Cleanse Diet for Ama Reducing

When to start: 5 days before your first office treatment day

This consists of:

• Warm, soft foods with liquid base: curries, soups, stews, porridges
• Rice, quinoa, barley, bulgur. No pasta
• Minimal, small shredded pieces of meat or vegetarian if you can manage
• No caffeine, alcohol, chocolate or other stimulants, no sugar
• All whole foods only
• No processed foods (incl veggie burgers etc and processed boxed foods, snacks, tapas, pickled)
• No snacks in between meals. Take meals at same time daily.
• No food past 6pm
• No foods that you know give you gas: cabbage family etc
• Substitute non-yeasted flatbreads for all bread
• No fruits combined with other foods. No banana, melon, watermelon

Breathing is one of the key ways your body expels toxins, so this becomes priority #1 throughout your cleanse.

In this Home Preparation phase,

1. 1. 10 minutes in the morning and 10 minutes in the evening of alternate nostril breathing (primary balancer of hormones)- with or without holds, depending on your experience
   2. 10 minutes in the morning and 10 minutes in the evening of a strong breathing practice such as:

• • • • standing ocean breath (example: first 5 mins of this video or Max Strom’s app called “Strategic Breathing)
      • Kapalabhati (if it is not contraindicated due to acid reflux, migraines, feeling of panic, high Pitta etc)
      • Bhastrika (Kapha only)

• Sleep
• Go to bed earlier, but 10pm and get minimum 8 hours sleep.
• No daytime naps.

   

Daytime Restorative Techniques

You may rest with your legs up the wall or do breathing exercises (see above)

Moderate cardio is allowed, including daily walks of 30-45 mins, runs, elliptical. If your constitution is Kapha and you are accustomed to strong movement, continue intense sporting.

Oiling your Body

In the Home Preparation phase, please start daily application of warm oil all over your body, leaving it minimally 10 mins (max 45 mins) before showering.  What to use:

• Plain, untoasted sesame oil or sunflower oil (or coconut oil in summer months)
• Herbal oil specially recommended to you

Special spots to oil: ears, feet and head

While you are applying oil to your whole body, be sure to massage oil into the outer ears, soles of your feet and apply oil to the crown of your head and massage to spread. You may do the head only on the days you will shampoo your hair, if that is not daily. 

Below are articles on how to do this self-application of oil, and some additional tips.

• How to do Abhyanga, Ayurvedic self oil massage
• Tidy Tips for Ayurvedic oil self massage
• Ayurvedic warm oil self-care

Oiling your Nose

Start these kitchen remedies. You can do them minimal 1x day or even with each meal.

Agni Boosters

Digestive Agni Shot
Indications: low digestive fire, indigestion, gas
Counterindications: Signs of excess heat

1/2 tablespoon honey
1 slice of fresh ginger (coin sized) 1 pinch of salt
splash of lime juice
Prepare all ingredients on tablespoon before drawing into mouth to chew.

Gas Reducing

Cardemom chew
Remove the peel of 5 cardamom pods and chew the seeds inside 3x day after each meal

Cumin, Coriander, Fennel Tea
Indications: corrects direction of Vata, Tridoshic, cleans out ama and urinary tract
Counterindications: none
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds 1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
Combine seeds in a tea ball. Pour boiling water over. Cover and let sit for 10 minutes. Make a stronger more medicinal variation by placing seeds in 1 L boiling water and boiling down to 500-700ml, and drinking that all day long.

Ama Burners

• • ½ teaspoon Ginger POWDER after meals
  • Ashta churna powder – take 3g (about 1 teaspoon) with warm water twice per day before a meal
  • Gandharva Haritaki – for those with the tendency for dry-type constipation, reduces ama & Vata
    • In an iron skillet, roast a pinch of haritaki powder in 1-2 tablespoons castor oil
    • Take nightly before sleep

Ghee progression

5 days before your strong action, start to drink ghee in increasing amounts. This will overlap with treatment days a the office. 

Instructions: Melt the ghee (I prefer the au bain marie technique to melt the ghee and put the ghee inside a mug and then the mug in a bowl of boiled water). After the ghee melts, drink that, then have 50ml of hot water. You may cleanse the feeling and taste from your mouth by chewing a slice of ginger.

