If I take a close look at my gut health during my twenties I think I can pin point exactly when my digestion started to go awry. It took me a few years to actually sit up and take notice of the fact that something was not right. Symptoms would come and go, I would often shrug them off as circumstantial or as soon as id feel concerned about my bloating or constant gas, my symptoms would go away (along with my motivation to heal).
My symptoms got more frequent and severe where it was starting to interfere with my daily life. This was when I knew ignoring my own body was no longer an option. Roughly 4 years after the first digestive issues raised, i started what has now become a 2 year ongoing journey to repair my damaged and permeable gut.
Just a few of the symptoms I was experiencing
- Bloat
- Gas
- Fatigue
- Brain Fog
- Difficulty Sleeping
- Numerous food allergies
- Mood swings
- Forgetfulnes
- Sugar Cravings
Simply put, I didn’t feel like myself. Since then, i’ve done all kinds of regimes, followed all the diets but I have yet to do what is touted to be one of the most healing practises for your gut.
A bone broth cleanse
Bone Broth is one of the most nutritious and healing foods for the digestive system. It contains collagen, trace minerals, vitamins, electrolytes & amino acids like glycine, arginine and proline.
It has been consumed for thousands of years and is made by simmering leftover bones from animals like Cows, Chicken, Turkey & Pigs usually with added veggies & herbs over a period of 2-3 days. What you’re left with is a nutrient packed broth with many benefits on the entire body.
Bone Broth Benefits
- Increased immune system
- Decreased inflammation
- Stronger bones
- More youthful looking skin (thanks to the collagen)
- Enhanced digestion with a decrease in symptoms like gas bloating and constipation
- Reduced symptoms related to leaky gut
- Less joint pain
- Increased intake of trace minerals (which are important for overall health)
- Increased vitality
- Clearer thinking due to the amino acid profile
The basis of a cleanse like this is to remove all inflammatory causing foods for 3-4 days, give your stomach a break from digestion and load yourself up with mineral & collagen rich Bone Broth. Theres a plethora of information out there about how amazing this cleanse is for the body. Regardless of this I still had feelings of fear and doubt in myself and my ability to complete something like this. I’m the type of person who feels the need to eat every 2 hours so to remove all solids for 3 days felt rather intimidating.
Despite these feelings of fear, I made the commitment to at least try it. I will always try something once, if I believe it will be good for my health. I had a chat with my husband about my plans and he jumped at the opportunity to join me. So there it was, set in stone. I had a partner in crime, a support system, someone to hold me accountable. I was about to complete my first Bone Broth Cleanse.
I did some more research, mentally prepared and made some loose rules for the upcoming 3 days.
Our menu for the duration of the fast
- Celery Juice – first thing in the morning
- Glutamine Powder – first thing in the morning
- Lemon & Cayenne with water – also in the morning
- Adaptogen Tea – Chaga, Lions Mane, & Cordyceps
- Herbal Caffeine Free Tea – I love my detox and stomache ease teas.
- Bone Broth – We stuck to Beef bone broth
Bone Broth Cleanse Diary
Day 1
Waking up Im feeling all kinds of anxious. Knowing i’m not working out during this cleanse has me a little nervous about where ill focus my energy the next 3 days. I’ve cleared my work schedule as best I can so I can focus on healing my gut, but feelings of uncertainty start to creep in. What if I can’t make it through the 3 days? Will I be hungry? Will I have cravings? I need to remind myself, 3 days will come and go, I must stick to this, do it properly and reap the benefits.
‘Mind over Matter’
Upon waking – 1 scoop of glutamine powder in water
8am – 1 large glass of lemon water and cayenne
8:30am – A huge ass glass of freshly made organic celery juice. I don have a juicer to I just blend a whole celery head with water and strain in a nut milk bag. That yields 3 large glasses of celery juice.
10am – Tea made with chaga, cordyceps & lions mane. All of these adaptogenic herbs will help support my energy levels and brain function over the next 3 days.
11am – 1st cup of beef bone broth spiked with turmeric, black pepper & cayenne. Tastes delicious!
11:30am – Starting to get hungry and feeling like I can’t concentrate properly
12pm – Meditate for 20 minutes to recenter my thoughts
1:30pm – Second cup of bone broth
2pm – Starting to wonder why Im doing this. Struggling to concentrate so I watch a Disney Movie
3pm – Went for a walk with my neighbor to get an iced tea (caffeine free and unsweetened) the sunshine feels rejuvenating. Made a mental note to get outside first thing tomorrow.
