My 9-Day Digestive Cleanse Experience

Spring: out with the old and in the with the new, right?

I decided to embark on a nine-day digestive system cleanse this spring for a few reasons. One: I’ve read enough about parasites, mucoid plaque, stagnant energy, and toxicity that builds up in the gut over a lifetime to know I needed to detox. Two: I had been feeling sluggish, despite my clean diet, and my eczema had returned because I had been foolishly eating grains again. (I cannot resist vegan baguette! But baguette does not like me.) I also broke out in hives from eating brown rice. So, I knew it was time to give my body a good ol’ fashioned cleanse.

Now, I would never go out and buy a box of pills and call it a cleanse. I did my research, and after speaking with a few people on Instagram who had actually done this particular cleanse and had documented it with super positive results, I decided to give it a try. This Organic Detox Kit is, as the name suggests, all organic, wild-crafted, vegan, gluten-free and chemical-free. Plus, it is only nine days long, and I figured I could commit to anything for nine days.

This cleanse included a few fairly simple steps:

• For the first three days, I gradually reduced the amount I ate and replaced 1 meal per day with the detox shake.
• Take digestive enzymes to prevent constipation.
• Stay hydrated. I opted to drink 3 liters of water per day.
• On the fourth day, start the six day juice fast until the end of the cleanse. So, no solid food for four days, but drink as much organic fresh pressed juice as you like. (No calorie restriction.)

So without further ado, here is my experience with nine days on the Bio Cleanse — The Organic Detox Kit:

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Day 1: I ate 70% of what I normally eat during the day and had my first detox “shake” 2 hours after dinner. I mixed it with 7-ounces of fresh pressed organic apple juice. It wasn’t entirely pleasant to drink, but in no way would I say it tasted “bad.” Mixed with the juice it was fine. Plus, it’s not like you’re supposed to be savoring this ginger-clay-drink like it’s a delicacy. It’s meant to clean your colon. And it expands super rapidly in liquid, as I found out. So I had about one minute to suck it down with a straw then down water, quickly afterward.

I was underestimating how full I would be with this drink. I am the type of person who is perpetually hungry. So, I went into Day 1 thinking “I’m going to be so hungry on this cleanse — I’m going to miss food so much.” Girl, was I wrong. After five minutes of downing my first detox shake, I felt as though I had just devoured an entire Thanksgiving feast to myself. I was beyond full. So, I cuddled up and watched a movie before bed, to let my stomach settle. I did not get sick or feel sick in any way afterward.

Day 2: I woke up feeling totally normal today, if not a bit tired because it is Monday. Digestive system was running smoothly, if not better than normal. Today I ate 50% of what I normally eat. I had a smoothie for breakfast with a liter of water with a light lunch. 30 minutes before the shake I had a digestive aid supplement, then the detox shake as my dinner.

Day 3: I woke up feeling super energetic. I ate 40% of what I normally eat during the day. This is my last day of solid food before the juice cleanse starts tomorrow, which I am a little worried about, but I’m sure will be fine. I ate mostly raw today — lots of watermelon and honeydew. I had a baked Japanese yam for lunch and it actually made me feel kind of sick, which I found interesting. So after that I returned to my raw diet.

Day 4: I woke up feeling pretty tired — but I attribute that to staying up late to watch the Dan Brown movies more than anything (The Vatican is a scary place…). Today I started the juice cleanse, so the schedule is changing up a bit. I drank a detox shake on an empty stomach first thing this morning. I will do this at least three more times today, three hours apart.

So far I really have not been hungry between meals/shakes. Yesterday, I went out and stocked up on everything I need to make fresh pressed juice: aloe leaves, apples, a huge bag of carrots like I have a horse at home (but nope — just me!), and an enormous bottle of apple juice from Whole Foods that is fresh pressed with no additives. My digestion is also great today as well.

Day 5: Today I woke up and had a detox shake right away. The fresh pressed apple juice is making my stomach feel extremely acidic — and I’m guessing that’s because of a lack of hydrochloric acid in my stomach, as the clay takes everything away. So at lunch today I juiced a bunch of celery to replenish the hydrochloric acid and the mineral salts. I FELT SO MUCH BETTER AFTER THE CELERY JUICE. I swear, if you ever feel the need to reach for a bottle of Tums, juice some celery instead. This plant is a miracle.

I also have been beyond hungry today. So I decided to include one raw, alkaline meal per day in the evening into the cleanse (this is an option with this cleanse, I just decided to try the full strength version first). Eating a meal actually made me feel a lot better. So I will continue that for the next four days.

I have not weighed myself yet, but I already feel lighter and the fat on my stomach/bloat has reduced significantly — not that I needed to lose a lot of weight to begin with, since I’ve been living a mostly raw vegan lifestyle for the past eight years.

Day 6: The acidity in my stomach is still there, but drinking 16 oz. of fresh organic celery juice (about one whole bunch) feels like a dream. My hunger has started to dissipate and I though I decided to incorporate alkaline whole foods back into my diet, I am only eating raw and still juicing a lot.

Day 7: I have a ton of energy. I’m pretty sick of the detox shakes and craving potatoes like a crazy person. Only 2 more days to go!

Day 8: I awoke with tons of energy. Carrot juice has been a favorite of mine today. I also did a wheatgrass shot and have been drinking a lot of lemon water ( 1/2 lemon squeezed into 16 oz. of water). Herbal tea is also something I started drinking again. I love me some dandelion and fresh thyme tea with a little raw honey.

Day 9: It’s the last day! I have definitely lost a significant amount of body fat. I celebrated this last day by juicing all day long. Though, I have to admit, when that last detox shake was done I was very pleased. Starting tomorrow, I begin a 30-day regimen of taking vegan probiotics to repopulate my gut with healthy bacteria that was removed during the cleanse. I will also continue to eat an alkaline high raw diet.

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Conclusion?

I definitely needed this cleanse. It was an interesting experience, as I’ve never really done something like this before. Even raw vegans need to cleanse to move stagnant stuff out of their gut.

I would do this again in six months to a year for sure. Doing this cleanse has helped me to realize that I feel so much better when I eat mostly raw foods. I’m definitely getting back to my Medical Medium protocol, as the results I have experienced while properly supplementing and eating mostly raw have been unparalleled.

This cleaning experience has truly been a spiritual, physical and mental journey. I don’t eat a lot of processed food — the occasional canned beans, lentil chips or packaged hummus — but after doing this cleanse, it has helped me realize that I only want to be eating whole, unprocessed foods = AKA shopping exclusively in the produce section of the grocery store.

Though once my cleanse ended, I enjoyed my first cooked meal of potato stuffed lettuce boats, I love the way juicing and eating raw fruit makes me feel as I continue on my path of healing. And to do that, I believe the best way, for me, is to eat as raw and organic as possible.

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Onward,

xx