quickly I have folks tell me that they have never felt so good, light, refreshed, vital...are just a few positive side effects to a gentle cleanse and reset. This gives your body a break from the rapid fire of daily toxins going in and also gentle, cleansing foods to clear and balance the digestive fire.

In the spring I get asked a lot about weight loss. It's on our minds as we think about being more active and showing a little more skin. How about that 360 mirror in the Target dressing room during your first swimsuit try on of the year. Good Lord! While I'm not normally a fan of "diets" there are a few tweaks that can really jumpstart a weight loss program. Spring is the perfect time to start to incorporate healthier choices and whole foods into your routine. A nice kitchari cleanse is the perfect way to support and encourage the body as it clears excess kapha (water and earth elements) that has accumulated over the winter. All those hearty stews, casseroles and rich dishes that helped you fuel and rebuild depleted tissues from the heat of summer have now worn out their welcome. In spring the body is in it's regrowth stage. Tissues are building, the body is alive and preparing for the coming summer. Summer heat needs excess baggage gone, just like that fuzzy sweater you wear all winter. In spring, which is kapha season we are shedding the winter's excess to emerge more vibrant, healthy and vital. This is achieved through a gentle detox like a kitchari cleanse, followed up by kapha balancing foods and exercise and meditation to balance the whole body.

A hearty bowl of cleansing kitchari. I like lots of cilantro!

The second thing I hear all spring is "do you have anything for these awful allergies?". We live in one of the most beautiful places in the country but with all this flora it is also surely one of the most pollen coated places in the universe. When it rains, yellow-green rivers run down windows, roads and freshly powerwashed porches with seemingly no end. This is pure kapha, too. Water and earth in all their glory on full display in WNC spring. When kapha is in excess from winter indulgences or a sluggish digestion and the spring changes bring even more water and earth to the system then we get stuffy and runny noses, sinus congestion, lung and respiratory infections. Asthma is more common and the skin often shows its own aggervation with it all in the way of tiny patches of bumpy skin, eczema, itchy skin. For some it can trigger an autoimmune response (flare) and even upset the gut bacteria causing diarrhea or constipation. These are clear signs that your kapha is a bit out of whack. A nice cleansing diet of kitchari for a few days will help clear the gunk right out...literally.

So to cleanse your system, you first need to stop putting in as many toxins as possible. Think of every single YOU pollutant that you have any control over and cut it out or at least minimize it. These cleanses last only a week or so. Commit to it and your body will thank you. So here's the short list of "no's" to think about for yourself...

Meat, coffee and all caffeine, sugars including honey and maple, dairy products, refined and processed foods, fast food and junk foods, smoking, alcohol and recreational drug use. In addition to these, I encourage you to refrain from the news, social media and all negative interactions with others. You'd be amazed how much toxicity (in the form of oxidative stress on your cells) is created from stressors like technology and a 24/7 news loop. This may seem daunting but isn't it a hell of a lot better that a juice fast or detox pills that you just poop all day and then nothing really changes for ya? So this is a real cleanse that has been used for over 5000 years in Ayurveda, long before all these trendy fads and money grabs. So expect real results. You get what you give so try to challenge yourself and I BET YOU'LL BE GLAD YOU DID.

Here, we are going to start with the basic spring kitchari cleanse. You'll follow this schedule for 3-7 days. Remember to add in plenty of fresh, room temperature drinks. You'll have nothing cold or raw during this cleanse. Cold foods slow the digestion down and raw foods require lots of energy to digest, bogging down digestion. With this kapha reducing plan you will be warming and stimulating the digestion. Warming spices and oils help melt the gunk so to speak, so that it can be more easily removed. You'll also want to have a nightly oiling of the entire body. This is calming to the system however stimulating to the detoxification process of our largest organ, the skin.

You'll find a bunch of kitchari recipes online and it is very customizable so you can be flexible with some of the veggies. Here's my basic kapha cleansing recipe...