Timing of ghee drinking

You will find it easiest to digest ghee on an empty stomach as early as possible in the morning, before 6 or 6:30am. Do not delay ghee drinking after 7am or it will become heavier to digest. 

Fasting after drinking ghee

After drinking ghee early in the morning, DO NOT EAT ANYTHING until the ghee is completely digested. You will likely need to adjust your meal time, so carry a piece of fruit or packet of oatmeal. When you finally do feel TRUE hunger arise, take your first ‘meal’ of the day – a simple piece of fruit, like a mandarin (no banana)

Signs the ghee is completely digested (when you’re allowed to eat your first light ‘meal’)

1. TRUE, growling hunger
2. Clear belching, without taste
3. A feeling of lightness at the stomach and in the chest

Amount to drink

The amount will vary per person, and Susan will adjust the amount you will drink daily.

Example for very intensive Panchakarma:

Day 1- 2 tablespoons ghee

Day 2- 4 tablespoons ghee

Day 3- 6 tablespoons ghee

Day 4- 6 tablespoons ghee

Day 5- 8 tablespoons ghee

Note: for these dosages, Susan may require you to skip a day of ghee drinking or adjust the next day’s dosage.

Alternatives to ghee

There is no alternative to ghee that has the same effect at loosening the doshas to make them available to be removed from your body.

Ghee is tolerable to most, even who are lactose intolerant since in the nature of its processing, the irritating parts are removed.

If you cannot tolerate ghee: first modification Susan may make is that your dosage may be reduced, and you may be required to take it for more days leading up to your strong action. 

A patient who cannot tolerate ghee can achieve the side benefit of overcoming dryness in the body (if appropriate) by taking flaxseed oil in increasing quantities instead, but no other oil will have the same effect on readying the doshas for excretion- the main goal of Panchakarma.

• Breathing

• Downshift Activity: appointments, social events, exercise, sex

• Sleep

• Daytime Restorative Techniques

• Oiling your Body

• Oiling your Nose

• Oiling your Ears

• Agni Boosters
• Gas Reducing
• Ama Burners
• Teas

• Ghee progression

• Alternatives

What to eat will change depending on whether you’re in Phase 1,2 or 3

• More than a week before treatments > Eat a clean, reducing diet. Cut out sugar, alcohol, reduce coffee to the absolute least you can without triggering headaches.
• 3-5 days before treatments > Eat a strict pre-cleanse diet.
• during ‘strong action’ days > Mostly fasting, but special instructions given depending on which ‘strong action’ treatment you have
• 3-5 days after you ‘strong action’ > recovery diet, gradually moves from rice water to kitchari
• next 2 weeks > move from kitchari back to strictly clean diet

What to eat will change depending on whether you’re in Phase 1,2 or 3

• Eat a strict pre-cleanse diet, consisting of kitchari, or alternative
•  sugar, alcohol, reduce coffee to the absolute least you can without triggering headaches.

What to eat will change depending on whether you’re in Phase 1,2 or 3

• More than a week before treatments > Eat a clean, reducing diet. Cut out sugar, alcohol, reduce coffee to the absolute least you can without triggering headaches.
• 3-5 days before treatments > Eat a strict pre-cleanse diet.
• during ‘strong action’ days > Mostly fasting, but special instructions given depending on which ‘strong action’ treatment you have
• 3-5 days after you ‘strong action’ > recovery diet, gradually moves from rice water to kitchari
• next 2 weeks > move from kitchari back to strictly clean diet

What to eat will change depending on whether you’re in Phase 1,2 or 3

• More than a week before treatments > Eat a clean, reducing diet. Cut out sugar, alcohol, reduce coffee to the absolute least you can without triggering headaches.
• 3-5 days before treatments > Eat a strict pre-cleanse diet.
• during ‘strong action’ days > Mostly fasting, but special instructions given depending on which ‘strong action’ treatment you have
• 3-5 days after you ‘strong action’ > recovery diet, gradually moves from rice water to kitchari
• next 2 weeks > move from kitchari back to strictly clean diet

What to eat will change depending on whether you’re in Phase 1,2 or 3

• Eat a strict pre-cleanse diet, consisting of kitchari, or alternative
•  sugar, alcohol, reduce coffee to the absolute least you can without triggering headaches.