"My name is Bill and I am 67 years old. I've suffered from Crohns disease for the last 2+ years. My doctor has had me on 21 different drugs. Some of the drugs I was taking included 6,000 mgs of Asacol, Prednisone and Methadone for the pain. I could not walk or sit; my bladder shut down; and I had to wear a catheter. I had lost 45 lbs and any food that I ate went right thru me. My doctor's notes when he put me in the hospital read, 'this man is one sick puppy'.
I spent 2 years in and out of the hospital. During one of the out times, they performed a colonoscopy. That day I hemorrhaged and lost 2 pints of blood and they rushed me to the emergency room. The doctors tried to cauterize the bleeding (in the recturm) and apparently perforated the colon. After this episode, I ended up with a large fistula on the outside of my anus. The fecal matter got into my blood stream, and I was hospitalized again with a major blood infection.
I finally was allowed to go home under nurse home care. I had to take intravenous antibiotics (the strongest on the market) thru a 'PIC' installed into my heart cavity...for 1 month. After this and 2 surgeries on the fistula, although painfully, my diet consisted of nothing but canned fruit, vegetables and yogurt because my system would not tolerate any fiber.
The final diagnosis ended up being Crohn's/Ulcerated Colitis, which was not healing. My doctor recommended a temporary colostomy. If my colon did not heal after the colostomy, the bag would remain a permanent part of me. I did not want to live this way.
About 2 months ago, a friend of mine who is a Bio Chemist and an expert Forensic Pathologist (he works for the goverment) told me that I needed to cleanse my colon and that he had researched every cleansing product on the market for his ill father (who is now well). He had come to the independent conclusion that your cleansing program was the very best available. He told me it would take a total commitment on my part, but if I changed my diet to include raw food and juicing, plus using your formula recommedations to the letter, I would regain my health.
I said I would do it. I was determined to do everything he suggested since my alternative was the surgery. He said try it for one month and I would definately see an improvement. I started your Colon Detox Program, the Liver/Blood support, Baselines' SuperViragon and Immunify formulas, and 8 cups of their Liver tea a day while eating a normal food diet.
One month later I'm off all the drugs I was taking; my pain is gone; my energy has returned and I can eat normal food. I gave my cases of canned food and yogurt to a local charity and cancelled my colostomy surgery. I have an appointment with my doctor this week and will be telling him about your product formulations, your book and my cure. I can't wait to see the look on his face.
P.S. Just to let you know the results of my doctors' appointment; my blood work and the exam were excellent. After I told him, that I stopped all med's andl the natural cure, he said "I don't know anything about natural cures, but whatever you are doing, keep doing it, I haven't seen those positive results in the 20 years I have been treating you."
Bill R.
"These are excellent products, and they're helping me enormously! I'm doing the colon cleanse, and the difference in the way I feel now is like night and day. The Colon Detoxifier is getting rid of all the old stuff, and I feel better than I have in a very long time."
Robin E., MD
"The colon detox is working out pretty well for me! I was on the Colon Corrective for 4 days before starting on the Detoxifier. I did experience a little gas and bloating at first, just like Jon Barron said I might, but it's all been well worth it leading up to the results I'm already seeing. For years I'd wake up every day with a headache that sometimes would turn into migranes. I'm half way through the colon detox now, and my migrane headaches are gone! Not only that, but I feel better and have a lot more energy."
Linda W., PA
"The Colon Corrective is working really good for me. I've always had a problem in this area, especially now following back surgery. I've tried other products, but they've always produced unfavorable side effects. Not Colon Corrective! The results are easy and natural, and I'm feeling better now that I'm using this product."
Jean P., TX
"The last time I used your product was about 14 months ago prior to a colonoscopy. My doctor was really curious about what I did to make my colon so clean from beginning to end."
Judy S. WI
"In June 2000, I received Gallbladder (Laparoscopic) surgery. Before surgery, I had been treated for inflammation with Cipro in an IV and then given Cipro 500 mg after dismissal from the hospital. The result was a reaction causing the ligaments in my legs to retract until I thought they were going to break. I finally refused to take any more.
I used Chiropractor and Massage therapy for the next year to get it stopped. I tried taking prescription med's for 2 years until I figured out that any medication that I took created more pain or sickness. I then turned to searching the internet for an alternative.
It was three years before I found HSI and Jon Barron’s audio files [on the internet]. I started the 21 day flush in November 2003; and when it was completed, I started maintenance using Baseline [Nutritionals’] Proteolytic Enzymes. The healing process was harder for me than the flush.