1/2 teaspoon each of mustard seeds, cumin seeds, coriander seeds and fenugreek seeds

Fresh ground black pepper and kosher salt to taste

2 tsp fresh grated ginger

1-2 tablespoon kitchari seasoning

1/4 tsp hing, optional

pinch of cayenne powder

6 cups water or vegetable stock (may add 1/2 more water if too dry)

one onion minced

minced jalapeno or serrano to taste

3 garlic cloves minced

1 cup red dal soaked (green lentils if you can't get dal)

1/2 cup quinoa

1/2 cup rice (basmati)

2 sliced carrots

2 sliced celery stalks

1 cup each of broccoli, cauliflower

2 cups chopped spinach or kale

garnish with ghee, lemon and chopped cilantro

Sautee all seasonings and seeds in a tablespoon of coconut oil until fragrant. When seeds begin to pop then add onion garlic and jalapeno and cook 2-3 minutes. Be careful not to burn spices. Add water and dal (mung beans) and cover and cook for 20 minutes. Add rice and quinoa and cover simmering for 15 minutes more. Add in all vegetables and gently stir. Cook for 10-15 minutes more until veggies are tender. Add water as needed to keep moist and fully cook rice and dal. Season with additional salt as needed and serve with a teaspoon of ghee, lemon juice and chopped cilantro.

A kitchari cleanse is a monodiet, meaning this is your food at each meal for the duration of your cleanse. If you do not like kitchari for breakfast then I suggest ayurvedic stewed apples with basmati rice and a teaspoon of ghee.

Here's a sample day for you to go by but you can adjust slightly to your schedule...

6am Wake, get out of bed rather than hitting snooze. Stretch and go to the bathroom. Fix a cup of warm lemon water with half a lemon squeezed in to get the digestion flowing and stimulate the bowels to move.

7am Exercise, meditation, prayer, journaling... some quiet time. Ideally a little light exercise is indicated to clear stagnant kapha. Exercise is an important tool here to move kapha and toxins. Be sure to get 20 minutes at least. A walk is a great option. You can move this to another time of day but fit it in.

8am Light breakfast of kitchari or apples and rice. Have a cup of herbal tea. Pack extra teas, kitchari lunch and water for the day.

10am Have a cup of herbal tea such as dandelion for cleansing or nettle for allergies. Lemon added if you like.

Noon Have your warm kitchari lunch and a short walk if possible.

2-3pm Have a small bowl of warm kitchari if you are hungry or some herbal tea.

6pm Start winding down and finishing up chores and work duties. Eat kitchari for dinner by 7pm. Turn off all devices and screens and start your evening routine.

8pm Give yourself a light massage with coconut or sunflower oil and relax for 30 minutes listening to meditation or music that is soothing. Shower afterwards if you like or shower off first thing in the morning after your lemon water.

9pm Have a cup of ginger tea with lemon to warm the digestion to help process the days intake.

10pm Try to be in bed by 10-11pm to get a full nights sleep and be fully rested to start the next morning.

Nettles are a spring powerhouse for seasonal allergies.

Spring allergies are triggered by the huge influx of fresh, ripe pollen. This year in the mountains we had a bumper crop of allergens and the empty kleenex aisle tells the story. If this season has been a particular challenge for you then let me offer a little support by way of your plant allies. Goldenrod, yarrow, honeysuckle and nettle are your best buddies right now. Goldenrod often gets the blame in the fall when allergies flare again. The nasty little culprit is ragweed but because we visually see the golden plumes all over the roadside in late summer we think goldenrod is the offender. I'll share more about this common mix up in another post. Goldenrod is a great anti-histamine and anti- inflammatory herb with an astringent quality. This is helpful to dry up some of the excess kapha/mucus and calm the histamine response from the pollen. Yarrow is another great anti-inflammatory and great tonifying herb to tighten up those weepy mucus membranes. Yarrow also helps seasonal gut upset by toning the mucus lining in the intestinal tract. Yarrow and nettle work exceptionally well together as a spring tonic. Nettle is one of the best allies for allergens. The anti inflammatory nature and histamine reducing qualities plus the added detoxifying action nettle has on the liver make nettle a powerhouse spring herb. If you happen to get a little crud going in the upper respiratory area, honeysuckle can really knock it out fast. With an affinity for the lungs and a superpower natural antibiotic action honeysuckle can help stop that coughing and wheezing from spring seasonal colds. Add these herbs in as teas during the spring cleanse or make your own herbal tinctures with a combination of the herbs above.

This is a great way to really give yourself a leg up to go into late spring and summer feeling lighter and revitalized from winter. You should notice your spring allergy symptoms lifting in a couple of days with just this simple shift in diet. See how incredibly adaptable we are! If this is your step one in a weight loss program then you can expect to lose about 2-3 pounds in the week you are cleansing. Sustained and ongoing weight loss can be supported by intermittent kitchari resets as often as you like but give yourself a two week break from cleansing at minimum between rounds.

If you are interested in an individualized weight management program or herbal support to help you detoxify and balance the doshas or find and maintain your optimum weight then feel free to contact me to schedule a consultation. We will work together to meet your goals and have you feeling well and living healthier than you ever thought you could.

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