Another busy day in front of the computer. Enjoyed spending time with a friend and colleague, but my brain is tired from this translation work! Thank god we are working on this together. We’ve both realized that neither of us would be able to take it on alone, without each others’ different language skill set and knowledge.

Today I had:

green smoothie
humus and cauliflower
zucchini pasta and tomato sause
mushrooms and cucumbers
fruit smoothie
raisins
ginger and lemon tea
peanut butter

Today I spent the day with my colleague and friend making English subtitles for “La Vie Mumurée.” We only got less than a 6th through the script, but enjoyed the work. Tomorrow promises more of the same.

Today I had:

green smoothie
Asian slaw (several helpings)
broccoli, cabbage, and humus
spinach mushroom salad with orange miso dressing
fruit smoothies
sherry wine

Even though I have started eating, it would appear my body is still keen to eliminate stuff from my gut. Great! Better out than in, I say. I also started the BlessedHerbs.com 3-week cleanse, and as I just finished their colon “detox,” I jumped right into step 2 of the 4 steps on the program. On step 2, before breakfast, lunch, and dinner, I am required to ingest capsules of herbs that will “neutralize toxins” and “rejuvenate my gallbladder and liver.” I also have to ingest these herbal liquid tonics that “balance macroscopic intestinal populations and expel unwanted guests.” Well, no, we do not want unwanted guests now, do we! I am not sure how much of these appealing claims I buy into (well, actually, I did in fact buy the kit!). I try to be weary of products with the following small case disclaimers:

“These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent disease.”

Then again, I am no believer in the American FDA either. This is the organization which let abominations such as olstra into the market, did they not? In case you forgot, olstra was the “fake fat” that was accepted by snack-making companies such as Pringles (as in “once you pop, you can’t stop.”). Soon after osltra was released, the following small print appeared on labels:

“May cause Leaky Gut Syndrome.”

A leaking gut does not sound like something I would like to have, though apparently many diet-savvy Americans did not care. I just now googled the term and found that Leaky Gut Syndrome appears to be a euphemistic way of saying that the product damages the lining of your intestinal walls.  www.leakygut.co.uk says, “the symptoms of Leaky Gut Syndrome are many and varied and include: abdominal pain, heartburn, insomnia, bloating, anxiety, gluten intolerance, malnutrition, muscle cramps and pains, poor exercise tolerance, food allergies. Leaky Gut Syndrome has also been linked with many conditions, such as: Celiac Disease, Multiple Sclerosis, Fibromyalgia, Autism, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Eczema, Dermatitis, Ulcerative Colitis.”

Clearly I am justified in my unease, and I am correct to mistrust the FDA, who to let out this man-made chemical concoction without enough testing through clinical trials. And Osltra is only an example. Other such nasties that have raised eyes (and some of which are still on the market) include the previously omnipresent saccharin, sodium nitrite, saccharin, caffeine, acesulfame K, and artificial coloring. Not only are they among the most questionable additives, but they are used primarily in foods of low nutritional value.

Anyway, with this “Internal Cleansing Kit” I have purchased, I am not scared of the little potions and pills I am consuming. It is entirely true that they may not work, but I can read and pronounce the ingredients, and have felt physically wonderful after having tried the company’s other products. Although I am not as trusting of the word, “organic” as I once was (my eyes have been opened by Michael Pollan’s books), it is somewhat comforting to know it it there. And true, just because herbs are natural, doesn’t mean they are safe, but I will take the risk. I consumed all the additives mentioned above in my youth, after all, and I am not dead yet!

Today I had:

green smoothie (gee wiz, I missed these!)
peach
wakame and hijiki salad (leftovers)
peanut butter from the jar (roasted peanuts and with salt, yes, but organic and no other additives)
apple juice (organic, but pasteurized)
black olives (soaked to get as much salt out as possible)
raw tomato sauce on green leaves
raisins

My roommate escaped work at lunch and we headed down to the station to an upscale grocery store to stock up on fresh fruits and veggies. We broke our fast right there, with fresh watermelon and melon. Yum! I made some goodies later on, and did not intend to have any rich foods or salt, but ended up doing so in the end so as not to waste aging avocados and fresh (but salted) wakame, as well as some pickle-type things in the fridge. I’m afraid I was brought up with that “don’t you dare waste food” mentality, so I have a hard time throwing out stuff that I am better off not eating.

All the food was delicious, and my stomach and gut are doing just fine (although making lots of noises), but it’s a bit sad that you feel a bit down afterward; fasting puts you on a “higher vibration,” so whenever you eat again, no matter how healthy, you tend to feel low. The same sort of thing happens to me when I eat cooked foods now after maintaining a very raw diet for several days.

I still have an “Internal Cleansing Kit” from Blessed Herbs that I bought last year, but never started. I’ve been putting it off because it involves a lot of pills and potions that you take 4-5 times a day over the course of 3 weeks. I think now would be a good time to do this, after having finished with the colon cleanse and fast. You can eat on this cleanse, and I would assume a raw diet would make it even more effective.

