WITHDRAWAL GUIDE
It s time to break up with the emotional crutches and artificial energy. Tap into your true energy! Foods and drinks with additives, stimulants and refined ingredients will drag your body down! This cleanse is about making your system feel like new again, so wipe those teary eyes and let s go through the list of items to avoid during the cleanse. DAIRY... milk, butter, cheese, yogurt Aside from being highly acidic, dairy can also be quite difficult to digest. It can also contribute to excess mucus formation in the body. If you have any tendency to allergies, dairy can exacerbate the problem. Replace dairy with unsweetened almond milk, rice milk, oat milk, or any other nut or seed milk (be sure to check the label for sugar, oils and other additives and avoid them). REFINED SUGAR... table sugar, raw sugar, high fructose corn syrup Refined sugar is extracted from the sugar cane or sugar beet in a process that leaves you with a nutritionally-void product. This type of sugar is acidic and leaches nutrients from our body. It s also highly addictive and can contribute to mood problems, weight gain, and tooth decay. It also leads to spikes in our blood sugar, giving us false highs, followed by crashes in energy that leave us more tired than we were to begin with. BAD FATS... margarine, vegetable oil, partially hydrogenated oil, shortening, cooking spray, corn oil, canola oil, peanut oil Trans fats, hydrogenated fats, and oxidized fats not only create a truck load more toxins for the body to deal with, but also damage our cells, cause inflammation, contribute to cardiovascular damage, and create a more acidic environment in the body. Good news: there are plenty of good fats out there that we replace them with like nuts, seeds, avocados, coconut oil, and extra virgin olive oil. page 2
PROCESSED FOODS...crackers, cakes, sweets, chips, breakfast cereals, sauces, anything packaged Processed foods give us very little in terms of nutrients, and often contain damaging chemicals and other artificial substances as well. These packaged items also suck nutrients from our bones, our cells, and our entire system due to their acidity. They also place a huge burden on our liver and kidneys (which are responsible for breaking down chemicals), making it harder for the body to function properly. GLUTEN... wheat, barley, rye and related grains The word gluten comes from the Latin term for glue, and it can create a sticky mess in our digestive tracts. Foods containing gluten take significantly more energy for the body to digest. It also happens to be one of the most common food allergies. What is gluten? It s technically a protein composite found in wheat, rye, barley, and many other grains. CAFFEINE... coffee, black tea, soft drinks, green tea, energy drinks Caffeine is highly acidic, interferes with sleep, stresses our adrenal glands, and pillages our nutrient stores. On top of all this, it gives us a false sense of energy, and can irritate the nervous system and gut. Additionally, sodas contain artificial additives and sweeteners (even the diet varieties) that are toxic to the brain. The phosphoric acid erodes tooth enamel and promotes bone loss. page 3
ALCOHOL... wine, beer, hard liquors Alcohol is sugar-forming in the body and interferes with blood sugar regulation. Alcohol can actually stimulate cravings for sugar and carbohydrates which explains why you may find yourself elbow-deep in a gallon of ice cream. It also interferes with nutrient absorption and is toxic to the liver. SOY... faux-meat products, liquid aminos, tofu, soy milk We recommend staying away from highly-processed soy products which can interfere with nutrient absorption and leach nutrients from your body. Small amounts of organic, non-gmo soy are fine throughout the cleanse, such as miso and tamari. HIGHLY ACIDIC MEATS... red meat, chicken, turkey, pork Meat is highly acidic, and can take up to four full days to get through our digestive system. We want fast-moving, easily-digested food for this cleanse! page 4
symptoms + tips WITHDRAWAL SYMPTOMS Headaches Muscle cramps Fatigue Mood swings Bloating Skin irritations Irritability Change in bowel frequency Cutting out caffeine, sugar, alcohol, etc can be difficult and you may experience withdrawal symptoms. These symptoms can vary in intensity, and will most likely happen around the second or third day of cleansing. Take it easy, drink plenty of water and herbal teas (dandelion root tea is great!) to help your liver process the increased toxic load. These symptoms should resolve themselves by around the fifth day, so just be patient and focus on the fact that your symptoms are a sign that your body is releasing all those nasty toxins that are slowing you down! How to Minimize WITHDRAWAL SYMPTOMS Slowly eliminate the foods and drinks on the list before you start the cleanse and replace with more water, fruits, and vegetables. For instance, if your body is dependent on caffeine, try cutting back a little more each day on your coffee consumption. If you drink three cups a day, replace one cup of coffee with a green smoothie. Then the next day replace two cups of coffee with two green smoothies, and so on. The same goes for soda, alcohol, nicotine, refined sugar, and processed foods. page 5