Why I cleanse.

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This has been my morning tonic for the last 10 days. Almond milk, cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, clove and varying amounts of ghee. It took me a moment to wrap my head around drinking clarified butter but I've got it down now.

 So why clarified butter in my morning tonic? Isn't butter bad for you?

Ghee is butter from which the milk fat solids and water have been removed, and when made organically from grass-fed cows, the process renders the butter into a deeply nourishing, lubricating food for the body.
Ghee does not contain any lactose or milk sugar, and is therefore usually acceptable for those with dairy intolerance and it provides the essential fatty acids Omega 3 and Omega 9 and Vitamins A, D, E and K.

Ghee nourishes the body and feeds the tissues on every level. It enhances digestion and absorption.  It strengthens the immune system and nervous system while decreasing heat, acidity and inflammation in the body.  It lubricates the joints, making them less prone to injury and damage. Increases sexual vitality. Benefits skin and eyes (I have definitely noticed this in myself!).

Ghee is used in Ayurvedic cleansing because it bonds to fat-soluble toxins in the body. As you are slowly increasing the daily amount of ghee you are taking in the morning, the ghee is gathering more and more toxins from throughout the body and carrying them into the gastrointestinal tract where they can easily be eliminated. Did you get that part? It's worth understanding! Like removes like... so the fat is bonding to excess fat in my body and carrying it away! YAY!

My early cleansing days:

The first cleanse I ever did was a week long food based cleanse with a group. I was an angry cleanser. When I say angry I mean lots of profanity, lots of tears and a headache that didn't stop. I was so upset that I could not eat meat and dairy. So upset. I felt like the cleanse was being done to me despite knowing that I'd willingly decided to be a part of it all. I credit that cleanse with cracking my outer shell and allowing the teensy tiniest bit of light in. Not only did I survive the week, I left it with a few keepers and changed the way I looked at food. Since that time I've found cleanses to be hugely illuminating, life changing and life affirming for me.

I lead cleanses now and help soothe those same angry feelings in others that raged inside of me in those early days. It's one of the true joys in my work. Seeing someone start a cleanse (or detox) skeptical, apprehensive and sometimes in a mood and then transform as the week progresses feels like riding a roller coaster, truly exhilarating. I love being a part of positive transformation. LOVE it.

So why this cleanse?

I am always conducting food experiments on myself to see what feels best in my body and practice something before I recommend it. This cleanse has been a long time coming. Last year I did a raw food cleanse and learned so much about my digestion. I believe that our body is intimately linked together and always speaking to us. It's that old "the knee bone is connected to the thigh bone" but deeper, more subtle and profoundly energetic.

Many of you know my breathing story. Here's the super short version. Started experiencing trouble breathing in 2004. Devastatingly long process to get proper diagnosis which eventually happened. The rare condition is called: Idiopathic Subglottic Stenosis (which translates to mystery scar tissue growing in the trachea). About 500 ish people, mostly women have it worldwide. Not 50,o00 or 500,000 just 500. Wild, right! Had a big surgery to remove the scar tissue in 2008. Experienced 4 years of easy breathing post surgery. The last 2 years I've been experiencing labored breathing again. And this is my big WHY.

We all have a big WHY. It's that thing that keeps us focused in on what we want. I want whole health. I want spontaneous healing. I believe with all my heart that I can have both. And beyond that I know it already is and I am taking the steps to remember and live into it. I AM whole health. I see my body giving me cues as to what's going in inside and I'm responding with as much love and diligence as humanly possibly.

Why now?

My body said it was time and Cliff is away so it's focused me time. Win/ Win.

What exactly am I doing?

I asked my friend Anne to create a cleanse for me. Anne is an Ayurvedic Practitioner, dear friend + the Campaign Manager for the Campaign For Confidence (doesn’t reading Campaign Manager just make you smile)! You can interact with her daily at the Campaign for Confidence Facebook page!

