Day 6 -- Tongue Moss
Two more days to go! I wonder if this fuzzy crap on my tongue will go away once I stop drinking the milk?

From what I learned studying Shiatsu about the art of tongue diagnosis in Chinese medicine, this one 'o mine showing itself here points to some liver/gallbladder meridian issues. The thickness (it's usually not that wide!) and the spottiness are the key signs. Thick coating in general is excess dampness and phlegm (don't I know it!). The scalloped edges suggests some spleen issues as well.

If I could see toward the back and in the middle, that's the intestines. Last time I looked it was even more thickly coated.
The middle (note the two deep lines) denote the stomach and spleen meridians. Here's a handy diagram if you're curious.

What does all this mean? I'm gettin clean and my organs are working hard!


Reminds me as well that once the milk cleanse is over, then comes the liver/gallbladder cleanse -- so the Doctor will be checking my tongue again in July to see how strictly I'm following the diet. It's gonna be harder than the milk cleanse: no diary, eggs, butter, milk, heated oil, nuts, seeds...IN ADDITION..no yeast, sugar, fermented foods or vinegar. What's left you ask? I'll soon find out. A consult before July is in order to help me figure out what exactly I CAN eat.

Good news is I'm almost up to three craps/day -- without having to increase the colon builder! Yay! Let's hope it stays that way now. Discussing crap brings out interesting facts: like where the name crap comes from. Thomas Crapper! Kind of. He's a British bloke who invented the ballcock. (Get your mind outta the gutter! It's that floater that helps fill the toilet bowl and tank in most toilets). But of course etymologists will tell you different. Aabout the crapper, that is: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Crapper

Day 5 -- So tired. It's probably also do to with the fact that I normally don't get enough sleep. So on top of ingesting only liquids...zzzzzzzz....My friend Meg, who is staying downstairs came up and I had apparently dozed off after work. I didn't even hear her come in. She slipped out, not wanting to disturb me.

But I wanted to show her our roses have bloomed in the back! Thank you Melody for giving us the rosebush! You were right! Once I put it in the ground, she loved it and sprouted right away.

So I know you are dying to know -- was it Clorox or baking soda/sea salt last night? I chose the bleach bath first.

Wow. It now being hot outside did not help my tolerance for sitting in a hot bath. I sat and read a book until I could not stand it any longer, and the sweat started getting in my eyes. Afterward, I realized I got up too fast, and felt lightheaded. But once that passed, I got REALLY nauseous. Once my skin cooled, the nausea went away. I called the doctor to ask if I should be concerned. These detox baths are VERY potent, and nausea can be a side effect of detoxification. She confirmed it when she asked if I had been sweating profusely. Oh yeah. That effect (the nausea) will either be nonexistent or considerably diminished the next time. Something to look forward to, ha. But hey, the tub was SPARKLING afterward. And today I noticed, so was my skin. It was absolutely glowing (except for my face, of course, I did not submerge that in bleach water).

And in case you are also wondering -- I'm still not up to 3 shits/day. The doc said to increase the Colon Builder/laxative to 2 more in the afternoon with a cup of warm water. I'm to call back if that does not do the trick. I'm also to lay off the baths until my period is over. Gonna scope out the farmers market in Union Square and hope there is some non-antibiotic'd hormone-free pasteurized goat's milk there. The cow is gettin' me down.

DAY 4 - Halfway there!
Now I'm starting to daydream about what I'll be eating once the milk cleanse portion is over. But I can't think about it too long -- it's not going to be the easiest food to find and make. More on that later - it will cause you to be as anxious as me thinking about it.
Today was the first day at work w/ the cleanse. Only good thing is I don't have to decide what to eat for lunch! And the (decaf still) coffee that comes out of those little cups w/ the machine ain't too bad! Don't read this next paragraph if you don't like shit-talk:
I'm still not up to three craps/day. If you'd call them that. But at some point I can see feeling like an infant without the crying and napping -- drink milk, crap, drink milk, crap, get really cranky, drink milk, crap (that's three!), sleep.  Maybe that's the goal. The reset button. Then build the intestines back up from birth?!

Tonight will be the first detox bath portion of the cleanse. Now, this actually is not part of the parasite purge, but is part of the overall cleanse. I apparently have some crazy heavy metals hanging out in my body, too: aluminum, mercury, lead -- high levels of petrochemicals. Soaking in hot as possible water* then letting it cool draws the toxins out.
*There's a catch -- it will be with Clorox (yes bleach, a VERY small amount) 2 days/week and sea salt and baking soda 2 days/week. So which one will it be first?


