I applied the 10-day detox of Mark Hyman, one of the leaders of functional medicine, and took notes day by day. The result is unbelievable, even for me who thought that eating healthy.
Recently, we have heard the term functional nutrition frequently. The basis of functional nutrition, which I prefer to describe as “healing with food”, is the power of real food.
Functional medicine, which is a holistic medicine perspective that focuses on identifying the root causes of diseases and eliminating these problems, also focuses on functional nutrition. Using it as a medicine to support health, long life, energy, happiness and mental health, Dr. Mark Hyman is one of the leaders in functional medicine.
Enabling many people to regain their health with what he told in his podcasts, interviews, seminars, speeches, social media posts and books. Mark Hyman’s aim is to show that living a healthy life is not difficult at all.
As interest in functional nutrition and functional medicine increased and I experienced a noticeable improvement in my diabetes, cholesterol and Hashimoto’s thyroid, thanks to the functional nutrition I applied, Hyman’s books began to be a guide for me. On top of that, I wanted to apply the 10-Day Detox Diet (10-Day Detox Diet) that I wanted to try for a long time and share the results. This is not one of those detoxes where lists such as three almonds, a slice of bread, an egg are given, or by feeding only liquid and nurturing the body with hunger, so to speak. The goal here is to increase the body’s ability to burn fat, lose weight, and fight disease.
“This is not one of those starvation-baiting detoxes. The goal is to increase the body’s ability to burn fat, lose weight, and fight disease.”
Frankly, I thought that this detox would not make much difference to me, since I was already on a gluten-free and dairy-free diet as recommended by functional medicine. But on the second day I realized how wrong I was. I will start from the very beginning and share all that I have done and experienced so that everyone can witness this miracle.
When you start reading the book, Hyman greets you by explaining what functional medicine is, what to eat and what not to eat during and after detox. It doesn’t just say it’s bad, it also explains the reason and consequences of something being bad, thus eliminating the question of “why” that always pops up in minds, and enabling focus on eating patterns. The book also includes various recipes for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The most difficult part for me was applying these recipes. Because unfortunately, it is not possible to find some of the materials that can be found in any market in the USA here, or they can only be ordered via the internet. But this is not an obstacle because the recipes that can be applied, especially the breakfast options, are very diverse and the dishes you can create with what you can consume are unlimited.
“If you are hungry, it means that you did not consume enough protein, greens, carbohydrates and fats in the previous meal. Protein was always clear in me, too, and I was starting to wonder what to eat in less than two hours.”
After reviewing the book, I made a list of the mistakes I made in my diet. Yes, I was eating gluten-free and dairy-free, but there was no portion control in my meals, and most days, I had the healthiest choice of vegetable food for workplace meals and I did not consume any protein with it. Mark Hyman underlines this point over and over. Eating at least ten grams of protein at each meal, as much greens and seasonal vegetables as you want, and consuming a healthy source of fat extends the fasting period up to five hours or more. If you are hungry, it means that you did not consume enough protein, greens, carbohydrates and fats in the previous meal. Protein was always left open for me, and I was starting to think about what to eat before two hours had passed. That’s why I added protein to every meal. Organic eggs, lamb and minced meat, and small sea fish are recommended protein sources due to their low heavy metal content. The same was true for the oil source. I did not add oil to my salads for fear of gaining weight, and I did not consume nuts except for snacks. I started adding cold-pressed olive oil to my salads as recommended or adding two walnuts at every meal. Another change I made was about bread. I used to consume a slice of bread made from buckwheat or quinoa at every meal, since they are gluten-free. No grains are included in the ten-day detox, even gluten-free. The aim is to reduce carbohydrate intake and eliminate the difficulty of the intestines digesting the grain. An essential step for a complete detox. Legumes are not consumed in detox for the same reason. It should not be forgotten that peanut is also a legume. I had to put peanut butter on the banned list, too.
