8 THE 4-DAY RADICAL INTENSIVE CLEANSE
True health-care reform starts in your kitchen, not in Washington.
—Anonymous
I had gained about 15 extra pounds while caring for my elderly father the previous year. I had lost several pounds but had been stalled for a couple months before starting the 4-Day Radical Intensive. I loved the 4-Day because it was easy in that there was not much time spent prepping meals. There were just enough satisfying liquids, and I never had a headache from blood sugar swings or felt hungry. I lost 5 pounds in four days—which was awesome because it was a “plateau buster” for me!
—Caroline C., age 63
You can think of this 4-Day Radical Intensive Cleanse as the precursor to the plan, preparing your body to make the most of the 21-Day Radical Reboot. This simple juicing-and-souping detox plan is all about giving your liver and gallbladder a rest and cleansing the bile, while tamping down health-sabotaging free radicals. This primes your body for a metabolic reset.
By the end of the four-day cleanse, your body will have cleared a substantial number of toxins, and your food sensitivity-related symptoms will have faded enough that you will already feel better—and this is just the beginning! You will feel increasingly healthy and energized over the coming weeks as you move through the rest of the program because your body is progressively healing and becoming stronger.
That said, because this is a cleanse, some individuals feel worse for a day or two, before feeling better. This is from detoxification, and it means it’s working! If you experience detox symptoms (fatigue, malaise, headache, fuzzy thinking, etc.), make sure to stay well hydrated and just hang in there—it will pass. Take it easy and don’t overdo your activity during these cleansing days.
As you learned in Radical Rule #2, thick congested bile (a.k.a. toxic bile) is a major metabolic roadblock. Your liver, gallbladder, digestion, and metabolism are all affected when bile becomes toxic. Therefore, a central focus of this 4-Day Radical Intensive Cleanse is on cleansing the bile and giving your liver and gallbladder a rest. Then, the subsequent twenty-one days will thin the bile to get it flowing again, and boost its production, so that your body can easily use the healthy fats you’ll be eating!
As a quick refresher, bile performs the following functions:
• Digesting and assimilating fats so that your body can use them, instead of packaging them up as body fat
• Breaking down hormones and metabolic waste, then escorting them out of your body
• Helping you absorb fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, and K)
• Reducing inflammation
• Keeping cholesterol levels low
• Playing important roles in thyroid function (and therefore energy), preventing constipation, stabilizing moods—and many more
In addition to your bile and gallbladder makeover, these four days will introduce you to the wonders of juicing and “souping”! These juices and the special watercress soup all pack a powerful polyphenol punch.
Poly who?
THE POWER OF POLYPHENOLS
Polyphenols are important micronutrients with high antioxidant activity that occur naturally in plant foods, such as fresh vegetables, fruits, tea, herbs, spices, nuts, coffee beans, and cacao. More than eight thousand different polyphenols have been identified to date! Antioxidants mop up free radicals in your body, which protects your cells from DNA damage that can result in illness and premature aging.
Polyphenols provide other benefits, too! Recent science has revealed they have substantial effects on mitochondrial processes in the cell, as well as reducing inflammation, stabilizing blood sugar, protecting your heart, and preventing cancer cells from spreading.1 Polyphenols work together—no single one is better than the rest. The best way to harness their power is to include a wide variety of fresh, whole foods in your diet each day.
JUICING FOR CLEANSING AND WEIGHT LOSS
Fresh juices are part of the Radical Metabolism program for good reason. According to one study, fresh juice was found to amplify weight loss by 500 percent.2 Why? It’s those polyphenols again!
Certain polyphenols called flavonoids feed the “skinny bacteria” in your gut (see Radical Rule #4), not only accelerating weight loss but also helping you keep it off. Flooding your body with flavonoids changes your microbiome in such a way that food cravings disappear and relapse is less likely. In one study, animals given substantial flavonoids showed increased fat burning by 26 percent, and they didn’t gain back the weight—even on a higher calorie diet.3
It doesn’t take a huge quantity of fresh produce—only 2 pounds per day—to reap the benefits. One pound of produce makes about 8 ounces of juice. The catch is that it should optimally be juice as opposed to whole produce because fiber slows down flavonoid absorption. Ideally, juices should be 90 percent veggie and 10 percent fruit. Adding lemon or lime helps juices stay fresher longer.
Studies show that certain vegetables are particularly good for feeding your fat-burning microbes: those with the two flavonoids apigenin and naringenin. Apigenin has antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antitumor properties. Foods rich in apigenin include parsley, celery, peppermint, basil, chamomile, rosemary, thyme, coriander, and clove. Naringenin helps prevent DNA damage, regulates blood sugar levels, and blocks glucose production in the liver. Naringenin-rich foods include grapefruit, orange, lime, oregano, and mint.
The best times for consuming juice are first thing in the morning and midafternoon when you hit that slump. It’s best to make them fresh each time, but if that’s not possible, adding lemon or lime will help them stay fresher for longer. If you don’t have a juicer, whole juice made in a high-speed blender (such as Vitamix or Blendtec) is your next best option, although not as ideal for flavonoid absorption due to interference by the fiber.