I can't mention heavy metal without mentioning its musical counterpart! Here's a bit of MERZBOW (more like noise then heavy metal), who is playing NYC next Monday thanks to the Blackened Music Series. Perfect soundtrack for leeching toxins out! Listen at your own risk.

DAY 3 -- Flowers and Shit

Well, I was hoping for some scatology talk only because with the cleanse, I'm supposed to take 3 craps a day. Dunno about you, but that's a lot for me. Haven't made it there yet. Can't say that I'm looking forward to sitting on the proverbial throne that many times.

But the COFFEE is helping! 2nd day of drinking coffee and it is no wonder people get hooked to this stuff. What's your favorite organic black coffee that would taste good with cream and honey? I'm all ears!

On a more visually stimulating note, the peonies at Steven's mom's house are in bloom! What great timing -- this flower was named after Paeon, a student of the Greek god of healing. I'll skip the part of the story where said Greek god becomes jealous of his student, though.

Speaking of timing, I just ran across this article published in the journal of Cell Metabolism that when you eat is just as important as what you eat. Could not agree more as I'm trying to get the shit schedule right. Check it out here

Speaking of eating, I really miss it. Just smelling foods -- even those that aren't part of my diet normally, is torture. It's not that I'm hungry -- milk does a good job filling me up...
But variety is the spice of life. Hmmmmmm spices.

But I did get some variety in finally finding some Goat's milk. Luckily there was a small farmers market in downtown Port Jeff. They had one more bottle left -- organic, and pasteurized too! Tastes like cow's milk but slightly more tangy and soft. Wish it was easier to find more.

Day 2 -- COFFEE, yes! I can have 1 cup in the morning with cream and honey.

I LOVE the smell of coffee but don't drink it normally -- it tears up my stomach. But with all this milk, and some welcome variety, I thought I'd give it a whirl. Just finished the cup with no side effects! Except a warm fuzzy feeling of tasty, lightly sweetened hot liquid. MMMmmmm.

As I gulp down the colon builder herbal formula along with the regular parasite herbal formula -- and milk --  (did I tell you I hate pills?), I'm inspired by those who have reached out with "Likes" and words of support! Thank you Elyssa, Jessica, Jackie, Lisa D (TX), and Rachel!

This morning I was also thinking about some people in Africa: the Masai and two amazing musicians from Mali.

Masai herder







First, the Masai: did you know they drink cow's milk? Yeah, a LOT of it. A litre/day. And not even what us westerners are used to -- they drink it fermented as buttermilk. Imagine drinking that much buttermilk/day? So, yeah, I can drink my wussy refrigerated homogenized whole milk for a mere 7 days, no problem.

Jah Youssouf & Bintou Coulibaly and family

Listen & buy the album to help raise funds for their safety in Mali!


http://tallcornmusic.bandcamp.com/album/sababou









Second, two incredible musicians from Mali, Jah Youssouf and Bintou Coulibaly need your help. My friend, Brad who visited Mali several years ago recorded them and released their album (digitally AND on vinyl, people!) this year. Here is a message from Brad I received yesterday: As many of you may know, there has been a military coup in Mali and things have gotten quite chaotic and treacherous there. Making ends meet as a musician in Mali is difficult in the best of times so you can imagine how trying things might become when the basic fabric of society starts to breaks down.  Tall Corn, our record label, and I sent Jah and his family $400 a few months ago with proceeds from album sales.  I really want to believe in the power of music to help directly in people's lives so I am making a special plea to you all to raise some additional funds through the purchase his album.

You may listen to and purchase MP3s here: http://tallcornmusic.bandcamp.com/album/sababou

or purchase the Vinyl here: http://tallcornmusic.bigcartel.com/product/sababou

According to freedictionary.com, health is soundness, especially of body or mind; freedom from disease or abnormality.


I'm starting this blog (my first!) to chronicle my journey in dealing with some digestive issues.
A return to soundness, if you will.

Before we begin, I found out on May 9th that most of this digestive discomfort stems from PARASITES! Finally, after two years of bouts with chronic fatigue, gas, bloating, bad breath and constipation -- I find out it's these little f-ckers that have spread from my intestines to my lymph, near my appendix and in my lungs. With the help of a naturopath, I found a way to deal with those little life-suckers effectively. Hopefully.

Welcome to day 1 of the Parasite Cleanse, ya'll! Won't you join me in the battle for squeaky clean intestines?

MILK. That is all I've ingested today! Whole organic cow's milk. Something I never drink. It's not as disgusting as I thought. And the herbs I take with the milk actually taste good. Goat's milk is doctor-preferred but where do I find it organic and/or raw (forget it)? So I'm sticking with cow for now.

Seven more days to go!

Get ready to talk about scatology tomorrow. Hopefully.