Medical Medium 3:6:9 Cleanse Thoughts and Results

This year, my Medical Medium 3:6:9 cleanse coincided with the first day of the year. I'd just spent  midnight on New Years eve at LAX after returning from five months of traveling, and I wanted a fresh start. Something that would flush my body, load me up with a ton of healing ingredients, and reset my eating habits.

Since I'd been away working on sets, traveling in Italy, and going home for the holidays, I'd gotten away from my routine. Previously, I'd been in the habit of starting my day with lemon waters and celery juices, running, doing yoga, and eating breakfast smoothies with wild blueberries and cilantro and spirulina, all of which I'd adapted from Medical Medium's protocols. And since I'd stopped, I felt the difference on my body.  I felt a little slower at running, too. So I thought another 3:6:9 cleanse at the start of the year would be a perfect reset to get back on track. 

The 3:6:9 cleanse is a gentle cleanse in the sense that you get to eat plenty of solid food rather than live on juices, so you never have to feel hungry. Everything on the menu, however, is either a fruit, vegetable, or herb, so it excludes salt, fat, and protein (except for trace amounts found in bananas, potatoes, and sea vegetables). The philosophy behind it is that you give your body a break from digesting fat, which is very taxing to the system, and an opportunity to consume a bounty of vitamin-rich plants, full of anti-oxidents and phytochemicals to flush out toxins. 

Discovering Medical Medium

The first time I did the cleanse, I'd already been on a multi-year health journey which started around the time someone close to me developed cancer. When they were initially diagnosed, they took on a major health-upheaval themselves and started researching what they could do to maximize their own body's defenses. Which, though highly controversial, has growing evidence supporting its role in prevention and recovery. I really enjoy the work of Dr.William Li on this subject. 

At that time I was introduced to a book called Radical Recovery and the notion that eating a diet high in fruits and vegetables, as in 30-40 servings a day, could move the needle in the fight against cancer. It got me thinking, why is it that we often wait for such critical diagnoses before we start incorporating these lifestyle changes? If such a thing as a cancer-defensive lifestyle exists, wouldn't we want to live that way in general, at least the best we can?

A few things started to shift for me when I started contemplating the idea. For one thing, I gave up alcohol. It's crazy to think about now, but I really didn't consider that alcohol was a carcinogen or how harmful it was to the body before then. I significantly cut down on fried foods and refined carbohydrates. I started to snack on fruit and incorporate vegetables more. 

Fast forward to a few years later when an actress I was working with brought up Medical Medium in the makeup trailer. I'd heard about him before from a few different people, and notably remembered that he recommended celery juice as the ultimate healing drink.

She also said that according to him eggs were bad, and apples were good. I loved apples and I hated eggs, so so far, I liked what the guy was saying. Now, full disclosure, this is a man who gets all of his scientific data from something called 'Spirit', but nonetheless I was intrigued. Among the things she shared with me, she mentioned a heavy metal detox smoothie that called for two bananas. Two bananas! I was shocked. Prior to that I was only concerned about how much sugar bananas had, so I never had more than half a banana at once. 

Alas, I decided to give his book "Cleanse to Heal" a listen, and much of his information was unlike anything I'd heard before. He claimed that protein was not nearly as important as it was made out to be, and that we'd been underestimating how important energy from fruit was for our muscles. 

He argued that problems such as insulin resistance and weight gain arose because of our high-protein, and therefore high-fat, diets which thicken the blood and overwork our livers. I did some research on my own and discovered itwas actually true that high-fat meals could increase blood lipid levels and viscosity, at least for a time. Medical Medium said that diets high in fat made it harder for glycogen (from fruit, honey, potatoes) to get where it needed to go efficiently, which affected insulin sensitivity. 

Not to mention, that fruit contain a wealth of antioxidants, vitamins, and phytochemicals essential for fighting disease, something that's been sidelined in favor of protein, protein, protein, and fat!

Given the way that society seemed to be obsessed with protein, I was somewhat shocked to hear him down-playing its role in building muscles. I was used to hearing that I needed 100g of protein per day for my body weight, which I've honestly never hit in my life, and I couldn't open instagram without being bombarded with recipes to hit my protein goals or being advertised protein bars, protein powder, and protein pasta! At the time of writing this, even Starbucks and Dunkin' Donuts have added protein powder to their coffee.

As much as I was intrigued about all of the Medical Medium stuff I was listening to, I was scared to cut down on my protein intake during my marathon training. At the time I was reading his book, I was a month out from the LA marathon and I thought that was a bad time to start experimenting.

The more I listened though, the more I was convinced. I started to implement parts of his protocol into my routine by introducing the morning cleanse, which meant cutting out fat in the morning completely. I swapped out my coffee, protein powder, peanut butter, and chia pudding for lemon water, celery juice, an apple, and the heavy metal detox smoothie after my run. 

