Day 4:  Food Combining

Day 4 was packed full of invaluable information that we would all use after leaving the gates of OHI.  It’s hard to imagine that the order in which we eat our food and in what combination we eat it would make a difference in digestion, but it does.  As I said in an earlier post, drinks such as water, Rejuvelac or juices should always be consumed within 5-30 minutes of eating any foods and should NEVER be consumed WITH food.

We should be able to get all of the minerals and nutrients we need every day just from the foods we eat.  And eating whole raw foods in their freshest, most natural state are best.  There are 2 types of raw foods:

1. Predigested, which are sprouts like those of seeds, nuts, grains and beans
2. Fermented, which are sauerkraut, Rejuvelac, seed cheese (made from sunflower & sesame seeds) and Essene crackers (fermented flat bread)

We can get the freshest foods by growing it ourselves.  But if that’s not an option, we can buy fresh, organic fruits and veggies at farmer’s markets or from the growers, themselves called CSAs (Community Supported Agriculture).

We lose nutrition when we change the structure from a whole food to a processed food.  Here are several ways nutrition is processed:

• Heat:  At 118 degrees, enzymes are lost.
• Freezing:  Breaks down fiber and enzymes are lost.
• Juicing:  Liquid is seperated from fiber.
• Dehydration:  Done at 105 degrees.
• Mechanical:  Chopping, dicing, blending

Although there is quite a bit of information out there about food combining and how to do it properly to get the optimal benefits of food, here are a few simple rules of proper food combining you can follow at home:

• Liquids alone
• Fruits alone (try to keep with the same kind of fruit)
• Melons alone
• Do not combine protein and starches
• Do not combine acid and sweet fruits

Image from stock.xchng.

Tags: Community Supported Agriculture, CSA, eating whole raw foods, farmer's markets, food combining, OHI, organic, raw foods

Day 3:  Mental Detoxification

Basically, as human beings, we innately have the ability to decide and choose.  We can use different tools of positive thinking to determine our success in life.  Using our minds and keeping them healthy is the best way to make them strong.  We can purposely put good stuff into our minds, like when we use daily affirmations or when we praise or compliment someone.

The point is to keep the junk out!  There will always be negative people and negative thoughts that try to slip into our lives and our minds.  But it is up to us to make a conscious effort to filter that negativity; and to either let it go completely or change it into something positive.

Mental detoxification means acknowledging your thoughts and being able to look at those thoughts from different perspectives.  Do you believe your thought to be true?  If yes, are you willing to acknowledge that thought to be a fact?  If no, are you willing to let it go?

Exercising your mind is just as important as exercising your body.  Use it and you will see amazing results.  Let it sit dormant, and you risk susceptibility to disease and illness.   You can keep your mind healthy by exercising and breathing deeply, letting the oxygen flow to your brain; eating healthy foods like fresh fruits and veggies and by getting enough sleep at night.  If your body is tired, most likely your mind will be tired.  Make time each day to simply relax both your mind and your body.

Tags: eating healthy foods, Exercise, exercising your mind, getting enough sleep at night, mental detoxification, negative thoughts, negativity, positive, positive thinking

Well, day 2 of my stay at the Optimum Health Institute (OHI) was, to say the least, interesting.  The main focus for the day was on elimination.  Now I know what you’re thinking, but this is actually one of the most important functions for cleansing the body of toxins and optimizing the functioning of the organs, including our metabolism, dealing with the physical and chemical changes within our bodies.

The major systems of the body, involved in this process are:  lymphatic (circulation), lungs (respiration), skin (perspiration), liver (detoxification), kidneys (urination), reproductive and the colon (defecation).

Here is a short breakdown, given to me at OHI, that explains the ways to optimize the functioning of each of these major systems:

Lymphatic:

• Drink adequate fluids, including wheatgrass juice.
• Eat raw foods.
• Exercise.
• Get a massage.
• Improve colon health.
• Practive positive thinking and Alpha techniques.

Lungs:

• Do diaphramatic breathing.
• Drink adequate fluids, including wheatgrass juice.
• Eat raw foods.
• Exercise.
• Improve colon health.

Skin:

• Avoid sunburn.
• Avoid toxic lotions, cosmetics, etc. on the body surface.
• Bathe in the morning.
• Do daily skin brushing.
• Drink adequate fluids, including wheatgrass juice.
• Eat raw foods.
• Exercise (sweating helps to eliminate toxins).
• Improve colon health.

Liver:

• Avoid drugs and alcohol.
• Drink adequate fluids, including wheatgrass juice.
• Eat raw foods.
• Exercise.
• Improve colon health with enemas and implants.
• Tongue scraping.

Kidneys:

• Avoid carbonated beverages, coffee, tea and alcohol.
• Avoid holding urine.
• Drink adequate fluids, including wheatgrass juice.
• Eat raw foods.
• Exercise.
• Improve colon health.

Reproductive:

• Avoid holding urine.
• Eliminate alcohol, caffeine, carbonated beverages, cigarettes, chocolate, flesh foods, flesh fats, salts and sugars.
• Exercise.

Colon:

• Answer the call from nature.
• Drink adequate fluids.
• Eat raw foods for fiber.
• Exercise.
• Improve colon health with enemas and implants.
• Practice Alpha techniques to relax the mind and body.
• Practice positive thinking.
• Reduce stress on liver.
• Research and find out more about colon cleanse products

Tags: cleansing the body, detoxification, improve colon health, lymphatic, OHI, optimum health institute, positive thinking, raw foods, wheatgrass juice

As you may remember, I went to the Optimum Health Institute (OHI) last week for 6 days.  And as promised, I will be sharing the program I followed each day.

