Re: sea salt

Hi Katie -
I think as a general "rule" it's wise to think about any kind of food in terms of a continuum. With regard to your nitrate-free turkey bacon, for example, it's obviously a much better choice than hormone-, antiobiotic-, nitrate-laden turkey bacon, but an even better choice would be fresh, unprocessed, organic turkey.

The less processed the better, even if it's a more natural brand. That said, however, you have to think about how often you have it. If it's a once-in-awhile treat (1-3x month, let's say) then it's probably not going to be such a big deal -- but of course you have to weigh in all the other once-in-awhile treats you're having as well. What does it all add up to?

I think a good range to shoot for is having your regular, lifestyle diet be somewhere in the range of a consistent 60-90% of your diet consisting of whole, fresh, natural, organic as much as possible -- REAL -- foods that are not processed at all.

If you are working on reversing a condition in the body, it's best to go up to 80-100% of the time. And if you are truly "cleansing" then you would be in the 100% range.

It really all depends on what you are trying to accomplish, to what lengths you want to go to and how your body tolerates some thing.

Hope these thoughts are helpful.

As for the raw fruits and vegetables being hard on your liver -- there's much debate over raw vs. cooked foods. As with every facet of nutrition, there are people that vehemently advocate one over the other. Some believe that raw fruits and vegetables and fresh juices are really cleansing to the body. Ultimately, I think you have to experiment and see how your body responds and what feels right for you and don't go too over board one way or the other. I personally think incorporating both raw and cooked foods is the best way to go. It makes the most sense to me.

A very common recipe for the liver flushes is to drink apple juice before a liver flush - large amounts of it! - to help soften and break down the liver/gb stones and congestion. I'm not a big advocate of that protocol because most people's systems can not handle all that sugar for a variety of reasons, including feeding candida that most people have who are inclined to do a liver flush in the first place. It also, obviously wreaks havoc on blood sugar levels and can cause a variety of reactions in that regard.

I think it's better to take malic acid or chanca peadra or 1/4 tsp of epsom salt for a few days or a couple weeks before doing a flush instead. Any of these will help break down the stones/congestion as well, but in a much gentler way over time. Experiment to see which works best for you.

The chanca peadra (sp?) works great for some people, but is too harsh for others, so you can either cut down the dose (I can only take a very tiny dose of this stuff) or try the malic acid which is gentler on your system. Taking the 1/4 tsp of epsom salt is really good for opening the bile ducts and also very gentle on your system -- it's cheap too!

Hope that helps!

Kelly