Clean: The Modern Survival Guide That Will Change Your Life

The author of this book, Dr. Alejandro Junger, a cardiologist, began to research the root of all these problems after suffering from digestive problems, constipation, and depression, which are common in modern society.
As a result, we discovered that the cause was the toxins accumulated in our bodies, and we created the 'Clean Program' to eliminate the toxins accumulated in the body in the most scientific and safe way.
Clean, a three-week program that completely separates and eliminates toxins and waste from the body and restores beneficial bacteria in the intestines, has already helped thousands of patients regain a clean and vibrant life.

This book, "Clean," contains detailed information on the principles and practices of the clean program, as well as 42 recipes, so that anyone can easily follow it.
In addition to the clean program, it points out the dangers of toxins accumulating in the body due to bad eating and lifestyle habits, and provides detailed information on the mechanism for removing and excreting toxins, as well as foods and methods of consumption that help with this.
It also introduces easy ways to avoid and minimize the damage caused by toxins in everyday life, such as food, clothing, and household goods, as well as healthy lifestyle habits.

Life in Manhattan went by at lightning speed.
I was so out of it that I was on call for three days straight without resting, so cooking my own food was out of the question.
I mostly bought food or used vending machines to eat, and when I had some free time, I went to the supermarket.
There I was intoxicated by all the packaging, colors, and smells.
It was simply amazing that anyone could whip up dinner in a matter of minutes using just a microwave.
New Yorkers seemed to know how to 'live comfortably'.

But I'm starting to pay the price of living as a doctor in the world's busiest city.
I gained weight and started sneezing uncontrollably whenever the seasons changed.
My body was exhausted, but I couldn't sleep.
“Things will get better once I finish my residency,” I thought, but my shoulders became heavy with responsibility and my stomach became heavy with bagels as I rushed to the cardiac intensive care unit at random times, met emergency patients in the ward, and ran around the hospital saving people.

By the time I entered my second year as a fellow, my allergies had become so severe that I had to take antihistamines and use a steroid inhaler several times.
My digestive function also declined, so it was as difficult as having a nightmare.
I often felt bloated, and constipation and diarrhea would alternate.
This was a warning signal from the body.
--- p.33

Did you know that 25% of the world's pesticides and 10% of all insecticides are used in cotton farming?
These chemicals seep into the ground, water, and air.
Not to mention the massive amounts of chemical fertilizers.
A large amount of chemicals from cotton enter our bodies through the cottonseed used as feed for dairy cows and the junk food we eat.

In addition, we wear clothes made of synthetic fibers such as acrylic, nylon, and polyester.
These petroleum-based fabrics are harmful to the environment and can infiltrate our bodies with toxins.
Typically, when we wear clothes made of synthetic fibers, the evaporation of body fluids emitted by our skin is inhibited and those fluids are reabsorbed into our bodies.

Many fabrics use formaldehyde synthetic resins in their finishing process to make them wrinkle-resistant, waterproof, and shrink-resistant.
This is especially true for duvets and bed sheets made of polyester and cotton blends.
Sleeping with such fabrics can cause insomnia, headaches, asthma, and skin rashes.
Some countries have laws requiring children's pajamas to be treated with flame retardants, but these materials also contain toxins.
--- p.66

Food is the most important survival condition for living organisms, but humans eat food on a completely different level than other creatures.
Our lives revolve around food.
There is food when we celebrate, and there is food when we are sad.
Many people spend meaningful time with family and friends, eating and drinking around the table.

Food has changed over time, determining many aspects of our lives.
In the early days, humans would have lived in places where food and water were abundant.
These areas became villages and then cities.
In ancient times, people used forks to draw maps of civilized areas.

In the past, food was obtained from trees, the ground, and the sea, and other food was obtained by hunting or fishing.
In the days before refrigerators, humans ate whenever they could.
Because it gets damaged quickly.
Although today's food system has only been in place for a few decades, the way we get our nutrients has completely changed.
--- p.73

The foods we eat go through various invisible processing processes.
They use X-rays, or "food irradiation," to kill bacteria that destroy nutrients, and they also use "low-temperature sterilization" with excessive heat to kill pathogens, which also kills enzymes that are beneficial to the human body.
Liquid vegetable fats go through a 'hardening process' where hydrogen is added to make them into solids that are easy to distribute and store, but eating them in that solid state is harmful to the body.
Fruits are also sometimes waxed to make them look more appetizing.
Technological procedures to increase product value for reasons such as safety, productivity, and convenience turn many foods into poison.

'If it's good for the baby, it must be good for us too.' With this thought in mind, people began drinking milk and making over 100 different foods with milk.
Thus, we became the only mammals that continued to drink milk after weaning ourselves from our mother's milk.
Going further, we humans even steal milk from other animals.
It's like putting airplane fuel in a motorcycle.
So what happens then? Naturally, the motorcycle engine gets damaged.
There are a lot of arguments about this, but if we just stick to one thing, the problem is that milk is loaded with hormones and antibiotics.
This concludes all these dubious controversies.
Milk is not very good for humans.
--- p.75

Feeling drawn to toxic foods is a classic sign that your body is toxic.
If toxins are not processed immediately in our body and remain in the circulatory system, they quickly become trapped in the tissues and become covered with mucus.
This is how cells defend themselves.
Mucus has a dense and sticky nature.
So it evokes and attracts complex and harmful thoughts and emotions.
The opposite phenomenon also occurs.
Complex thoughts and emotions promote the production of mucus in the tissues.

