The Brown Rice Detox Diet for Well-Being and to Shed Excess Weight
A Brown Rice Cleanse
The brown rice detox diet, suggested by Dr. Linda Page in Healthy Healing, is a unique cleansing program in that you actually eat enough to feel full, rather then focusing only on liquids. It is a seven day diet that can help you get on the right track with healthy eating. Modest weight loss, of two to three pounds can be expected. By supplying the body with some of the richest sources of vitamins, minerals and fiber, while also excluding meat and dairy, the brown rice cleanse is good for cardiovascular health, digestive well-being and immune health. With so much extra nutrition, skin, hair and nail health tends to improve as well.
Detox Plan
You can make up your own detox plan to suit your own needs, ensuring that you are consuming:
- Six to eight glasses of water a day
- Fresh vegetable juices
- Steamed brown rice, vegetables and sea greens for dinner
- Herbal teas such as peppermint, red clover, dandelion and chamomile
Start each day with a glass of water with the juice of one to two fresh lemons or limes. Sweeten with maple syrup or honey. This is a wonderful cleansing drink for the liver and kidneys.
Make your first fresh vegetable drink for breakfast. Use a variety of fresh veggies, such as spinach leaves, dandelion greens, parsley, cucumber, tomatoes, beets, carrots, bell peppers and celery. Choose three or four vegetables for each homemade juice, chop as needed and use a juicer or blender.
Sample Recipes:
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Handful of spinach leaves
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3 carrots
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3 celery stalks
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1 tomato
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Handful of fresh parsley
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1/2 bell pepper
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1/2 cucumber
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1 beet
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1 tomato
Drink a cleansing herbal tea later in the morning. Peppermint with red clover works well or dandelion. You can also purchase a detox tea from any health food store.
Drink more vegetable juice throughout the afternoon, such as fresh carrot juice and another homemade veggie drink. Also be sure to drink plenty of water.
For dinner have a bowl of steamed brown rice. Top with dried sea vegetables and a tablespoon or two of olive oil, flax seed oil or hemp seed oil. Serve with steamed vegetables of choice, a fresh salad or both.
During the evening have a calming cup of herbal tea such as mint or chamomile. Follow this same plan for one week, making sure you are having only liquids during the day and then steamed brown rice and vegetables for an early dinner.
Is Detoxing Right for You?
The brown rice detox diet is an easy to follow plan that will help the body shed extra pounds, cleanse with fiber and liquids, all the while nourishing and balancing with brown rice and vegetables. It is ideal for already healthy people who are experiencing lower energy levels and slowed digestion. It is not a detox diet for anyone who is pregnant or nursing, has a medical condition or who is already underweight. If you have any doubt, talk to your doctor before trying any detox diet. Do not follow this diet for longer then seven days. If seven days is too much, there is no reason not to follow it for a shorter length of time, such as four days, or even two days.
The goal of this program is to improve overall well-being and to encourage healthy eating habits even after the cleanse, such as eating more vegetables, switching to brown rice and regularly drinking fresh vegetable juices.
References
Page, Linda. “Healthy Healing: A Guide to Self-Healing for Everyone, 11th Edition” (Traditional Wisdom, 2003).
WebMD. Natural Liver Detox Diets. https://www.webmd.com/balance/natural-liver-detox-diets-liver-cleansing
photo by Little Blue Hen/flickr
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