Read an Excerpt
The Shred Power Cleanse
Eat Clean. Get Lean. Burn Fat
By Ian K. Smith St. Martin's Press
Copyright © 2015 Ian K. Smith, M.D.
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4668-6686-7
CHAPTER 1
HOW THE BODY DETOXIFIES
The human body is one of the most amazing machines ever created. Complicated and resilient, at times fragile and temperamental, the body carries out tens of thousands of processes every minute of every day. One of the most important is eliminating toxic substances that accumulate in its tissues. If left undisturbed, these toxins could cause all types of harm and eventually death. The body has its own detoxification system to make sure chemicals, metabolic waste products, and dangerous free-radical molecules are adequately neutralized and removed from the body often as waste elimination.
Toxic substances are everywhere, and the vast majority of them are invisible. Sure, we see the murky fumes of pollution, whether from mining plants or car exhaust, and this is why most people tend to focus on environmental toxins. But there are many that are formed right inside of our bodies through the normal chemical reactions of daily living that can be equally dangerous. While the word detoxification has become quite trendy over the last decade and has taken on various meanings, simply put, detoxification refers to the process of eliminating toxins, potentially harmful substances that can lead to bad health if allowed to accumulate.
The body does a tremendous job of detoxifying on its own. It possesses four major organs that get the job done extremely well. The liver, lungs, skin, and kidneys are major cleansers; when healthy, they are programmed to do their jobs automatically. The digestive system — while not an organ but an entire system — gets a deserved honorable mention as it too is critical in eliminating toxins, whether through the process of vomiting or rectal elimination.
So if the body does such a great job of cleansing itself, why should you undertake a cleanse? There are many things beyond enhancing the body's detox systems that a cleanse can do. It can increase energy levels, promote weight loss, reduce cholesterol levels, and lower blood pressure. Beyond these physical and physiological parameters, a cleanse can also be positive from a mental standpoint. A cleanse requires discipline, focus, and honesty.
The SHRED Power Cleanse is designed to help you not just reset your nutritional and exercise routines but also clear your head and find a zone of mental sharpness and self-discovery. People who have done cleanses often speak about how much weight they've lost, but they also report how much more vigorous they feel and how they have reduced cravings for less healthy foods that might taste great but have a negative impact on their health.
Food/Beverage Detoxification
Various foods help the body in its natural detoxification process in many ways. The liver is the body's major detoxification organ, a place where the blood is cleaned and toxins are extracted and either neutralized or prepared for elimination. Various enzymes that can enhance the liver's cytochrome P450 system, which is largely responsible for the cleansing process, exist in foods.
Antioxidants are another major group of phytonutrients that are critical in helping the body fight disease and remove toxins that if left unabated could accumulate and cause injury. Antioxidants can neutralize molecules called free radicals that are sometimes ingested and other times simple by-products of normal processes in the body. These free radicals can be extremely harmful; if the body was not adept at eliminating them, life-threatening diseases such as cancer, atherosclerosis, asthma, diabetes, and inflammatory joint disease might develop. Antioxidants make these free radicals ineffective and help prepare them for final elimination. They too are contained in food.
Fiber is another key cleansing ingredient found in food. It's important for gastrointestinal health and easy to find in many foods, most notably in fruits, vegetables, and legumes. Fiber helps regulate bowel movements, and it can draw out all types of chemicals as it moves undigested through the gastrointestinal tract and is eventually eliminated from the body. On a daily basis, most people should consume 21 to 38 grams, depending on their age and gender. Any successful cleansing program needs to make sure it is abundant in fiber.
Water is the most important fluid that we consume and the greatest enhancer of a body cleanse. Along with air, it's the most important thing in life. At least 70 percent of our body weight is comprised of water. Water assists in the body's ability to neutralize toxins and eliminate them, whether through the skin via sweating or through the urinary tract, which includes the kidneys.
How much water do you need? The answer varies depending on the source, some saying as little as 6 cups to as much as half of your weight in water. For example, if you weigh 200 pounds, some suggest as much as 12.5 cups on a daily basis to assist in a natural cleansing process.
Exercise Detoxification
Most people don't think of exercise as a means of cleansing, but overlooking its detoxifying potential is a mistake. Exercise increases lung function, and the lungs in turn filter out toxins and other undesirable matter.
Sweating during exercise is another way that the body eliminates the undesirable toxic substances. It's all about the skin, which is our largest organ.
Exercise increases our body's circulation, which allows for better mobilization and elimination of toxic substances that might have been ingested or simply were created during our body's normal physiologic functioning. Exercise also increases the flow of lymph, a clear fluid that contains white blood cells and circulates throughout the body, helping to remove bacteria, undigested proteins from tissues, and other unwanted matter. The more you exercise, the more the lymph fluid circulates between the lymph nodes, which serve as filters to help purify the blood and lymph.
