Detoxing with the flu

[Sillybloss]

I live in So. Cal. where the flu has hit big. I was on the third week of a cleanse and had out-of-town guests visiting. I have been 100% raw for 6 months. I had a bit of detox fever the first few days of the cleanse, but was through that and feeling fine when I got mowed down by this flu! I had 102 degree fever for three days and have since had a completely clogged nose and a terrible cough. I've been down for 9 days, but am beginning to come around again. Christmas is a blur. I've been so bummed that after 6 months raw and a good 3 weeks of cleansing, I could get so sick. Everyone in my family got it, but I was the sickest.

Is this normal? Could I really have needed to detox that much? It was pure hell because, being 100% raw, I take no medications. Nothing to ease the discomfort of fevered aches and smashing headaches. I'm waiting for that purported "woke up feeling fantastic" that follows a big detox.

Anyone have thoughts?

[sport]

If this was the bug that everybody around you had then I am dissapointed also. I would have expected that your body could handle it better and I hope that someone else has an explanation for what happened to you. I smugly tell my husband "I can't get sick because I done eat crappy food" so maybe I should drop some of the smugness.

[Sillybloss]

You're absolutely right! I've been telling everyone "I won't get sick because my diet protects me" and actually being a bit smug myself about how the choices I've made lead to such radiant health. Telling everyone in my family with health issues (cancer problems) that they should adopt the raw lifestyle. It's like a pie in the face, not to mention I'm doing all this so I DON'T have to deal with being sick!!!!! And I spent a lonely and miserable Christmas in bed, as I have many years before when I lived on SAD.

[Rawkinlocs]

During the time you had the flu symptoms AND maybe a little before it hit you, what were you eating? I know you were eating raw, but what were you eating?

But please keep in mind that the body, IMHO, is never fully done detoxing even months of eating raw down the line or many cleanses later.

If there was EVER a time in your life when you've ever suppressed cold or flu symptoms with medications, it is going to come back up and be released at some point. It just has to...the body is going to bring up of stuff that's been stuffed down.

I know that Natural Hygiene teaches that colds and flu and other diseases aren't "caught" and I still don't know quite where I am in that particular belief, but please also bear in mind that while you may have a clean diet, we don't necessarily live in the cleanest world! Toxins can enter in from more sources than just our food and they still have to be gotten rid of at some point. So, please try not to be disappointed that you were still able to have flu symptoms even on a 6-month raw diet. Six months IS a long time to be consistently raw, but then it isnt', if you know what I mean.

Hope you are feeling better! I had a short bout with flu symptoms a few weeks ago, but thankfully it only lasted a couple of days. I tried to make sure I rested and ate as minimally or as lightly as possible...mainly oranges, smoothies and water.

[Sunshine9]

Hey Sillybloss! Excellent post.. you've brought up some interesting issues and misconceptions about raw foods...

1. The idea that raw food protects us.. well, maybe sometimes and to a certain degree but raw food isn't the only thing! Its like expecting an old car to be the fastest just because you start putting the absolute best fuel into it. There are so many other things to consider. What we eat is a SMALL part of having a healthy body. Also 6 months is a long time and so short! When the body has a lot of work to do it can take time.

2. Raw food alone won't clean out our intestines and colon. It will do a heck of a job moving old crud out because of all the fiber, and if relying on purely raw then it will take a long time. (and I don't personally know of any raw foodist who has successfully cleaned out their colon with raw alone, without supplement cleanses, enemas, herbs, etc.) Dr. Richard Anderson describes in his books how germs can only effect us when we have an environment in our body that will allow them to do so.

essentially all i'm saying is give it time and keep doing exactly what you have been! maybe it was a deep detox. maybe it was a bug. I hope that you're feeling better and treating your body well.. and good for you again for being raw.. well done!

much love and health to you!

[Sillybloss]

Thanks Rawkinlocs and Sunshine9! You both are inspirational! I do realize that it will take much time for my body to really get cleaned out, but it was hard to take the fall on the biggest holiday of the year when many were watching me. I've learned to keep my mouth shut a bit more and keep my nose down (focusing) on my personal goals. I certainly got a BIG message about how far I have to go yet!

Thanks again for your sweet encouragement!

[Sillybloss]

Hi, Rawkinlocs....well, I didn't really answer your question, so if you really wanted to know what I was eating, here it is:

1. I was doing a cleanse using a "Drawing Formula" (activated charcoal, herbs, volcanic ash), a "Movement formula" (herbs mostly), a liver cleanser, and a parasite cleanser. I had been doing it for 2 1/2 weeks. The above were filling me up a lot, so I wasn't really hungry.

2. Morning: a banana smoothie (just bananas and water/ice, tocos, Vit. C., lecithin, maca)

3. Lunch: BIG salad with organic greens, sprinkling of raw almonds, raisins, tomatoes, cucumber and dressing with Nama Shoyu, raw ACV and flaxseed oil.

4. Dinner: BIG salad again with above plus broccoli and cauliflower (raw) on top.

The above are my staples when I'm eating simply/lightly. Once I got sick, I fasted for a couple of days, then just ate when I felt like it....mostly fruit but a salad if that's what I craved.

Oh, I took olive leaf extract after the second day and that really seemed to help, but it could have been my imagination.

Also, yes, I've had MAJOR sinus problems in the past and have a LOT of medication to clear out of me!!!!!!!!

[Revvell]

In my opinion, there's no such thing as "colds" and/or "flu". It's the names we give to a bunch of symptoms because our bodies are such cesspools that any ol' virus or bacteria that comes along looks at the food and says: "YUMMMMMMMM!!!!" For me, I thank them for coming on in and devouring all the scum that's inside me. I also thank my body for it's elimination processes.

Thing is, stay as comfortable as you can; be sure to move your body however gently; stay hydrated; skin-brush; take hot/cold showers and appreciate that these bags of bones and flesh we live in can adapt to what we do to them as well as they do.

Revvell