The Art of Cooking, Healing and Increased Awareness

Cooking is an expression of creativity: the best part of the meal is the preparation, using your imagination and creativity to create works of art. 

All creativity helps with the flow of emotions and the movement of energy through the chakras. Cooking with colourful fruits and vegetables can ignite healing energies in the body.

When eating clean foods you do not inhibit the bodily functions and aid yourself through detoxification of toxins, emotions and low frequency energies. There are certain foods that elevate the consciousness and there are foods for every chakra. There’s generally a progression through the system to raise the frequency of the body, emotions and mind.  Healthful foods can help to bridge the emotional gap between the lower chakras and the higher ones.

Mindful Eating: listening to what your body is telling you and interpreting it. Cravings can be an indication of a lack of some nutrient. So if we can interpret what they mean then we would be able to make a different and more healthful choice.

Habitual eating can be a big hurtle for people to get over. The things that are seemingly easy become the go to foods and there’s rarely any deviation from the routine. Not knowing what to do instead is always an excuse…they don’t try to tap into their own creativity. Routine is a big deal, it keeps us in patterns and keeps us from experiencing what else the world has to offer. Some people decide they can’t do something before they even try. Giving up before you even begin will prevent you from moving forward in life and if you do it with food what else in your life are you doing it with. What else are you holding yourself back from doing? What experiences could you be having in your life? Life is an open book, don’t limit yourself by not reading past the first chapter…there is so much more to discover. Food is the same, eating healthy isn’t a chore. It only seems that way because when you start to make changes to your diet you realize how much of our society surrounds food and lower frequency foods. Whenever people come together there is always food involved. When we are eating healthy this becomes a problem because we can feel alienated from the others and as human spirits we crave connections. There has to be a shift in ideals about food…food should be creative, healthful and fun. 

“A true master does not ‘give up’ something. A true master simply sets it aside, as he would do with anything for which he longer has use. There are those who say you must overcome your desires. I say you must simply change them. The first practice feels like a rigorous discipline, the second, a joyful experience” –Conversations with God, Book 1 page 70.

General Detoxification

I am often asked by clients and people I meet every day if I think detoxification programs and diets are necessary for improving overall health and my answer is yes. Your body naturally detoxifies itself every day through your digestive tract, liver and immune system but it can become overloaded with toxins and therefore unable to complete the process. 

It can be difficult as a consumer when there are so many, seemingly convenient “detox in a box” options out there, to know what really is the best for them. Everyone is bio-chemically different and using a one size fits all detox kit isn’t always the right choice. There are different levels to detoxification and I believe it is important to start out slowly so as to not overwhelm the body systems. 

Some Signs of Toxicity

·         Fatigue

·         Body odor

·         Constipation

·         Skin problems

·         Headaches

·         Depression

·         Infections

·         Weight gain/loss

·         Mucous/congestion

·         Gas/bloating

·         Allergies/sensitivities

·         And many more…….

Exogenous Toxins: Coming from outside of our bodies. Ex. Air pollution, drugs, pesticides (which kill life), preservatives, artificial sweeteners, artificial food colouring, cosmetics, alcohol, poor quality oils, smoking, tap water, paints, mouth fillings, perfumes, Teflon cookware, etc.

Endogenous Toxins: Created inside the body. Ex. Our own metabolism, improper food combining, overeating, constipation (reabsorbing toxins), parasites, fungus, etc.

Detoxifying:

The first thing to do when starting to detoxify is to reduce the amount of toxins you exposed to. Clean up the diet, consume organic fruits and vegetables as much as possible, and avoid congesting, inflammatory foods.

The second thing is to improve your body’s ability to detoxify itself with the use of nutrients and superfoods. 

Anything that supports our elimination will assist us in detoxifying, such as: drinking more water, eating more fruits and vegetables, and eating less meat and dairy products, which create congestion. There are many levels of detox from simple everyday changes to complete fasting. Dietary changes is the most gentle way to detox and cleanse.

These are the different levels of general dietary detoxification:

1.      General Detox Diet- Whole foods, fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts/seeds and legumes (Nothing processed or refined).

2.     General Detox Diet Level 2- 80% vegetables (raw or steamed) and fruit, 20% gluten free grains (quinoa, brown rice, buckwheat, and amaranth), legumes, sprouts, nuts and seeds. With fresh juices and superfoods.                  

3.      Raw foods (100%) - 80% raw fruits and vegetables, 20% nuts/seeds and sprouts.

4.      Juice Fast- raw fruits and vegetables juiced through a good juicer. Can also boil veggies softly for 2-3 hrs, strain out veggies and drink to help with grounding. Herbal teas are also great for grounding as well.

5.      Water Fast- This is the most difficult fast to take on that is why it is a good idea to work yourself up to it by following the diets above first. I do not recommend this for everyone.

Fasting Setting: set aside as much time as possible for the fast, slow life down. Meditate and simplify life.

The Hering's Law of Cure states that there is an order in which the body will heal itself, so it is important to take that into consideration when detoxifying.

The Law states that healing should go:

·         From the most important organ to the least

·         From within-outwards

·         From above to downward

·         Symptoms of a chronic disease disappear in a definite order, going in reverse and taking about one month for every year the symptoms have been present.

The body can do some very weird things when detoxifying, some may experience a bowel purging, some may get headaches and others may go through an emotionally purging, dealing with long buried issues and problems. Often the symptoms experienced will get worse before they get better.  

Some Signs and Symptoms of Detoxification:

·         Headaches

·         Body odor

·         Skin eruptions

·         Abdominal “distress”

·         Fatigue/weakness

·         Fever

·         Return of previously experienced symptoms

·         Coated tongue

·         Dark urine

·         Also, an Emotional detox- need grounding activities to help get through it. 

After completing a detox you will experience a boost in energy levels, improved digestion, better sleep patterns, less water retention, fewer aches and pains and less infections.

It is important to talk to a professional before starting a detox program so that you know what would work best for you and to not overwhelm your body systems from something too aggressive. Detoxing should improve the bodily functions and not overwhelm. 

For more information about detoxification programs and nutritional consultations provided by Michelle contact The Lakeside Clinic in Barrie Ontario by email, info@thelakesideclinic.com or by phone 705-726-0923.