We have been facing some health issues, and always approach solving these the most natural and positive way possible. A couple of years ago we met Adi, the owner of Thea Retreat and ever since she has been teaching us about health, nutrition and how to really take care of our bodies. In our opinion she is one of the best in her field. This is why we want to share our experience with the Liver Rescue cleanse at Thea Retreat with you. Firstly, we want to begin by saying that we’re not a fan of diets or restrictions when it comes to food. None of us follow any specific diet, even though we’re vegan, and food is a celebration and something positive that we both enjoy.
But sometimes it takes a little work to get back into balance, and for those of us struggling with health issues, we know how much it's worth it to feel healthy and good in your skin again. Although we are pretty healthy, we both had a lot of stress, processed foods and nicotine in our lives which I guess took a toll on the body.
We have been following Medical Medium for a while. What is so cool about him is that no matter what symptoms or illness we are trying to heal - the answer is lots of fresh fruits & veggies. Simple, doable, healthy and no hocus pocus.
Liver Rescue is a 9-day protocol of healthy meals that are supposed to super-boost the liver. Medical Medium explains that the liver is responsible for over 2,000 chemical functions in the body. The liver is incredibly smart and knows how to clear out the bad and take in the good. He also explains that in our modern life, the liver can get overburdened. This can be due to chemicals, foods we eat, alcohol, tobacco, nicotine, etc. When this happens, we may start to experience symptoms like unexpected weight gain, bloating, trouble digesting, IBS, acne, depression, anxiety and so on. Therefore, cleansing the liver can help it restore some of its strength and help the body function as normal again.
The Liver Rescue is also considered an emotional detox. Medical Medium explains that the liver also stores a lot of unprocessed emotions in the liver. When you cleanse in this way, a lot of emotions will rise to the surface. You might also experience a lot of fatigue and tiredness as a part of the cleanse, in addition to anger, restlessness and some weird dreams (talking from experience).
Why Liver Rescue?
One of the reasons we wanted to do this cleanse was that individually we were experiencing some health issues such as digestive issues, anxiety and hormonal imbalances causing bacterial acne and a disappearing cycle. These have been reoccurring health issues that have gotten better over the years, but that we haven't quite gotten to the bottom of. That's why cleanses are so good, because they give you a chance to start over. And this one is actually more of a meal plan than a cleanse.
Can you do it at home?
It’s possible to do this cleanse at home, and all the recipes are in Medical Mediums book “Liver Rescue”. We’ve written more about Medical Medium before - just hit the search function on our homepage. Most of the ingredients are available at any supermarket. We did the it while we were at Thea Retreat, Costa Rica, and have to say that doing this with the support and guidance and space at Thea made such a huge difference. Since we were at a retreat center (more like a tropical resort) we had the luxury of someone planning and prepping and cooking for us. You eat a lot of food during this cleanse, so to have this help and love from someone else was magical. This allowed us to relax and help the body repair itself.
Susanne was more optimistic, Anette more doubtful about these 9 days. So let’s see how it went!
Adi, the owner of Thea, is an amazing woman, reiki master, and nutritional coach. She is also a dear friend and an inspiring human. Having help and support and a space to cleanse was a new experience and it made it much easier to relax and focus on healing the body.
Hos does the Liver Rescue 3:6:9 work?
The Liver Rescue cleanse is divided into three parts. The intention behind this is to slowly ease into the cleanse and then out again without stressing the liver. Hence the name, 3:6:9.
The 3 - Easing in
The first three days you are supposed to eat quite similar to what you would normally do, except that you should avoid gluten, dairy, eggs, lamb, pork products and canola oil. You are also supposed to reduce your consumption of radical fats (nuts, seeds, oils, coconut, animal protein, etc.) by 50 %, and wait to eat fats until dinner. If you eat animal products, these should be eaten at dinner, and only one serving. Your focus should be bringing in more and more fruits, veggies and leafy greens each day!
These days were already a bit of a shift for us, after living the vegan LA life, with lots of yummy doughnuts, lattes, cookies, tacos and other foods that were now replaced with pure vegan health food. It was a bit tough, but we were both motivated. Another change was to drink 16 ounces of lemon water also at night (usually drink it in the morning) and a serving of hibiscus tea right before bed. You’re gonna be up a few times during the night! Adi decided to make recipes from the book during the 3 “intro” days, but you don’t have to. We felt full all the time, and even more than usual actually, which was a bit tough in the heat (bloated + bikini = no bueno haha).
We had big plans on surfing these days, but we were exhausted and none of us were in a good mood at all. We could already notice a difference in our energy levels by cutting away the fat.
The 6 - Time to clean
The next three days the real cleansing begins. These days you follow a more strict protocol on what to eat, and you do not eat any fat these days (including healthy fats like avocado, nuts, seeds, coconut oil). You also eat a LOT of food and you are not supposed to be hungry!
