Photo by Roger Winstead

At the end of 30 days of following the diet recommended by Dr. Mitchell, I had dropped 24 pounds. I continued to do a monthly detox week for four months to improve my overall health. Altogether, I’ve lost 40 to 45 pounds. My follow-up labs showed measurable improvement in cholesterol, triglycerides, and blood sugar/insulin resistance. It’s a confidence booster, for sure. As important, I feel so much better and my overall stamina has improved.

~ Drew Martin, financial analyst from Raleigh, NC

When I was in my early forties and started experiencing digestive problems and debilitating back pain, I thought this was simply a normal part of aging. My father had an ulcer by the time he was in his mid-thirties and severe arthritis and heart disease followed soon after. It seemed apparent to me that I was going to follow at least some of Dad’s DNA tracks.

But I had married Tom a few years earlier, who was in chiropractic school at the time, preparing to embark on a second career that would include becoming an Ayurvedic practitioner and registered herbalist. My husband pointed me toward a new paradigm—new for me; it was actually ancient—of supporting the possibility of aging in a healthy way.

One day we were in a hotel elevator with an elderly couple who moved at a snail’s pace when we reached their floor. As the elevator door closed behind them, I told Tom, “I guess that’s what we’ll look like in few decades.” His reply was immediate. Tom said, “No way!”

And I have found he was right: we do not have to lose our health and vitality as we age.

How to Escape Your DNA

For one thing, I learned about the work of pioneering doctors and researchers such as Dr. Dean Ornish, who confirmed that DNA codes are not the primary factor in disease. Hereditary tendencies are awakened, so to speak, by external conditions, things like chronic stress, obesity, lack of exercise, and inflammation.

Inflammation is now recognized as the root of many life-threatening diseases, including heart disease, diabetes, and Alzheimer’s as well as the all-important chronic pain. Medical research has also demonstrated repeatedly that an anti-inflammatory diet, exercise, and relaxation techniques like meditation can help reverse the inflammatory process.

Western medicine has only recently begun to turn its attention to diet and lifestyle as means of addressing chronic diseases; Ayurveda has championed this approach for the last five thousand years. Eating freshly cooked vegetarian or vegan food and engaging in stress-relieving practices like hatha yoga and meditation have long been core pillars of the Ayurvedic approach to wellness and healing.

Overcoming Resistance

When I began to study Ayurveda, I learned that annual or semi-annual detoxification is one powerful way to lower inflammation, which addresses both pain and a host of other problems that are linked to inflammation. According to Ayurveda, the detoxification process can help most of us avoid, manage, or even reverse many debilitating conditions.

Does the idea of detoxification sound scary or overwhelming? Or are you just plain skeptical?

I totally get it. I was extremely wary of taking this step when my husband first suggested it. But I was also desperate. My digestion was so poor that I got a stomachache when I ate almost anything. This was in 1998, before Tom began offering his own detox programs, and what he recommended was that I go for a week at The Ayurvedic Institute in New Mexico.

I thought it sounded drastic, but that week on a healing and detoxifying diet changed the course of my life. My digestion settled down. My sleep improved. Aches and pains seemed to disappear. And I began to lose weight—naturally! It was a dramatic and transformational result. I fell in love with Ayurveda immediately and embraced a lifetime of study and practice.

As you might expect, this experience totally shifted my perception of the detoxification process. Let me put it this way, detox is definitely a good thing. It delivers results. And now you don’t have to go all the way to New Mexico to find out what’s in it for you. You can participate in Delicious Detox in your own home.

A Free Master Class and a Challenge

For people who need more information before stepping into a detox program, Tom and I have created a FREE master class that is designed especially for skeptics and those who are anxious about the detoxification process. This class is called WHY DETOX? How to Naturally Reduce Chronic Pain, Slow Aging, and Regain Vitality! By participating in this one-hour program, you can begin to better understand why detoxing is important and how it works on the body.

Following this class, we’re also launching a 21-Day Delicious-Detox Challenge led by myself and Dr. Tom Mitchell. The two of us will guide you through a home detox program—deliciously!— with a small community of participants who are each committed to embracing vibrant health.

Although some suffering is a part of everyone’s life, I’ve learned that chronic health problems and physical pain can often be avoided or reversed with the support of Ayurveda. My life took an about-face when I began to engage—gently, slowly, sweetly—with the wisdom of Ayurveda.

Tom and I hope you will open yourself to the experience of these same benefits by saying yes—YES!— to the Delicious Detox!

Lisa J. Mitchell

Learn more at https://sacredanddelicious.com/detox
Email: lisajoy@sacredanddelicious.com