Basically I'm eating 3 meals per day. No snacks. No nighttime eating. No drinking alcohol. I'm making a lot of kitchari. Kitchari is an Indian one pot meal with rice, mung beans, spices and veggies. I'm also eating mung bean soup with veggies. I drinking copious amounts of ginger tea. I'm meditating daily for 40 minutes or more. I'm practicing visualization, writing, sitting in the sauna, scraping my tongue, oil-pulling, oiling my skin, moving my body and drum roll please... today I will begin sesame oil enemas. If it seems like a lot that's because it is. I'm all in. I'm intimately connected to my WHY.

How long is the cleanse?

I am not sure when it ends. My body will tell us. Anne and I check in, I share what's happening and she lovingly curates my next move. This cleanse has been deeply personal for me. Lots of emotion coming up and going out. Over the course of this experiment so far I've felt fiercely private, deep sadness, elation, pure arousal of the senses, joy, lethargy + energy to boot. I wasn't sure if I'd share it at all but I am trying to practice bravery and tell more of my story.

My word this year is ease and when I chose it I could see myself breathing with ease. When I sat down to "spend time in dreaming and giggling mode" (a quote from my sister, Kayla) to plan this year I saw myself without restriction of breathing or all the other old ways of being that hold me back. I saw myself running and playing with a huge smile, laughing and running around the house and the world with Cliff. And then my birthday arrived and I felt truly comfy in my skin. I recognized the culmination of so many years of good work. I knew it was time for the next chapter and here we are.

There are great Hippocrates quotes that read, "Let your food be your medicine and your medicine be your food." and "Natural forces within us are the true healers of disease." I believe them. I feel them in my bones and moving through space and time.

If you're interested in doing a loving food experiment for your body, Veg Pledge is beginning on February 24th. It's 5 days of plant strong eating and you can read all about it here.

To the journey and all we discover along the way, Lacy

p.s. Anne and and I will be hosting a cleanse together similar to the one I am doing now in April. Sign up here if you're interested in receiving more information when we roll out the details.

Coconut Oil Rituals

Coconut Oil Rituals

Last night over dinner Cliff looked at me and said --- 'Hey- Valentine's Day is this week! What are we doing? Do we care?' I responded with a giggle and a -- 'Yeah! Uhhhh.... it is! You're going to be out of town. I think it's safe to say we don't care.'He says, 'Let's do something! What sounds good?'

Cancer Fighting Foods, Cancer Fighting Thoughts

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I recently read Dying to Be Me by Anita Moorjani. A few paragraphs into the introduction I could feel seemingly unexplainable tears welling up and I felt overwhelmed with gratitude for this women, her experience and my little sister's recommendation to read the book. It was one of those moments of perfect synchronicity. Many of you know my breathing story. As someone who has been "sick" I can tell you that there are so many layers to unfold when it comes to healing. I never had cancer or a near death experience like Anita Moorjani but I can definitely identify with feeling fear. I allowed fear to root itself so deep inside my cells, it left me feeling breathless, hopeless + like I was living some sort of half-life. Reading Anita's words has given me so much perspective on my own health, on my own life. Reading her story has brought clarity to mine.

I had the physical scar tissue removed from my trachea in March of 2008. Ever since that time I've been doing the work of true healing--- of turning within, trusting and deeply loving myself. Reading this book I can see the phases and stages of my life so clearly. I can see how the path has unfolded and how each step has lead me to this place, this moment.

I took a soul journey at the beginning of 2012 to Hawaii. Walking the beaches of Kaaawa I could see more than anything else in the entire universe that my 'job' --- that thing I was seeking so passionately was just to be me. To be lovingly, authentically, unapologetically me. The easiest and most complicated task all at the same time. I feel in crazy, good love with myself during those 75 days. I memorized the feelings of love, of health, of possibility. And honestly... I forget them all the time. I forget, I remember and I begin again. And that's where I'm at.