It is now the end of Jan 2004. WHAT A MIRACLE. It is hard to believe. I am 79, and I feel like I have regained 20 years. Lessons from the Miracle Doctors, I rate it just below my Bible. I thank GOD for Health Sciences Institute, Miracle Doctors, and Jon Barron."
Henry W. OK
"A friend told me about these products, and I wanted to try the whole program. So I began first with the Colon Corrective. After using just one capsule I saw immediate results! This is very powerful! It felt like a little toothbrush was scrubbing from the inside. Today is my third day using the Colon Corrective, and already I'm amazed at how much better I feel. Everything is better, and I can't wait to start on the rest of the products."
Lillian A., WA
"I have a heightened sensitivity to metals and mercury poisoning was a regular occurance in my life. Just one tuna sandwich too many, or a big night of sushi, and I would find myself vomitting violently for 8-10 hours, with severe stomach cramping and dehydration. I stepped through the full heavy metal detox Jon suggests. I've only done it twice in a year and a half and haven't had a single occurance since the first run of the detox. I continue to be careful about the metals I put into my body, but I am finally able to enjoy a nice fish dinner without fear of being deathly ill the next day!
I also immediately noticed that my mental clarity, my energy levels and my zest for life rose to new levels. Thank you so much Jon!"
Moe P., CA
"In 1989, at the age of 37, I began to have severe back pain, high fevers and nausea that 
would cause me to lie in bed for days. I curled up in bed, attempting to take deep breaths as sharp pains shot through my body and fevers made each muscle ache. I was shortly diagnosed with kidney stones and a urinary tract infection where doctors put me on Vicodin and antibiotics. Despite the pain medication, I continued to suffer from abdominal pain, stiff neck, lower back pain, spinal disk trouble, fluid retention, heel spurs, weight gain, fuzzy eyesight, and hair loss.
One day in 1993, sharp pains caused me to rush to the hospital. I felt like I had knives stabbing me in my lower back, over and over again, and the intense burning when trying to urinate haunted me every time I felt the urge to go to the bathroom. Desperate to try anything, doctors immediately performed surgery on me by placing a J-J stent, which is a tube that coils up in the kidney and urinary bladder to ease the passage of stones.
Unfortunately, the stent only lasted a few weeks. I had so many stones that even the stent backed up causing additional pain. Even worse, the doctors felt my condition was so severe that they denied me as a candidate for a kidney ureter transplant. They felt that the massive amounts of sludge would cause scar tissue and ruin any transplant within a year.
Pain clinic management was all that was allowed which turned into chronic kidney infection, bladder infections, and spiking fevers for the years that followed. I would go to work each day in chronic pain, constant burning, frequent urination, fever, chills, and nausea. Then water retention and medication even started to cause heart palpitations and high blood pressure.
In 1997, the pain was so intense, that I ended up in the hospital again and was given liquid Morphine once an hour which is usually only used for cancer patients. They sent me home with Morphine patches, Phypenol, Vicoden, and Cipro and continued to tell me there was nothing more I could do.
It never got better, even though they continued to switch pain medication with Methadone. Soon, all I could do was crawl off the couch to go to work and crawl back in bed as soon as I got home. Working as an admitting clerk at a hospital, who usually handled thirty or so patients a day, I became exhausted. Every ten minutes or so I would have to get up in-between cases and either use the bathroom or sit and cry due to the pain. Several times I buckled over while trying to help a patient and co-workers had to close the booth down as I crashed out on the desk in agony.
My co-workers said they could not hide my pain from the patients any longer (or my boss) and the hospital forced me finally go out on disability. Eventually I had to have family and friends come over to drop off groceries and basic supplies. I needed help with basic tasks such as showering, cleaning house, cooking, and driving.
My friends watched me for the next three years go from being a social butterfly to an anti-social outcast hiding in a dark room, unwilling to open the blinds. Eventually, I no longer wanted friends to visit and I just wanted to lie there alone hoping the medication would knock out the pain and allow me to sleep through the entire experience. Sleeping all day eventually led to a severe depression. I have always been known as the fun, positive comedian to all my friends, but the pain even wiped out my positive spirit. My family was so concerned, that they motivated me to start seeing a therapist. I later realized that pain has a major impact on mental stability and two-thirds of all people committed to mental institutions suffered from kidney disorders BEFORE the mental illness. Clearly, I was not alone.
I did get my fighting spirit back and that got me through the last ten years. With a more positive attitude, I managed to have friends over again. I continued to experiment with alternative solutions such as aloe vera, cats claw, beta-carotene, magnesium, large does of vitamin E, Chinese mushroom tea, spirulina, and anything else I could find through friends or at the health food store. I tried natural healers, Reiki, massage treatments, you name it, but nothing made a difference. I moved home with my elderly parents and we tried to help each other make it through each day. Nothing got much better except that I learned to cope with my situation with a positive attitude. Kidney and urinary infections continued every 2-3 months and Cipro became my life mate which would completely knock me out in bed for at least a week at a time. Doctors started to joke with me saying I would glow in the dark for being on Cipro so long!
