Clean by Alejandro Junger, M.D....What I'm Learning So Far!

In preparation for beginning my August 1st cleanse, I'm reading Junger's book and learning some exciting stuff. It's no wonder my parent and grandparent's generation is suffering the highest rate of cancer and heart disease of any other group. They've been exposed to pesticides, milk from cows injected with steroids and hormones, meat laden with drugs, and a plethora of chemicals in clothing and detergents that their parents did not encounter until later in life. This rings true for my family history. My great grandmother is 92 and trucking along nicely, while both of my maternal grandparents have suffered and passed away from rare forms of cancer. My paternal grandmother is currently battling cancer, and this isn't rare for other families, either. What scares me is how all of the chemicals will effect MY generation. We've had chemical laden food and drugs our entire lives. We did not grow our own vegetables (like my great grandparents did) or drink milk from cows that roamed freely on a farm somewhere. We've always had over-processed and engineered produce to fill our bellies.

Author of Clean, Alejandro Junger, a cardiologist and now a director of integrative medicine at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City is a true-blue doctor with the degrees to prove it. Living in Texas, I've discovered that people "in these here parts" do not recognize holistic healing as a real branch of medicine and many see Eastern medicine as a "bunch a' bologna". Maybe the fact that he was a doctor in Western medicine before he discovered whole-health healing will help to validate his credentials for my less than trusting readers! Junger grew up in Hungary and had a life-long dream of becoming a doctor to help heal people. When he came to America to study and intern, is when his own health began to decline and suffer. Living on vending machine products and microwave entrees had caused a swift change in his overall physique and his mental clarity was also suffering. He was depressed and resisted his psychiatrist's advice that he begin taking an antidepressant. Being a doctor, he naturally wanted to discover the root of his depression, irritable bowel syndrome, tiredness and overall bad health. After a friend introduced him to a detox program at a holistic center and the rest is history. Simply detoxifying his body and permanently changing his diet "rewired" his body. His IBS disappeared, and he lost 15 pounds and had not "felt better since my teens". Encouraged by his new-found health, he began studying holistic medicine and is now the director of his own practice, Eleven Eleven Wellness Center. Junger explains the concept behind his book in the video below: