Karyn's Raw Detox: Days 11-14

This post is part of a series in which I am sharing my journey of Karyn's Raw Detox program. Read my other posts below:


Free Seminar
Day 0
Days 1-2
Days 3-6
Days 7-10

Days 11-14
Days 15-19
Days 20-27
Day 28 - Final Post

Days 11-14
I wrote in my last post about how eating completely raw and taking several supplements was not easy this week. It's gotten a little easier because I've more or less figured out how to eat raw and not feel like I am starving. I am embracing raw food more and the way it makes me feel. My fatigue has gone away since Saturday (my last post) and I was able to have good workouts each day Sunday through today. There are a three things that I want to discuss in today's post: rejuvelac, energy soup, and enemas.

Rejuvelac
Rejuvelac is a drink made by sprouting wheat berries and then soaking them in water, left at room temperature to ferment for several days. The water becomes an enzymatically alive liquid that is rich in beneficial lacto-bacteria. This lacto-bacteria destroys harmful bacteria in the intestines and also establishes beneficial bacteria that strengthen immunity, aid digestion, reduce candida growth, and cleanse the intestinal tract. The drink also contains B-vitamins and digestible protein (taken from Karyn's book). It has a sour taste that can be hidden by adding the rejuvelac to smoothies or raw soups. I really have started to love this stuff. It does feel very rejuvenating in my smoothies and energy soup (below). Karyn also suggested taking it before working out. For the past three days, I've had only rejuvelac before working out in the morning, and coconut water during my workout, and have felt amazing during my workouts! I often struggle with fatigue during my morning workouts but rejuvelac has really given me the energy I need. You can find the exact process for making it online or just buy by the gallon at Karyn's Raw in Chicago.

Energy Soup
I've been having "energy soup" as my lunch every day this week and I've grown to like it more and more. It is basically a blended salad that I bring to work in a mason jar. Energy soup is made from blending rejuvelac, dulse, apples, spinach, sprouts, and avocado. It is really a combination of everything that's good for you. The original raw food doctor, Dr. Ann Wigmore, prescribed this recipe to her patients to cure them of diseases like heart disease and cancer...and it worked! The taste of the soup is refreshing but I want to tweak the recipe a bit to add some spices an take out the apples. I like spicy/salty and not sweet soups. I also eat apples as snacks usually anyway.

Enemas

I'm going to talk about cleaning out my colon now so stop reading if this is TMI for you...you've been warned! First of all, in our society we don't talk about our colons at all because they're gross and girls don't poop, right? Well, I am going against the grain and talking about my colon and poop! The fact is, the colon affects your total health more directly than any other part of the body. Waste and toxins more slowly through your colon and tend to build up along the intestinal walls, especially if you have been eating a less-than-healthy diet. Even if you think you are "regular," you should be eliminating as many times per day as you eat. I used to suffer from constipation until I changed my diet to healthy plant-based. On this cleanse, I have been going to the bathroom multiple times a day, which is great. However, I know that toxins have built up in my colon over time and they need to be cleaned out.

Enemas and colonic irrigation have been used for thousands of years. Ancients Egyptians used reeds to irrigate the intestines and ancient Romans considered enemas a part of good hygiene. Autopsies have shown that colons can be impacted with waste and it is estimated that any person is carrying anywhere from 6 to 30 lbs of extra fecal matter in their intestines. That's gross! And of course, carrying around toxins is not good for your health and can cause diseases (perfect example: colon cancer). 

In preparing for the juice cleanse starting the third week of the detox, it is also important to clean out the colon. I failed a juice cleanse that I tried last year (read my post) because I started feeling like I was getting a cold. It turns out, that these symptoms were probably caused by me refusing to do a colon cleanse before or during the juice cleanse. There was no solid food to push out the feces and the toxins were being released into my body, thus causing the sickness. Therefore, even if you're just doing a short juice cleanse, I highly recommend that you do a colonic or enema.

The good news is that there all lots of spas out their that offer colon irrigation therapy (colonic) and you can even get Groupons. Otherwise, the colonics cost around $100. It is much cheaper to do an enema yourself, which is what I've been doing every day for the past week. You can find detailed explanations online of how to do an enema but it is actually simpler that you think. You take a bucket, attach a hose at the bottom, connected to an insertion hose for your rectum. You fill the small bucket with warm water, we also added fenugreek seed liquid to the water for extra healing/cleaning. You lay on the bathroom floor with a towel and place the bucket about 4-5 feet above you. After inserting the tube about 1-2 inches in your rectum, you open the nozzle to let the water flow in. Take in as much as you can and then expel into the toilet (after taking out the tube). We've been advised to do three buckets at a time. 

The enema is not comfortable but it's not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. I didn't really feel the water flowing into my colon but I did feel crampy with a large amount of water in there and also while I was expelling the liquid. The cramps aren't more painful than mild period cramps so really, not that bad. I feel crampy immediately after the enema but that soon goes away and I feel great. My advice is that if you're scared of doing an enema, don't be. It is intensely healing and essential to do during any type of cleanse that involves fasting. 

Enemas also rinse away good intestinal bacteria so it is important to take probiotics or rejuvelac or do an implant. We are doing implants of chlorophyll. This means that you insert abour 6 ox of chlorophyll using the enema bucket after cleaning out and hold it in as long as possible. 

Sorry about all of the text in this post but I really wanted to share my enema experience with you so that  you would be less afraid to try an enema or colonic.

Have you ever done an enema or colonic?

Disclaimer: Karyn's Raw provided the detox class to me for free and is giving me a discount on the supplements for writing about my experience. The text and opinions are completely my own. You can learn more about the detox class here or buy Karyn's book here.