Today, I'd attended a talk on
Detoxification for Weight Loss, Anti-Ageing & Vitality from Divine MedSpa. I had in fact, first heard about Divine MedSpa
from VivaWoman who had gone for their openhouse, and wrote up a fair bit about Divine MedSpa's philosophy and offerings.
I subsequently signed up for the newsletter and learnt that they were running some free workshops and classes until mid-July. The list of workshops can actually be viewed
here. I signed up for the Detoxification workshop and I'm keeping a lookout for the yoga classes when the instructor returns.
I've actually been interested in trying detoxification, but the resources on the internet mostly consisted of ads and that put me off a bit. I looked around at the NLB too but most of the books were really technical and I couldn't appreciate the content too well. I was quite excited to read about the workshop because the blurb on the website sounded reasonable (without beginning to sell anything!) and promoted living healthier. I'm actually quite glad I went down for it after all!
As it turned out, only 2 people had registered for today's session, but the other lady couldn't make it so it became a somewhat one-to-one session with Delia. She shared with me that she had started detoxing to combat a major illness - her body rejected the mainstream medicine that was given to her and she eventually met another doctor who recommended detoxification to her; in fact he had stressed that there was nothing he could do to help if she didn't first start fasting. Delia by now is a seasoned practitioner of detoxification and she does look the part of someone who's benefitting aesthetically from regular detoxes: her skin's glowing and she looks pretty healthy!
She assured me that she wasn't there to hardsell any products (though she is a representative with Neera Detox at the moment), and that today we will be focusing on how the body reacts to detoxification at the biochemistry level. I was slightly worried that it will become too technical, but it was actually quite all right, and Delia took the time to field my queries. I will attempt a brief overview based on what I gathered today:
Eating in fact expends energy. This may seem pretty desirable (I was confused too) but apparently, it sometimes lead to the process of metabolism (breaking down what we consume) taking up precious energy that could be used for other purposes that go towards balancing our body's chemicals and banishing toxins. Metabolism also creates metabolic waste, and supposedly excess accumulation of metabolic waste is harmful for our body. She told me that some research has shown linkage between cancer and excess metabolic waste - I'm a little skeptical about this though. But back to metabolism. There's also the idea that when we stop consuming (or limit it, as in liquid detoxes), our body starts to break down excess fat stores. Delia said that sometimes toxins are stored among our bodies' fats, and when our body break down the fat stores instead, the toxins are also released so that our body can elimiate them. This is one aspect of detoxification. The other is that the body also enters autolysis, a process whereby it starts to ingest harmful or unnecessary cells in our body such as metablic wastes, dead and dying cells, and damanged tissues. In her case, she had a sizeable growth that was reduced after long-term detoxification. Delia further shared that during the process of detoxification, human growth hormones are released, and these are beneficial towards enhancing sleep (she had a client who had been suffering from insomnia, and that was relieved when she started fasting), regulating hormones, and protecting our muscles. I can definitely use all of that! I wish I can be more precise with the technical aspects, but this is all I remember! Still, it's a good start, isn't it?
What went through my mind as I was hearing the part about releasing toxins, is the bits I can remember when reading books on Ayurveda. It also advocates occasional detoxifications, because it is believed that certain symptoms arise out of toxins accumulated in our body, and that these toxins are often the cause behind acne, dandruff, oily skin and blackheads, sinus and other inflamation issues. The idea of being overwhelmed by a sudden release of toxins into my bloodstream did scare me, but I really look forward to improving my annoying sinus issue and having some relief from blackheads!
She recommended a 24-hour detox, so I can get eased into the habit of detoxification. Note that her idea of fasting for detoxes isn't a complete fast, but usually consists of some form of beverage that's taken throughout the day. I believe that it is to sustain us with some source of energy. The
Neera detox consists of a mixture of syrups (maple, and syrup from 4 types of asian palms), and some minerals and trace ingredients. It is then supposed to be mixed with distilled water , fresh lemon juice, and Cayenne pepper. Delia said I can experiment different types of beverages for fasting to decide which was the best, and I really appreciated her giving me tips instead of telling me to use the Neera product! So a possible substitute would be maple syrup with fresh lemon juice. She suggested juices as well (though she talked about carrot juices, so I guess she was referring to the healthier and bad-tasting variety), but cautioned that we've really got to be mindful of the effect of juices as they tend to be quite high in sugar content and can spike up our blood sugar level; the yoyo-ing could possibly increase hunger pangs and make fasting more difficult! I had considered sugar cane juice since simple sugars would be in line with reducing the amount of energy used towards metabolism, and that turned out to be a big no-no: Delia considered sugar cane juice to be too rich in sugars! Honey is also not recommended, but it wasn't elaborated why. She also warned me that I will experience cleansing symptoms such as headaches, paleness of skin, sensations of feeling cold (because the body's temperature is lowered) and fatigue when I first start fasting. That means I have to plan my fasting for days where I can afford to be a little weak, at least for my first few attempts! Also, detoxification must be seen as a long-term project, because the benefits are accumulative. In fact, Delia thinks that those who are considering one-off detox diets do without it completely, because the side effects are greater than the benefits it can bring in such a short stint.
In between, Dr. Cheng who had set up the Divine MedSpa chatted with Delia and I had some further insights from it. I sensed that Dr. Cheng was really trying to create a holistic approach towards beauty. I was already quite intrigued that Divine MedSpa is planning to offer
meditation, jin shin jyutsu, reiki etc among its range of services under the holistics section. From their conversation, I had the impression that she really believes in the services that she offers, and has quite an open mind towards trying out other forms of alternative medicine to achieve holistic care. So while Divine MedSpa's spa services are a little expensive for my budget, I think I might actually patronize the place bit by bit! And like I said, I really appreciate the fact that it was offering interesting workshops and classes like this for free - without any hardselling from either the external party or Divine MedSpa itself. In fact, no one even pressed me to consider Divine MedSpa's services and it made me much more comfortable during the hour or so that I was there.
I think I might follow Delia's recommendation for a 24-hour fasting, and maybe try to do it once a month, and hopefully once a week. I will have to wait a little though - there's no way I can fast during the school holidays because I'm usually at home and there's no way my mom would accept the idea of not eating, especially if she sees the cleansing symptoms! I will use the interim time to research for suitable recipes!