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Ripe grapes for breakfast, lunch and dinner – the advantage of this simple cleansing scheme is that it is easily tolerated by the body. Nutritionist Claude Aubert talks about its basic rules and virtues.
Unload the digestive system, cleanse the body of toxins, get rid of the effects of stress or lower cholesterol levels – there are many indications for a grape diet. Ampelotherapy (this is its scientific name) was widely used by the ancient Greeks, Romans and Arabs. In 1927, the grape diet experienced a new wave of popularity thanks to the South African nurse Johanna Brandt (Johanna Brandt), who wrote a book about the purification of grapes, with which she attributed her happy cure of cancer. Since then, this method of cleansing the body has become increasingly successful due to its restorative, tonic and soothing effect. The grape diet has few contraindications (exacerbation of chronic diseases, exhaustion of the body, diabetes …). The basic principle is extremely simple: you need to eat only grapes for one (unloading) day, or for a week.
Clear benefits
The French Ecological Association “Living Land” (www.terrevivante.com) organized a study in which 500 volunteers took part in a grape experiment. Of these, only 10% as a result complained about the severity of the diet, and the remaining 90% admitted that it gave them a feeling of lightness in the body, a sense of peace, energy, increased mental activity. The doctors who took part in the experiment noted the effectiveness of the grape diet for constipation and insomnia (this effect persists even after returning to a normal diet). In addition, it helps to reduce the level of “bad” cholesterol and contributes to the sharpening of taste and smell.
This study also showed that after the grape cleanse, many of the participants in the experiment revised their usual diet. The reason is obvious: as after a course of fasting, the body ceases to feel the need for the stimulating effect of coffee, chocolate, sugar, and a natural desire for simple, natural food appears.
Possible disadvantages
Dietitians call this the “purification crisis”: sometimes a strict diet can be accompanied by a runny nose, a temporary rise in body temperature, skin irritation, a tongue coating, or nausea. It is assumed that the more toxins in the body, the worse the state of health. This crisis is evidence that the body has begun to actively eliminate toxins. To help the body cleanse itself, you need to drink more water, thyme or rosemary infusions, spend more time in the fresh air, visit a bathhouse, go for a massage and cleansing the skin. All this contributes to the active work of our excretory organs (they remove harmful substances from the body). Around the third day of the cleansing diet, health should improve.
Start preparing the body for cleansing two days before the start of the grape program.
Fundamental rules
Two days before the start of the grape regime, prepare your body: exclude animal products, fast food, alcohol, coffee and chocolate from the diet. The best effect is achieved if you first cleanse the intestines.
It is best to use only the freshest, most ripe and thoroughly washed grapes for ampelotherapy – this is why it is recommended to clean in the fall. What varieties are suitable? The ideal option is a white chassela variety with its delicate skin and low sugar content. Alternatively, you can use white nutmeg. Keep in mind that dark grape varieties have a firming effect and are more suitable in case of diarrhea (which may occur as a result of cleansing the body, but it is not necessary to stop the diet).
It is worth choosing only the most ripe grapes: it will not cause irritation of the mucous membranes and intestinal walls. For constipation, it is better to eat only the pulp of grapes, without skin and seeds.
Radical Solution
The skin and seeds of grapes contain the largest amount of phenolic substances that can neutralize free radicals. The antioxidant capacity of phenols and their derivatives is five to six times greater than the antiradical activity of vitamins C and E.
Day One – Day Last
On the first day, tune in to the right wave. Slowly, with pleasure, eat a small bunch of grapes along with the skin and seeds – this is a storehouse of nutrients. Then go about your normal business, snacking on grapes whenever you feel like it. It is undesirable to eat too much at one time, and there is no need to try to maintain the usual rhythm of three meals a day – satiety will come very quickly. A small amount of grapes is recommended every two to three hours, that is, six to seven meals a day. Thus, eating about two kilograms of grapes a day, you will allow your body to cope with the usual daily load (it is better to avoid overloads). If it is cold outside, warm (not more than 40 ° C) freshly squeezed grape juice and hot herbal infusions will save you.
In most cases, it is the second day of cleansing that turns out to be the most difficult, and on the third day the body adapts to a new diet, and you will feel much better. If you are trying this diet for the first time, do not delay it for more than a week. You can also arrange grape fasting days once a week for a month.
To maintain the therapeutic effect of grape cleansing, it is important to correctly switch to the usual diet. The ideal scheme is as follows: a week of diet requires three days of adaptation to the usual regimen. On the first day, introduce other fruits (you can continue or stop eating grapes) and vegetables (fresh or boiled) in your diet. On the second day, also eat yogurt and a soft-boiled egg.
On the third day, you can cook yourself lean fish. And starting from the fourth day, return to your usual diet. That being said, don’t be surprised if your eating habits and preferences change.
Mild cleansing course: daily for 2-6 weeks, eat one bunch at 11 and 18 hours.
Gentle hike
A mild course of cleansing with grapes is less radical and consists in eating one bunch at 11 and 18 hours daily for two to six weeks (at the same time, at least two hours should elapse between such a snack and the main meal).
This option does not require abandoning the usual diet and allows you to maintain a normal lifestyle and rhythm of life, as a result of which it can be recommended to people who do not tolerate mono-diets. The sparing regimen can be practiced for quite a long time: it allows the body to recuperate and stock up on nutrients.
* Claude Aubert is a French nutritionist, nutritionist and healthy lifestyle specialist, author of several popular books.
Benefits with taste
For those who don’t tend to be hard on limits, but would like to use the beneficial properties of grapes in combination with other seasonal fruits, here are some recipes from nutritionist Patricia Teixeira*.
Cocktail-digestif (to improve digestion)
Take a brush of white grapes, separate the berries and beat in a blender along with the seeds, adding a piece of pineapple, green apple and kiwi. This smoothie can be drunk before or during meals, especially when eating meat, it stimulates the activity of the gastrointestinal tract and improves digestion.
Detox cocktail (to remove toxins)
Berries from one brush of white grapes are beaten in a blender with a whole orange (without peel), watermelon pulp and a bunch of mint. This is a great way to start a fasting day or help the body eliminate toxins the day after a hearty holiday meal. This mixture covers almost 30% of the body’s daily requirement for fiber and contains a unique combination of substances that lowers blood cholesterol levels, prevents inflammation and stimulates the elimination of toxins.
* Patricia Teixeira is a French physiologist, biochemist, and a leading specialist in functional nutrition, making up the diet for screen stars and world sports.