IF people clean and unclog their kitchen and bathroom plumbing every so often, why can’t they do the same for their own digestive system?
I did just that a couple of weekends ago upon the invitation of wellness advocate Jean Margaret Lim-Goulbourn of Global Vital Source (GVS), a group spreading the gospel of healthy lifestyle and good nutrition.
Goulbourn, a former fashion model, is known in the fashion industry for her innovative use of locally woven natural silk and for promoting them abroad. She is behind the successful Silk Cocoon line.
But even more important to her now is wellness, having herself faced a life-changing tragedy, the loss of a daughter.
It is a story that Goulbourn does not fail to touch on when she speaks about the need to take stock of one’s health and to eschew the loads of drugs and medication some people take to feel well. Changing the way we live can help us feel better, she suggests.
GVS has held dozens of Cleanse and Nourish weekends all over the country for different kinds of people, including priests in Albay, Goulbourn’s native province. “Mga Nonoy,” (Dear young men), she told the priests, “you have lots of health issues.” GVS drained them clean, a first step on a new road to wellness.
The weekend session I joined was called digestive clean-up or DCU, part of the Clean and Nourish regimen that GVS offers. DCU is an all-natural method of cleansing the body by giving it the time and circumstances it needs to rebuild and heal. It is a detoxification method of cleansing that causes the discharge of accumulated toxic matter from the digestive tract, liver and gall bladder. There were some 20 of us from all walks of life participating.
Breakfast consisted of lots of fruits and water. At mid-morning, we had whole wheat bread and carrot-celery juice. Vegetable soup and more fruits. Waiters in crisp uniforms were forever refilling the fruit platters. By the time the first of the lectures began, we were feeling quite full.
We listened to a series of lectures. Fil-Am Dr. Dale Flores, a doctor of nutrition, gave the orientation talk on H.A.S.H. (holistic approach to self-healing). Flores is on his way to becoming a doctor of medicine. A regular part of the GVS team, he stayed with the DCU participants till the end and was like a walking encyclopedia on nutrition. One thing Filipinos should appreciate more, he said, is buko (young coconut juice and flesh), which we have plenty of. It is an all-time healthy boost and beats all those bottled drinks.
Goulbourn spoke about “My Options and the Power of a Lifestyle Change.” Dr. Christine Gonzales’ topic was “How to Manage the Stressors in the Body.” Gonzales, a doctor of naturopathic medicine, educator and researcher, is the author of “Yes, You Can Prevent and Control Cancer” and “Healing with the Rosary and Herbs.” She is co-founder of the Wellness Institute.
And then there was Russia-based Jo Bilasano, energy and spiritual healer who spoke on “Body Balance.” We are a representation of Planet Earth and its five elements, she said. I deliberately didn’t take notes during the lectures to avoid being in journalistic mode, but I did note down something that Bilasano said about why Filipinos must get out of the “state of poverty consciousness.”
At about noon, Flores gave a “30-day challenge” lecture and at 2:30 p.m. we were served our last meal for the day. No water, no food from then on, except for the drinks that would be given us. We then checked into our rooms and then went for our Bollywood dance exercises with Mariette Besa. And then a soothing massage. We also got our blood chemistry results.
At 5:30 p.m. we had our first DCU drink, a big glass of pink super bitter stuff that we had to down with only a slice of apple to sweeten our tongues. I can gulp bitter wild ampalaya juice without winking but this pink stuff was something else. We were each given a set of “harvesting equipment” – a plastic strainer, a tabo (dipper), a glove, and a small container for the “harvest.” We were instructed on the hows.
There would have been an anticipated Sunday Mass but no priest was available. Off to our respective rooms we went as the clean up would soon begin after the first and second drinks.
At 8 p.m. another big glass of the bitter drink was brought to our rooms. The flushing began. The bathroom was the place to be most of the time. It felt good.
At 10 p.m., the third drink was served. This time it was a thick concoction that tasted like a mixture of olive oil and lots of grapefruit. It was super sour but it was delicious compared to the first two bitter drinks. After drinking the stuff, we were to lie down on our backs for 30 minutes without moving. No running to the bathroom. We had to hold it for a while. After that it would be a good time to catch the harvest (gall stones and other stuff) as they were now going down with the almost clear water coming out of our plumbing. That was what the strainer was for.
After one or two more flushings, sleep came.
At 6 a.m. Sunday, there was a knock on the door. Another big glass of that pink bitter drink. More flushing, more harvesting. At 8 a.m. the fifth and last DCU drink was served. More flushing, harvesting.
At around 9:30 a.m. a uniformed waiter came with a plateful of fruits and a big boiled saba (banana) and water. We were now breaking our fast. I still had several trips to the bathroom. I picked up the last of the tiny pellets from the strainer and put them in the plastic container.
At 10:30 a.m. we gathered once more for a lecture on “Food as Medicine” by Flores. Don’t bring along your harvest, we had earlier been told. We could ask Flores anything. There was time for the participants to share – how they felt, what their health goals were, etc. We were told that if we were to feel a little light-headed (because of the fasting and flushing), we were just to continue drinking plenty of water. We were weighed and our BP taken again. I lost four pounds and an inch off my waist. Of course, I lost mainly water but I felt lighter. I felt cleansed, I felt good.
We moved to another room where we would have more sharing and later, a healthy and hearty lunch specially prepared by the hotel chef for our group. I had specified fish and so was served poached fish that tasted really good, plus veggies galore, fruit drink, and a healthy dessert I could not finish.
More than a decade ago I had gall stones that caused me terrible pain. I must have passed them while experiencing spasms because the succeeding ultrasound test could not find them. I thanked God for no surgery and swore off fatty foods. But all these years I thought there must be some small ones remaining and forming. Indeed, some of them came out after I did a home gall bladder flush by myself a couple of years ago.
After the recent DCU weekend with expert supervision, I’m hoping this harvest would be the last.
Global Vital Source is in U-1711 Cityland Herrera Tower, 98 Rufino corner Valero Sts. Salcedo Village, Makati City, Tel 8181088 or 5021505. Or visit www.cleanse-nourish.com
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