Until Jon Barron came along…
I tried his new kidney formula on September 20th, 2007. Immediately I liked the taste, especially when mixed with fresh pressed apple juice, and told myself that this would be an easy formula to take for seven days. Within 8 hours, I could tell something was happening in my kidneys. I had a little bit of nausea on the first day, but it went away by the second day. By the third day, ALL my kidney symptoms— abdominal pain, lower back pain, and painful urination—completely dissipated. The most AMAZING part is that I had a release of major pressure in my lower back and right kidney, which is the first time I have ever noticed even a slight release in over ten years. When I went to the bathroom, I could actually urinate with ease and I never had to strain (this is common because kidney sludge inhibits regular flow). I also had no burning! All of this was so shocking I held my breath hoping that this pain relief would continue. By the fourth day, I stopped taking my evening does of pain medication and noticed for the first time in over ten years, I had no pain.
By the sixth day I was overwhelmingly amazed at how fast this formula had worked, and how it already had drastically changed my life. Now, two weeks into the cleanse, I can report having no pain and no need for evening pain medication, the pressure in my low back is completely gone, my energy levels are through the roof and my urine flow is back to normal!
2 months later, I can report holding strong even after the one round of this formula! I still do not have need for my evening pain medication, my urine flow has remained normal, pressure in my lower back has never returned and my energy levels continue to climb.
Jon Barron is a lifesaver and I am so grateful for his dedication and the research he did to create a formula that could help my life and all the other thousands of people who are enduring the same excruciating pain. This formula is so tremendous that I only wish I could have had this product years ago. Thank you Jon Barron and the staff at Baseline Nutritionals!"
Patty Curry, CA
I just want to say thank you. The Stone Breaker product is a Godsend. I have been dealing with kidney stones since 1997 and this latest one is the largest one I have had at 12 mm. I had the lithotripsy done and still have a stent. I was in such pain from the stent and felt like my kidney was bruised from the procedure. Within an hour of taking the product, no more pain! I can walk now without the cramping of the stent. I am hoping the continued use of this product will prevent future stones.
V. T., KS
Rheumatoid Arthritis: "This is my 5th liver detox, and the best gets better each time. I just want you to know my results and convey how beneficial the detox has been to me after managing chronic severe RA on my own for 5 yrs.
I did have a few hours of healing crisis mainly in my ankle and wrist and neck joints on the 4th day. But by the 5th day my body felt more energetic and capable of ambulating (with the aid of a cane which I use for my own safety and steadying when my husband is not walking with me) for longer periods of time, which is a good thing indeed! I just feel cleaner and guess what I noticed about my tongue?? It is a clean bright healthy pink which I don't recall seeing in a long time. (I generally have to scrape it to try to make it look clean) For all of the above results I had with this detox, I would say I made it with flying colors and for this thought I can SMILE!!!!"
Cecilia A.
Diabetes: "I made it till the last day, just living it one day at a time, with the exception of a few instances of minor discomfort, everything went fine. I am a diabetic, controlled only with supplements and diet. Sometimes it's not controlled so well, but during the detox, my blood sugar went to normal -- the same with my blood pressure. Today I had my first salad and I feel wonderful."
Gloria A.
More Energy:"This DETOX was just awe inspiring. This is my second and my thanks to Jon for the DETAILED schedule; it really kept me on track. There is so much to remember that it was really helpful checking the schedule all day long to make sure I was getting everything.
My Saturday and Sunday were the best days. I found I had so much energy that I was buzzing around the house doing projects I had been putting off for months. On Sunday afternoon my dog and I went for a long hike in a wilderness area not far from my house. The colors, smells and sights seemed to be so intense I sometimes felt like I was HIGH. (Hope I am allowed to say that….lol.) I never really felt hungry, even on Sunday, but it was an almost religious experience to sit down to that LARGE salad and finally get to CHEW something.
I only wish there was a way I could convert/convince more people of the value of this."
Gordon H.
Donating Blood:"I've always appreciated finding the 'rhythm' of the fast; getting to the point where I know how much of what I need to max on the cleansing, moderate the spaciness, and keep things moving through. I always used to do the more macho one day "Big Gulp" liver flush instead of this more gradual approach, which I must say I prefer.