But once you get rid of the mucus, you won't be tempted to eat foods that keep the toxins from sticking around.
When you provide your cells with the nutrients they desperately need, their innate ability to regenerate and heal is revived, and the power of your adrenal glands (which secrete adrenaline and other hormones) is restored.
Instead of processed foods and 'dead foods', you will discover the taste of 'living' foods that impart life energy.
Andre was craving this very food by the end of the third week of the clean program.
--- p.83

In this way, the weight begins to disappear through a kind of natural 'shedding'.
As is usually the case with Jerry, he loses a lot of weight.
The body corrects itself.
The whites of the eyes become whiter and clearer, and the skin becomes much firmer.

The same goes for heavy, suffocating thoughts and emotions that keep us from breaking out of a negative mental state.
Both have sticky properties, so they 'attract' each other.
Fresh, vibrant food and enthusiastic, hopeful thoughts also attract and go together.

When negative emotions or thoughts increase, you tend to crave food.
Then, eventually, mucus will be produced, and the more you fall into a lazy lifestyle pattern of not exercising, the more mucus will increase.
The opposite is also true.
In other words, when your body is overflowing with mucus due to bad food, stimulation, and physical weakness, you unconsciously experience more negative emotions and thoughts and become more negative.
--- p.111

Constipation is one of the most common health problems among modern people.
Even in the United States alone, the size of the laxative market is enormous.
Many people spend effort, time, and money trying to cure this symptom.
Some people try natural dietary changes, such as eating more fruit, but these alone don't guarantee improvement.
Until you restore your gut to its original state and eliminate certain foods from your diet permanently, such solutions often don't work.
For example, eating too much fruit can actually increase sugar intake, which can promote dysbiosis, an imbalance in gut microbiota caused by yeast and other harmful bacteria in the gut.
If the toxin stays in the colon too long, it can be reabsorbed into the body.
At this time, headaches or other pains may occur along with constipation.
If this condition becomes routine, constipation develops into a chronic symptom.
Because harmful bacteria multiply and kill beneficial bacteria, you need to have regular bowel movements to keep beneficial bacteria in your body alive.

The final step of 'detoxification' is to cure constipation and eliminate toxins.
Although it varies from person to person, the most common mucus-producing foods include wheat flour, dairy products, refined sugar, and excessive amounts of red meat.
A complete detox is one that kills harmful bacteria while replenishing beneficial bacteria.
And it is important to consume nutrients essential for a healthy gut, such as iodine, which is beneficial not only for the thyroid but also for the gut, and magnesium, which is necessary for gut muscle contraction.
--- p.115

As the lining of your gut becomes damaged and inflamed, serotonin levels gradually decline.
This is because, under normal conditions, most serotonin is produced in the gut.
When this happens, the way we receive signals about what we should feel and how we should react to the world physically changes.
Your mood and emotions may become negative, you may become indifferent to everything, you may become absent-minded, or you may become extremely depressed.
In this case too, the cause is toxins.
--- p.122

Research on beneficial gut bacteria is actively underway, with many studies revealing their importance and benefits.
It is said that when mothers take probiotics, their children are less likely to get sick and do well in school later in life.
And athletes who have healthy gut bacteria recover more quickly from injuries.

Meanwhile, antibiotics taken during childhood are closely related to various diseases later in life.
This is very important when talking about toxicity.
Therefore, there is no point in going on a detox program without first eliminating the bad bacteria and then restoring the good bacteria.
Rebuilding the gut flora, reintroducing good bacteria, and restoring it are essential parts of any cleansing program.
--- p.150

Please remember to fast for 12 hours.
Because the detox signal can be turned on about eight hours after your last meal, detoxification requires at least four hours to fully take place.
If you fill your stomach late at night and eat early the next morning, your body will be exhausted from digesting the food and will not have time to detoxify.

For three weeks, it's better to go to bed a little earlier each night.
Breakfast is literally a 'break' of the 'fast' that has continued since the previous night.
Even if you don't actually do a clean program, you'll find that eating a lighter dinner and not eating anything for 12 hours until the next morning will improve your overall health.

During the cleanse, you should eat a liquid meal for dinner and fast for at least 12 hours until the next morning.
If you finish dinner at 7 p.m., you should start breakfast after 7 a.m.
Likewise, if you finish dinner at 11 p.m., your next meal should be after 11 a.m.
--- p.246

A common misconception when it comes to detox programs is the issue of mucus residue.
During an intensive cleanse, such as a water or juice fast, your stool output may suddenly increase, regardless of how much you eat.
It can also be dark in color, like tar, and sometimes the colon can come out in a folded, rope-like shape.
Sometimes it is similar to diarrhea.
At this point, people are usually shocked.

This is something that everyone interested in purification knows.
There are also many books with pictures of this excrement.
If you have the courage to check it with your own eyes, you can look it up.
Those books also provide this information with good intentions, but I think a little differently.
That information is completely wrong.
The books claim that the dark-colored debris is food waste, especially meat waste, that has accumulated over many years.
This means that these wastes stick to the mucous membrane or intestinal wall and are excreted after several days of fasting.

In my experience with both Western and alternative medicine, this is absolutely not scientifically proven.
Any gastroenterologist can tell you what a colonoscopy (a technique for viewing the wall of the colon through an endoscope to screen for disease) shows.
The bowel wall of patients who have been prescribed strong laxatives to empty their bowels in the past 2-3 days is clear pink.
There is absolutely no sign of the 'old dregs' people talk about clinging to the wall.
Even in very severe patients with chronic intestinal diseases such as ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease, or cancer, old fecal impaction is not seen in the mucosa.

--- p.292