My desire for sweets is a weakness
that I’ve fought almost constantly from the time I realized
I had teeth. My mother’s skills at baking the most delicious
Austrian desserts, cakes, and pastries – as well as
our daily coffee klatch or chat where my mother, my sister,
the neighbors, and the neighbors’ children gathered
to enjoy coffee, tea, and sweets in the afternoon - have blessed
me with a sweet tooth that is extremely difficult to overcome.
As a teenager I began to seriously study nutrition and became
macrobiotic. I cooked bland grayish grains and seasoned them
with miso or soy sauce. This phase did not last very long
because my mother was continuously tempting me with her delicious
treats. My sweet tooth is now somewhat under control after
studying nutritional theories from various traditions (Chinese
Medicine, Ayurveda, and the latest Western research). However,
it definitely flares up during the holiday season when I am
compelled to bake cookies from my mother’s Austrian
cookbooks. After the holidays, I feel like I need to lose
a few pounds and plan to start the new year with plenty of
exercise and a healthy diet.
A cleanse is the best way to jumpstart a
healthier regime. I prefer the Ayurvedic panchakarma cleanse,
a gentle yet powerful Ayurvedic approach to rejuvenation and
detoxification. The cleanse begins at home with a diet consisting
of cooked, easy-to-digest foods such as rice, vegetables,
lentils, stewed fruit (for my sweet tooth!), herbal decoctions,
and clarified butter. The delicious treatments start after
five days of this preparation phase: Each day consists of
hours of warm oil massages, herbal steam treatments, and body
scrubs with Ayurvedic herbs, as well as treatments that nourish
body and soul and simultaneously eliminate toxins in a gentle
way.
I believe that gentleness is the key to detoxing.
I am not convinced that any of the so-called drastic detox
diets recommending a strict regimen of lemon juice, cayenne
pepper, maple syrup, etc are beneficial. My many years of
medical education have taught me that the body does not like
being off balance too much and for too long. Our bodies try
to maintain homeostasis, a balanced state in which everything
functions properly. Both fasting and these drastic detox regimens
alter this homeostasis, often in a harmful way. Liver glycogen
stores are depleted, alterations occur in the mineral and
electrolyte balance in the blood, muscle and bone tissue start
breaking down, changes occur in the acid-alkaline balance,
alterations occur in the fatty acid composition of cells,
and immune function may be impaired. The adrenals are overtaxed,
which means that the body will hold on to each calorie we
ingest after the fast and store it as fat - especially around
the middle - due to the cortisol-insulin reaction. The Master
Cleanse with lemon juice, maple syrup and cayenne pepper can
cause candida or diabetes. In Ayurvedic terms, an extreme
fast creates high pitta/low agni, which means too much fire
and a weak digestion. This imbalance is very hard to treat.
All types of detoxification require great
care. Any procedure that can loosen toxins from the fatty
tissue must also be able to safely eliminate these chemicals
from the bloodstream and the body. It is possible to harm
the body if detoxification is not done properly. For example,
some people fast for extended periods to reduce their toxicity
levels. However, as they reduce their adipose tissue through
fasting, they also push the fat-soluble toxins into the blood
stream, which can cause damage to various organs. Panchakarma
uses specific steps that take care to properly remove the
toxicants from the blood stream without harming the body in
process.
During panchakarma, the doshas are brought
into balance. By eliminating irritating foods and drinks and
focusing on nourishing simple foods, we create new healthy
eating habits. When we are in balance we crave what brings
us into balance, and when we are out of balance we crave what
brings us out of balance. The balancing effects of panchakarma
can be felt for a long time after the cleanse.
Using high-tech laboratory techniques, Robert
Herron, PhD, and John Fagan, Ph.D., conducted a two-month
longitudinal study on subjects receiving five days of panchakarma
with significant results. Compared to tests taken prior to
treatment, blood levels of the highly toxic PCBs and Beta-HCH
were reduced by 46 and 48 percent respectively. Without this
detoxification program, the natural expected drop in PCB and
Beta-HCH over a two-month period is only a fraction of one
percent. No other method has been scientifically verified
to reduce fat-soluble toxins in the human body without causing
negative side effects. Normally these fat-soluble substances
remain in the body for many years, but panchakarma allows
us a healthy alternative for coping with a toxic world.
Another study researched the effects of a
three-to-five-day panchakarma cleanse with the following results:
three months later, the total cholesterol had dropped acutely,
HDL (the good cholesterol) rose 7.5 %, free radical damage
fell significantly, blood pressure dropped, and problems with
anxiety improved. Vasoactive intestinal peptide, which is
a coronary vasodilator, increased substantially. These findings
confirm the efficacy of panchakarma for cardiovascular health.
The Concept
of Ama
In Ayurveda, toxins that accumulate in the
body are called ama. Symptoms of ama accumulation are lethargy,
low energy, generalized aches and pains, lack of mental clarity,
heaviness in the body, digestive problems (such as constipation,
gas, bloating, or heartburn), weakened immune system, frequent
colds and sinus infections, coated tongue, body odor, etc.
With the tremendous growth of industry over
the past 100 years, thousands of toxic chemicals have been
introduced into our food, air, drinking water, and almost
every manufactured product. As a result, we are exposed to
a potentially huge toxic overload during our lifetime. Regular
panchakarma cleanses (one to four times a year) help the body
eliminate ama or toxins and rejuvenate, strengthen, and balance
it.
Who Can Benefit from
Panchakarma?
Panchakarma is beneficial for healthy individuals
who want to stay healthy or the following conditions: arthritis,
generalized body pain, fibromyalgia, sciatica, menstrual disorders
and menopausal symptoms, emotional and psychological disorders
(such as depression and anxiety), chronic fatigue, hypertension,
dizziness, migraines and headaches, allergies, frequent colds,
flu, sinus problems, asthma, gastrointestinal conditions,
endocrine disorders, autoimmune disorders, insomnia, stress,
etc. Panchakarma can be performed as a post-treatment for
cancer to remove toxic residues of malignancies.
All authentic panchakarma therapies and individual
Ayurvedic body treatments are available at our Prana Center
in Santa Barbara. Email me at Claudia@beyondacupuncture.us
if you would like to have more information.
About
the Author
Claudia
Ward, L.Ac. is cofounder of The Prana Center,
Santa Barbara's exclusive healing center for Ayurveda and
Chinese Medicine, offering authentic Ayurvedic bodywork,
marma therapy, consultations, nutrition, acupuncture and Pancha
Karma cleanses. She is a Licensed Acupuncturist, Diplomate
of Acupuncture, Diplomate of Chinese Herbology and an Ayurvedic
practitioner.