So it's been pretty smooth. So smooth, in fact, that I donated blood today. (It was the last day of a blood drive at the military hospital where I work -- and they are down on their stores). It was cake, err. tea, until I got back to my desk, at which time I decided I'd be best served to kick my feet up on my desk, lean back, and breath -- but 5 minutes later I was really good-to-go and have been more productive at work than I expected. I was concerned that I not 'hit the wall' during the work week, and I haven't; so if it gets intense over the weekend I can just lay low, have time to take an enema, etc. Don't think blood donation is really a good idea overall, but I did want to participate. Got a great tee shirt!"
Marshall W., DC
Floaty Bits: "My husband and I just finished the liver detox. From day 1, immediately after the first round of tinctures, I had a headache until day 3. Doing everything as prescribed; at the end of day 4, I decided to weigh myself, prompted by the feeling of heavy legs and your email that day about dehydration. To my surprise, I had gained 4 lbs, while my husband had lost 5. I decided to do a long sauna, came out 2 lbs down. Not satisfied, I drank some cranberry/apple juice and also a veggie juice with parsley, which I think is a diuretic. By morning I had lost another 2+ lbs. I felt a bit better after that! Also, during the cleanse I had some symptoms including itching skin, tiredness, brain fog, and also, as I am an athlete, I noticed that I was unable to do much of my workouts because my legs just felt too heavy. If I ran 3 miles, by the end of the day, I felt like I had run 20.
End of day 5 and day 6 I noticed a ton of little white bits mostly flat and irregularly shaped, in my stools and several floaty masses, cloudlike and white. Interesting stuff indeed. My husband and I realize what a major undertaking it is for you to run the yearly detox, but as this was our first liver detox we appreciated all the support you provided. We probably never would have done it on our own."
Leigh C.
Easier than I Thought: "This was actually easier than I thought it would be, and I must say the results are super. Here are some results:
- I lost eight pounds.
- Blood sugar was always in the normal range. This afternoon it was 72.
- Blood pressure dropped to 110/70.
- I have an outstanding sense of smell.
- My appetite has reduced (I'll try to stay good).
- I also was able to focus at work easier, and
- My ability to meditate and pray was easier as I wasn't agitated.
In the beginning I experienced mood swings, but then I was calmer. The morning garlic drink was not bad -- tasted like an Orange Julius. At first the tinctures tasted bad, but with organic vegetable juice, it tasted more like a Snappy Tom.
This is the best way to start the New Year, and dare I say it, I am looking forward to the next one."
Art P.
Looking Forward to Next Year: "Both Jerry and I had a much easier time with the detox this year. The schedule made it easy, especially when I was at work at lunch time and Jerry could just check out what he was supposed to do. It took a lot of guesswork out of when to do what because that drove me crazy last year. I know it doesn't have to be followed to the "T", but trying to sort out everything can be a challenge.
We both lost weight, Jerry 10 pounds and I lost 8 pounds. It was all excess from the last two months of vacationing and the holidays, so we are glad it's gone. However, we are both determined to continue with a healthy eating plan and take off the rest this year.
It's hard to compare how I felt during the detox because I had a cold as well as a knee problem, so my mind was on other pains. The fasting was much easier than last year and energy level better. Last time we didn't take the chlorella. Every morning after the drink my stomach was nauseated, but after about an hour everything was fine. We didn't get hungry. Jerry said it was really easy this year and he had no problems other than the desire to chew something (and to eat a handful of raw almonds). By the last day, though, we were really counting the hours for a salad, and looking forward to eating other food. Since we still haven't noticed real hunger, we realize how much of eating is just a habit.
We're looking forward to continuing the detox and joining everyone again next year."
Mary Ann
Allergies and Blood Pressure:"This was my first time doing the liver detox. I must say that I feel great and lost seven or more pounds (have not weighed in a few days). My sense of taste and smell did change. I normally have year round nasal congestion but now I can breathe freely, which I think helped with the old taste buds as food tastes better, clearer. I have borderline high blood pressure and so decided to go off meds while detoxing and to my great surprise the pressure readings were even lower than with the meds, WOW! Now that's amazing to me. I thought I would be stuck on these meds for life…not anymore. I am so glad I participated this year and look forward to additional improvement in my health. Hope to join you next year."
Annette
"I Died Three Times!" (A Testimonial From Howard Ritter)
"The following testimonial is from an individual stating what results THEY have experienced. We are not making any medical claims & we are not saying that the following products discussed will cure the problems you have."
From almost the moment I was born in 1943 with childhood asthma, I have had health problems. For the most part they were manageable (although I was confined to the house for 9 months a year during pollen season) with the use a respirator and inhaler until around 1984. It was around that time, that all of the systems in my body started to break down.
