Another busy Tuesday. Too many papers to check and lessons to prepare to write anything today.

I had:

green smoothie
salad and natto
avocado and greens with lemon salad
mangoes
raisins
humus and broccoli

My classes will be winding down in a few weeks, so I’m thinking it may be time to plan a more intense detox. Since I’ve been eating raw for almost 3 months now, I’m hoping that I won’t experience healing crises or just simple detox effects as I have had in the past when fasting. When you do get these crises, it’s not a bad thing though, it just means your body is releasing toxins faster than you can get rid of them, hence the suggestion to have colonic irrigation sessions to help get rid of the extra crap floating around in your system that is making you feel like… well, crap!

I don’t have access to colonic equipment though, although enemas are doable (but only clean out the end part of your colon). This means I might have to do a juice fast instead of a water fast, as it’s less severe. I also find it harder, believe it or not. This is because first, juicing is such a royal time-consuming, fruit pulp-wasting pain in the ass. Second, because it tempts me to eat. I’m an all or nothing type of personality, which I realize it not a good trait when in the pursuit of life balance.

Anyway, getting back to detoxing side effects, I’ve fasted several times now, 3 times for over 3 weeks (yes, 3 weeks of no food- the human body is amazing, no?) and every time I have experienced different levels of discomfort at different stages. Most nasty stuff happens within the first few days. The most common is hunger, of course, and then headaches, which I also experienced when I turned raw. One time on a Thai massage course in Chang Mai, I did a 2 week fast, and on day 5 I was bedridden the whole day with a nasty fever. The next day I jumped out of bed with more energy than I’d felt in years! Another time on day three I got cold sores… all over my LEGS (how bizarre). Sometimes old injuries or ailments resurface: On yet another fast I felt acute pain in a place where I had broken my leg many years before- it felt as if it were still broken!

I’ve witnessed the strangest effects in fellow fasters too. One poor soul got enormous, pussy, angry boils all over areas near his glands (his armpits and derriere, primarily). He was in a lot of pain, but must have be pleased to get all that poison out! Another woman I knew continued to throw up for a few days. In all cases everyone got through it and felt all the better afterward. Fortunately most people don’t suffer that intensely, especially if they prepare well for their detox by eating light and raw in the days preceding, and if they are fairly healthy to start.

Young raw food experts from the Tree of Life Rejuvenation Center in Patagonia, Arizona discuss common detoxification symptoms and how to make the transition to a raw food diet more comfortable:

Today I had:

green smoothie
baby carrots with the dregs of remaining humus
green salad
mango
dried figs and raisins
piece of baked sweet potato
white wine

I ran out of the wild organic ruccula I picked up a few days ago at Costco. The pack I bought was huge, but the better something tastes, the faster it goes! I’m out of spinach too. Back to Costco, then. I’m so very pleased that their organic produce seems to be increasing in quantity. Thank God too that I live so close to it; shopping for raw produce can cost a fortune in the land of the rising sun otherwise. Here carrots can easily run a dollar a stick, one mango between $5 and $10 dollars, and about $2-$3 for one apple. The new season’s square watermelons are out, so if you don’t mind splashing out about $100 for a melon, hats off to ya! Mind, these versions are limited editions intended as brown-nosing gifts, but if you’d like to buy me a gift, I can make alternate suggestions!

My arm is much better today. I can lift it to the side, but cannot yet put my hand in my back pocket. I stayed up late yesterday, so it’s a good thing that the vegan/ raw vegan potluck in Yoyogi Park was canceled too, so I could sleep in. I had made a big container of cacao nut balls for the event, but they’ll unlikely last until Monday, let alone until the next potluck date.

