7-Day Detox Miracle

Peter Bennett and Stephen Barrie’s 7-Day Detox Miracle: Restore Your Mind and Body’s Natural Vitality with This Safe and Effective Life-Enhancing Program, is an excellent read on not only purely biochemical information that is the basis for a self-help program but also contains a list of scientific references organized by subject. This makes the book highly informative which allows people nowadays to consult this detoxification approach for their health and wellness. The book brings together a wide spectrum of information that is highly beneficial to anyone concerned with his health. The basic program is easy to follow and makes an interesting alternative to the drastic diets now present in society’s body-conscious people.

The basic program recommended by the authors is a two-day, water-only fast, followed by five days of all-you-can-eat in the categories of rice, fruit and vegetables.  Added to this, an individual is recommended to do the hydrotherapy techniques to dramatically improve circulation. What is good about the program is that one can actually work while on this program. What the authors recommend is that what is important is not only nutrition and supplementation but also on physical aspects including exercise, yoga, saunas, and hydrotherapy. Even a positive mental attitude helps in the long process of wanting to achieve wellness.

Indeed, the human body is designed for a certain type of food. Achieving good health from food intake is discovering and following that diet which our system needs and is prepared for. The book details how the human body tissue can neither be restored nor rejuvenated without proper nutritional support such that eating correctly is the number one priority. The authors approach their material so that the ordinary reader is briefed on the importance of the different body organs and cells making the presentation easily understandable even if describing them can be highly technical. For instance on page 20, the authors have a beautiful description of the function of cells in the body. They posit that “The needs of cells are very simple.  They are not greedy, needy, neurotic whiners.  Each cell wants only three things: food (nutrients), a little conversation (the cell-to-cell communication that drives the metabolic machinery), and perhaps most importantly, a clean house (proper elimination of toxins and waste products)…  Most sick people become toxic because poisonous metabolic waste is being recycled back into their cells instead of being removed.” Taking on this language makes the book effective in addressing the needs of any sensible individual who wants to progress in her health.

             I also learned about the importance of vitamins and minerals as substances which the body needs in small but steady amounts for normal growth, function and health. Together, they are called micronutrients and they come from foods. Vitamins are nutrients needed for a variety of biological processes, among them growth, digestion and nerve function that enable the body to use carbohydrates, fats and proteins for energy and repair. They are involved in converting food into energy, but they supply no calories. Minerals on the other hand are nutrients that are the main components in teeth and bones, and they serve as building blocks for other cells and enzymes. It helps regulate the balance of fluids in the body and control the movement of nerve impulses.

Over half of our body is made up of water and it is in every cell and every tissue. Biological processes like circulation, digestion, absorption and excretion depend on water. From the book I learned that a person has to drink six to ten glasses of pure water each day to enhance the body’s functioning. Aside from helping the digestive system, getting enough fluids will result to fresh skin, clear eyes and shining hair. Water contains minerals that are absorbed by the body. Food also contains minerals, but those taken in from drinking water are more easily and better absorbed. These minerals, either from drinking water or from food are lost in some body processes as a result of faulty diet such as excessive intake of protein as I mentioned above wherein the most important mineral that is lost is calcium. All these are expounded in the book and given a new light.

I know that this will help out in my future work as a Nutritional Consultant. Particularly interesting with this book is the way they emphasize the importance of the cells. Referring to the extracellular matrix as being prone to damage from toxins and disease, one is now able to be conscious of the food that goes inside one’s body system.  Explaining how a tissue becomes diseased is helpful in the prevention of future diseases. The descriptions are vivid and highly effective as they dwell on how tissues becomes diseased and how the matrix thickens, thus losing fluidity and impeding the flow of nutrients to the cells.

The authors continue. “Toxins that have accumulated as a result of poor circulation are first deposited in this extracellular space.  Diseases that change the gel matrix disturb circulation, providing a breeding ground for bacteria and other microbes.  Diseases caused by toxicity commonly manifest in the spaces around cells rather than inside the cells.  If conditions in this front yard environment become too unfavorable, seriously impeding normal oxygen and nutrient exchange and waste removal, cell function breaks down, and eventually cells die.” These descriptions can be quite intimidating but they drive home the point to readers to be extra careful about what they put in their bodies.

As s Nutritional Consultant, I can also make references to the energy balance means in the health care community as the art of consuming just the right number of calories to manage your weight. However, counting calories can take all the fun out of eating that instead one should not give up eating, but must only choose foods that are high in fiber, fluid (water), and nutrients such as fruits, vegetables, beans, whole grains, low-fat dairy products, and small portions of lean meats and nuts. Exercise is a critical part of weight control and good health, but Zelman reiterates that it is a good idea to fuel up before the workout with these healthy foods.

REFERENCE 

Bennett, P. and Barrie, S. (1999).  7-Day Detox Miracle: Restore Your Mind and Body’s Natural Vitality with This Safe and Effective Life-Enhancing Program. Prima Health,