The first thing I noticed were the intestinal problems -- both upper and lower GI. As it turned out, it would be another 15 years of suffering before the doctors would identify the intense "high up" pains I was having as a gallbladder problem. But in 1984, the one thing they could identify was that I had diverticulosis throughout my colon, along with several polyps. Unfortunately, as they told me then, I was "too sick at the time" for surgery to correct the problem, so I had to live with that problem too for another 15 years before I would be able to correct it.
In 1988, things took a turn for the worse. I discovered I had suddenly developed severe allergies to a whole range of chemical substances and additives when I died in a hospital emergency room from anaphylactic shock for the first time. As it turned out, omnipresent substances such as MSG, Sulfites, and Yellow dye #5 were suddenly deadly to me -- even in minute amounts. Fortunately, the doctors were able to bring me back to life through the use of large quantities of steroids, epinephrine, and Benadryl.
I died for the second time just one month later, when I ate at a Mexican restaurant that swore they didn't use any of these chemicals. Unfortunately, their supplier did. Who knew? Once again, the hospital emergency room brought me back. I remember being wheeled out of the hospital and thinking to myself, "How really different this is...going home today, instead of being buried."
It turned out my allergies were so severe that one day I ordered a fast food hamburger without pickles (because pickles contain yellow dye #5). It turned out that the restaurant took a hamburger that had pickles on it and pulled the pickles off. I was so sensitive to the dye that just the amount of #5 in the pickle juice still left on the hamburger was enough to take me down. I died for the third time later that same month. And for the third time in less than two months, they brought me back to life in the emergency room.
You might wonder how I could keep eating these foods that were so deadly to me. The answer is simple. I had no idea how omnipresent they were. MSG for example is present not only in Chinese food, but also in virtually all canned soups and chili. But even worse, in many cases it's not on the label. For example, how many times have you seen a package that listed hydrolyzed vegetable protein, or autolyzed yeast, or textured protein, or glutamic acid, or any of a dozen other ingredients on the label? Well, I had no way of knowing, until it nearly killed me, that each and everyone of these contains MSG. Hydrolyzed protein, for example, is as much as 40% MSG by weight. As for Sulfites, they're present in virtually every kind of restaurant potato (including fries and hash browns) and in virtually every food that comes from a vending machine. And yellow dye #5 can be found in everything from cake mixes to relishes and sauces.
The bottom line was that suddenly, virtually every single trip to a restaurant was a dance with death. My wife Mary became an expert at going back to the kitchen and grilling the chefs on how they cooked their food and where their ingredients came from. Nevertheless, over the next 10 years, I was forced to go to hospital emergency rooms on literally hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of occasions. Each time, I would sit in the emergency room to see if the Benadryl would prevent my going into shock. About a third of the time (which still amounted to several hundred occasions) it did not, and I had to be given the steroids and epinephrine to prevent death.
As a further complication, around that same time I started developing severe bronchitis and bronchial pneumonia that kept me on continual antibiotics and required frequent hospitalization. It turned out that the trigger for that was secondhand cigarette smoke. This presented major problems because many of my family and friends and co-workers (I was employed as a truck driver until 1996, when I was no longer able to work) were heavy smokers.
In the end, thanks to superhuman efforts of my wife, Mary, and despite the hundreds and hundreds of trips to the emergency room, I survived until 1997. Sometimes I wonder how she survived all that stress -- like the time she happened to look in the emergency room just as the nurse was frantically scrambling on top of my gurney, straddling my body, and pounding away on my chest...trying to bring me back.
Unfortunately, in 1996, things got worse again. First, I developed cataracts from all the steroids they were giving me in the emergency room. I also developed a tear in one of my retinas, and then a detached retina. In the end, after a series of surgeries, I was left with severely compromised vision -- no longer able to drive. Also, as a result of the surgeries, I began having frequent severe headaches that would keep me up all night and require 4 Tylenol and hot packs to get any relief.
Then, in 1997, I started developing tremors which got progressively worse and worse as time went on.
And finally, in 1999, the bottom dropped out. I came down with the flu. My immune system was now so depleted, there was nothing left. Between January 6th and March 15th, I came down with the flu 5 different times -- each time for at least 2 weeks. I literally was in bed for over 2 months, virtually non-stop. It was at that point, when I was at the lowest of the low, with tremors so bad that I couldn't even pour medicine into a spoon without spilling it, that one of my wife's co-workers, Jolene Mapes, sent me a miraculous gift -- a bottle each of Colloidal Minerals and Immunity Plus. And life turned around.
First, the Minerals and the Immune Boosting formula (and the Pathogen Destroyer that I added to the program), took care of my flu. In the year and a half that I have been using these products, I have not had the flu again at all.
The tremors that I had were mostly gone in 6 months...and totally gone in 12 months.
