SubscribeSpring-cleaning our bodies
It’s hard to imagine that we move our clocks forward this weekend to begin Daylight’s Savings Time. Although at one point recently I thought that winter would never end, spring is in the air everywhere here in Philadelphia. Shoots of green are coming out of the earth, reminding us that warmer weather is right around the corner.
Our moms and grandmothers taught us to do deep spring cleaning this time of year. My mother, as did hers, not only made sure that every corner of our home was spic and span, but would also open up all of the windows, clean out closets, and change the bed spreads and curtains throughout the house.
Not only is spring the season to shake the cobwebs out of our homes, but from our minds and bodies as well.
Years ago, when I still worked in radio at WDAS in Philadelphia, political activist and author Dick Gregory came to visit the staff. The station’s management - as they always did when a celebrity came through – ordered what they considered a catered feast, which had the typical southern diet of greens with pork, fried chicken, and macaroni and cheese.
Gregory, who ate none of it and only drank his water, was amused, and quipped that he didn’t have to worry about coming for return visits year after year because half of us would be dead from our cholesterol-laced diets.
I’ve been following Dick Gregory since 1974 when he visited my college Wesleyan University and convinced students to pay attention to what they ate. A man who at one time weighed over 400 pounds, Gregory took his weight management to the extreme and stopped eating anything that didn’t grow out of the ground. He even told us that at one point he got rid of the stove in his house, moved his family to a farm and wrote the book “Natural Foods for Folks who Eat, Cooking With Mother Nature.” He is a huge advocate of fasting, particularly in the spring when we’ve been with out sunlight, stuck under heavy clothes and eaten bulky foods. But make no mistake about it, fasting is serious business and should not be done without knowledge.
I look forward to this time of year because during the winter months I suffer from SAD – Season Affective Disorder. It’s a condition that gives me the blues because of the lack of sunlight. But I also love the spring because it’s the season to fast, change our diets and begin planting vegetable gardens. Right now, I’ve been turning the earth and making sure that the soil in my garden beds is loose. This year I’ll take a stab at planting vegetables as well as the herbs that I keep potted on the kitchen windowsill. But for now, I’m excited that the vegetables and fruits are in abundance at the local farmers market.
Fasting is an essential part of the cleansing process. But first, we must prepare our bodies to begin sweeping out the intestinal lining, because if we move the waste from our bodies too fast, it gets into the bloodstream and poisons us. Fasting must be done methodically and deliberately. It’s best to begin by eliminating mucous-producing foods and replacing them with steamed vegetables. If you fast incorrectly, you can die.
I’ll be pulling out my books by Dick Gregory for more guidance before I begin my spring fast. In the meantime, we should begin the cleansing process by eliminating one fatty food per week and replacing it with one live or steamed vegetable.
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As the mother of five and a journalist, I've always encouraged people to empower themselves with information on healthy foods and lifestyles. Nurturing our children with healthy food is one of the most important jobs we have, yet as families have become busier or drifted apart, meal times have been sacrificed.
