One Hot Night

Oh my. Last night was quite a wild one.
I decided that I should just keep truckin’ along with my detox mission, and pull one more cleansing trick from my sleeve. While I was researching this month, I stumbled across a “ginger detox bath”, and recalled my herbal medicine teacher mentioning this one time back in class.
The idea is to immerse yourself in a hot bath filled with ginger (fresh or powdered) and some Epsom salts. The ginger makes the bath “hotter” as it comes into contact with your skin. This allows your pores to open, your skin to sweat, providing a clear path for toxins to get out. Simple and effective!

I thought I would give it a shot.

And let me tell you…I haven’t felt that hot in a very long time.

After about 10 minutes my scalp started dripping and my heartbeat got so strong, I could feel the pulse in my teeth! It was totally wild. I brought a book into the bathroom with me in case I got bored, but all I could do was stare at the ceiling and try to focus on not melting. It was INCREDIBLE!

Here are the full instructions so you can try it yourself:
1. Measure out 1/8 cup ginger, fresh or powdered (powdered goes deeper), and mix with 1 cup Epsom salts.
2. Run a hot bath (as hot as you can handle) and pour the ginger/salt mixture into the tub.
3. While the bath is running, take a dry skin brush (or vegetable brush if you must!) and brush all parts of the body in a circular motion toward the heart. (Skin brushing can be very beneficial because the skin is a primary avenue for detoxification) See full instructions here.
4. Sit in the bath for 20-30 minutes, making sure that you have a very good sweat on (if you don’t, the water isn’t hot enough). I recommend rubbing all areas of your body in clockwise circular motions for a count of 20 in each area while soaking. Rub each breast (great way to ward against cancer) your stomach area, etc. You'll find that you will get quite uncomfortably "hot and sweaty" so it helps to have some bottle water handy to help flush the toxins out. Do not remain in the tub for more than 30 minutes.
5. When you get out of the bath, go straight to bed and wrap yourself up in blankets, with towels against your skin (DO NOT apply lotions, potions or serums to your skin as you might normally before bed, as this will clog your pores and defeat the purpose of cleansing). You will continue to sweat for about an hour, but you’ll probably pass out before then. Keep water next to the bed in case you wake up in the night thirsty.
6. Upon waking, you may feel slightly “flu-y”, but this is a good sign – it means you are really releasing toxins from your body! Continue to drink lots of water the next day, especially if you are feeling tired or sick. This didn’t happen to me, but I sure was thirsty!

I had a great experience with this ginger bath and I would highly recommend it to anyone who loves saunas or steam rooms, but can’t get to the spa every week! This is certainly something I will add to my cleansing repertoire, and maybe even just for kicks when the temperature drops below -15 degrees (more often than I care to experience these days).

I hope you’ve taken some of my advice this month, and are welcoming February feeling renewed, refreshed and squeaky clean inside!

The Ultimate Detox Tea

Whew! I am currently on day six of the one week cleanse. I am feeling good. A little on the slow side today, but that is a natural side effect of the body doing so much janitorial work on the inside. I have been strictly following the brown rice and steamed vegetable diet – no fat, minimal protein, not even salt or pepper. On one hand, this diet makes cooking a snap: you don’t have to agonize over what to have at your next meal, but one soon realizes that the pleasures associated with cooking – experimenting with foods and flavours, discovering new herbs and spices, trying new methods of preparation, fall by the wayside.

However, the pros seem to outweigh the cons: I am extremely clear-headed, calm, grounded, and have a surprising amount of energy for someone who is consuming less than 500 calories a day. Not to say that it is at all a sustainable way of living. It would be impossible to obtain all of the nutrients that the body requires in so few calories, but once in a while the body does miraculous things when it gets a break from digesting the regular amount of food we consume everyday.
I thought in addition to my simple diet, I would throw a few herbs in to compliment and assist my organs in clearing out the sludgy cobwebs. And since I have never really talked about herbs and herbal medicine, I thought that this would be a perfect opportunity!


There are a wide variety of herbs that have a stimulating, and therefore beneficial effect on our major detoxification organs: the liver and the gastrointestinal tract. The liver plays a key role in detoxification because it neutralizes chemicals from the external environment, filters the blood, manufactures bile, and goes through a variety of enzymatic processes to both break down, and create, compounds necessary for human life -- cholesterol (the "good" kind), glutathione, and various hormones. The digestive system, to a large extent, controls what is absorbed from the food we eat and what is excreted once our food has been broken down and utilized, respectively. Keeping our digestive system happy and functioning as it should, improves our ability to push the garbage out of our systems – critical at all times to our health, but especially when cleansing!

These herbs can be purchased at your local health food store for less than the cost of those “detox kits” in fancy boxes, and lasts twice as long. If you cannot find everything on this list, simply use the ones available to you, keeping them in the amounts prescribed below. (Ensure that the herbs you are using are certified organic – you don’t want to be adding pesticides and chemical fertilizers into your super clean bod!)

You may find it helpful to bring a measuring spoon with you to the store so that all you have to do when you get home is dump all the bags into a container and mix. Simply combine all herbs in proportions listed. Store tightly covered in a glass jar(s) in a cool, dry place away from direct light.


