The Blood Sugar Solution 10-Day Detox Diet: Activate Your Body's Natural Ability to Burn Fat and Lose Weight Fast (27 page)
Authors: Mark Hyman
Tags: #Health & Fitness / Diet & Nutrition / Diets, #Health & Fitness / Body Cleansing & Detoxification
Chapter 21
for recipes):
Breakfast: Detox Shake
Midmorning Snack (optional): 10 to 12 nuts (almonds, walnuts, pecans, macadamia nuts)
Lunch:
Core Plan: Soup with protein or Dr. Hyman’s Super Salad Bar with protein
Adventure Plan: Bok Choy Salad with Tofu or Raw Almonds
Midafternoon Snack (optional): Dip or spread of your choice with fresh vegetables
Dinner:
Core Plan: Grilled Snapper with Salad
Adventure Plan: Chicken Breast with Ratatouille and Steamed Broccoli
The process wasn’t easy. I had headaches and joint aches. My sleep was off for a while and the cravings were filling my brain with dangerous “feed me!” messages. But I persevered, and you know what? The messages got quieter. My energy levels rose, and my reflux problems literally disappeared. There’s no word I can think of to describe it other than “miraculous.”
—JENN WIELGOSZINSKI
This book has the word “detox” in it not by accident. You’re here to free yourself from food addiction, and just as with detoxing from any drug, that can create a period of discomfort. These are powerful drugs that have taken possession of your brain chemistry and created biological addictions, and it makes sense that your body would have an equally powerful reaction as you come off them. You are rewiring deeply ingrained chemical and neural pathways, and symptoms may arise as your body cleans house and does its job to restore your health.
The following symptoms are common at the beginning of the program:
Bad breath
Constipation
Achy, flulike feeling
Fatigue
Headache
Hunger
Irritability
Itchy skin
Nausea
Offensive body odor
Sleep irregularities (sleeping too much or too little, difficulty in falling asleep)
Brain fog
These detox symptoms are real, and the process of withdrawal can sometimes be difficult and painful. Detox symptoms often get worse before they get better—that’s just part of the process as your body cleans out the drugs and toxins. The more toxic and sick you were to begin with, the more intense the symptoms may be. I know this can be discouraging—you’re looking to feel better, not worse! But don’t worry; feeling good is just a day or two away. While they may feel uncomfortable, symptoms usually pass within forty-eight hours.
I’ve found that most people are able to deal better with detox symptoms when they understand why they are happening (and when they believe there is light at the end of the tunnel, which, I promise, there is!). This is your biology at its finest, doing its best work to heal you. One of the reasons detox symptoms occur is because your body created antibodies to fight the foods it doesn’t like, and when you stop eating the foods, those antibodies are looking for something to do. So they glom on to one another and form giant immune complexes. These big flashing warning signals tell your body that something bad is happening, and they activate your immune system. Your withdrawal symptoms are your body’s way of trying to fight off these antibodies. There is actually a name for this phenomenon: It’s called serum sickness.
