I recently had the honor of chatting with Dr. Marianne Teitelbaum, certified Ayurvedic practitioner and Applied Kinesiologist, on the importance of Ayurvedic cleansing in the month of March before spring. I am always blown away by her knowledge, and this discussion was no exception.
She introduces gentle yet effective Ayurvedic cleansing methods that don’t involve extreme juicing, and talks about the importance of naturally detoxifying the body year-round — especially before spring and fall.
Dr. T was a mentor for one of my mentors, Divya Alter, cookbook author and restaurant owner (among other things). Divya shares her own Ayurvedic seasonal culinary wisdom in her post on spring foods:
Spring is a time for new beginnings and for releasing the stored energy we built in winter. It is a time for planting the seeds of health… Due to the increased humidity in the atmosphere, we may experience a switch from Fiery or Airy to slow (Earthy) digestion, which means that an increased moisture in the stomach will lower our digestive fire and slow down our metabolism… you need to gradually and comfortably adjust your diet… If you don’t, perpetual slow digestion may lead to excess mucus, coughs, clammy skin, weight gain, and lethargy.
Divya Alter
Helpful and delicious recipes for every season and type of digestion can be found in Divya’s cookbook. If you live in or near NYC, make sure to eat at Divya’s Kitchen without fearing the use of toxic cooking oils. Order her superb pantry staples on the Divya’s Kitchen website to ship nationwide.
You’ll also find excellent ingredients from Chandika, Divya and Dr. T’s go-to arsenal of expertly formulated Ayurvedic skincare, herbs, ingredients, and more. Use code SAVEME10 for 10% off – I recommend Zinc, ghee, and basically everything.
Watch the conversation with Dr. T on my IG TV, share with someone who might benefit, and contact me for further support!
Disclaimers: as someone who knows first-hand the complications that can coincide around food, body-image, perfectionism, and control, I want to remind you that our relationship with food is just as important as doing something “right” or “wrong.” Certain foods are not necessarily “good” or “bad;” food can simply be utilized in special ways for each person’s unique needs to help reinstate our body’s innate physical and mental balance.
I also understand that these products or practices might not be readily available for those who are struggling financially, and/or are not able to access these things for various reasons. I have been there, and this is part of a larger conversation on socioeconomic and ecological justice. Please feel free to reach out to me if you are one of those who are facing challenges but are looking for ways to infuse this into your life.
foods + beverages
- Include detoxifying veggies like asparagus (avoid if you have excess estrogen), daikon radish (or any radish), bitter melon / lauki squash (found in Indian markets).
- Include binding foods that help grab toxins and guide them into bowels / flush them through the kidneys like barley (if you can tolerate gluten), arrowroot, arbi or taro root, and okra (like this recipe from Divya).
- Include good oils like organic ghee (a saturated fat that is typically easy on digestion) and cold pressed extra virgin olive oil.
- Avoid channel clogging foods like tofu, red meat, nut butters, bananas, non-organic low-quality vegetable oils (for example: canola and peanut), too much coconut oil (this can be heavy especially for weak or slow digestion), non-organic dairy, and white table sugar. Of course we are human, so do your best to limit them and don’t stress too much if they end up in your belly.
- Cook cleansing veggies into a soup (like this recipe from Divya), khichari or dahl (split lentils), or melt ghee with some spices and add chopped veg / water if necessary to gently sauté.
- Cook greens like spinach and kale versus eating or drinking them raw – Dr. T discusses why this is so important in the video.
- Consider cleansing fruits like dates, apples, pineapple (avoid if you have excess estrogen), or papaya if you can digest it.
- Sip hot water throughout the day to hydrate and soothe. This is a personal favorite, year-round (yes, even summer).
- Drink alkaline, clean spring water more often than filtered or tap water. Two companies Dr. T recommended to me that are available in the U.S. are Icelandic and Mountain Valley Spring Water. In Paris, I like Montcalm.
- Sip a simple tea like this throughout the day: boil 1 quart water for 5 minutes and pour into a thermos, add 1/4 tsp whole coriander seeds. Add a pinch of dried rose petals or 1/2 tsp slippery elm if you have acidic digestion.
- Don’t overdo it on herbs and spices – especially heating spices like turmeric – unless you know what works really well for you. Dr. T talks more about this in our conversation.
- Triphala can be helpful to keep the bile flowing (which aids in detoxification), especially if you are feeling backed up. This is another personal favorite – I used capsules from Chandika.
lifestyle practices
- Embrace an early bedtime. Going to bed by 10pm will help your body to naturally detoxify. The liver cleans itself out from 10pm-2am, so it is important to sleep during this time in order to support versus hinder our body’s natural cleansing abilities.