Let’s get to the part that challenges me the most. Everything from vegetables to fruits, greens, chicken to lamb, eggs to tea must be organic in order to purify the body from harmful chemicals. I was already buying vegetables and fruits organically, but there were times when I bought meat and chicken from outside or bought them from the market and cooked at home, and frankly, I had never questioned whether it was organic before. And I really wasn’t aware that sourced meat and chicken products were so expensive. Organic chicken was more expensive than a kilo of meat. For this reason, I mostly preferred lamb meat and minced meat and, frankly, my first choice was organic eggs, since it was easy for me.
In normal times, I consume a cup of coffee a day because it does not cause any harm, but there is no coffee in detox because it is addictive. When I didn’t really consume it during the detox, I realized that I only drink coffee out of addiction. In fact, green tea and various herbal teas that did not contain any preservatives or additives, including aroma, were enough to suppress that habit and enjoy it. Before starting the detox, I suggest you take a variety of herbal tea.
I also had to change about fruit. Normally, I would consume seasonal fruits such as apples and pears one or two meals a day. However, Mark Hyman says that even if the glycemic index, that is, the level of raising blood sugar, is low, the fruit should be consumed very limitedly. Fruits such as blueberry, raspberry and blackberry and kiwi, which are called berries because they do not suddenly increase sugar, are the group of fruits that are free in detox. If I didn’t make a portridge or smoothie for breakfast, I didn’t eat fruit for ten days.
Foods to be avoided during the detox process: 1- Processed foods. 2- Milk and dairy products. 3- Anything with sweetener. 4- All packaged foods. 5- Non-organic vegetables and fruits. 6- GMO products. 7- Oils rich in Omega 6 such as margarines and sunflower oil. 8- White and red meat inflated with antibiotics or feed containing harmful chemicals. 9- Eggs of poultry that cannot roam in nature. 10- Legumes. 11- All grains.
Foods recommended to be consumed: 1- Organic all-season vegetables, berries and kiwi from fruits. 2- Sources of healthy fats such as avocado, olive oil and raw nuts. 3- Apple cider vinegar. 4- Mustard. 5- Tahini and nut pastes such as hazelnut and almond. 6- Meat of free-range animals. Lamb and goat meat are especially recommended. 7- Tofu. 8- Almond and hazelnut milk and paste, provided that you make it yourself. 9- chocolate with a cocoa content of seventy-five percent or more. 10- Homemade pickles. 11- Sunflower seeds, sesame, flax seeds, chia, pumpkin seeds. 12- Green tea or hibiscus tea. 13- all kinds of spices.
What Has Changed in My Body with Detox?
There are measurements Mark Hyman wants you to do before detox. We follow the weight, hip and waist measurements once a week so that we can see the developments. In the meantime, we take the waist measurement from the thickest part of the waist. In addition, diabetics need to regularly measure and record their glucose levels. Hyman warns that there will be a big change in sugar values ​​in a very short time, so sugar monitoring is important. It may be necessary to regularly lower insulin or drug rates. It is best to keep in touch with your doctor for medication adjustments throughout the detox.
At the beginning of the detox;
Weight: 52.3 kg
Hip: 92cm
Waist: 73cm
Morning insulin: 4
Noon insulin: 4
Evening insulin: 2
Long-acting insulin: 13.
“I have to admit that I didn’t think my values ​​would change much when I already had a diet that I thought was healthy, but I was very wrong.”
My goal was not to lose weight, but to suppress hunger attacks, to minimize insulin use and to increase the utilization of nutrients. I have to admit that I did not think that my values ​​would change much when I had a diet that I thought was healthy anyway, but I was very wrong. You will agree with me when you see the details of my sugar that started to decrease on the second day, and my insulin values ​​that started to decrease in parallel with this.
