How I survived on milk-only for 8 whole days!
This is a story of health.
Of change. Healing. Curiosity. And desire.
I grew up in meat + potatoes country.
Though I may be ½ Japanese and grew up with plenty of raw tofu and sushi, I still grew up in the Midwest.
Which meant, lots of Imo’s Pizza, roast beef sandwiches and toasted ravioli (if you’re from the ‘Lou you’ll know what I’m talking about).
The stuff of my childhood still comforts me to this day.
Even when it sends me into multiple days of digestive distress, it still comforts.
As I’ve gotten older, my diet has gotten “cleaner” – less refined sugars, mostly organics, and no more hormone-filled meats. But even still, my health has always remained rather . . . “touchy”.
I relate this to a poor diet growing up. Along with large amounts of stress. And also being an HSP.
I’ve suffered from IBS, severe PMS, gluten sensitivity, seasonal allergies, recurring sinus infections, leaky gut, depression, acid reflux, adrenal fatigue, thyroid & endocrine dysfunction, and an immune system that’s virtually non-existent at times.
I feel like for most of my life, I’ve had “something wrong with me”. Always feeling low on energy. Or just flat out moody and not well.
Since 1999, I’ve been on a quest to heal myself.
I’ve tried just about every different kind of healing modality you can imagine (and then some)!
Ayurveda. Naturopathic medicine. Western medicine. Chinese medicine. Acupuncture. Herbs. Homeopathy. Chiropractic. Energy work. Bodywork. And too many diets and cleanses to count.
It would seem that I had tried everything.
Exhausted every option.
But, there was one woman that I hadn’t consulted with yet.
A naturopathic doctor who had been on my radar for the last 5 years.
I had heard she was a miracle worker (of sorts).
No nonsense.
And filled with knowledge.
Fast forward to October 2012.
I made my appointment with Dr. Linda Lancaster.
I saw her in person in NYC.
And within 2 minutes she was able to tell me what she believed might be going on – that I had parasites, adrenal + immune system depletion, heavy metal and mercury toxicity, residual radiation toxicity and deep stress rings (a.k.a. a lifetime of heaviness that was weighing me down and in part, causing me to be sick).
I mean.
Woah.
After looking at my blood, she confirmed all of the above and put me on a deep cleansing and healing regimen for at least 8 weeks.
Now, for anyone who is reading this that might be a critic of cleanses, healthy diets or the like, I want you to think about something . . . a simple quote that made me start to take my health seriously.
“If you don’t take care of your body, where are you going to live?”
PHASE 1 :: MILK + BATHS
Dr. Linda’s protocol started with the Raw Milk Cleanse.
As you might have read in last week’s post, I got a lot of interest (positive + negative) about the milk cleanse when I posted about it online.
Here’s the deal:
The raw milk cleanse is to rid the body of parasites.
It’s estimated that more than ½ the world’s population (that’s 3+ billion people!) are infected with parasites. Crazy right?
Most of us think that parasites only affect those in rural areas or third-world countries. But it’s much more widespread than that.
Parasites wreak havoc and can even take up residence in organs like your lungs, heart, and brain.
They get into your system in a variety of ways: via drinking water, unwashed lettuce or veggies, undercooked meats, sexual contact (even kissing) as well as from something as innocuous as shaking hands or drinking from someone else’s glass who is infected.
It’s super easy to “catch”.
And the worst part? They’re even harder to eradicate.
Hence the raw milk cleanse.
From what I understand, raw milk is sweet and happens to be parasites’ favorite food.
They are drawn out from hiding by the milk and then killed through a special formulation of ingested herbs.
My daily routine consisted of this:
Drink one glass of raw milk every two hours (taken w/ my herbs) for a total of at least six glasses per day.
I could drink more if I felt hungry. And I could drink moderate amounts of water too throughout the day.
To be honest, I never felt hungry. Not once.
In fact, it was great. I loved the taste of the raw milk (a huge surprise since I usually loathe milk).
For the record, it’s important to drink RAW milk as opposed to pasteurized milk (the kind you find in most grocery stores).
Raw milk contains a lot of bacteria and enzymes, including the ones that digest lactose, which are mostly killed off during the process of pasteurization.
You can find out more about the benefits of raw milk here.
On this cleanse it was preferable to use raw goat’s milk, however, the flavor was too intense for me, so I stuck with Organic Pastures raw cow’s milk.
As a sorta side-note, I want to emphasize that this cleanse is Doctor supervised and prescribed specifically for me.
I personally don’t believe that deep cleansing without consulting a health professional is a good idea.
For one, it can be dangerous.
And secondly, I think cleansing is much more effective when you know what supplements, activities or diet will encourage healing and multiply the benefits of the cleansing process.
The prevalence of juice cleanses, the master cleanse and assorted other fasts and diets, might work for some, but in my experience, they are band-aids that never get to the root cause of most health issues. They make you feel great for a while, but it’s not a lasting solution.
In other words, please don’t try this at home. Call Dr. Linda or another healthcare professional, experienced in cleansing.
I digress.
In addition to milk drinking, I had to take a total of four assorted detox baths each week.
The health benefits of water therapy are well documented and have been used since ancient times.
Therapeutic bathing is used to cleanse and neutralize assorted pollutants that enter our bodies every day.
Everything from radiation to heavy metals and toxic chemicals.
For an in-depth look at the reasoning behind the baths as well as the exact recipes, check out this article written by Dr. Lancaster.
Though the milk phase is over, I’m still doing four baths per week (as instructed by the Doctor).
The baths are intense, especially at the beginning.
Everyone’s body is different, but mine reacted pretty strongly, especially to the sea salt and baking soda bath.
I felt agitated, incredibly restless, anxious, and at times deeply sad.
It was bizarre, uncomfortable, and strangely comforting – all at the same time.
I’m into my 4th week of baths and they’re still not a cakewalk, but they’re getting a little less intense.
And they’re working. The morning after a bath I feel lighter and more mentally acute.
I’m curious, do you have stories of healing and cleansing? Have you ever tried a parasite/raw milk cleanse? I’d love to hear your experiences on your path to achieving good health. Leave a comment below and share your story!
Viva Le Milk!
