Eating Light To Heavy
Eating from light to heavy is a way of consuming in the most “digestible order” - or rather - in a way that optimizes digestion for proper elimination. Consuming in this way is so optimal for living a cleansing lifestyle, because when it comes to detoxification & cleansing, the goal is to decrease our toxic load, eliminate regularly & remove waste, toxicity & stagnation from the body. Eating light to heavy assists with this process.
The way this works: lighter foods (fruits, vegetables, leafy greens, juices) take 30-40 minutes to digest at most whereas heavier foods (protein, dairy, grains, starches) take anywhere from 2-8 hours. When we eat a protein and grain alongside fruit, for example, it interrupts our natural digestive process, and leads to the food acidifying and “clogging” our system. The fruit is trying to move through our body, but the protein and grain is “blocking it”. So rather than moving through for elimination, the fruit sits on top of the protein and grain, becomes acidic, ferments, and causes a myriad of symptoms - gas, bloating, stomach pain and discomfort, stubborn weight - and , in turn, our toxic load increases. This is why eating lighter foods in the morning and early afternoon is optimal, as lighter foods are able to digest quickly (essentially flowing through our bodies seamlessly) without getting “trapped” behind heavier, denser foods.
Tips for beginning to eat light to heavy:
Start your day alkaline. I always recommend starting light and alkaline in the morning with lemon water, green juice, an abundance of fruit, or a smoothie. This allows for deep cleansing and detoxification in the morning, supports elimination upon waking, and provides you with a boost of energy. Not only is juice and fruit simple and easy in the morning, but it’s also delish & will help curb sugar cravings later in the day.
Have a raw greens salad with your cooked food. I always recommend making sure you’re having some raw green at lunch and/or dinner. For example, if you're having a bowl of pasta for dinner either have some raw greens before or with your meal. The live enzymes in raw greens - also high in water content and full of fiber - help to break down cooked for easier digestion and elimination.
Eat your heaviest meal at dinner. When we eat the heaviest and longest digesting foods at the end of the day, our bodies have ample time to digest. While we’re sleeping, our bodies go through a deep detoxification process to remove toxicity in the body. So when we eat our heaviest meal - this might consist of protein and grains - our bodies don’t have to exert energy on digesting during the day when we need energy. Rather, it can work to digest during our bodies natural detoxification process while we sleep.