Kayla and I use smoothie metaphors constantly. One day, just like making my morning smoothie, I won't forget. It will just be my life. It will just be because it already is. Each day I listen to my intuition. I make choices that feel really good at the time (usually because I've called my sister needing a pep talk and she reminds me). I do work that feeds my soul and makes feel tremendously proud. All that adds up to the feeling that all is well. It always is.

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It was then that I understood that my body is only a reflection of my internal state. If my inner self were aware of its greatness and connection with All-that-is, my body would soon reflect that and heal rapidly. -Anita Moorjani

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I often work with women + men who are negotiating some kind of imbalance or disease in their bodies. You betcha we talk about veggies! We do food experiments and go into the realm of food as medicine. We work on the level of what you're eating, drinking and thinking. We also talk about self-love. How to find it, embrace it + swim around in it til your fingers are so wonderfully pruny. Loving myself is and continues to be the most worthy work I've ever done.

Cancer Fighting Foods

Plant based diet

“Plant food / less cancer correlation is primarily due to three health-promoting factors: Plants have less fat, more fiber, and more phytonutrients. Besides providing the anti-cancer properties of fiber, legumes (such as seeds, rice, soy beans, beans, and chick peas) contain anticancer properties called protease inhibitors, which have been shown to reduce the growth of breast, colon, and skin cancers in experimental animals.” -Dr Sears, source

Oils

flaxseed pumpkin seed walnut safflower sunflower sesame virgin olive **Heating these oils at high temps can actually change the properties of the fatty acids and can turn them into carcinogens

These oils do well at high heat: peanut coconut ghee

Avoid hydrogenated oils + fats, typically found in processed packaged food and fast food because it increases the shelf life

Omega-3 fish oil or flaxseed oil

Fiber

High fiber diet decreases chance of colon cancer - fiber helps move potential carcinogens through intestines faster and also binds to carcinogens to keep them away from intestinal walls Fiber promotes growth of healthy bacteria in intestines + actually reduces chance of breast cancer due to binding estrogen in bowels

Good sources: wheat bran beans: kidney, garbanzo, navy legumes whole wheat whole grains

Vitamin C + Vitamin E + Vitamin D + Selenium

Raw Fruits + Veggies Reduce all kinds of cancers Plants have phytochemicals which are substances that help fight cancer The five major classes of compounds that occur in fruits and vegetables as natural blocking agents against carcinogens are: phenols, indols, flavones, cumines, and isothiocyanates. These neutralizing agents prevent carcinogens from reaching critical target sites within the cell. Cruciferous Veggies broccoli cauliflower cabbage brussels sprouts mustard greens kale Also dark leafy greens

Antioxidants

Antioxidants, such as vitamin C and E and beta carotene, seem to have a synergistic effect when taken together. So, eating lots of fruits and vegetables in a salad together produces a greater anti-cancer effect than eating each one individually. There is reliable scientific evidence that beta carotene, vitamin C and vitamin E definitely lower the risk of colorectal cancer. Fruits and vegetables are the main sources of these naturally occurring antioxidants. Antioxidants protect against cancer in several ways: -They protect the membrane of intestinal cells. -They prevent free-radical reactions that can cause bowel contents to be carcinogenic -They prevent faulty metabolism in the cell, which can predispose a cell to becoming carcinogenic.

Beta carotene

Beta carotene boosts the immune system + can block the growth of potentially cancerous cells. Best sources of beta carotene are sweet potatoes, pink grapefruit, carrots, cantaloupe, pumpkins, butternut and other types of winter squash, spinach, broccoli, mango, and papaya.

