Cleanse the Bloat Away – 5 Recommendations

This Holiday Season, do yourself a favor and begin a simple cleanse to combat the excess food and drink. It need not interfere with the festivities.  A few herbs, tea and perhaps a psyllium husk drink will do.

THIS IS the day after Thanksgiving, the so-called “Black Friday”.  For many this day is all about consumerism, but what’s black for others is their foul mood after having gorged yesterday.

Despite my penchant for health and moderation, I am not immune to being trampled by my gustatory desires.  I was abstemious with the wine last night, and resisted gluttony with the turkey and fixings, but the desert won the battle.

In my normal, non-Thanksgiving life, eating desert is rare.  Mostly, it’s a bit of bittersweet chocolate, 70+% coca.  So, last night, I thought it best to just peck at the various desert offerings.  Problem was, all  that pecking adds up. (Read, One Less Cookie, 10 Less Pounds.)

A few calories from that tablespoon of organic vanilla bean ice cream, some more from that piece of a piece of organic brownie, the slivers of apple and peach pies (organic and whole wheat crust)… and all of a sudden, I’m a pig grunting and rolling in the muck of a sugarfat frenzy.

Needless to say that when someone who maintains a clean diet becomes a pig (or perhaps a cow, as the picture above suggests), the stomach revolts. Bloat happens.  So, when I arrived home last night, I decided to do something about that uncomfortable feeling in my belly.

I did not reach for any of the BS stuff hawked by TV commercials.  Instead, I grabbed a cleansing product I was given last week by the product manager of Pro Health, a supplement company in Santa Barbara.

Frequent visitors to this blog may know that I have a long relationship with Pro Health.  I befriended its founder, Rich Carson, way back in college, and over the years have been a once-in-awhile consultant for the company, as well as a power-user of the supplements it sells.  (As a look at “Products” will attest, since I’ve used most of the supplements there discussed.)

Last week, I was visiting Rich and paid a visit to the company’s offices.  There, I was given two different cleansing products to try.  It was very casual, as in:

“Hey Joe, we were sent these cleaning products by their manufactures for us to check out.  They’d like us to sell them.  You know a lot about cleansing, so please take these with you and let us know what you think, if you want.”

Last after I returned home from my desert-feast, I decided that the moment arrived to try one of these cleansing products.  I opened the one from DrNatura called “Colonaide”.  This one was better designed to  alleviate my current need, as it is, shall we say, more focused on the areas of food elimination, such as the colon.  The other one was more attuned to riding the body of heavy metals and toxins – a very worthwhile endeavor but not meeting my need at the moment.

Ideally, you begin this 14-day cleanse in the morning by pouring a pre-measured pouch containing psyllium husk powder and a blend of various cleansing herbs into eight ounces of orange juice or water.  Shake and drink.  Then in the evening, you take a tea packet containing various cleansing herbs, place it in a cup of hot water and drink it down.  That’s it – a very simple (perhaps too simple) cleanse, principally to help cleanse the colon.

Since I wanted to relieve my bloat last night, I started last night. Drank the tea.  And indeed, within a ½ hour I felt better; however, my experience with ginger and peppermint teas suggests that either of these might have worked equally well.

This morning, I drank the psyillum husk powder packet placed in lemon water.  (A 20/80% mix of apple juice and water would have been a good choice for the drink too, but I’d stay away from pure orange juice – too much sugars, even though they’re “natural”.)

When I’m done with this cleanse, I’ll report what I think of it, but I can already make five recommendations/comments based on a long record of cleansing:

1. Cleansing products best work alongside a cleansing diet. No doubt, it’s beneficial to do a simple cleanse like this. The herbs and psyllium husk powder drink will help remove some impacted material from the colon and flush it out.  But don’t fool yourself into thinking that taking some herby stuff without amending the intake of meat, diary, wheat and such is going to make a big difference.

2. If a newbie, start with a simple cleanse and go deeper later. In addition to the modest health benefit, for someone who has not disciplined themselves when it comes to diet, making yourself add this simple regimen to your life is a great first step to preparing yourself for a more substantial cleanse in the future.

(For a more substantial cleanse, check out the cleanse at It’s Detox Time.)

3. Despite the Holiday Season, now through December is really a good time to begin a non-invasive cleanse. I use this term to refer to the fact that simply adding cleansing material without needing to amend eating habits is simple and doesn’t “invade” your normal eating pattern of food/drink selection. The reason it’s a good idea to begin it now is that we are often in overwhelm come January.  We’ve gained weight from all the eating and drinking during the Holidays, have been less active in these cold months, have a list of New Year Resolutions to confront, as well as things put off during the Holidays.  I say do yourself a favor and add some cleansing to this Holiday Season – it might just ameliorate the bloat and weight gain and the associated frustration.

4. I cannot yet recommend Colonaide, the stuff I’m now trying, but I can recommend “The Ultimate Cleanse”, which you can read about here at Detoxifying Yourself to Nirvana. I’ve used “Ultimate” for many years and think it’s a very effective simple cleaning program for beginners and/or those not ready or able to do really deep cleansing that requires a dramatic change of diet, along with a specific daily regimen.  If you wish to add to the cleansing capability of “Ultimate”, find yourself some psyllium husk powder at some health food store (or Trader Joe’s) and follow the directions. Important – don’t drink the psyllium husk within an hour of taking the “Ultimate” tablets or they’ll be absorbed and evacuated before they can be absorbed in the body.

5. Lastly, and importantly, do yourself a favor and drink several eight ounce glasses of purified water each day.  Many of us drink everything but water.  Not good — your body needs water for hydration and natural cleansing, and particularly so if you begin a cleansing program.

OK, have fun, and let me know how you fare in the Comments section below.

UPDATE: Have finished the Colonaide cleanse and share my views about it in A Simple, Effective Cleanse — Colonaide by DrNatura.

Last Updated on March 6, 2018 by Joe Garma

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Joe Garma
 

I help people live with more vitality and strength. I'm a big believer in sustainability, and am a bit nutty about optimizing my diet, supplements, hormones and exercise. To get exclusive Updates, tips and be on your way to a stronger, more youthful body, join my weekly Newsletter. You can also find me on LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram.

Click Here to Leave a Comment Below 4 comments
Dana Kay - November 26, 2011

Hey Joe,

Thanks for the huge belly laugh with the cow pic. ; ~ DI’d love to talk to you about cleansing some time. 

Reply
    Joseph Garma - November 26, 2011

    Sure.. in the meantime, search around the blog for “detox” and “cleanse” and you’ll be able to read a bit about the topic.

    Reply
Kava Powder - April 15, 2012

I could not agree more on this. 

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Nita Guerette - July 26, 2012

A healthy diet plays an important role in ensuring that your body does not accumulate toxins. Cleansing and flooding the body with nutrients are crucial in maintaining good health. Always find ways to keep your body toxin free to improve and strengthen your health for a long time.

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