- Embrace a clean, whole foods, non-GMO, plant-based diet as much as possible.
- Eat calmly. Always sit down, avoid any other distractions, look at your food, chew it well, drink water 20 minutes before or after meals instead of during, and don’t drink ice cold beverages (this can literally pour water on the digestive fire, which helps to cook and process the food just like a stove).
- Lymphatic massage like abhyanga can help keep circulation flowing optimally, benefiting the muscles, joints, and nervous system as a whole.
general
In the video, you’ll also learn more about:
- the importance of the liver, why an overheated liver can curb it’s natural detoxifying abilities (even how this relates to the brain), and what we can do to cool it down.
- the definition, causes, and consequences of the build up of ama (excess cold food toxins that stem from weak digestion or heavy foods), amavisha (hot or acidic toxins that can pave the way for autoimmunity), and garavisha (toxins from a polluted environment/air and pharmaceuticals) – and when to use heating versus cooling methods to burn or cool these toxins to balance the physical channels.
- how everyone’s needs will vary – there is no one-size-fits-all dietary regimen (insert sigh of relief).
- other cleansing foods to incorporate.
- other clogging foods to avoid (spoiler alert: detoxing does not always mean eliminating gluten and dairy – see Ayurvedic posts below).
- other herbs and spices that will benefit digestion, especially in preparation for Spring.
- the importance of good cholesterol for the hormones (among other things) and incorporating organic dairy into the diet in intelligent ways (i.e. heating milk versus drinking it cold – see the “gluten + dairy” post below).
- the unfortunate reactions many of us are experiencing due to high doses of pharmaceuticals and toxins in our air, soil, and water (per the first bullet point on ama).
- why it is so imperative to our health to keep the bone marrow, kidneys, liver, and bile clean and healthy.
- why gluten and dairy (among other food allergies) are not the root of the problem, and why so many of us are intolerant to them.
- the importance of improving digestion before cleansing in any way – for example, fasting can cause excess heat in the liver if the liver is not properly prepared to do so, or if the liver is weak (Dr. T wrote to me that many of us have hot livers from environmental toxins, and because the liver contains five digestive fires it is already a very hot organ. Fasting can heat it further because it is looking for food to digest when there isn’t any available, which can then can radiate its heat throughout the whole physiology and create more issues).
- So we make sure all of our patients do their cleanses eating food (detox in nature) and not fast, even if their digestion is still OK. This includes water fasting and intermittent fasting as well.
posts featuring ayurvedic knowledge from Divya + Dr. T
- Ayurvedic-inspired recipes
- Why I Stopped Fearing Gluten + Dairy
- Don’t Rushy, Be Happy
- Diet: A Personal + Ayurvedic Perspective
- Ayurvedic Spring Cleaning | Insight from Chef Divya Alter
- Spring Cleansing Un-Hack
- Ayurvedic Dietary Recommendations for Spring and Early Summer by Divya Alter includes more excellent insight, including foods to incorporate and take a break from, tips for improving slow digestion, a beneficial after-meal spice blend, a simple recipe, and more.
Final disclaimer anecdote: Dr. T told me years ago that one could take all the herbs in the world but, if someone is excessively stressed or always rushing, they’ll do no good. I recommend you ask yourself why this is important to you and then do your best not to wrack your brain over it, do what you can, and stay aware of how you feel throughout this experiment we call life.
You can find Dr. T’s book Healing The Thyroid With Ayurveda on my Amazon storefront; peruse various classes on her website; stay updated with great information and delicious recipes via her Facebook page.
Dr. T also does virtual consults which I have done myself, and I always learn so much for my own unique needs.
What will you try this season to help facilitate your body’s natural detoxification abilities and upgrade your Spring experience?
Read the newsletter for Divya’s simple spring (year-round) recipe, when and how to practice with me virtually, mindful learning via the interwebs, and good vibes.
I leave you with this beautiful poem to celebrate the season:
Somewhere
“Spring” by Mary Oliver
a black bear
has just risen from sleep
and is staring
down the mountain.
All night
in the brisk and shallow restlessness
of early spring
I think of her,
her four black fists
flicking the gravel,
her tongue
like a red fire
touching the grass,
the cold water.
There is only one question:
how to love this world.
I think of her
rising
like a black and leafy ledge
to sharpen her claws against
the silence
of the trees.
Whatever else
my life is
with its poems
and its music
and its glass cities,
it is also this dazzling darkness
coming
down the mountain,
breathing and tasting;
all day I think of her—
her white teeth,
her wordlessness,
her perfect love.
Photo: Yasmina Schoueri / Kaysersberg, Alsace, France.
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