THE WONDERS OF WATERCRESS
What’s up with all the watercress? Watercress is kind of the forgotten stepchild of the cruciferous family—a peppery-flavored cousin to cabbage, arugula, and mustard greens. Recent studies have put watercress back on the menu thanks to its powerful health-stimulating benefits, which is why it deserves a starring role in the Radical Metabolism plan.
Besides being a bitter food bile-booster, in a study led by nutritionist Sarah Schenker a small group of women lost an average of 17 pounds in six weeks on a watercress soup diet. The exceptional antioxidants in watercress pump up your energy while exercising, while at the same time protecting you from exertion-related DNA damage, as shown by researchers at Edinburgh Napier University.4 According to head researcher Dr. Mark Fogarty, watercress contains ten times as many beneficial chemicals as any other fruit or vegetable.
This power-packed leafy green contains impressive amounts of vitamins A and C, manganese, calcium, potassium, chlorophyll, and the carotenoids lutein and zeaxanthin, which shower benefits on your heart and eyes. One cup of watercress gives you a full day’s vitamin K. It also provides alpha-lipoic acid, which can lower blood glucose levels, increase insulin sensitivity, and prevent oxidative stress—so it offers wonderful benefits for those with diabetes or metabolic syndrome. Manganese is a critical cofactor for superoxide dismutase (SOD), an important antioxidant enzyme in your body. You might want to have your grilled steak with a side of watercress—its chlorophyll can help block the carcinogenic effects of heterocyclic amines (HCAs) that form when grilling foods at high temperatures.
Bonus: it’s a powerful cancer fighter, too. Certain phytonutrients in watercress possess powerful anticancer properties. Watercress is an exceptionally rich source of gluconasturtiin, the precursor of a chemical called PEITC that enhances your body’s excretion of carcinogens, which is why watercress shows promise for several forms of cancer, including breast, prostate, and colon.5 These cancer-fighting chemicals are most potent when watercress is eaten raw.
Watercress is a perennial plant that grows naturally around slow-moving water sources and has been used medicinally for centuries. In fact, around 400 BC, Hippocrates positioned the first hospital on the island of Kos close to a stream so he would have continuous access to fresh watercress for treating his patients!
There is one important caveat. Because watercress is grown in water, it can carry the parasite Giardia, so I recommend giving it a simple antiseptic treatment before use. After trimming the stems, rinse the greens and then soak them for about thirty minutes in cool water with a bit of hydrogen peroxide (about 1 tablespoon per quart). Then, rinse the greens in cold water and dry on a paper towel or in a salad spinner. If not used immediately, watercress can be stored in your fridge in a closed container for up to four days.
Watercress can be a little challenging to find. If you live near a Trader Joe’s, it offers organic watercress as a standard item. Your Whole Foods Market may carry it as well. Local farmer’s markets and nutrition stores are also potential sources, or even grow your own!
THE 4-DAY BASICS
During this 4-Day Radical Intensive, you will be removing fat-promoting grains, excess sugar, and processed foods, and replacing them with nutrient-dense liquid foods that go to work immediately, healing and sealing your gut and flooding your cells with nutrients. The plan is very simple. All four days incorporate the following elements:
1. Watercress: Nutrition-packed fat-burning vegetable packed with polyphenols, vitamins, and minerals to recharge your cells, thin your bile, feed your flora, and heal your digestive tract.
2. Lemon juice and peel: Bitters and acidity to improve bile flow and provide some antiseptic benefits.
3. Bone broth: Minerals, collagen, and glutamine for healing the gut, plus some healthy fats to tamp down hunger. Make your own or use a high-quality organic commercial product, such as Kettle & Fire. Vegetarians and vegans may substitute vegetable broth.
4. Herbs and spices: Raise heat production, cool inflammation, and stimulate cleansing and detoxification.
5. Fresh raw juices: Low-glycemic, polyphenol-rich juices help your body flush out toxins, build up vitamin stores, deactivate free radicals, and jump-start those fat-burning fires.
6. Miso: A fermented bean product, miso is an excellent source of friendly microorganisms (probiotics) to “repopulate” your digestive tract, going right to work boosting your energy and immunity. Make sure your miso is organic. It is traditionally made from soybeans. However, many nonsoybean varieties have appeared on the market, including red bean, adzuki bean, chickpea, lima bean—even farro! Just add a little miso to your soup at serving time. (Don’t cook it or you’ll kill those precious little digestive helpers.)
7. Herbal teas and oolong tea: Like adding fertilizer to your garden, these kick up your metabolic and detox processes another notch while keeping you nicely hydrated. Oolong tea is a proven metabolism booster and fat burner.
4-DAY RADICAL INTENSIVE DAILY MEAL PLAN AND RECIPES
Ready for the four-day kickoff?
Here, you will find your daily meal schedule and recipes. Be sure to drink four 8-ounce glasses of water and herbal tea between meals, such as hibiscus, roasted dandelion root, and oolong. If you drink oolong, limit it to 2 cups per day. If you experience digestive difficulties, please add the appropriate supplements (review the table in Appendix 2). Have fun—and get ready to feel fabulous!
Early Morning
AM Rise and Shine Juice (here)
Breakfast
Creamy Dreamy Watercress Soup (2 cups) (here)
Lunch
Creamy Dreamy Watercress Soup (2 cups) (here)
Midafternoon
PM High Five Juice (here)
Dinner
Creamy Dreamy Watercress Soup (2 cups) (here)