Finding the True Harmony within you

June Liver & Intestinal Cleanse/Detox 2009 - Day 3 (Individual 2)

What Did I Eat Today?

Breakfast: water with 1/2 a lemon juiced into it, Split Pea and Greens Soup

Lunch: Apple with Peanut Butter, more soup

Snack: carrots

Dinner: Stir Fry Veggies and Quinua

Lots of water!

How Do I feel?  Notice any changes in my body?

This cleanse has not seemed too difficult so far.  It feels good to eat healthy and it is so nice to be able to think clearly.  I have lost a couple of lbs, but it's probably just from water weight.  Hoepfully staying on this consistantly (making it more of a lifestyle change) will help me to lose more.  I noticed some pain in my right armpit, suggesting that I have some blocked lymph there, so am going to take Hoxsey-Like Formula to help clear my lymph.  Also plan to do a castor oil pack on my abdominal area to assist with that.  I have noticed that my anxiety has also decreased significantly! I have increased energy and my sleep has changed

Other Comments.

Walked my dog both in the morning 30 minutes.

What Did I Eat Today?

Breakfast: water with 1/2 a lemon juiced into it, Split Pea and Greens Soup

Lunch: Apple with Peanut Butter, more soup

Snack: carrots

Dinner: Stir Fry Veggies and Quinua

Lots of water!

How Do I feel?  Notice any changes in my body?

This cleanse has not seemed too difficult so far.  It feels good to eat healthy and it is so nice to be able to think clearly.  I have lost a couple of lbs, but it's probably just from water weight.  Hoepfully staying on this consistantly (making it more of a lifestyle change) will help me to lose more.  I noticed some pain in my right armpit, suggesting that I have some blocked lymph there, so am going to take Hoxsey-Like Formula to help clear my lymph.  Also plan to do a castor oil pack on my abdominal area to assist with that.  I have noticed that my anxiety has also decreased significantly! I have increased energy and my sleep has changed

Other Comments.

Walked my dog both in the morning 30 minutes.

June Liver & Intestinal Cleanse/Detox 2009 - Day 3 (Individual 1)

Day 3, June 25, 2009

 

What Did I Eat Today?

Breakfast: Apple and Peanut butter (1-2Tb), half a latte with almond milk

Lunch: Pea/Greens soup with cucumber, Almond Milk with nutritional yeast

Dinner: amaranth w almonds, kale parsnip black bean soup

Dinner Snack: Veggie soup w 1/3 avocado and sweet potatoe,

peanuts & almonds, ¼ apple. ½ glass of wine

 

70 oz of water today

 

Recipes? J

 

How Do I feel? A little tired in the morning and hungry, and I had to eat dinner late because of another crazy schedule day so I was a little hungry and low blood sugar. I definitely have cravings at night. I want more sweets! Fruit fruit fruit. So I'm letting myself eat just a small part of fruit if I can't kick the craving. Water with lemon has been really making me feel good, plus it diminishes cravings and hunger.

 

Notice any changes in my body? Lost some weight, but feeling good. I walked twice today - 1.5 mile in the morning and then 1 mile at night. No dancing today.

June Liver/ Intestinal Cleanse & Detox, Day 2 (Individual 1 & 2)

June Liver & Intestinal Cleanse/Detox 2009 - Day 2

 

What Did I Eat Today?

Breakfast: I had just a bit of a latte with a splash of almond milk, and I made some veggies and broth and munched on that

Lunch: Amaranth with almonds; kale and root veggies (seasoned with turmeric, olive oil, salt and pepper); toor dahl, urid dahl, and kale with turmeric, a cup of tea

Dinner Snack: Apple with peanut butter

Dinner: Homemade veggie broth with kale and parsnips, half cup of amaranth with almonds, half glass of wine, half of apple with almond butter and peanuts for dessert, plus some jicama because I wasn't satiated.

 

90 oz of water today

 

Recipes? :-)

 

How Do I feel? I felt good today. Wasn't hungry and depleted really at all. I ended up taking the dogs for two 1.5 mile walk/runs (morning and night), and then taught dance workout again. I felt good all day. I got a massage to help flush things out of my body. That felt really good.

 

Notice any changes in my body?

Actually feeling good, with no struggles today. My allergies started to subside.

 

Comments

I checked out a colon hydrotherapist near True Harmony. The gals name is Eireen Cullen and works out of an integrated dentists office. She has a closed system. I don't feel like I need a colonic, but will talk to Dr. Grobe to see if she suggests it for a better Detox.

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June Liver/Intestinal Cleanse & Detox 2009 - Day 2 (Individual 2)

What Did I Eat Today?