4:30pm – Starting to feel really sleepy. Put on the TV and had a nap on the couch
7:00pm – Third cup of bone broth – added everything but the bagel seasoning to spice it up
Hubby tells me he’s shooting a commercial on Friday (Day 3 of our cleanse) and is now only going to do 2 days. Im now contemplating if I should only do 2 days also.. still undecided on this. Going to see how I feel throughout the day tomorrow.
8:30 pm – Surprisingly not hungry just very lethargic. Feel like I could go to bed right now
Day 1 Recap
Mid afternoon was the hardest part for me in terms of hunger levels. Feeling accomplished and glad I cleared my schedule to just take the day to ease into it. I drank a lot less bone broth than I thought I would. In my head I had planned out 6 cups per day. Today I had 3 large mugs full with celery juice, chaga tea and herbal tea. Ready to tackle Day 2, I have a full day of errands, work and castings so let’s see how the change of pace compares.
‘I can do anything I set my mind to’
Day 2
Had a rough night of sleep. Found it hard to get to sleep and then kept waking up throughout the night. Had a client I was supposed to cook for tonight but managed to move them to another day.
7am – Woke at 7am and didn’t want to get out of bed. Somewhat dreading another day of no food. However thou shall prevail! So up I got, grabbed my celery juice and went straight to the roof to meditate. The seats were wet from either morning dew or an overnight rainfall. I pre-empted this would happen so had a hand towel to place down so at least my ass wouldn’t get wet. Alas, it did anyway. My damp surroundings were distracting as I tried to follow the calm, guiding voice from the Headspace app. 15 minutes of meditation and I was done. Honestly, I couldn’t center my breath or thoughts, but at least I made the effort.
8:30am – Made a chaga, lions mane tea and my first cup of bone broth for the road. Feeling a tad irritable more from the lack of sleep than food. Also noticing how dry my skin looks. Like VERY dry, which is confusing to me because bone broth is supposed to do wonders for the skin. Made a mental note to drink more water today.
8:45am – Out in the car running errands for the next 4 hours. My energy is great at this point im not feeling overly hungry, very content. Feelings of complete lightness in both my head and body.
12:45pm – Home and straight into the kitchen to make a smoothie bowl recipe video for a client. At this point my stomach is rumbling. My hub also gets home the same time and makes us a big cup of bone broth. I sip this while I work the next 2 hours. It was honestly so hard not to lick my spoon or taste what I was creating for this video recipe. Note to self – clear any food related work during any kind of cleanse. It truly toys with the willpower.
3pm – I think I’ve made my mind up about whether to do 2 or 3 days of this. 2 days are all I have in me right now. My husband hated the whole thing, he’s done Ramadan, a Master Cleanse and many juice cleanses but he just isn’t a meat guy so drinking predominantly Bone Broth for him was extremely difficult. He is happy to cut it at 2 days and although I enjoy Bone Broth more than him, I have reached my limit on this drink.
We do have surplus of bone broth so I will still be drinking as much as I can over the coming days but I think tomorrow will be a solid food day.
5pm – Had my last cup of broth. At this point it’s difficult to finish. Feeling pretty happy with my decision to cut it at 2 days.
6:30pm – Need Food. Made some roasted carrots for me and the hub. THOROUGHLY enjoyed them. Remarkable how much better I felt just after eating some solids.
9:30pm – Going to bed feeling very content. Already dreaming of coffee and a delicious breakfast tomorrow.
Post Cleanse
Had a great night’s sleep. Up at 7am and excited to start the day. My complexion and eyes look so clear! I haven’t seen my skin look this great in the morning, in YEARS. For this point alone, and to my Husbands dismay I’m already thinking when I can do another cleanse. Weirdly not craving food this morning but I am ITCHING for a coffee.
I know this goes against everything you should do after a liquid diet, but the coffee addiction is real. I made a fresh celery juice, grabbed my laptop then walked down to my local coffee shop – Alfreds to enjoy an almond milk cappuccino while doing some work.
The days to follow I notice a huge reduction in gas, bloat or other digestive upset which is a great feeling for me foods that would usually cause me upset, aren’t affecting me at all (dates & garlic being the main ones) I know theres more work to do as I still have a parasite I need to rid myself of (read about that here)
I initially felt a little disappointed in myself for not doing the full 3 days but in all honesty 2 days is a big achievement for anyone. Plus, I know next time ill be able to go a little longer. All in all i’m happy with how it went and how it’s positively affected my digestion.
