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Fall, Swine Flu-lite and a 10-Day Cleanse

I suspect that the fall flu season will be fraught with hyperbole and fear mongering . . . and maybe even some cases of the flu. But, I would like to put things in perspective for you a bit. It was a tad scary when the WHO "declared" that the swine flu is a pandemic and raised the danger level to Stage Six. This new level is tantamount to "the planes are approaching the towers!" and is fear-mongering and utterly ridiculous. (This further supports my argument that aside from Jim Lehrer and Amy Goodman (and maybe Rachel Maddow), the entire American media is in the deep pockets of Oil and Big Pharma.) The word pandemic just means of course, that it is not restricted to just the United States, but has been found all over the world. Yes, and so? In the teeny tiny print the WHO also mentioned that this flu is a MILD flu.

The latest stats, as of June 12, "only 145 deaths hasve occurred in the entire world. Mexico has the majority of the deaths at 108 and the US has had 27 deaths. To put the deaths in perspective: If you believe the CDC, 35,000 people die every year in the US alone from the regular flu. That means that in the last six weeks when 27 people died in the US from the swine flu, there were over FOUR THOUSAND other people who died from the regular flu. That is 150 times as many people dying from the regular flu as the swine flu." (Mercola.com)

This flu is not like the 1918 flu where 20 million died world-wide, nor is it like the bubonic plague of the Dark Ages which killed zillions over the course of many years, nor is it like the Hong Kong flu of 1968 which killed 1 million people world-wide. It's an ordinary and somewhat mild flu which will probably kill about 250,000 to 500,000 people, the usual number, in the '09 fall flu. It's just a normal flu with a big scary name.

Just don't listen to the fear-mongering and hyperbole. It will only scare you. I have full faith that the CDC will come up with a flu shot that will be heralded as a life-saver and that everyone not on all fours would be an idiot not to stand in line for hours to get it. I'm not an idiot and so far, I am not getting the flu shot. And why don't you think about it twice? If I hear anything otherwise, of course, I will let you know.

However, that said, I am going to do something a bit more than my usual just sliding unconsciously into fall. I will go on a cleanse as fall approaches, maybe late September/early October and before the hysteria begins. I want to at least put a very healthy and cleansed body into the flu mess. Here is my plan. Let me know if you want to do it.

The 10-Day Cleanse

Do you want to cleanse your body? Reduce your allergy symptoms? Lower your blood pressure? Lower your cholesterol? Improve your intestinal health? Improve your mood? Feel more energetic and vital? Improve your memory? Improve the speed at which you think and comprehend? Do you want to look good and feel great? Yes? Then have I got a bridge, er, a plan for you! Read on about my 10-Day Cleanse.

First of all, please follow the food rules exactly. Read the 10-Day Cleanse over and if you think you can't do it, then don't. Maybe it's not for you or maybe it's not the right time. The cleanse just won't work if you mess around with the rules. You can't have a teensy bit of this or a weensy bit of that because you think it's OK and won't hurt the plan. It's not OK. This cleanse is designed not only to cleanse you but to eliminate possible food triggers. You will notice that I have eliminated some universal and important food triggers, like gluten and dairy, plus a couple of others.

First, what CAN I eat? (Oh, c'mon, it's not going to be as bad as you think.)

1) Meats and Protein Foods: Fish, chicken, turkey, lamb, lentils, legumes. All hormone free and organic, please. NO beef, pork, processed meats, canned meats, tuna, shark, swordfish, eggs, shell-fish or soy products.

2) Dairy Products: Only dairy substitutes like rice or almond milk. NO cow or goat milk, yogurt, cheese, ice cream, non-dairy creamers or soy milk.

3) Grains and Starches: Sweet potato, rice, buckwheat, millet and quinoa. NO corn, gluten grains (wheat, spelt, barley, rye, oats) or white potatoes.

4) Vegetables: ALL YOU CAN EAT! (What a surprise...) Except for NIGHTSHADES which are potatoes, eggplant, peppers (black pepper is OK) and tomato.

5) Fruits: ALL YOU CAN EAT! Except for fruit juices, any citrus, strawberries and dried fruits and any of the tropical fruits like bananas, pineapple, mango and papaya. Best for you would be apples, pears, and berries. Organic please.

6) Soups: Broths, vegetable based vegetable soups and miso. NO canned soups.

7) Beverages: WATER! And more water. Drink your weight divided by two every day, preferably between meals. For example, if you weigh 120 lbs, you need at least 60oz of water per day. You can also have vegetable juice that you make in your juicer, herbal teas (non-citrus and non-strawberry). NO alcohol, coffee, caffeinated teas, chocolate, soft drinks.

8) Fats and oils: Cold processed olive, sesame, walnut, flax. Clarified butter.

9) Nuts and Seeds: All nuts and seeds except for peanuts and pistachios.

10) Sweeteners: Xylitol, agave, brown rice syrup, stevia. No honey, sugar, corn syrup or artificial sweeteners.

Miscellaneous: Use Celtic sea salt, not Morton's. Black pepper is fine. Cayenne is not as it is a nightshade. Avoid MSG like the plague, so this means being very, very careful if you eat out while on the 10-Day Cleanse. Please consume the appropriate oils while you are on this cleanse, like flax or fish or YES!. If you feel bad for the first couple of days, this is normal, because you are de-toxing. Plan your food carefully! Be sure that you have the right food around the house and ready to take with you for the day. Don't be caught empty handed and hungry! This is a bad combination and a recipe for failure.

Snacks are important to some of us. You can snack on nuts or your smoothie or a chicken breast. You could make your own hummus and dip crudités into it. (Ask me for a recipe.) This is very filling. You could make veggie juice and stir in some green food.

Please do not go hungry. I want you to eat a lot of the allowed foods. I promise you that you won't gain weight! Plus what I am going to talk about next will fill you up as well: Smoothies with detox powders in them.

1) You will need a cleansing powder with which to make your smoothies: Either Medi-Clear from Thorne, Bio-Cleanse powder from biogenesis or SP Complete from Standard Process. We can determine which one you need. The canister should last you 10 days. If you want to go more than 10 days, buy two canisters.

2) You will also need a product which will further cleanse you as in Medi-Bulk from Thorne or Ultra Fiber Plus from Biogenesis. Perhaps even a mild laxative like Comfortone from Young Living or Herbal Lax from Thorne. You could even increase your dose of daily magnesium to achieve a loosening effect.

3) You will also need a green food powder of some sort like Greens First or Boku or Thera-Supreme.

For the first two days you will be making your quart of daily smoothie with only one scoop of cleansing powder. The liquid for your smoothie could be all water or part water and rice or almond milk. (Ask me for a recipe for almond milk).

Then for the remainder of the 10-Day Cleanse you will be using two scoops of cleansing powder per day. If you like you can also put your greens and your fiber and your berries and your oil into your smoothie. Make a big smoothie in the morning, drink half before noon and the other half after noon . Smoothies will fill you up quite well and you won't feel like snacking on bad stuff or eating forbidden foods.

Exercise: You will be exercising normally and if you are not an exerciser, I want you to walk for 30 minutes every day.

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