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Eat Too Much This Thanksgiving? Take a Colon Cleanse Class

By Benjamin Woodard | November 29, 2013 7:37am
Post-Thanksgiving Colon Cleanse
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DNAinfo/Benjamin Woodard

ROGERS PARK — For those of us who over-ate this Thanksgiving, Linda Szarkowski has just the thing.

It's an 11-day colon cleanse class, during which participants consume only raw food and apple juice, which has been infused with alleged toxin-leaching supplements.

"We live in a very toxic world, so it's important to do a cleanse a few times a year," said Szarkowski, who owns Green Spirit, a vegetarian and raw food delivery service.

And a good cleanse of the digestive system is especially beneficial after a binge-eating holiday like Thanksgiving, she said.

Szarkowski offers the cleanse class — including prepared meals of raw foods like soup and veggie burgers — for $250 per person.

 Green Spirit's Linda Szarkowski offers an 11-day, post-Thanksgiving colon cleanse class in Rogers Park.
Green Spirit's Linda Szarkowski offers an 11-day, post-Thanksgiving colon cleanse class in Rogers Park.
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Flickr/kaszeta

Registration officially closed Sunday, but Szarkowski said she'd allow a few stragglers sign up Monday. Participants will meet at 7 p.m. Tuesday to pick up their supplies and go over details.

So what can participants expect?

Well, sometimes it's graphic, she says, "But different people have different reactions."

"You might feel a little tired and run down," she said. "And then you may hit a point that you have more energy than you know what to do with — and you feel better than ever."

She said caffeine addicts might experience headaches because coffee or anything else other than the prescribed diet is forbidden.

Others might feel like they've come down with a head cold as the body releases excess mucus, she said.

But you won't go it alone.

During the 11 days, participants meet three times at Green Spirit, 7551 N. Ridge Blvd., to pick up food and swap colon-cleanse stories, Szarkowski said.

"We talk about all kinds of things in the group," she said.

After three days of eating raw food, participants only consume apple juice mixed with supplement powder made from absorbent bentonite clay and psyllium, a dietary fiber.

Then, during the final three days, participants will go back to a strict raw-food diet.

"Some people think they're going to be hungry during [the middle] five days — and most people are really surprised to find out they're not," she said.

Some participants might even lose weight, she said, but that's not what's important.

"To me," she said, "it's just about helping people get started on better path to eating healthier."

For more information and to contact Linda Szarkowski to register for the colon cleanse class, visit www.greenspiritliving.com.