By this time, I was doing the whole Baseline of Health program. I did the Colon Detox program twice, then had a colonoscopy done to check on my diverticulosis and the polyps. After the procedure the doctor gave us a picture of my colon showing just three or four small pockets left -- clinical diagnosis: no sigmoid diverticulosis and no colorectal polyps, a major improvement. Surgery was no longer required.
At the end of that year, my gallbladder problem (which had remained undiagnosed for 15 years) hit full force. On New Years Eve, I had a granddaddy of a gallbladder attack. When my wife got me to the emergency room, I was treated as if I were having a heart attack -- I was given nitro pills. When the first one didn't relieve the pain, they gave me another one, and that one nearly stopped my heart. My blood pressure plummeted; my pulse rate dropped; I passed out. The last thing I remember was them tilting the bed I was on, and someone holding my feet up in the air. A sonogram revealed five "huge" gall stones. It was now just a question of when surgery would be scheduled.
But by now, I was a firm believer in Jon Barron's program. I decided to take on my gallbladder problems with a Liver Detox and Blood Cleanse. About the third day into the Detox, I was beginning to wonder if I had made a fatal mistake --The Healing Crisis had arrived. I thought I was going to die. But once I made it through. Voila! All pain was gone. I now eat anything I want without fear of having another gallbladder attack. And I still have my gallbladder. (Although I did think Jon Barron was going to have a heart attack when I told him I was now eating chili, sausage, bacon and burgers & fries.) Oh yes, another major benefit I got from the Liver Detox and Blood Cleanse was that the mind bending headaches I had been having ever since my eye surgery totally disappeared. I haven't had even the hint of a headache in the last 6 months.
And as for my anaphylactic shock? Last April, I was at a convention to hear Jon Barron speak. After, the convention was over, several of us were able to join Jon and Kristen Barron in the hotel restaurant for a final visit. A bottle of wine was ordered. I felt so confident that even though it said right on the label that it contained sulfites, I had a glass. NOTHING!!!! I had NO REACTION!!!! This is beyond incredible.
Enclosed are the reports from my doctor substantiating the above statements and the lab tests showing that my hepatic function panel levels have dropped substantially between the report on 1/1/00 and the one on 3/24/00. My bilrubin level, which had been slowly climbing over the past few years, is now back to normal.
This is a miracle!! I would not be alive today without the Baseline of Health.
PS: Please tell Jon Barron that I am now behaving and not eating chili, sausage, bacon, and fries.
- Howard Ritter
Steve Myers
Steve Meyers is a Managing editor that has been in the natural products industry since 1997, spreading news and information, and wielding his trusty red pen. Despite a degree in English literature from Arizona State, he is a closet science geek and is attracted to the blips and bleeps behind natural health. "Invincible" in college, Steve later realized pizza and beer does not a healthy diet make, and figured some serious diet change and natural remedy were order--especially liver detox.
Steve Myers, Managing Editor
(480) 990-1101
ext. 1210
smyers@vpico.com
http://www.naturalproductsmarketplace.com/blogs/shelflife/blogdefault.aspx
I May Never be the Same Again! - 01/16/2007
I am scared. Or, should I say, apprehensive. Not scared. Before the holidays, I signed on to undertake a liver detox in early January, which included a colon detox before Christmas. I spared you the colon detox blog, but I think it will be informative to blog daily on my experience with the liver detox, a 5-day program I started today.
I'm taking part in Baseline of Health Foundation's group detox, which technically began Jan. 3, but due to various obstacles in scheduling, I've chosen to start two weeks after the group. They are done, of course, and their experiences (based on feedback) range from success to failure, from elation to discomfort.
One of the reason's I decided to take on this experience is because Baseline and it’s founder Jon Barron provide tons of support for everybody on the group detox. In addition to the usual literature on what you need and what to expect, they host a couple conference calls to provide detoxers around the world with specific details and tips on how to make the drinks and how best to handle the tinctures (which have notoriously bad tastes). Well, let's back up a little.
We all know what happens to our eating habits over the long holiday season starting with Thanksgiving and ending with New Year's. Detoxing can help repair damage from this unstable diet, as well as break the bad habits you adopt over this period of over-indulgence. In a nutshell, the colon detox addresses digestion and the intestinal tract, which is the key to the other detoxes. Then, the liver detox targets the body's second largest organ, which detoxifies the blood and regulates fat stores, in addition to hundreds of other functions involved in regulating, synthesizing, storing, secreting, transforming, and breaking down many different substances in the body.