Green Tea

Phytochemicals, antioxidants

Garlic

reduces bad bacteria

Apples

pectin (the fiber in apple skin) ferments in intestines and produces a short-chain fatty acid that prevents growth of harmful bacteria + nourish cells of intestinal lining making them more cancer resistant

Tomatoes

Tomatoes contain lycopene, and most absorbable when cooked

Berries

Rich in flavonoids and antioxidants

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Trying to be anything or anyone else didn't make me better- it just deprived me of my true self! It kept others from experiencing me for who I am, and it deprived me of interacting authentically with them. Being inauthentic also deprives the universe of who I came here to be and what I can here to express. -Anita Moorjani

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If you have cancer, know someone with cancer or have ever feared getting cancer- READ THIS BOOK. It will touch you and change you in the best of ways. If you've ever been given a diagnosis that left you feeling depleted or broken...my heart is with you. My heart has been right where you are. Beautiful soul, you're not alone. If you're ready to explore whole health (which is, by-the-way your birth right!) through the power of food + self-love and you feel lead to contact me, please do! My heart + phone line is open.

To the love that is you! Lacy

Travel Tips!

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I LOVE traveling oh so much! The only downside in my mind is that I can't travel with my blender + frozen fruit, my juicer and tons of fresh veggies! It can be a total routine buster! Over the last several years I've developed a few habits that keep me feeling healthy when traveling!

  • Pack food for the airplane! There's almost never anything worth eating in airports. It's overpriced, fake foods or foods that pretty void of any nutrition. I typically bring a chickpea salad + chopped up bell pepper, carrots and celery to eat on the plane.
  • Pack tons of snacks! I always have several Justin's nut butter packs in my carry on and checked bag.
  • Bring your own tea bags + ask for hot water in the airport (it's free)!
  •  Use sandwich bags to make small packs of oatmeal (I use regular rolled oats, you can also use quick cook oats! Just stay away from those little oatmeal packs- they are jammed with chemistry + sugar) + nuts for breakfast! Every airplane + hotel has hot water + cups! It's a smart way to make sure you start off the day with some food in your belly.
  • Pack chia seeds and add them to your morning oats, yogurts or sprinkle on salads. They are full of the good fats and help keep your body hydrated.
  • Banana, avocado, apple. I take one of each every time I fly. Choose a few of your favorite fruits to travel with you. They are the ultimate fast food!
  • A few other things to bring... granola + single serving cartons of almond milk (I only bring almond milk if I'm bringing a checked bag), homemade trail mix, nuts + seeds, rice crackers, dried fruit (dried unsweetened coconut is my fave), Ezekiel bread (for a quick protein pick-me-up slather with almond butter), Kind Bars and a green powder for when you have limited access to veggies.
  • Once you arrive at your destination, ask around to find the best healthy restaurants. If you're stuck with limited options make a meal out of side dishes! I've made many a meal out of a side salad and steamed veggies! Skip the salad dressing + ask for an avocado or balsamic vinegar to go with it.
  • Typically ethnic restaurants are the best bet for getting your staple healthy items of greens, beans + grains! Indian food has never let me down!

What are your fave travel routines? Where ya headed next? Healthy travels! Lacy

You are what you eat, so don't eat this stuff.

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Live from the Soap Box: Did you know that Americans eat foods that are banned in other countries? Since the foods we eat nourish + become our bodies it's really important to look at what you're putting into your beautiful body!

1. Bread with potassium bromate - BANNED in Canada, China + EU

Potassium bromate is an additive used in many commercial breads in the US. It causes nervous system damage, thyroid problems, kidney damage digestive discomfort and cancer. How do you avoid it? If you're unsure if the bread is safe... always go for the salad over the sandwich!

2. Farmed Salmon - BANNED in Australia + New Zealand

They are raised on an unnatural diet, given loads of antibiotics + other drugs. It makes the fish grey in color and tasteless so they are then fed synthetics (which are not approved for human consumption) to change their color and make them taste better. If you are what you eat... do you want to be grey and tasteless and then pumped full of fake stuff to make you look + taste better?

Me either.

3. Sports Drinks (sorry Gatorade)

There's a synthetic chemical called BVO (brominated vegetable oil) that was first used as a flame retardant. When consumed by humans it causes behavioral and reproductive issues. Oh and it's found in many sports drinks in this country. Completely unnecessary.

It matters, Lacy

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