4 Tbs dandelion leaf (kidneys)
3 Tbs dandelion root (liver, gallbladder)
2 Tbs burdock root (blood, liver, gallbladder)
3 Tbs milkthistle seed, crushed (liver, gallbladder)
3 Tbs cleavers (lymph, kidneys)
4 Tbs lemon balm (digestive tonic, nervine)
4 Tbs pau d'arco (blood, parasites)
4 Tbs horsetail (kidneys, skin)
5 Tbs red clover (blood)
2 Tbs chickweed (lymph, colon)
2 Tbs angelica root (liver, digestive tonic)
3 Tbs yarrow herb (liver, gallbladder, blood, gen. tonic)
5 Tbs nettle leaf (kidneys, blood, general tonic, nutritive)
4 Tbs plantain (skin, lungs, gastric system, internal healer, antiseptic)

To make tea: bring one and a half cups spring or distilled water to light simmer on stove (water should be moving but not bubbling). Use a non-metal pot if possible. Add two teaspoons of mixture and let simmer for about 10 minutes, keeping lid on pot. Strain into cup.
Whatever formula you use, the tea should be taken between meals. Drink one cup of detox tea per day for 3 days, then 2 cups per day for one week, then 2 -3 cups per day until mixture is finished.

Now I know what you’re thinking: this stuff must taste like the bottom of a lake. But I would choose to compare it to hay. It is certainly “earthy”, but by no means unpalatable. I kind of like, actually.
You can drink this concoction during a cleanse like the one I mentioned in my last post, or while you are eating a “normal diet”, but it is advisable to limit or avoid sugar, dairy, processed foods, fatty foods, flour and caffeine. Eat lots of fresh vegetables and fruit, lean protein foods (beans, lentils, fish, organic chicken, nuts), whole grains and healthy oils (flax, olive, hemp or a combination). Remember to drink plenty of water everyday to help flush your system of the toxins you are liberating from every cell.
Which reminds me…it’s time for another cup!

Tea Recipe by: Peter Quenter, herbalist and homeopath.

Simple Detox for All

Whew! What a long blog break that was. The holidays were a beautiful bustle of family and friends and I feel refreshed and excited to welcome the New Year!
Now back to cultivating My New Roots…

This time of year I get so many questions about detox programs and cleansing. I suppose that after the holidays everyone is dying for a quick fix that will help shed their holiday weight gain and give them an excuse to abstain from drinking alcohol for a week. However, detoxifying the body is a serious undertaking and not something to rush into, especially if your diet has been…ahem…less than perfect lately.
Firstly, going to extremes is not the answer. Fasting, or giving up food entirely, is an inappropriate path to take this time of year, since our bodies need food to keep us warm and nourished for the cold winter months ahead. (The spring and summer months are more suitable for fasting since the weather is warmer and we don’t need as many calories to regulate our body temperature. Makes sense, doesn’t it?) And I bet it’s good news for you, since that water fast you were planning can now be put off until June. Whoopee.

Yes, now is the time to be gentle and make small changes to your diet for a week or so. You will certainly notice a difference and maybe even feel compelled to continue your clean nutritional regime, bringing your body back into balance, improving your concentration, sleep, digestion and energy! Big Whoopee.

We can also support the process of detoxification through other routines such as yoga, using saunas, and massage. All of these physical practices help to move toxins through the lymphatic system by sweating, or specific movements that twist and “ring out” internal organs.

Here are some general cleansing tips that almost everyone can follow after the holidays.

Dietary Suggestions:
1. Start everyday with a cup of warm water and fresh lemon juice. This serves to flush the digestive system, stimulate the liver and kidneys and alkalinize the whole body. (This is one of the best things you can do for yourself! Especially if you can squeeze it in before your morning coffee or tea. Start now and do it everyday for the rest of your life…watch miracles happen.)
2. For one week, meals should consist mainly of brown rice, steamed vegetables, miso broth and seaweed (all organically grown!). Ginger and cayenne may be added to flavour soups to stimulate circulation.
3. Drink plenty of water! At least 2 litres of purified or filtered water a day to stimulate your kidneys, liver and digestive system’s (primary detox organs) functions. It will also boost your metabolism, which in turn accelerates toxin and fat elimination.
Things to avoid: drugs, sugar, fried foods, meats, dairy, anything in a box, bag or bottle!

Lifestyle suggestions:
1. Head to a yoga class, book a massage, or find a sauna to hop in!
2. Practice dry skin brushing. See instructions here.
3. If you want to exercise, keep the intensity low…your body is resting.
4. Be gentle with yourself. Choose a week where you have time to relax and reflect, get some extra sleep (8 or more hours a night), and the mental space for the challenge of change.

What? Disappointed that I didn’t tell you to starve yourself? You wanted some drastic deprivation and torture? The truth is, most of us struggle giving up booze for a week, so if you can handle the suggestions above, you have my blessing to move on to more convoluted procedures. Good luck with that.

When you come out of a gentle cleanse such as this one, try to continue eating a balanced, whole foods diet, exercise regularly and get plenty of sleep. As we treat our bodies with the physical and emotional respect they deserve, our need to detoxify becomes less and less and the better we will feel everyday.

I wish everyone the best for 2009. Thanks for continuing to discover the beauty of becoming the healthiest, most vibrant self through My New Roots!

source: Haas, Elson M. Staying Healthy with Nutrition. Berkley, CA: Wiley, 2006.