Day 2
On the second day, I reduced my morning insulin rate to 3 and my postprandial sugar was 85. For breakfast, I made Hyman’s recipe for portrige with chia seeds, almond milk and kiwi. I was never hungry until lunch which is a miracle for me. Since I had breakfast at 6 in the morning, I was like a wolf until noon, but when it was time for lunch, I was still not quite hungry. My sugar was 78 before lunch. I did low insulin again and ate a carrot, red cabbage and lettuce salad, 1 egg, and boiled cauliflower-broccoli with some celery. When I was hungry, 1.5 walnuts were enough for me and I was not hungry again until the evening. For dinner, I ate grilled organic chicken, baked spicy cauliflower and greens salad. My fasting sugar was 71 and I only made 1 unit of insulin. My satiety sugar was also 121.
Although the changes I have experienced since the 10th day of detox are indescribable, I will try to convey as follows: Even though there was no change in my hip and waist measurements, my weight result decreased by 300 g. Most importantly, I reduced my permanent-acting insulin to 11, my short-acting insulins that I made before meals are now 1 unit each, and sometimes I don’t feel the need to do it in the evening. There have been some new additions to my life such as portrige with chia seeds and low glycemic index fruit, oyster mushroom and asparagus, red onion omelet and Mark Hyman bread, the architect of my satiety. Coffee is completely out of my life, and I’ve learned that green tea is just as effective at waking me up in the morning as coffee. We do not need grains even if they are gluten-free, the carbohydrates of fats and vegetables are sufficient to provide energy and increase. At the end of the 10th day, I felt that I was hungry only after meals that I did not eat fully. Apart from that, consuming only one or two walnuts in between is enough to suppress my hunger before the main meals. I can’t help but add that there is nothing left in the name of bloating. Yes, I thought I got rid of all my bloating after quitting dairy and gluten, but it turned out that other grains had bloating as well.
Of course, it is not possible to get rid of all problems with nutrition alone. Hyman wants you to engage in a sport that makes you happy and especially trains your muscles; adopting a philosophy that will be good for your soul, such as meditation and yoga; He tells you to get your sleep at night and most importantly to have a good time with your loved ones. All of these increase our methylation and contribute to our well-being in every sense. All you need to do in this health detox is to plan a balanced meal made from real ingredients, avoid all harmful pesticides and animal meats fed with medicated feeds, take care to get enough sleep, be with our loved ones, and most importantly, realize that you are valuable and act accordingly. Being healthy is that easy…
RECIPES AND SAMPLE MENUS
1. SAMPLE MENU:
BREAKFAST:
1 boiled egg; arugula, parsley, carrot salad with olive oil and lemon dressing; 1 slice of Mark Hyman bread.
LUNCH:
1 piece of grilled organic chicken breast, lettuce with olive oil, mustard and lemon dressing, arugula and beetroot salad, 2 walnuts.
DINNER:
2 pieces of lamb chops cooked in a cast iron pan, steamed broccoli and lettuce salad.
2. SAMPLE MENU:
BREAKFAST:
Portrige and green tea made with kiwi, chia seeds, almond milk and almond paste.
LUNCH:
Oyster mushrooms cooked in a cast iron pan, 3 tablespoons of ground lamb roast, 1 slice of Mark Hyman bread and lettuce, carrot, parsley salad.
DREAM MEAL:
1.5 walnuts.
DINNER:
Baked cauliflower steak with organic chicken, lettuce and arugula salad with olive oil and lemon dressing, 1 slice of Mark Hyman bread.
2 HOURS AFTER MEAL: Chamomile tea.
3. SAMPLE MENU:
BREAKFAST:
Baked cauliflower omelet with 2 eggs, parsley with olive oil and lemon dressing, celery stick, arugula salad and 1 slice of Mark Hyman bread.
DREAM MEAL:
5 raw almonds.
LUNCH:
Spicy celery in the oven, meatballs made with 3 organic chicken mince, lettuce sata with olive oil and lemon sauce.
DINNER:
Red onion omelet prepared with 2 eggs, olive oil, mustard and lemon sauce, steamed broccoli salad, 2 walnuts.