Fatty tissue located under the skin can serve as a reservoir for the storage of toxic chemicals. One of the advantages of exercise is that it can reduce this fatty tissue, thus allowing the toxins to be released. Once these toxins are no longer stored, they can be captured by the body's natural cleansing organs — the liver, kidneys, and gastrointestinal tract — and eliminated.
Sleep Detoxification
Sleep is not often thought of in detox programs, but its role can be essential and should not be ignored. Sleep is critical primarily because it allows our bodies to get restored. This just doesn't happen at a mental wellness level, but at the minute physiological level. During unconsciousness, a series of thousands of reactions repair the body, cleanse the body, and ready the body for another period of wakefulness — and all of the energy and work that it demands.
One of the primary functions of sleep is that toxins in our body are processed by various organs as energy is restored. During sleep, you are not carrying on daily functions of living such as talking, reading, walking, and eating. The body takes advantage of this time to redirect its resources to recalibrate and reset so that it's ready to handle the next stressful period of wakefulness. By stress I don't mean anxiety about a test or paying the bills or getting to work on time in rush hour traffic. Just standing up out of bed in the morning and brushing your teeth and listening to the radio creates stresses on our body's internal environment that need to be handled and addressed so that their cumulative effect doesn't restrict our ability to function.
How much sleep do we need? That's the million-dollar question. The precise number varies depending on the source, but in general it's believed to be between 6 and 8 hours for optimal health. But sleep requirement is largely idiosyncratic and can be different for everyone. Some might need more, but very few can get by effectively on less. The key is that you get enough so you're not sluggish after you get going in the morning, and you want to make sure you don't find yourself so out of energy that you need a nap in the middle of the day. The most important thing is to listen to your body. If you're not feeling restored, or your mind is cloudy and you're not carrying out tasks at the high level that you know you can, you could be sleep deprived.
CHAPTER 2
THE SHRED POWER INGREDIENTS
One of the goals of the SHRED Power Cleanse is to consume more foods that are nutrition powerhouses. This means they're loaded with phytonutrients but have relatively few calories. Instead of getting the proverbial bang for your buck, the goal is to get the best bang for your calorie. The eleven power ingredients in this chapter — bee pollen, blueberries, chia seeds, ginger, flaxseed, hemp seed, kale, rolled oats, spinach, strawberries, and Swiss chard — have wonderful health-promoting properties strong as individuals but even greater when combined. You will eat other foods over the next fourteen days, but it's important to highlight the power ingredients because they truly are nutritional all-stars that will do everything from enhance your body's natural cleansing abilities to increase your energy and feeling of vitality.
Supplements are extremely popular for people who are trying to improve their health or augment their nutritional intake when they feel like they are deficient in certain vitamins or minerals. For many people supplements are important and they need to take them. But not everyone who takes supplements actually needs them. People who consistently eat well-balanced meals are typically getting all of the vitamins and minerals they need through their food. Clean, natural foods are the best way to load up on all of the phytonutrients that are critical for a long and healthy life. Yes, you can get some of this in a bottle, but taking it in from your plate is almost always the safest and most optimal method. The list below is not comprehensive, but an example of the types of super foods you will be consuming on the plan that will load you up on disease-fighting, energizing, satiating nutrients.
Bee Pollen
Bees collect pollen from flowers; it's the food that provides nourishment to baby bees. Claims that it is a magical ingredient for weight loss are unsubstantiated and in the past led to a cottage industry of bee supplements that promised amazing results on the scale. What science does show us, however, is that bee pollen is one of nature's most nourishing foods, with approximately 40 percent of its composition being protein, greater than any other animal source. It also contains free amino acids and vitamins, including the B-complex and folic acid. Scientists consider bee pollen to be a complete food, full of all the essential elements needed for life. Some European studies looked at whether bee pollen contained enough nutrients to sustain life. Researchers found that in fact one can live on bee pollen and water alone.
Although there are anecdotal reports that natural bee pollen can increase energy and aid in weight loss, there is little in the way of scientific evidence to support the claim, and the supplement industry is a largely unregulated industry. This is why it's important to proceed with caution when selecting the brand of bee pollen that you purchase and the source. Like anything else we consume, there are risks such as allergic reactions with the overconsumption of bee pollen, so that should be taken into consideration and consumption should be moderate. Some bee pollen supplements have been at the center of great controversy, with the FDA warning that some bee pollen products marketed for weight loss may actually threaten your health. For the purpose of the cleanse, we are not using these types of supplements, rather we're choosing organic bee pollen granules that can be added to your smoothie in small amounts. You will not taste the pollen, but it's possible that your body could experience its large nutritional potential.