As for the detox itself, it is five days of not eating anything solid, especially not fat. Barron provides an allowance for a raw organic fruit or veggie salad (no oil) on days one and two, but I will try to mimic his 5-day solid-food fast. If that weren't challenging enough, there is a special drink to make and take each morning, on top of a slow-brewing special tea for ongoing consumption; a potassium brew from root vegetables; and two tinctures, one for liver support and one for blood support.
Despite attempts to make me think that the morning drink—a blend of fresh ginger root, orange juice, pure water, a lemon and an escalating amount (each day) of olive oil and fresh garlic glove—would be like an Orange Julius after blending, the drink was difficult to stomach. The garlic is powerful, and this only on day one. Oh boy!
Now, Barron and company did not mix words when describing the tinctures as unpleasant to the taste. Most of the feedback from detoxers confirmed this fact. However, while I can't have any alcohol all week, for obvious reasons, I like Barron's suggested method of preparing 1 oz. of apple juice with the required number of drops of the tinctures, then shooting it like bad whiskey. The veggie juice chaser helps, too.
The blended drink helps to wring the liver and gallbladder, ridding them of accumulated fat, cholesterol, and toxins. And the tinctures help regenerate the liver and cleanse the blood. Ok then, I'll tough it out, as the results sound good.
The special herbal tea that soaked all night then simmered in the morning was a delicious relief 15 minutes after the morning drink. It is a mixture of lipotropic and other herbs beneficial for the liver and kidneys. It helps with the flushing process and also helps tame any discomfort or nausea from the overall detox. There are no rules on how much tea I can drink throughout the day, and I'm going to drink this stuff like it's the fountain of youth.
Right now, 12:30pm, first day, I feel pretty good, minus the garlic comeback. I haven't craved my usual yogurt and granola and whole grain toast morning fare, but it is early in the detox. I'm still scared, because I know the effects of the morning drink and the tinctures have yet to surface, and the thought of putting more garlic and olive oil into that a.m. drink is making me a bit nauseous. It is hard to stomach, and I hope it doesn't cause perceived nausea to blossom into real nausea (a condition I rarely experience).
Check back throughout the detox for daily and/or hourly updates on what I am taking and how I am feeling. My hope is not that it dissuades or persuades you to undertake this or a similar detox, but I would like to share my experience with all of you, many of whom I know have done or are considering doing a detox.
Cheers!
Steve
Day 2 - 01/17/2007
So, I think I am doing well with the detox. Sure, I grumble about a few aspects, but I am following it, as directed. Yesterday evening and night were pretty easy, save the tinctures. I enjoy concocting different juices for my meals, and I feel good about the variety of produce I am consuming. Incorporating a juice-only day into my regular regimen might not be a bad idea.
I also started the potassium brew. Apparently, there is a chance of losing valuable electrolytes during this flushing process, so the potassium brew provides supplemental electrolytes. It's like an Old World brew of root vegetables, but with the dominance of the beets' color, it reminds me of when I was little and my pop-pop (grandfather) and I would drink the broth leftover from cooked beets or other vegetables.
Just to make sure I was doing everything right, I re-listened to the John Barron conference call from the night before the detox began (Detox Center). I like that his is online for occasional reference. It reminded me that any globs I see in my bowel movements might not necessarily be the plethora of gallstones people talk about seeing during detoxes, but it is actually little olive oil soap. Fascinating. See, people used to make soap by combining oil with lye, an alkalizing agent. With the alkaline environment created in the intestinal tract, the increasing olive oil in the morning flush drink during the detox can similarly create beads of olive oil soap. As much as I like olive oil soap, I'll stick to the store-bought variety.
Now, I've just had my morning glass of water and then the two tinctures. I've decided the liver support tincture is not so bad. The killer is the blood support tincture. It contains red clover, chaparral, burdock root, goldenseal and a bunch of other herbs that help cleanse and detoxify the blood. It actually burns my mouth. I am trusting it is doing me some good. It's all about faith, right?
Well, it is time for my morning flush drink. Today it gets two cloves of garlic and two tablespoons of olive oil. I'm almost resisting it, but it is time. Check in later to see if I suffer any of the side effects --headaches, nausea, etc.--that many people report. I have been lucky so far!
Day 3…Still Rollin' - 01/18/2007
I am at the halfway point of this liver detox. I'm slinging back those tinctures three times a day and dealing with the morning dose of garlic. I admit I have already dreamt and thought about the food I will eat next week. For some reason, I'm craving a falafel…some tahini and veggies and a nice whole wheat pita. Ok, enough.
Before then, I have two more days of juicing and tincturing. Then, a raw salad is my first "food" meal back. For now, let's go over what is happening to me.