The salads portions are pretty big, and you are supposed to eat a lot of apples during the day. These were also the hardest days of the cleanse. We had liver rescue salad B, with raw carrots, cabbage, cucumber, apple, kale, asparagus, and dressing. After these three days with this salad, you get so sick of it! Although it is really good.
The mornings were usually fine, but after lunch, it was like the belly just stood out like a pregnant person and I felt brain fog, anger, and some anxiety. During these days we made sure to do yoga in the morning, go to pilates, or walk on the beach to get the lymphatic system going and then the rest of the day. we just wanted to relax and let the body do its work. Day 5 Susanne felt absolutely super, but Anette felt horrible and on day 6 it was opposite! These days we really felt that this was an emotional detox as well because there were so many emotions coming up, especially at night.
The 9 - Time to shine
The last three days are supposed to be the time when the toxins are ready to be flushed out! These days the food was finally mixed up a bit, and instead of having the same salad for lunch, we had a really delicious spinach soup with cucumber noodles. After the first day of the 9, we both felt a huge relief and really felt that this detox was working. It was still hard to digest everything, so we did yin yoga every night, and made sure to do lots of breathing exercises. It was also very motivating knowing we were almost done. For dinner day 7, you even get steamed potatoes, which was so nice and comforting.
The last day - day 9 was the day you flush it all out. You drink liquids all day and try to take it easy. This day we also reacted differently, Sus was hungry all morning, craving food but was good at night. For Anette, it was the other way around.
The next morning we woke up early and got ready to take an early flight back to LA. The first day after the cleanse you have to ease out of it again, and it’s recommended that you follow the morning routine of the cleanse with lemon water, celery juice, and a liver rescue smoothie. We just had lemon water and then the smoothie we made for the trip had gone bad so we had some dates and found a couple of mango smoothies at the airport. For lunch, Adi had made us a liver rescue salad which we ate on the plane. When we landed we were SO hungry, so we found some bananas, some more dates and apples and when we finally arrived in our home in LA we made sweet potato fried, medical medium cheese dip and a big salad. We decided that we would give the cleanse another week, meaning we wanted to continue with eating mostly foods with no fat. We also continued with celery juice, liver rescue smoothie or the heavy metal detox smoothie.
The week following the cleanse
We could feel the cleanse continuing all week which was pretty crazy. We were recommended to continue keeping a pretty clean diet for the weeks following, which has been hard. Mostly because of limits on social eating life, and also because that’s a whole lot of cooking and cleaning! But hey, we’re not gonna complain when we are investing in our own health. Three weeks out of a whole lifetime is not a lot. And there have been some very positive changes in the body. The post-cleanse meals consist of lots of fresh fruits and vegetables and staying away from fats. Honestly, we’ve both been kind of tired the whole week, but have managed to do some sports every day and work. I’ve had a boost of energy in the morning, and then it has faded gradually towards the evening. I guess that’s wintertime too :)
Two weeks following the cleanse
Week two after the cleanse was really amazing. The digestion was incredible (haha if you can say that), and energy started to come back. We continued to eat really clean and really enjoyed it at the same time. We had enough energy to work, workout and be social again. We both also sensed that the body got really sensitive, so it's important to slowly introduce different types of foods again, such as avocado, beans, lentils, and other fats. Take one step at the time and see how your body reacts. You will quickly feel whats right for you :)
Three weeks following the cleanse
Week three following the cleanse was also really good, although the tiredness was still there. My skin was improving a lot, we both had more of a glow, and some acne started fading. Our moods were better, although up and down for us both, and anxiety decreasing. We both had some trouble introducing other foods into the diet, so we were trying not to rush anything.
The 3:6:9 overall feeling afterwards
A few weeks have passed since the cleanse. What is obvious now is that it definitely feels like some old goo has been cleared from the body. Its like feeling cleaner from the inside out! The “results” will be very different for everyone, and I totally agree with what many are saying - that' its equally as much an emotional cleanse. So make sure to be prepared for that, and dont isolate yourself during the program.
Why do it at Thea?
We have actually tried this cleanse at home before, but failed to complete it. Doing it at Thea was the biggest luxury and nicest gift we could give ourselves. Having someone make the meals, help you out with the cleanse, explain whats happening in your body, and being surrounded by the most beautiful surrounding and loving people was just the best experience. We highly recommend this, and it really feels like pressing the refresh button on a healthy lifestyle. You're also in a warm climate, with the ocean close by, you can take an infrared sauna to improve the detox, and there are beautiful things to see in Santa Teresa.
Booking and questions
If you are interested in doing the 3:6:9 Liver Rescue with lots of support and guidance, check out these retreats at Thea Retreat in Costa Rica here. You can also contact Adi on WhatsApp, just message us to get her contact details.
Otherwise, it is something you can do from anywhere. Feel free to drop a comment or contact us (on Instagram @radicalbroccoli) if you have any questions.