Day 1 (Monday):  Each day at OHI starts out with a gentle exercise class held in the main multi-purpose room.  Since OHI runs on a consecutive 3-week program, there are always new guests rotating in and out.  This class is designed for people of all ages.  It focuses on stretching the muscles from the head down.  The middle of the class is broken up by a 1-mile walk around the campus, breathing deeply and really helping you get ready for your full day ahead.

After exercise class, a light melon breakfast was served.  All meals at OHI are based on a strict vegan raw food diet.  Next, it’s off to Program Basics for those of us who were 1st weekers.  In this class we were instructed on how to properly use our planner books to help optimize our stay here and to keep ourselves organized.  Wheatgrass juice and Rejuvelac, made from Quinoa and water which helps regularity and digestion by providing good bacteria and enzymes, are a daily part of life at OHI. 

After we were briefed on how to properly organize ourselves for the week and what to expect, we followed suit to our next class, Juicing Instruction.  In this short session, we learned how to juice our own wheatgrass, 2-4 oz. daily for consumption and 4 oz. daily for “implants”.  I’ll get into that more in tomorrow’s blog.  I was surprised to find out that OHI is the fourth leading producer of wheatgrass in the country.  With an abundance of wheatgrass at our disposal, we wasted no time filing into the wheatgrass juicing room and trying out their commercial-grade machines. 

Lunch is served every day at 12:30 and mainly consists of raw veggies, seed cheeses and sometimes, seed crackers.  I learned that in order to aid the digestion process, you should not drink any liquids ever with your food.  If you are thirsty, you should drink water or Rejuvelac about 5-10 minutes before you eat a meal.  I have to say that I never really “took” to the food there.  It’s definitely a shock to the system and prepared with minimal spices.

After lunch, we had a Tools for Change class.  Did you know that we have approximately 60,000 thoughts a day and that 95% of those thoughts are recirculated?  We practiced quieting our minds in an Alpha state and learned a useful technique called Cancel/Cancel, which is a way to change our thoughts/perspective.  Using this technique, we can change our negative thoughts into positive thoughts, immediately after they enter our minds.

Luckily, by this point in the day, we had a bit of a break from classes.  I was able to get in an afternoon exercise class and a gentle stretch (yoga) class.  Ahhh…

About 6pm every evening, dinner is served.  Fresh veggies, seed cheeses and seed crackers are yet again on the menu!

At the end of the day, I was feeling a bit overwhelmed but happy with the changes I wanted to make in my life and happy knowing that I was in a safe, loving place with the tools to make those changes.  I went to my last class of the day, Relaxation Pain Control.  In this class, we learned about how to use visualization techniques to relax, calm and elevate our moods.  Visualization is also helpful in lowering blood pressure and blood sugar.  Pain is a signal.  What is your body trying to tell you?

Tags: negative thoughts, OHI, optimum health institute, pain control, positive thoughts, raw food diet, relaxation, wheatgrass, yoga

Well, as of Sunday, I will be calling the Optimum Health Institute (OHI) “home” for the next week.  I’m excited to learn as much as I can about connecting the body, mind and spirit to form wholeness.  Classes include detoxification of the body, cleansing, juicing, wheatgrass, meditation and so many others.

I will be updating my blog posts daily to let you know what I’m learning and on my progress towards gaining mental, physical and spiritual healing.

If you are interested in getting more information on OHI, please visit their website at:   http://www.optimumhealth.org/optimumhealth/.  They have 2 campuses, one here in San Diego and a smaller version in Austin, TX.

Have a wonderful weekend!  I look forward to updating you on my cleansing experience on Monday.

Image from stock.xchng.

Update: Find out more about detoxification of the Colon here.

Tags: body healing, body mind healing, colon cleanse diet, detox cleansing colon clean, spiritual healing, spiritual living, spiritual psychic

Surprisingly, it seems most researchers agree that there is no set minimum number of hours we should spend sleeping each night.  As we all know, there are chipper morning people who tend to hop out of bed at the crack of dawn, ready to start the day; and then there are those people who dread the sight of morning sunshine and thrive on late nights.  

1. Think of your bedroom as your own personal retreat.  Make your room conducive for sleeping by eliminating all outside noise, if possible.  But, if you’re like me and unable to sleep in complete silence, try turning on a fan or investing in some nature Cd’s to create a soothing rhythmic background noise.
2. Don’t eat a large meal right before bedtime, and no caffeine or alcohol.  This will only disrupt your sleep pattern.
3. Try to go to bed around the same time every night.  Being on a schedule will help train your body to get up at the same time every morning, without too much resistance.
4. No pets in bed!  Although I am guilty of this myself, allowing pets to sleep in bed with you will only contribute to a poor night’s sleep.  Give the dog or cat their own bed to sleep in or at least put them in another room.
5.  Don’t exercise right before bed.  Give your body time to relax and unwind.
6. Try some aromatherapy.  Put a drop or two of chamomile or lavender on your pillow to help you relax.  Both herbs are known for their soothing properties.

Tags: Aromatherapy, Exercise, getting enough sleep, optimal health, restful sleep, sleep, tricks for falling asleep at night