Why not take advantage of autumn to increase your well-being and boost your health at little cost?

Autumn

On September 22, 2016 at 14:21:07 p.m., to be precise, the sun passed over the equator, which only happens twice a year. It was theautumn equinox, one of the two days in the year when days and nights are equal. Summer, as its name suggests, is a thing of the past. We are in fall and now the nights are longer than the days in the northern hemisphere and they will be until the vernal equinox, March 20, 2017. It is during these first days offall that the nights increase the fastest, gaining up to 4 minutes per day. On this September 22, this balance between day and night made us quite naturally move from the sign of the Virgin to that of Libra, a symbol of balance if there must be one. So many cosmic phenomena that have a significant influence on life on earth and therefore on us humans.

Plants and especially deciduous trees change color from green to yellow, red, brown before becoming bare. Behind this color change, invisible to our eyes, there is a whole transfer of matter in the plant itself. She will save the nutrients that are in her parts which she will separate during thefall, in particular the leaves, by transferring them to its parts which will remain alive throughout the winter, mainly its roots. These elements such as phosphorus, iron, potassium and especially nitrogen, will help it to develop even before it is able to carry out chlorophyll synthesis again for lack of leaves. It is these elements which, among other things, will provide the resources necessary for the development of the buds while the plant is still bare. Parallel to this transfer of matter and this storage of energy the plant also performs a detoxification cure. On the one hand, throughout its active period, the metabolism of the plant has generated toxins, on the other hand, if it is in an environment polluted by human activity, it will have been attacked by these pollutants. Both have accumulated in its leaves. Unlike nutrients, these will not be transferred and stored, but will remain in its leaves and be eliminated when they fall.

This is the basis of the whole double symbolic of autumn, both period of harvest and storage and period ofelimination and detoxificationnot. We store, but at the same time we clean. In the temperate and Mediterranean regions there is for us humans a plant that best expresses this double symbolism: the grape. In these regions the grape harvest are they not the representation par excellence of the harvest early fall? You should know that the raisin is also the fruit best suited to help us detoxr and to act positively on our health and well-being. He's here, it's his season, and it would be too bad not to take advantage of all the benefits he can bring us. So I'm going to tell you about the grape cure.

The grape cure

Given its high sugar content, the grape cure is not recommended for diabetics without medical supervision.

What's so special about grapes to make it a cure and why grapes rather than another fruit? In terms of tonnage, in temperate and Mediterranean countries, grape production is exceeded only by that of apples. It is therefore easily available and accessible in these two regions. The grape is also the most energetic fruit after the banana. This means that we can live and function normally for many days or even weeks by consuming only grapes.

Grapes are rich in vitamins A, B and C and contain almost all the trace elements in a perfectly assimilable balance by our body: calcium, magnesium, potassium, iron, copper, manganese and selenium. It is therefore highly remineralising. Its overall composition makes it a very good detoxifier and antioxidant. It is also refreshing and laxative. Other components make it not only a very nourishing food, but also a real ally of our health. It is considered by various authors as a drainer of the liver, kidneys and intestines. In 1992, an article by Renaud and Logeril, two INSERM researchers, appeared in English in the internationally renowned scientific medical journal “The Lancet”. They had studied a sample of the Toulouse population consuming a high quantity of saturated fats and which, contrary to what one might expect, was associated with low mortality from coronary heart disease. The explanation for this astonishing result had been attributed to the alcohol contained in the wine that this population consumed on a regular and moderate basis. The “French Paradox” was born. This article had aroused great interest not only among winegrowers and wine drinkers, but above all in the scientific community, generating numerous studies. These demonstrated that in fact it was not the alcohol contained in the wine which explained the “French Paradox” but polyphenols. Polyphenols are antioxidants found in grapes. It is therefore enough to eat grapes to benefit from their benefits. These natural antioxidants are increasingly studied in their role in the prevention of cancers, inflammatory, cardiovascular and degenerative diseases.