I went to physio today for treatment for my shoulder injury, and also managed to see the doctor, as the clinic wasn’t busy. (I hardly waited - last time I wanted to see the doctor for a checkup there was a 2-hour wait, on a weekday. I don’t wait very well…) While I had him there I decided to ask him about my knee, which is still dodgy since I pulled and slightly tore my lateral meniscus while training for a marathon many, many moons ago (which I sadly never did accomplish - I pulled my knee less than 3 weeks before race day, on what would have been my longest time, at around the 30km mark. Amazing how things change - I don’t think I could run 2km now without collapsing!). The doctor said it would be a good idea to take an X-ray, and I acquiesced. Shock: I have osteoarthritis! Bone spurs have appeared on top of my right tibia bone, and the doctor figures my body probably generated them in order to protect my lateral meniscus. That sort of makes sense, as my pain as been of a very different nature in recent years. Pain? Yes, I guess I often am in pain, though dull. It’s funny how people can actually get used to and accept pain, to the point where they think it’s normal. The doctor recommends that I do physio, have hyaluronan injections (pricy) if it gets incredibly painful (probably not), and (sob sob) shed some weight. Yeah, yeah, I’m working on it! At least my shoulder seems to be getting better.

Today I had:

watermelon
melon
green tea
papaya
green salad with wakame, fresh hijiki (not the seaweed apparently)
cucumber with fresh tomato sauce (some salt in the oil-based dried tomatoes)
chocolate pudding with coconut (yes, this was over the top for break day!)

Today was the last day of the fast. Good, as I’ve just about had enough. I am ready for fruit! Bring it on!

Today a work colleague and I headed to a hotel neat Kachidoki station in Tokyo to meet two film producers from France. The meeting went successfully and we are going to write the English subtitles for a French film (with an all-Japanese, and Japanese-speaking, “cast”). It is a documentary of Osamu Dazai, a famous Japanese writer. I’d love to write more details here, but as the film has not been released, we have been instructed to keep the contents secret. The gig doesn’t pay much at all (it’s paid for through government culture grants, and much work is volunteer), but it will be a wonderful experience for my Japanese colleague and I, as we enjoy translation projects. Neither of us would have the confidence to do it alone, but with me focused more on the editing and my colleague focusing on the initial script, we think we can pull it off like professionals. It will be cool to have our names come up at the end of the film!

The meeting went well, but unfortunately for my colleague, when the producers found I could speak French, English started to take a second role. (no, they cannot speak Japanese). I’m grateful for the fact that it’s already been translated into French. This means I’ll be able to make reference to my second language to confirm my translations from my third (well, technically Japanese is my 6th, but I’ve forgotten the other languages- you don’t use it and you loose it, baby!) into my mother tongue.

After the meeting, we went to Roppongi mid-town to do some insanely upscale windowshopping (insane as in a USD4 thousand price tag on a sweater). As it was so hot and humid outside, and the store were far from crowded, it being a weekday, we had quite a lovely afternoon. I was the cause of guilt in my companion, however, when I did not eat at lunch, but she got over that fast. And I too will be over this fast tomorrow!

Today I had:

phyllium shakes and apple juice, lemon water drinks

It’s day 4 of the fast and I’m hungry again. I’m still requiring a lot of sleep it would seem, and waking up feeling a bit clogged up in the eyes and mouth. My liver was obviously activated today, as I released a lot of green slimy stuff (It’s supposed to be waste bile, or so I was told on my first fast in Thailand).

My roommate has still not gone to the toilet, so I tried to book us for a trip to one of Tokyo’s few, but increasingly popular, colon hydrotherapy clinics. Increasingly popular indeed - they told us to reserve spots at least one week an advance as they are always booked! You can actually give yourself a good colonic irrigation, but it can be… messy if you don’t have the right equipment.

We are out of lemons, and we both really need a treat as a pick me up, so I guess I should nip over to the grocery store. I just have to muster the energy. I feel fine, but can get dizzy if I move suddenly or too much. This didn’t start happening until today. Glucose reserves are low! Ketosis (when the body uses up it’s reserves and heads to fat for fuel) is hitting! The unneeded ketones are releasing through my breath and urine. Stay back!

Anyway, lemons are not only very alkalizing once in the body (surprising, eh?), but they also do wonders for cleaning the blood and lymph fluids. Joy! A tall glass of these freshly squeezed babies, watered down of course, is so refreshing in this heat, and all the tastier with a dash of raw honey!

I spend the afternoon grading today. Finished! Except… 3 students are failing, and because I am nice (maybe too nice), I am giving them an extra couple of days to frantically complete missing assignments.

Today I had:

psyllium shakes, apple juice, water, and soon… lemon water