Breakfast: Bean, Barley and Veggie Soup

Lunch: Apple with Peanut Butter and bean and Veggie Soup

Snack: carrots

Dinner: salad with olive oil, lemon juice and garlic and Barley & Veggie Soup

Lots of water! I have added the food I eat in a breakfast, lunch, dinner format but I will also take bites of the previous meal every couple of hours as I am hungry.

How Do I feel?

I did take the liquid iron supplement night 1 and that helped tremendously with the lightheaded-ness.  Today I felt pretty good.  Slight loss of energy, but felt so good in the evening that I stayed up later than I have in a long time- cooking soup for day 3!    Again, I took the iron supplement in the evening and it seemed to help again.  Evening seems to be the most difficult as far as cravings go.  I have to remind myself that it is only for a few days and find something to distract myself.

Notice any changes in my body?

My head feels much more clear already. 

Other Comments.

Walked my dog both in the morning and evening today.

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June Liver/Intestinal Cleanse & Detox 2009 - Day 2 (Individual 2)

What Did I Eat Today?

Breakfast: Bean, Barley and Veggie Soup

Lunch: Apple with Peanut Butter and bean and Veggie Soup

Snack: carrots

Dinner: salad with olive oil, lemon juice and garlic and Barley & Veggie Soup

Lots of water! I have added the food I eat in a breakfast, lunch, dinner format but I will also take bites of the previous meal every couple of hours as I am hungry.

How Do I feel?

I did take the liquid iron supplement night 1 and that helped tremendously with the lightheaded-ness.  Today I felt pretty good.  Slight loss of energy, but felt so good in the evening that I stayed up later than I have in a long time- cooking soup for day 3!    Again, I took the iron supplement in the evening and it seemed to help again.  Evening seems to be the most difficult as far as cravings go.  I have to remind myself that it is only for a few days and find something to distract myself.

Notice any changes in my body?

My head feels much more clear already. 

Other Comments.

Walked my dog both in the morning and evening today.

Happy 5 Year Anniversary True Harmony!

Thank you all for being a part of the True Harmony Family.  We are now 5 years old!  Dr. Brass-Jones and I have put our heart and soul into making this company a business that aligns itself with Integrity and Health.  We thank all of you that have trusted in us to help you through your life with everything form doctor visits to dance classes and everything in between.  We are thankful for our loving Team of Practitioners and Staff that also dedicate their time and energy to assisting our community with reaching their health goals.  Dr. Brass-Jones and I feel akin to all of you that have shared your experiences with us, and we look forward to growing with you and expanding all over this Valley to help everyone that is in need of quality healthcare.  Many Blessings, a Multitude of Thanks and many Healing thoughts to all of You. 

Dr. Christine Brass-Jones and Sherry Vangoethem, founders of The Center for True Harmony Wellness and Medicine ^TM PC.

June Liver & Intestinal Cleanse/Detox 2009 - Day 1 (Individual 1)

Day 1, June 23, 2009

 

June Liver & Intestinal Cleanse/Detox 2009 - Day 1

 

What Did I Eat Today?

Breakfast: I had just a bit of a latte with a splash of almond milk, and a bite of apple and almond butter.

Lunch: Amaranth with almonds; kale and root veggies (seasoned with turmeric, olive oil, salt and pepper); toor dahl, urid dahl, and kale with turmeric, a cup of tea

Dinner Snack: Apple with almond butter

Dinner: Amaranth with almonds, almond milk, stevia, cinnamon, nutritional yeast and stevia, and a sip of wine

 

80 oz of water today

 

Recipes? I'll get them to you later this weekJ

 

How Do I feel?

Well, I started the day with an allergy attack it seemed. A storm moved in, and I reacted to something. That made the day a little hard because I was congested and just a little sluggish because of it. I ended up going on two 1 mile walks with my dogs plus I taught two dance classes. By the end of the last one (almost 7.30p) I was spent and exhausted and my blood sugars felt depleted. I think this was a little too much to do the first day of a cleanse. Today's schedule was a bit full, but this was a special occasion because my dance students are preparing for their recital in 4 days. I hope to feel good and strong by then!

 

Notice any changes in my body?

Hmm, no significant changes, though I don't know that I will experience maybe. (I am hoping to feel less allergic to things, as I Detox all the dairy out of my system). My stomach and intestines felt good. I definitely feel less bulk in my belly! Not as much food moving through there.

 

 

Cleanse, Day 1 (Individual 2)

June Liver/Intestinal Cleanse 2009 - Day 1

What Did I Eat Today?

Breakfast: Bean and Barley Vegetable Soup, Glass of water with juice of ½ lemon

Lunch: Lentils with spices, Amaranth, and sweet potato

Snack: greens with black beans and more bean and barley soup

Lemon tea- plain

Dinner: salad with olive oil, lemon juice and garlic and black beans

Lots of water!

