Rainbeau Mars, the health guru, artist, yoga instructor and author, has released her first book called “The 21 Day Superstar Cleanse: A Rejuvenating Lifestyle Program to Help You Feel Younger, Healthier, and Ready to Rock the World!”
EcoSalon caught up with Rainbeau recently to ask her about her book, cleansing and why it works.
Jill Ettinger: A 21-day cleanse! Isn’t that, like forever? Aren’t most cleanses just a few days? Why is this one so long?
Rainbeau Mars: It’s important to commit for that amount of time because it takes 21 days to actually make or break a pattern, as with all recovery programs. This cleanse is designed to:
*Make us examine our habits & patterns with clarity, over enough time to make a permanent shift.
* Allow participants the time to make enough good choices to see positive results, without calorie counting or restriction.
* Support us in our commitment to being the best version of ourselves with verbal and visual affirmations.
JE: How does this compare to the 5 day Master Cleanse?
RM: That’s like comparing a rabbit with a lion. They’re both animals, but definitely different. The master cleanse can be difficult for many people because they’re reducing their calories so much that when they break the program, often with pizza, they don’t have their metabolism revved up enough keep everything in check after. The Superstar Cleanse is a 21-day zero calorie restriction vegan cleanse, with lots of nourishing, alkalizing, mouth-watering recipes, which are alternatives to addictive and unhealthy foods. Also, with the Superstar Cleanse, there are beginners, intermediate and advanced versions, so we hope that some version of it works for everyone.
JE: It’s nice to have options! Why do people need to cleanse anyway? And what about people who already eat a healthy diet? Should they consider this program?
RM: We accumulate toxins in the air we breathe, and by ingesting foods that contain chemicals, synthetic sweeteners, white sugar, nitrates, antibiotics, and toxic oils creating free radicals. Cleanses works to give our bodies a much-needed break so they get a chance to do what they do best. Live foods and high fiber plant based foods act as a broom, sweeping out pockets of yeast, mold, undigested food and parasites. Even if you eat clean, the Superstar cleanse works as preventive medicine. I eat pretty healthy all of the time, but its just not the same as truly doing this program, which offers a world of benefits each time I do it… Even my daughter does the kids version regularly to give herself a boost and clear her skin. In fact we have about 300 kids participating in 14-day health Challenge as we speak.
JE: Your cleanse is broken into 3 distinct parts (one each week): vegan, raw foods and blended foods. How did you determine these stages worked so well together?
RM: Since the latter parts of program may be difficult for beginners, it’s designed so that people can ease into the 2 more challenging phases over time. For me, I sometimes skip straight to week 2 or 3 for quicker results. Eating 100 percent live foods is when the detoxification process truly begins and the benefits become obvious, bringing us into a more alkaline and more flexible state. Doing phase 3 the whole time allows me to feel lighter and more part of the solution to our planets problems
JE: Why is veganism so important to the cleanse?
RM: Most yogis do not eat animals for spiritual, physiological and mental reasons. Plant based foods tend to be more alkaline than acidic and don’t have cholesterol like animals products do. There are many studies linking unhealthy colons with diseases like cancer and diverticulitus. As an alternative, I encourage eating plant based FIBER, which isn’t found in animal products but instead from fruits, vegetables, seeds and nuts, which act like a broom cleaning out the system. Plant-based foods, which also don’t contribute to green house gases [as much as animal products], lead us in the direction of what nature intended and readily providing for us, filled with vitamins and nutrients for the system.
JE: You write in the book that when you started eating clean, like the recipes on the cleanse, that you experienced more luck: job offers came to you, for example. Why do you think that is? Have other people reported similar experiences on this program?
RM: YES AND YES! We are often in our own way, being partially drugged on stimulants, sugars, chemicals, even yeast in our body, coffee or just exhausted from continuously eating foods that we’re allergic to. When I stopped getting in my way all the time, or even for periods of time, that’s when it seemed like the universe opened up for my life. The health and clarity I was creating inside manifested on the outside and this is the case with most people who try it. Each time I do the cleanse, I almost need to slow down the amount of energy coming to me…
JE: Wow. Sounds amazing! How often can people do this 21-day cleanse?
RM: I do the cleanse four times a year…Typically once every season. That said… you should never let your diet become a religion or something that you end up feeling superior about or even attached to. There’s a time to cleanse and a time to build, so listen to your body and master how to thrive. Cleanses are an important way to distinguish what your body needs from what it’s addicted to.
JE: You bring a very spiritual (but not religious) tone to the program. You talk about loving yourself as being so important. Is there one overall benefit that you say you value most of all about this program? Either for your body or spirit? Or both?
RM: Good question! I think it’s important to work on ourselves and know who we are so that we can make a contribution. The first question to ask is what would our contribution look like? Food, and healing through it, allows my mind to calm down and feel comfortable with just being. My mission is not about myself at all, but something far bigger and that’s why I can continuously dig into my core stand for the transformation that is possible for us all.
JE: Do you have a favorite recipe from the book?
RM: Kale Salad is a constant go to… and I like mine the best! You can make it many different ways and it’s so hard to mess up. Lemon, olive oil, sea salt, avocado… add PONZU sauce and I am feeling clean and vibrant. Other then that Vegan pizza…it’s fun and easy and always a crowd pleaser.
JE: For the person who’s never done a cleanse before and may be fearful of such a commitment, what do you say to them?
RM: Do you want to stay the same? For how long? Everything is our choice. Free will is pretty amazing! And why the planet is so diverse! CHOOSE COURAGE, TRANSFORMATION, BEAUTY, LOVE. Whatever we focus on expands. Lets focus on being part of the solution and being a contribution. We get to Believe it to See it!
Want to give it a try?
Order Rainbeau’s “21 Day Superstar Cleans:Rejuvenating Lifestyle Program to Help You Feel Younger, Healthier, and Ready to Rock the World” now.
Find Jill on Twitter @jillettinger
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Images courtesy of Rainbeau Mars