Blueberries
Blueberries stand second only to strawberries as the most popular berries in the world. More species of blueberries are native to North America than to any other continent. The United States supplies over half of all blueberries to the world. Blueberries have a wonderful taste that can be sweet at times and tart at others. Their rich dark color practically screams healthy, and they are a great addition to smoothies, shakes, fruit salad, or yogurt. Blueberries are a super food because of their high nutritional value relative to their low number of calories. Just like their cousins, the strawberries, they are loaded with antioxidant phytonutrients such as anthocyanins, flavonols, and resveratrol, and with hydroxybenzoic acids.
A cup of blueberries will only cost about 84 calories, a bargain considering all of the health-promoting nutrients that it contains. Blueberries' peak availability runs from May to October, but they can be purchased all year round. Because the skin of the blueberry is consumed, you might consider purchasing organic to avoid the possibility of pesticide residue. The likelihood of encountering chemicals when consuming nonorganic blueberries, however, is relatively small because the cleaning process leaves very little if any of the pesticide as most of the chemicals are washed away. Don't be afraid to use frozen berries because they are excellent in smoothies and shakes, and they retain their nutritional benefits when frozen. While fresh provides maximal nutrition, frozen fruits and vegetables still retain the vast majority of their phytonutrients that deliver important health benefits.
Chia Seeds
Chia seeds are one of the healthiest foods on the planet. They come from the flowering plant Salvia hispanica, part of the mint family, and are indigenous to Mexico and parts of South America. Their seeds are tiny and can be white, dark brown, or black. Their nutritional value is enormous. One ounce of chia seeds contains 9.8 grams of fiber and 4.7 grams of protein, as well as calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium, manganese, phosphorous, omega-3 fatty acids, and omega-6 fatty acids.
The protein in chia seeds is complete, containing all nine of the essential amino acids. The Aztecs and Mayans are believed to have eaten the seeds to increase their sustainable energy. In fact, the word chia is the ancient Mayan word for strength. Its ability to stabilize blood sugar levels so that they don't rise too quickly can lead to the prevention of increased belly fat. The Cleveland Clinic has reported that chia seeds have also been shown to improve blood pressure in diabetics and might work to increase the levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL), which is the healthy cholesterol, while lowering low-density lipoprotein (LDL), which is the bad cholesterol, and triglycerides.
Chia seeds can be added easily to your smoothie or shake. Because they are tasteless, they won't have any impact on the flavor of your drink or food. They can also be added to salads or toast, adding nutritional value while remaining flavor-neutral. Some people like to soak chia seeds from 15 minutes to an hour in warm water before using them because they are excellent at absorption and will increase in size. Theoretically, this larger size could mean earlier fullness as the chia seeds are believed to continue to expand and consume more volume, leaving less room for other foods.
Flaxseed
The tiny flaxseed from the Linum usitatissimum plant has been cultivated for thousands of years in Mediterranean and Middle Eastern countries. Now grown in other parts of the world, the seed is often dried and crushed and used to make different grades of flaxseed oil. Although tiny in size, the seed is large in nutrition. It contains a large amount of heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids, as well as vitamin B1, copper, manganese, magnesium, phosphorous, and selenium. It also contains fiber, which adds to its prominent role in enhancing the body's natural cleansing processes.
Flaxseed is easy to add to your smoothie, but be mindful that it can result in a slightly seedy texture to the drink. Those who prefer to have a smoother texture might opt for flaxseed oil. This substitution does alter the nutritional profile; the oil still has the important omega-3 fats but no longer contains fiber. The antioxidant and antiinflammatory properties of flaxseed are largely due to its lignans, fiber-like compounds that provide its health-enhancing effects. When choosing a flaxseed oil, make sure you choose an unfiltered one so that all of the lignans and other important nutrients are preserved.
Ginger
Ginger is one of those special ingredients that pack a big punch in a small quantity. Aromatic, spicy, and pungent at the same time, ginger makes its contribution felt for almost no calories. Originating some two thousand years ago on the Asian continent, ginger is now grown all over the world. Its use in ancient times included fighting inflammation, bacterial illnesses, and flatulence. It contains several essential oils, including gingerols, which help reduce pain, lower fevers, and improve the movement of the intestines. Ginger's effect on increasing gastrointestinal movement contributes to the cleansing process because it enhances the transport of food and associated toxins through the gut so they can be removed from the body via elimination.
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Excerpted from The Shred Power Cleanse by Ian K. Smith. Copyright © 2015 Ian K. Smith, M.D.. Excerpted by permission of St. Martin's Press.
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