That was the smoothie that the actress had mentioned to me with the two bananas. It also contained spirulina, Atlantic dulse (sea vegetables), wild blueberries, an orange, and cilantro. And it is delicious!

After my weekend long runs, I stopped eating protein bars and instead fueled with dates, bananas, and apples. And again, I know it sounds crazy because of how often we hear about protein, but if you go back to the basics, our muscles do get their energy from glycogen. That why the energy gels I take with me on marathons are essentially pure sugar.  

I took it further by changing up my dinner routine, too. I stopped eating the faux veggie sausage (high protein- high artificial ingredients) and instead added more vegetables. To my surprise, none of this affected my running power, and my recovery actually got better!

When the marathon was over and I finished it injury free, I was ready to try the full on cleanse. Below I'll share the results that I experienced both times I did the cleanse, the second being just a couple of days ago.

The Cleanse

As I mentioned, it's not the kind of cleanse that you would typically think of when you hear the word cleanse because it's not a juice cleanse and you don't have to do it hungry. You get to eat solid foods and as much as you want of them, as long as they contain no fat, salt, and aren't cooked or processed (steaming vegetables is okay). So you're essentially eating fruits, vegetables, and herbs in their various forms and combinations. Potatoes are included in this too, much to my delight! 

The cleanse is specifically designed in three sections (3-6-9) in order to prepare your body to flush out toxins while providing it with everything needed to heal (vitamins, antioxidants, phytochemicals).

The 3:

The first three days start by immediately eliminating any fat to give your liver a break so that it can start to do the work of clearing away toxins. They also incorporate delicious, filling recipes to store up energy for the days ahead. I loved discovering different ways to cook without fat or salt that really satisfied me, like his potato salad, flavored with fresh dill and vibrant citrus, and the sweet potato zucchini curry. 

Breakfasts were really fun too, as I discovered creative ways to put them together using only fruit. My favorite was the "fruit cereal" which uses mango, berries, and a banana milk. The dried mulberries on top gave it a nice crunch, as if you were eating granola. 

To snack, you were allowed to have apples and dates. Fine by me!

How I felt: the first time around I noticed that I was eating a lot more volume than I was used to. The way that the energy is structured in these types of food allows for that. I was definitely not hungry, and the variety and novelty of cooking all of the different recipes distracted me from the things I would normally eat, too. 

I also started to sleep like a baby for the first time in years! Who would have thought that not having caffeine (both in the form of coffee and my after dinner chocolate treat) would have such a wonderful affect. That alone made the cleanse worth it. 

The second time I did the cleanse, I noticed a dull headache on days two and three and a metallic taste in my mouth that I didn't notice the first time, for some reason. There is a possibility that the headache came from an absence of caffeine, but both headaches and the metallic taste seem to be a common side effect of detoxing. 

One explanation that I didn't experience it the first time could be that I was already starting to implement a lot of the Medical Medium protocol leading up to the cleanse, like reducing fat, and troublemaker ingredients, and had already incorporated the morning cleanse for several days. 

Whereas this time, after returning from months on set, eating pastries and pasta in Italy, and Christmas dinners, perhaps I had more to detox.

The 6:

The next three days the food started to get a little lighter. No more potatoes unfortunately, and instead, a lot of steamed asparagus and Brussels sprouts. It wasn't my favorite initially, but because they were the heartiest menu item on the cleanse, it actually gave me a new appreciation for them, and I started to really look forward to them!

The menu looked something like this: smoothie bowl for breakfast (yum), steamed Brussels sprouts and/or asparagus for lunch, a liver rescue salad, and the same for dinner. Honestly kind of bleak, but, the consolation were the delicious afternoon snacks. Instead of the regular apple + dates, it was essentially apples and dates again but presented in a more creative way. 

Like, raw mini apple pie tarts (chopped apples with cinnamon, date and mulberry crust), applie pie filling (chopped apples with cinnamon date puree poured over top), apple cinnamon stuffed dates (you get the idea). 

The first time I did the cleanse, the version of the "liver rescue salad" I made made me want to throw up. The liver rescue salad is essentially a large, very large, bowl of greens (4 cups of either spinach, arugula, butter lettuce, etc) topped with basically whatever raw vegetables you want, like shredded carrot, cherry tomatoes, radish, peppers or cucumbers.

The dressing, which was stated as optional, was made out of the juice of an orange, raw honey, water, and cayenne. The idea of putting orange juice on otherwise raw undressed greens disgusted me, so I opted not to and I think I used lemon juice instead. The mistake I made the first time around was making my base entirely out of arugula. I thought that I loved arugula, but as it turned out, I didn't love four cups of it as the base of a salad. It was soo hard to get down. The toppings that I added, including radish, cucumber, pepper, and cauliflower, sprouts, and herbs, only added to the bitterness of it.  

