Michelle Schoffro Cook - Weekend Wonder Detox: Quick Cleanses to Strengthen Your Body and Enhance Your Beauty

Praise for The 4-Week Ultimate Body Detox Plan: A Program for Greater Energy, Health, and Vitality

Michelle shares her compelling story of healing with wisdom and compassion as she gently guides you through this exceptional book. Read her book carefully and put into practice her simple, straightforward, commonsense principles, and you will be glad you did for the rest of your long and healthy life.

HARVEY DIAMOND, #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING COAUTHOR OF FIT FOR LIFE

Michelles detox plan is an elegant, gentle, yet life-saving methodology, well-conceived through personal experience and thoroughly grounded in research. I heartily recommend it.

MEG JORDAN, PHD, RN, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF OF AMERICAN FITNESS

After the first week or so, you settle into a routine, get more adventurous in the kitchen, and start to really enjoy feeling good about the healthy choices being made. My 4-Week Ultimate Body Detox Plan results: Lost5 pounds; Gaineda much healthier attitude to food; UpsideMy clothes fit better. I feel better. Im eating better food and having way more fun in the kitchen. Insomnia is a thing of the past. Walking has become a regular part of my life. Downsidenone.

ROBIN SUMMERFIELD, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR, CALGARY HERALD

WEEKEND

WONDER

DETOX

Also by Michelle Schoffro Cook:

60 Seconds to Slim: Balance Your Body Chemistry to Burn Fat Fast!

The Ultimate pH Solution: Balance Your Body Chemistry to Prevent Disease and Lose Weight

The 4-Week Ultimate Body Detox Plan: A Program for Greater Energy, Health, and Vitality

The Phytozyme Cure: Treat or Reverse More Than 30 Serious Health Conditions with Powerful Plant Nutrients

The Life Force Diet: 3 Weeks to Supercharge Your Health and Stay Slim with Enzyme-Rich Foods

The Brain Wash: A Powerful, All-Natural Program to Protect Your Brain Against Alzheimers, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Depression, Parkinsons, and Other Diseases

Copyright 2014 by Michelle Schoffro Cook

Photos and illustrations by Maria Yarek

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. For information, address Da Capo Press, 44 Farnsworth Street, 3rd Floor, Boston, MA 02210

Designed by Trish Wilkinson

Set in 11.5 point Goudy Oldstyle Std by the Perseus Books Group

Cataloging-in-Publication data for this book is available from the Library of Congress.

First Da Capo Press edition 2014

ISBN: 978-0-7382-1737-6 (e-book)

Published by Da Capo Press

A Member of the Perseus Books Group

www.dacapopress.com

Note: The information in this book is true and complete to the best of our knowledge. This book is intended only as an informative guide for those wishing to know more about health issues. In no way is this book intended to replace, countermand, or conflict with the advice given to you by your own physician. The ultimate decision concerning care should be made between you and your doctor. We strongly recommend you follow his or her advice. Information in this book is general and is offered with no guarantees on the part of the authors or Da Capo Press. The authors and publisher disclaim all liability in connection with the use of this book.

Da Capo Press books are available at special discounts for bulk purchases in the US by corporations, institutions, and other organizations. For more information, please contact the Special Markets Department at the Perseus Books Group, 2300 Chestnut Street, Suite 200, Philadelphia, PA, 19103, or call (800) 810-4145, ext. 5000, or e-mail .

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This book is dedicated to the love of my life, my husband, Curtis. Never before have two loved more.

CONTENTS

D etox has never been more popular. Thats because it works. And it helps us get our diet and lifestyle back on track after any excesses weve experienced or to help us reach our health goals quickly and efficiently. Some people turn to detoxification because they binged on too many carbs. Others seek out a cleanse to prepare for a wedding or reunion. Still others want to shed pounds or improve their skin. Whatever the reasons for detoxifying, Weekend Wonder Detox can help. Whatever the reasons for cleansing, few people realize that were inundated with toxins in our everyday life that can interfere with our ability to experience optimal weight and health. For millennia our bodies relied on built-in mechanisms to keep cells, organs, and internal systems working in the face of pathogens, exposures to naturally occurring poisons, wounds and infections, and an assortment of other, potentially dangerous forms of toxicity found in the natural world. Although the human body evolved to detoxify and protect itself naturally against these things, with varying degrees of success, the introduction of thousands of synthetic chemicals, including food additives and pharmaceutical medicine, has created a toxic burden with which the body is easily overwhelmed.

Human beings today are carrying a greater toxic load than at any other time in history. It is manifesting itself in sky-high rates of environmental and lifestyle diseases like diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular and respiratory disease, and cancers. Whether it is household cleaners, air fresheners, personal care products, or medicine, the toxic chemicals they contain may pose challenges to even the finest-tuned detoxification systems. This truth extends to our food supply as well, as food and beverage companies continue to find ways to incorporate chemicals and synthetic ingredients into the products the public consumes, frequently without their knowledge. The distinction between food processing and chemical industries as well as the pharmaceutical industry is becoming increasingly blurred, at the expense of your health.

The good news is that there are a lot of things you can do to protect yourself from toxins. In reality, detox just makes good sense if you want your body to perform at its best. Think of it this way: How do you take care of your computer? Do you protect it from shocks and extremes of temperature; load it with recognized and reputable software, including programs to protect it from viruses; keep the keyboard and screen clean from foreign debris and dirt; and regularly perform maintenance, cleaning, and upgrading to ensure it stays working at optimum levels? Most of us spend more time on the proper functioning of our computers than we do on our own health.

Even with this level of care, many people replace their computers every few years or less. But we dont have this luxury with our bodies, so we need to maintain and protect them by reducing their exposure to harmful substances and activities. Despite the prevalence of toxins in our body, detoxing is not as difficult as you might thinkand the rewards are amazing. More energy and vitality, improved weight management, improved moods, clearer skin and thicker hair, and an improved ability to fight off harmful viruses, bacteria, fungi, and other assorted bugs and disease.

Still not convinced? Still think your liver, kidneys, bowels, or sweat glands will take care of any toxins that find their way into your body? Think again. Because our bodies were not designed to ingest and filter out the myriad chemicals were exposed to daily, they get stored in our tissues, usually in fat. They can build up to a point that they create a toxic load that overwhelms the body, creating all kinds of symptoms linked to various forms of disease.