Last night/evening I felt energized. I reorganized and cleaned my whole kitchen, and I got a few other things done around the house (that I had been putting off endlessly). I went for a combination walk-run last night and, aside from a little tummy cramp towards the end, I was fine. It felt good. Needless to say, I was a little slow in rising this morning. However, I have yet to experience any headaches or extreme fatigue, as reported by some detox-ers. I do feel a rumbling around on occasion, and sometimes it feels like my stomach is tightening. I guess this is all normal. And, I have to admit, the "hunger feeling" (that other stomach rumbling) is not so bad, here on my third day.
I also haven't noticed anything too unusual in my bathroom activity, except urination is more frequent, which can be expected in a liver detox. The countless gallstones some people report seeing during liver detoxes, have not made themselves visible to me at this point. Perhaps they won't. I’m not sure what all this means, but I assure you I am following the directions to a "T" and trying my best to stay positive and active.
Check back in later for an update, as I am now in the heart of this detox and there will surely be some effects presented.
Homestretch: Dehydration?! Gallstones?! - 01/19/2007
I must admit, I've been a bit concerned about dehydration. Now, as a hiker and athlete I always knew that if I hadn't peed in a while, I was probably dehydrated. Well, incomplete as that logic may be, I can't rely on such analysis during this detox. The deliciously spicy liver tea and the dreadfully bitter liver tincture each contains herbs that have diuretic properties. So that explains the frequency of urination. But these herbs also help flush out toxins and boost kidney health. Also, colon corrective blend taken each night of the detox further explains why I consume very little but go to the bathroom a lot. This is why the Baseline of Health encouraged me to drink water frequently throughout the day. Apparently, the psyllium taken at night during the detox swells up and provides the bulk in stools by absorbing a considerable amount of water. Thus, detoxers can become easily dehydrated if water consumption is not sufficient.
Now as to why I haven't noticed any gallstones? Some people see tons, while others see few. Beyond that simple reason, the nightly psyllium husk dose might provide an answer. According to Barron, in promoting elimination psyllium tends to encapsulate and make things harder to see. Detoxers might also confuse soap beads for gallstones. All the olive oil in the morning drink can create little mini-soaps in the alkaline GI tract. Either way, Barron assures whether you see gallstones, soap beads or nothing at all, it is hard to tell what is really be eliminated; the important aspect is how you feel from the detox.
Well, I don't see anything, and I generally feel OK. I ebb and flow between high energy and fatigue, but nothing I can't handle. I bet new parents feel this way for months…or years! I occasionally get some sensations in my sinus cavities in my head, and I feel tightening in my stomach sometimes, but there is otherwise no noticeable physical manifestation.
Well, there are the finer points of detoxing and elimination for ya—maybe no one will be eating tonight, after that tutorial. ;)
One day left!
Looks Like We Made It! - 01/21/2007
Well, I made it, as did hundreds of other people two weeks ago. The end of my detox has come and the fast is broken. Yesterday evening I ate a couple of cherries and a raw veggie salad w/avocado. I heard those who finished the detox earlier have reported heightened senses, especially taste and smell. Well that cherry was the best cherry I think I ever had (and it wasn't even a Bing). The advice on breaking the fast is to ease your body back into normal food again after five days of just juice. This means raw veggies and fruits for the first day or two then a progressive escalation to normal foods. It's like if you drain your car's oil. Would turn around and put used oil from a car in a junkyard? Despite the euphemism "auto recycler", most of us wouldn't want junky oil passing through our car's working parts and fresh filter. Nor do those fresh off a detox want junky food junking up our working parts and fresh liver. Thus, pizza, wings and meat will have to wait. Sure, the regular diet will slowly work its way back in, but that is why people detox and cleanse a couple times every year, like changing your oil and filter.
I'm fine with salad…for now. My fruit salad this morning was vibrant in color and taste. As I said in an earlier post, it isn't a bad idea to incorporate some of the aspects of the fast/detox into my regular diet. I feel I do a pretty good job of eating good foods, especially when eating at home, but I think I might incorporate more juice days, as well as slip some fruit salads into my morning rotation of low-fat yogurt and granola, and grainy, healthy cereals w/organic milk. On some days I might even lighten a lunch or dinner with a veggie juice. I realized during the fast that a good portion of my eating is mental. When I knew I couldn't eat the solid foods in my cupboard, I just forgot about them (for most of the time).
I know many people in the history of detoxes and of the world have endured fasts far longer than mine. But I still feel a sense of accomplishment. I love food. I love cooking it, eating it and sharing it. Five days is long for a foodie. Now that I've reached the end of the fast/detox, through the bitter tinctures (taken faithfully) and the anti-vampire morning drink, I wish there was a "fast fairy" to leave a dollar under my pillow...or one of those cool new iPhones…or even a falafel.