This time, I made a much more palatable version of the liver rescue salad, out of copious amounts of spinach, sliced cherry tomatoes (I've learned through this that they really help a bitter salad), and instead of having my steamed asparagus and Brussels sprouts separately, I put them on top. It made it so much more appealing. I started looking forward to it, especially for the Brussels sprouts!

At this stage I was also introduced to chaga tea, which was very rich and comforting before bed. I now find myself making it as a drink when I've already had my caffeine for the day. 

In all, days 3-6 were fine. The symptoms went away, I felt satisfied, and the only thing that I so badly missed was my matcha latte, but I mustered through. I didn't really notice any major changes or weight loss at this time, so I was just trusting the process. 

The 9:

Days 7 and 8 prepare you for the 9 - which is a day of only liquids, meant to entirely flush out the remainder of toxins. The meals get even lighter, swapping the liver rescue salad for "spinach soup," and instead of snacking on apples, you're snacking on more smoothies. It also adds another round of celery juice and lemon water in the afternoon. For dinner, it's the same old steamed Brussels sprouts and asparagus, with the liver rescue salad. 

Honestly at that point I was just happy that to be close to the finish. I wasn't looking forward to the  "spinach soup," which was basically blended, cold, spinach presented as a soup, but even that was not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. 

The recipe called for an orange, (seriously so disgusting sounding) as well as a clove of garlic, four cups of spinach, a stalk of celery, a pint of grape tomatoes, and a sprig of basil. 

I didn't add the orange, and instead swapped it for some lemon juice. And it was actually quite refreshing and delicious, like a gazpacho! I think that the grape tomatoes really help in this recipe. 

On the seventh day was when I finally started to notice the scale move, and by days eight and nine I was feeling really light. No bloating whatsoever, nothing weighing down my stomach. I could feel internally that my system was being cleaned out, and it was a nice feeling. It was a similar experience both times I did the cleanse. 

Of course fate would have it that this time around on day 9, the all liquid-day, I was going to be working on set in an airport and have to go through airport security - with no liquids! When we got the email from production, I had a small freak out. I had been on this no salt, no fat, no COFFEE diet for eight days, and I was finally at the finish line. 

If I couldn't bring all of my juices and melon purees to work that day, I'd either have to give up on the cleanse, or redo day eight and then do the day 9 liquid flush the next day, during my friend's one-year-old's first birthday party.

Fortunately, I was able to bring my cooler backpack with my liquid diet and send it in with all of the gear, while I went in person through the main security. Phewf! I was delighted. The last day wasn't bad at all. Celery juice, lemon water, apple cucumber juice, apple sauce and melon puree. Delicious. 

The next day, I felt considerably lighter, and started my malibu-mountain-morning with my usual mountain run pre-workout, which is an apple smoothie. It's made out of two apples, two dates, cinnamon and pumpkin spice, banana, and water. I drank it on my drive out before running a 10km at a 430m incline, and I expected that I would be lower energy than usual. 

I actually ran it better than usual. I was faster, lighter, and had all of the energy I needed. It's funny that I expected not to fare so well, because when you think about it logically, that is exactly what long run nutrition calls for, carbohydrates, low fat, and low fibre. So a day full of juices with all of that muscle-fueling glycogen from fruits and none of the fibre to weigh me down, was actually perfect!

Conclusion

A couple of days after this year's cleanse, and after enjoying a coffee and donut at my church for Sunday cheat day, I found myself continuing to prepare fat-free, no-salt recipes I discovered on the cleanse. Like tonight's dinner, for example, which is a delicious combination of steamed potatoes, chopped cucumber and asparagus, lemon, and fresh dill and parsley. I even had the spinach soup for lunch! 

I now find it all quite enjoyable, as long as I can still have my morning matcha. It really is amazing how your taste buds can change and your cravings can shift when you commit to something for a few days. For me, I think that was the best thing to come out of it this time around, since I wasn't dealing with any adverse health symptom that I was trying to get rid of.  

And, considering how well my long run went, I'm actually thinking about doing the liquid day 9 from the cleanse once a week on the day before my run. It provided me with such great energy, and it was really nice not to have a full tummy of digesting food weighing me down. Medical Medium sometimes calls it "putrefying food," which I think is true for many people depending on their diet.

In general, since day 9 of the cleanse has such a powerful detoxing effect, he seems not to recommend jumping straight into it without the prior days preparation, but since generally speaking I have a pretty clean diet, it might be good maintenance. I'll see. 

If you've tried the cleanse or any MM protocols before, or are thinking about doing it, or just want to share your thoughts, please do! I'd love your take. 

And I hope that this goes without saying, but I am not a medical professional and have no authority to give nutritional advice, I am simply sharing my personal experience. 

Books: Cleanse to Heal, Radical Remission, Eat to Beat Disease