Sonny Viloria is a medical doctor who integrates his practice with traditional or natural medicine. He is the owner and director of Bio Vital Holistic and Medical Center and was part of the group that formed the Philippine Institute for Traditional Alternative Medicine during his stint as a consultant of the Department of Health.
The common misconception is that cleansing refers solely to the cleansing of the digestive tract. This is not so. It should involve all your filtering organs, says Viloria.
Viloria doesn’t believe in starving the person. You should eat but in moderation, he says. There’s a study to prove that a person who is nourished but not overfed, is a person who lives longer. It is the quality of food as well as the quantity of food that should be considered, he points out.
Digestive tract
To clean the digestive tract, diet should consist of 80-percent vegetables and fruits, because of the fiber, vitamins, minerals and enzymes. By doing so you also get a lot of beta-carotene, which is nourishment for your internal organs.
Eat salads: green, leafy vegetables; orange and yellow colored vegetables and fruits. Viloria suggests taking a combination of both raw and cooked.
However, since it is cold at Christmas time, he recommends that you eat food that has a warming effect. He suggests cooked food to keep the body warm, plus warm teas and infusions, such as green tea.
When cleansing the digestive tract, take probiotics. During cleansing, it is not only the bad bacteria that you eliminate but also the good ones, so you have to replenish. For instance, you can drink Yakult.
Take lots of garlic, too, because its anti-fungal properties fight off candida (yeast) which invades both the digestive system and the blood.
Enzymes are also very important while cleansing; take papaya, citrus or any fresh fruit. The fresher the fruit, the richer in enzymes!
Fiber from the fruits sweeps away the toxins. The enzymes help speed up the digestive rate. And the probiotics balances the normal flora within the digestive tract.
Kidney, liver
To cleanse the kidney, take 12 glasses of water a day. Viloria suggests alkaline water. Remember, water therapy is also a form of cleansing.
Cleanse the liver by means of calamansi or lemon flush, says Viloria. Upon waking, juice 8-10 calamansi or ½ lemon with 1 cup lukewarm water. Citrus fruits, when newly squeezed, are alkaline; leave the juice for five minutes and it will gradually turn acidic. So take it as soon as it is prepared and it will be gentle on your stomach.
Liver cleansing is essential particularly for those who take a lot of medication, those not careful with their diet, and those with chronic liver problems like fatty liver.
Garlic, too, is a very good antioxidant for the liver.
Blood, lungs
For blood cleansing, take antioxidants which get rid of free radicals and toxins; a good source of antioxidants are acai berries, pomegranate, kiwi.
Or just eat fresh fruits and vegetables. Also, cook with a lot of herbs and spices; these are good antioxidant sources, too, and so are tomatoes, onion, garlic, turmeric, native guava, kamias.
For lungs, Viloria recommends deep breathing, particularly by the sea or where there are trees, because of the higher negative ions (which provide more oxygen) in those places.
When possible, do it barefoot; this is called “earth(ing),” or grounding. It neutralizes the negative effects of the electromagnetic field that we absorb from our electronic gadgets such as cell phones or laptops.
Take salabat this holiday season to keep your body warm and thus strong to ward off sickness. It’s also good for the balancing of body temperature, which should always be considered an integral part of our wellbeing.
Day of detox
Reserve for yourself a day of detoxification.
Upon waking, take your calamansi flush or, if you wish, you can do the liver flush with 3 cups of lukewarm water, instead of 1; this allows you to start off your kidney cleansing as well.
For breakfast, take a boiled kamote or saging na saba. The amount of your food intake depends on your energy requirement.
Viloria reminds us to eat only when we’re hungry. For us to eat just for the sake of eating or stuffing oneself is bad.
He recommends the following diet:
Morning snack—citrus fruit
Lunch—steamed fish or a small piece of meat; small portion rice (red or brown) and vegetables.
Afternoon snack—kamote cue or fruits.
Dinner—Fish and rice. No fatty food and sweets as it affects your sleep. If you suffer from hypertension, for instance, and you eat something fatty, the rise in your cholesterol affects your sleep. Sugar, meanwhile, is a stimulant. Dinner should be between 6 and 8 p.m.
No midnight snack. Let the liver rest.
Dr. Viloria believes we should all enjoy the Yuletide season, but we must also strengthen and clean the organs in a natural way.
So, cleanse before bingeing!
Call Dr. Sonny Viloria at 4339264.