How Do I feel?

Today has been ok, I feel a little light headed. I’m planning to take some iron supplements when I get home to see if that helps that. I had a couple of moments where I questioned if I can do this for 10 days, but feel positive that it is going to be worth it. It does take a lot of energy to cook enough food to have variety every couple of hours. I think it was smart that we cooked several dished and froze them before the cleanse began. Preparation is very important!

Notice any changes in my body?

I already feel more open and lighter. Not that I expect to lose weight on this cleanse, that is not my goal, but it would be a nice benefit to loose a couple of pounds. Speaking of, I had better go weigh myself. I’ll let you know how that goes. J

Other Comments.

You are not supposed to do any strenuous exercise on a cleanse. So, I am walking my dog in the morning on our regular walks, and that is really it.

Why I am Cleansing- Individual #2

I will also be doing a cleanse starting tomorrow, for the next 10 days, and will blog about it each day.

My reasons for starting are similar ot the previous post.  I can feel that my body needs a break from all it has taken in for the last year or so.  I am having many symptoms that are indicating that a liver cleanse will be beneficial to me.  Some of the common symptoms I am having: I am having more frequent headaches, my skin is breaking out, my allergies have been terrible lately, and my thinking is foggy, many days I feel like I can't think well or remember anything!  And the strange symptom: cannot tolerate even a small amount of caffiene!

So, I also met with Dr Grobe, the Naturopathic doctor at The Center for True Harmony Wellness and Medicine, and will do a similar cleanse to the last post.  The bulk of the diet will be Vegetables and Whole Grains.  No, meat, fish, dairy, processed foods.  My blood type is A-, so this will be an easy transition to Vegetarian diet.  (Well, I can do no fish or meat for 10 days).  I will also be doing a added liver cleanse option:  2 TBS Olive Oil, the juice from 1/2 a lemon, and 1 clove of garlic minced- all mixed together taken 3x per day!  Along with doing castor oil packs on my abdominal and liver area, this should be a great cleanse!  And, taking additional flax seed and other fiber will be beneficial to my intestines and help to eliminate the toxins that will be flushed through my liver.  This cleanse is really nothing crazy.  I am not drinking a strange concoction for a month.  I am just eating a healthy diet and adding a few additional helpful items!

I know that it will be hard for a few days, but I am so looking forward to feeling better and thinking clearer.  And when I finish my cleanse, I am also looking forward to transitioning to keeping a healthy diet, and leaving all the processed foods out of my life!  I hope that when I finish this cleanse that I will feel so good that I will not want to eat those un-necessary things that I have become so accustomed to eating!

Come back to see how this cleanse works and maybe, just maybe you will be encouraged to do one yourself.  It is important to cleanse under the supervision of a doctor, so make an appointment with Dr. Grobe and she will guide you and help you with what specific cleanse will be a benefit for you and where you are at!  Happy cleansing!  ome back tomorrow and see how Day 1 of the cleanse goes!

Why I am Cleansing - Individual #1

Cleanse June 2009

 

So I've decided to do a cleanse. I've done maybe 4 cleanses in the past 5 years, liver and intestinal cleanses. I know they are good for me, just to clean out my body, and give my body a break, a chance to reset. When I find myself becoming ‘addicted' to certain foods like coffee, carbs or whatever, I know I should probably go on a cleanse. I played with the idea of just making up my own cleanse this year, I know what my body needs for the most part, and I know what things it doesn't like. I then had a feeling I was just thinking that to make the process easy on myself, so instead I decided to book a consult with my Naturopath, Dr. Denise Grobe from the Center for True Harmony Wellness & Medicine, and have her help direct my cleanse.

 

            I've got some ‘history' that makes cleanses difficult for me. This blogging must be good for me to be able to admit this publicly, though it is hard. I'm a 31 year old professional women, engaged, no children.  I'm pretty healthy, exercise almost every day, eat pretty healthy. I have had a history of an eating disorder, bulimia, and it has made the past ten years a challenge when it comes to food choices and diet in general. The worst of the disorder was ten years ago, it lasted three years, from 17-20yrs of age. I'm 31 now. I've healed from it, but relapses are only one ‘episode' away, and that is a constant struggle. And cleanses can be hard because of creating cravings, taking me out of my established balance with food/diet and eating a lot of bulk.

 

            So, at any rate, I had my appointment with Dr. Grobe and I presented my history and the challenges it causes. She took everything into account, my goals, my challenges and my habits and created a great plan. Now let's see if I can stick to it!