Today I ate:

green smoothie (amazing how I am not getting sick of these- can’t imagine life without them! Maybe mine are sweeter and not as green as they should be….)
cacao nut balls (told you!)
mangos
cherries
carrots and humus
green salad

Felt very refreshed waking up on this lovely Saturday…. afternoon- yes, I really slept in. Must have been the “drugs.” I can lift my arm a little now, and the pain is only 30% of that of yesterday. Other good news: have an interview for a full-time job starting 2010. It’s in Kanagawa though, so I may end up having to completely relocate if I get it, something I have gotten all too used to I guess! That, or I break down and, gasp, buy a car! I miss having one, actually, though it’s not the most eco-responsible of choices…  I am still waiting for results from a part-time gig starting next fall…

Today I ate:

green smoothie
papaya
carrots and leftover humus
tomato, avocado and ruccola salad with balsamic
fruit smoothie
banana nut ice cream
peanuts

I’m writing this post a day late, as yesterday I was in no state to blog. I had been feeling the pain of a very old injury in my shoulder that was starting to get severe. I would notice it when raising my arm to write on the blackboard. Typical moi - I just ignored it. The evening before last I went for a shop to Costco, and I snapped something. Yesterday morning I woke up and could barely move my arm, and all day experienced a constant dull pain that kept me feeling slightly nauseous. After enduring classes, off I went to a gakka (clinic/hospital specializing in outer ailments). After clearing Xrays, the doc was quick to diagnose me with a pulled, inflamed tendon, and sent me promptly off to collect some shippu (giant stick-on poultices with ointment built in), and start sessions with the seikotsuin (physical, chiropractic, a rehabilitative therapy in one place).

It cost a few yen, but the good news is I can get some treatment for another old injury (my lateral meniscus tore several years ago when over-training for a long distance run. I no longer run…)

At the end of the day, I sucked back 2 ibuprofen, and 2 G&Ts. Slept like a baby.

Today I ate:

green smoothie
cherries
banana
raisins
green salad
home-made larabar balls
Gin and Tonics

I got my 2nd volume of RawFu Magazine today, albeit in online format. I was expecting the availability of a downloadable PDF format when I signed up, but alas, subscribers can only read it online.  I might have to write in about this, as I would much rather read off paper than a screen. (RawFu doesn’t ship internationally, unlikely Purely Delicious Magazine, to which I am also subscribed.) Regardless, I enjoy the articles and recipes contained therein, such as this tasty-looking juice at left.

Today I had:

passion fruit (wow, forgot how yummy these are!)
banana cacao shake
natto, spinach, and a small portion of hatsu genmai (sprouted brown rice)
hazelnut, cacao date balls
green salad with avocado
avocado banana mix

I think I am allergic to kumquats, although when I ate them a couple of days ago, I suffered no adverse affects. Today, my mouth got itchy, then my throat, and then I felt an uncomfortable sort of heartburn for several hours after. I am not surprised, as I seem to have random negative experiences with fuzzy-skinned fruit. It seems to be hit or miss, though. It could very well have been just one of the few I ate that didn’t like me! The worst experience I ever had with a furry fruit was in Switzerland when I was on a cycling trip. I ate some sort of nectarine-like thing, and then my bronchioles closed up on me and I couldn’t breathe. I spent the next hour (or less? hard to quantify time when ill) lying on the floor of a ferry (we were crossing a lake of sorts) trying not to panic. Sure enough, the reaction passed. VERY scary, though. I remember that occasion quite clearly. Luckily I was with someone who helped me stay calm!

I grew up in apple country before spraying with all sorts of nasty chemicals was controlled, and I think somehow that might explain why apples also very often give me that itchy feeling in my mouth. Again, it’s very much a hit or miss deal. I thought it was something to do with the pesticides that didn’t agree with me, but have had a negative reaction after an organic apple too…. I really don’t know.

When it comes to furry-skinned fruit, it’s such a shame that I have issues with them, especially with regard to peaches, which I adore! Fortunately(?), peaches are too expensive here, so I rarely eat them.

In any case, I am quite keen to quit quaffing kumquats.

Today I had:

green smoothie (with fresh pineapple)
green salad with lemon and olive oil
kumquats
guacamole in green leaf wraps
homemade cacao nut balls
white wine