Now is the perfect time to do a home detox. First of all, many of you are stuck at home (or working from home) for a while longer! More important, Ayurveda recommends that the change of the seasons—both in the spring and fall—is the best time for your body to let go of toxins that contribute to chronic health problems. You’ll probably lose a few pounds (and possibly more) in just one week! At the end of a detox, you will feel more fully alive with greater energy and less chronic pain.

The easiest home detox is a simple and delicious diet of mung soup and vegetables for a week, or at least five days. Cooked mung beans detoxify the colon, liver, kidneys, and lymph system. You can eat as much of these foods as you want, so you’ll never go hungry.

Here are links to the Sacred & Delicious blog with recipes for mung soup and Smoky Collard Greens with Caramelized Onions, another delicious detoxifying food.

FOR OPTIMAL RESULTS: I encourage you to take a few botanical medicines that will help your body to release toxic buildup.

Supachak:  Take 3 tablets 2 times a day, either with breakfast or lunch and with dinner. Supachak strengthens agni, the digestive fire.

Toxigo: Take 1 tablet twice a day with a breakfast and dinner. Toxigo help loosen toxins in the digestive tract for release through the colon.

Virechan: Take 3 tablets at night on an empty stomach. Virechan is a purgative that draws toxins from all the bodily tissues for release through the colon.

If you want botanical medicines to support immunity, I highly recommend taking Virofight, two tablets twice a day for prevention, and up to 14 tablets a day if you have coronavirus symptoms.

When doing a home detox, it will be helpful to have professional health care support in case you have questions during the process. Ideally, it would be good for you to come in to have your pulse checked in advance so you can receive some personalized guidance and recommendations. If you prefer not to leave home, you can schedule a 30-minute (or longer) telephone consultation. Call us at 919-785-2200.

“Since my consult with Dr. Mitchell, I’ve already lost 12 pounds! There’s no telling how many gallons of Lisa’s mung soup have gone down the hatch. It’s really tasty, too. But more significantly, my BP is holding regularly at 120/80 or better after normally running 150/100. My resting pulse is now in the mid 60s, and the arrhythmia is gone. You have made me a believer. Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

~Rodney Turner, Wake Forest, NC

The Link Between Immunity and Digestion

Today’s newsletter features an interview by Lisa Mitchell with Dr. Tom Mitchell about the link between immunity and digestion as understood by Ayurveda.

Q: Ayurveda stresses that digestion is the foundation of vibrant health. Is there a particular link between digestion and immunity?

A: Yes, absolutely! In fact, your digestive power—what Ayurveda calls agni—is critical to strong immunity. In the simplest terms, when digestion is strong, immunity is strong. When digestion is blocked or weak, your immune system will be compromised and your body’s ability to fight off viruses will be impaired.

Q: The link you suggest is not exactly intuitive, beyond the fact that the nutrition we need to live is processed in the stomach. Could you explain this link further?

A: When food enters your digestive system, the stomach secretes enzymes that start the process of converting food into what Ayurveda calls the seven major tissues. The first of these “tissues” is nutritional plasma, a clear fluid from which blood is formed. The process cascades from one to the other, as muscle, fat, bone, nerves, and reproductive tissues are all generated. When this metabolic cycle is completed, ojas, a pure residual energy, is formed. According to Ayurveda, it is ojas that promotes immunity, vitality, strength, enthusiasm, and tranquility of mind (Secrets of Natural Health, Vaidya Smita Naram, p. 29).

Q: Does western medicine recognize ojas as a factor in building immunity?

A: No, because ojas is the most subtle and refined essence that occurs at the end of the digestive process, so it is not something that can be measured by instruments. But Ayurvedic masters thousands of years ago did not have instruments to aid their work as healing practitioners! So, they learned to read the body’s more subtle systems of energy. Ojas can be thought of as an energetic signature that can be felt in the pulse by a skilled Ayurvedic practitioner. Ojas must be nurtured because it is the body’s protective shield.

Q: Can we feel when our ojas is high or low?

A: When ojas is high, you will feel pretty great! You’ll have a lot of vitality and enthusiasm for life. When ojas is low, you will experience low energy and low immunity, as well as low enthusiasm and joy. There is an interdependent relationship between agni and ojas. Since the production of ojas is dependent on a series of digestive events occurring properly, these kinds of symptoms are a signal that your digestion isn’t working properly. And when your vitality and immune system are strong, they feed proper digestion.

Q: This leads me to two questions! The first is, how do we nurture ojas? And the second is how do we rebuild our digestive power?

A: The answer to both questions is the same because of their interrelationship. That’s the easy part! Take care of your digestion, and you nurture ojas, your essential immune power. The first step is to eat a healthy diet. Although this varies for different people, some guidelines apply to everyone. The most important thing is to eat freshly cooked food daily. We’ll talk more about food and lifestyle tips for protecting digestion and boosting immunity in the next newsletter.

Always wishing you vibrant health!

Dr. Tom Mitchell