The Whole Self Detox Program

The Whole Self Detox: A Unique and Expanded Program from Elson Haas, MD

When I did my first 10-day juice cleanse in 1975, my personal and medical life changed forever. I dropped 20 pounds, and my allergies cleared on the third day; my energy and spirit also soared. I changed what I ate after that and how I lived. I really started to take care of myself at many levels. The inspiration led me to use detox and cleansing in my practice and share what I have learned in my books and teaching venues such as The Detox Doc™.

A key message I share is: “Detoxification is the missing link in Western nutrition.”

After 40+ years of guiding seasonal cleansing programs, I have been motivated to think about this important healing process and expand on what I believe is an important step in the world of nutrition and detox. I realize that when illness is present, it usually has energies on the mental, emotional, and spiritual levels as well as the physical. It relates to how we live and the direction or path of our life. I think of health challenges as evolutionary, as a chance to listen within to messages and change and grow in our lives. Being a practicing integrative family physician for more than 50 years now, I understand that not all patients want to embrace that philosophy when they’re ill. After all, medicines are so easy and quick to help with headaches, back pain, or allergies. Getting to the bottom of things isn’t always the easiest path, but not looking for the real causes of illness can disconnect us from our deeper truths.

About Whole Self Detox

That’s what I am now addressing in my teaching—our whole life with the four dimensions that make up our whole self—our physical body, emotional world, mental state, and spiritual awareness. Connecting these four realms and finding some peace within is a good beginning. I am calling this approach Whole Self Detox.

This larger view of the cleansing/detox process is not without precedent. Many spiritual traditions have periods of fasting, such as Lent and Ramadan, or in the Native American vision quest. In general, the role of fasting as a purification is ancient and widespread. Even the idea of Spring cleaning has been around for centuries.

Along with a detoxifying and cleansing diet, I think it’s important for people to work on balancing their emotions; we have stories and pains from our lives that can be addressed. Likewise, we have stories and thoughts that our minds repeat and repeat. Looking at and connecting with our spirit will help lighten us and bring us closer to our higher path.

I embrace working with our thoughts and feelings, taking time to go deeper, and using visualization and meditation to make a meaningful connection. I practice what I call Peace Medicine, which has evolved from the Hippocratic oath that all doctors state at graduation, “First, do no harm.” That’s an important message for our world now—when we find peace within, that can influence peace in the world.

Conflicts and an “attack and conquer” approach happen not only in medicine (we fight disease and kill germs as examples) but in politics, agriculture, food production, and, of course, actual war between countries. For us here in the USA, it’s going to be a wild year of conflict in politics. So, we all need to embrace more peace within us. Let’s keep our meditation going and embrace the detox process on all levels of our being. Connecting our mind and heart with our body and spirit. Having a daily practice of yoga, qigong, meditation, etc., is important for maintaining good health.

Spring, with its affirmation of renewal, is the ideal time to detox and cleanse for a fresh start. Here are some suggestions for Staying Healthy this Spring:

1. Start fresh and new as the season energizes. Review your life and lifestyle and see where you can improve.

2. Consider a two —to three-week detox plan. Start by breaking any SNACC habits you have—SNACC is my acronym for Sugar, Nicotine, Alcohol, Caffeine, and Chemicals. I also suggest breaking from wheat/gluten, dairy products, fried foods, and red meats. This helps the body clear and relax.

3. As we alkalinize, our body reduces inflammation and many symptoms we experience, like aches and pains, allergies, and dietary congestion. We can also begin to reverse some diseases by lowering blood pressure, lowering cholesterol and sugar levels, and reducing swelling. Furthermore, an elimination diet helps us identify food allergies and reactions, especially when we avoid them for a couple of weeks, and then challenge ourselves with each food we want to assess. This information can help us in the long term.

4. I am a fan of Master Cleanser as a 7 to 10-day Spring Cleanse. It’s energizing and a great diuretic, and it motivates us to clean up our areas, like our kitchen pantries and fridges, and get rid of clutter in our closets, cars, etc.

5. A simpler plan is to take a detox diet for 2-3 weeks. It’s mainly 3 light meals of fruit and grain as breakfast and lunch and dinner as steamed veggies. There are other aspects that you can review in the article called Purification Process on my website, www.ElsonHaasMD.com, and in my book, The Detox Diet.

6. You can do some nutritional supplements on the diet but much less so on a juice cleanse—maybe a green powder for energy and amino acids.
7. Remember, as we make any of these changes, to pay attention to our mental and emotional states as well as body energies. When we lighten our body, we get closer to our spirit’s presence.

An interesting point to consider is that when we take a break from some of the potentially undermining daily habits, like sugar, caffeine, and alcohol—we do engage the connection between the emotional, mental, and physical energies. Trying to change habits or lose weight always brings up emotional issues and often a mental story or resistance that goes along with that. Yet, I see real healing happening in people when they take these breaks from substance use and abuse.

There’s more peace in the body as well as more clarity and energy, especially after we get through the sometimes uncomfortable transition that may occur in the first few days. We can go into smooth cruise energies and feel more deeply balanced.

Dr. Elson is offering a FREE Introductory Webinar on Saturday, April 13, at 10:30 a.m. Pacific time. The Whole Self Detox course begins Saturday, April 27, and continues on Saturdays through May 18. You can explore the new online program or sign up on his website at WholeSelfDetox.com.

About Dr. Haas

Dr. Elson Haas is a long-time integrative family physician and founder/director of Preventive Medical Center of Marin (www.PMCMarin.com) in San Rafael, CA. An old-style doctor who likes to get to know about his patient’s lives and lifestyles, Dr. Elson, believes in the importance of the doctor as a teacher and the role of barefoot doctors (from ancient China) in keeping people healthy in addition to treating them when they are sick. He’s the author of eleven books, including the classic book Staying Healthy with the Seasons, as well as The Detox Diet, Staying Healthy with Nutrition, Ultimate Immunity, and many others.