 

I've decided to blog about this experience for several reasons: 1. To keep me accountable for my actions, keep me on target with this cleanse 2. To let others see what going through a cleanse is like, especially if you haven't done one 3. To show those that have specific challenges, like bulimia or any type of eating disorder, that it is possible to do a cleanse and help heal your body while not pushing you into a relapse 4. To show the public that everyone's cleanse can be slightly different, because we are all different! So it's so important to have a health professional that is accustomed to the complexities of cleanses direct your care.

 

At my appointment Dr. Grobe told me that it is good to do a liver cleanse because of the hormones and toxins that our livers filtrate. I have dysmenorrhea issues (painful periods thus hormone issues) and general fatigue and stress, so she suggested a liver cleanse for me. Dr. Grobe also instructed that when you do a liver cleanse its imperative to do an intestinal cleanse. I didn't know this! She said that when you cleanse the liver, you dump the toxins into the gut - the intestines. If you don't cleanse the intestines, you'll just reabsorb everything you just detoxed out of your liver. That totally makes sense and I would never have thought of it. She also suggested that it is best to do two cleanses ever year! Well, I'm just going to commit to one a year for now J

 

            The basics for my specially formulated liver cleanse and intestinal cleanse:

-Give up sugar - even fruit sugars, so no juices and only one piece of fruit a day! (Darn, I eat a lot of fruit everyday, and usually have a tiny bit of dark chocolate to balance and end my lunch and dinner)

-Give up meats, all meat including fish, chicken and beef (no prob! My blood type is A+ so I can easily move to a vegetarian diet)

-Give up milk - I can have a bit of almond milk since it's not actually a dairy product

-Give up caffeine and alcohol - Because of my specific health history as stated previously, Dr. Grobe said that a small latte with almond milk in the morning is fine and a half glass of red wine with dinner is fine. This helps me with my cravings and balance in my body and Dr. Grobe stated that the small amount of red wine actually aids digestion and that little bit of espresso won't hurt the goal of the cleanse.

-Keep all my supplements and use Rejuve powder for the intestinal cleanse. Make sure to have the whole food vitamins and fish oils continue.

-To stimulate the liver detox aspect of the cleanse, use lots of fresh lemon juice, olive oil and garlic

-Spices are okay (thank goodness!!!!) especially turmeric (good to aid in inflammation) and rosemary. Oregano and coriander are fine, as is cumin. (I like to make Indian inspired dishes, especially dhal, mmm yummy)

-Stay completely away from: breads, processed foods, wheat and dairy, soy sugar, meats, eggs, white rice, nightshades, yams.

-Eat whole fruits, beans, lentils, amaranth, quinoa, peanut butter (though more preferably is almond butter 1Tb a day), red tea, white tea, bitters, sweet potato, avocado, jicama, stevia, cinnamon, 80 oz of water a day

 

So that's my revised liver and intestinal cleanse, to start tomorrow! Wish me luck! I'm going to enjoy some chicken and bread today while I canJ

 

 

Acupuncture and Fertility

Studies have shown that acupuncture increases the effectiveness of fertility treatments such as IVF and the use of clomid. The studies indicate that success of implantation with IVF increases when acupuncture is done 30 minutes before and after the procedure as well as once a week during the 1-2 months prior to the IVF procedure and then continued during the cycle.

One study looked at 114 patients who had undergone IVF treatments, some who did acupuncture and some who didn’t. The study found, among other things, that there were fewer miscarriages, more pregnancies and a 7 percent higher birth rate among those who got acupuncture treatment over those who didn’t.

Acupuncture may also help regulate menstrual cycles, which will improve chances of ovulation. Acupuncture can also improve circulation to the uterus and ovaries thus improving the lining for implantation and helping to maintain healthy eggs.

The Source of Today’s Daily Health Tip comes from Dr. Denice Q. Grobe, ND.  Dr. Grobe is the Naturopathic Physician at the Center for True Harmony Wellness & Medicine. To reach or book an appointment with Dr. Denise Grobe, ND, at the Center for True Harmony Wellness and Medicine in Mesa, AZ call (480) 539-6646 or visit our website at www.trueharmonywellness.com.

Summer Skin Care - Wear Sunscreen Daily

You should always wear a minimum of SPF 15 sunscreen. This does not include sunscreen that is in your makeup. You want to wear a separate sunscreen to block the suns harmful rays. Try a moisturizer with an added SPF such as Rhonda Allison’s Zinc Protection Cream. For purchase here at the office for only $17!

Call (480) 539-6646 today to set up your appointment with Tasia Klein, our Licensed Aesthetician! She has advanced knowledge in treating acne, rosacea, aging and sensitive skin.  Tasia's approach to skin care is very holistic: she believes that eating right, exercising, drinking water, and living a balanced life all complement having beautiful, youthful skin.