At the end of June 2003, Linda and I started on a variation of the liver cleanse program, using therapeutic-grade essential oils to clear the toxins from our livers.  We followed this program pretty faithfully for about three months; and I must say, even in that short period of time, we saw rather profound results.  And, based on that experience, there is good reason to anticipate seeing even greater changes in the quality of our lives as we begin a life-style of cleansing.

Despite the benefits we enjoyed, Linda and I didn't continue with the liver cleanse program at that time.  There were a number of reasons for this.  The two major reasons were: Linda was trying to work full-time and go to school and couldn't keep up with all the demands on her time.  I was struggling to drink adequate quantities of water and had some concerns about becoming toxic if I couldn't flush things out of my system.

Since 2003, we've made a point to keep up on some of the elements of the liver cleanse program, and will be getting back into it full-force in the near future.  I would highly recommend this program to anyone concerned for his/her health.

Benefits Linda saw from the Liver Cleanse (or what I saw in her)

When Linda began the liver cleanse program, I noticed a profound change in her complexion after her first dose of the hepatic-clearing supplement, the liver opening blend and the liver clearing blend.  She thinks I'm exaggerating, but I saw a distinct difference.  She no longer had the yellow cast to her skin that was almost always present since I met her in 1986.  What's more, her skin had a distinctively healthy tone, where before, it sometimes had flesh-tone over an underlying pallor.

Over the course of a few weeks, Linda also lost about six pounds, had much more energy and a brighter outlook on life.  Her blood sugar levels became much more stable, allowing her to go longer in the morning without food and freeing her of the necessity of eating something before bed.

Her overall digestion improved a lot, and her tolerance for some foods was better.  She also had much less digestive disturbance than at any time since we met.

Linda also discovered that, on those occasions — rarer now than ever before — when she experiences some digestive disturbance, if she got some liver clearing drink, it cleared up almost immediately.

She also noticed a definite improvement in hormonal balance, as well, and a lot fewer problems with her monthly cycle.  As she passed 50, that became pretty significant.

Her hair has even gotten thicker — although it was plenty thick before.

Overall, I'd say that she looked and felt 10 years younger.

My results with the Liver Cleanse:

The results I experienced with the liver cleanse program were not been as dramatic as Linda's.  I didn't seem to have the degree of clearing that she had.  Part of this was my need to drink more water; but following my time on the program, I experimented with some things you can do with the cleanse, and found that I really needed to be drinking the unsweetened cranberry juice in water to get the results that I should.  (Things won't flush if you don't give them something to flush with.)

However, I was not without positive results.

• Like Linda, my hair got some thicker (but my bald spot didn't fill in [sigh!]).
• I lost about 12 pounds without dieting or added exercise.  I still had a long way to go, but after 25 years of carrying a lot of extra pounds, it was great to find something that offered the promise of returning to a more ideal weight.
• I generally had more energy, although with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia, it was not a straight line kind of thing.  A lot of other factors play into this, not the least of which are environmental toxins (lawn chemicals and pesticides — yuck!) and over-doing it building web pages.
• I generally felt much more freedom through my abdomen.  When I would sit up straight or stretch, my gut was no longer a solid mass of yuck.  I could feel the organs moving about, which gave the whole area a lighter, more alive feeling.
• My complexion improved a lot.  My cheeks lost the flushed look that I so often had before, and my overall skin color was not so pale.
• Maybe one of the best overall effects of the liver cleanse was that my desire for — or even my tolerance of — junk foods was greatly diminished.  I became much more sensitive to the things that overload the liver, whether that be eating too much good food, eating unhealthy food, or overloading on dietary supplements.

As I continued to clear, I found that many of the supplements I'd been taking really put a load on the liver.  What I had previously passed off as being a fullness (I mean, I took a lot of supplements) I now recognized as overburdening of the liver.  I'd been feeling full because my liver was plugging.

I even became aware enough that, as I pulled my supplements out of my vitamin chest, I sensed a drop of energy when I over-reach my level of tolerance.  I've found this to be a very helpful thing.

Generally speaking, I came to see that most of the supplements on the market today have a basic flaw: they piece together individual nutrients which, even when they come from natural sources and are in a balanced formula, act upon the body more like a drug than a food, forcing the body to go in a particular direction.  They don't promote balance; they produce an effect.  And this easily leads to overload.

A much, much better concept is that of Garden of Life, where supplements are formulated by a fermentation process of nutrient-dense foods, providing you with pre-digested, whole food supplements containing naturally-occuring probiotics and enzymes.  They are essentially "body-ready" and much easier on the liver.

I owe much of this insight to the sensitivity I've gained from clearing out so many toxins from my body.  I can't say enough about Gary Young and his work with therapeutic-grade essentials oils and medicinal aromatherapy.