The grape cure has been practiced since antiquity. Closer to home, it began to be popularized following the publication in 1927 in the United States of “The Grape Cure” by Johanna Brandt, a South African who managed to cure cancer using this method. An amazing woman who actively participated in the Boer War against the British, wrote several treatises on health including fasting as well as religious essays. Before this publication, the grape cure was mainly used to treat digestive, urinary and hepatic disorders, rheumatism and certain infectious diseases. In France, the grape cure received the approval of the Academy of Medicine in 1933. So many reasons which should encourage us during this beginning of autumn, when the supply of grapes is abundant, diversified and affordable, to undertake a grape cure.

How to prepare for the grape cure?

I think you have to prepare for the grape cure both mentally and physically. Mentally it should not be seen as a test, quite the contrary. It is, as it should be in the fall, a return to ourselves, the best way to take care of ourselves, to grant us its benefits. She is not a fast. Regardless of the duration of the cure that we choose to do, thanks to its energy and other richness, there is no reason either to feel hungry or to fear a lack of the main nutrients necessary for the proper functioning of our body. The main obstacle to overcome is that of the mono-diet that the treatment imposes. This is the price to pay but it is not without consideration: lightness, energy, acuteness of the senses, mental clarity will quickly be felt. Physically, it is good before starting the cure to prepare by lightening our diet, in particular by reducing our consumption of animal and industrial products, dishes rich in lipids and sugars as well as stimulants such as coffees, teas, chocolates. Choose vegetable meals accompanied by easily digestible starchy foods such as corn, rice, quinoa, millet...

How to proceed?

In autumn 2007, one of my acquaintances began her grape cure as every year. At the time he was working in Great Britain and rather than buying grapes from organic farming as he usually did, he consumed grapes from so-called sustainable farming. On the fifth day of the treatment he began to have very strong abdominal pain accompanied by vomiting. Unable to stand it any longer, he was taken to the emergency room where he was diagnosed with faith poisoning. He had to stay forty eight hours in the hospital followed by three weeks of rest which he spent in France with his family. It was then that he was able to read in a national daily on a full page bought by the supporters of sustainable agriculture that because of the abnormally rainy summer of 2007 these farmers had processed more than usual, including their potatoes, tomatoes and grapes. It should be noted that the "Sustainable Agriculture" label does not impose any obligation or limit on treatments with fungicides, insecticides and herbicides. All this to say that it is absolutely essential to consume only organic grapes during a treatment or risk not only depriving yourself of all the benefits of the treatment but also falling ill.

The daily consumption of grapes varies between 1,5 kg to 2,5 kg depending on the individual. It is important physically and psychologically to always have grapes in reserve. It is appropriate to move away from the rhythm of three meals a day and to approach consumption every two hours. It is common that we eat more grapes during the first days of the cure and that from the second to third days consumption not only stabilizes but decreases. Each grape variety having its own particularities, it is important to consume a minimum of two grape varieties and more if possible. To alternate white grapes and red grapes as well as grapes with seeds and grapes without seeds. The skins and seeds must be chewed well. They contain, among other things, a significant share of antioxidants.

We must not ignore the fact that during the grape cure a small but significant percentage of people will experience unpleasant periods: fatigue, headaches, constipation or conversely diarrhea, chilliness. It would seem that these difficult experiences are a function of the degree of intoxication of the person doing the cure and are precisely the sign that the process of detoxification is at work. These are usually transient manifestations. In a sense, the more intoxicated one is, the more one needs the grape cure and the more likely one is to have to go through such episodes. This is perhaps a good reason to do everything to go through with the duration of the cure that we have set ourselves. Let's not forget that the grape cure, as we have seen, protects us from a host of illnesses (cancers, inflammatory, cardiovascular and degenerative illnesses) which in the long term we will otherwise reach deeper than these passing episodes without result. On the other hand, the grape cure considerably strengthens our immune system and will help us resist the various viral and microbial attacks so frequent in winter.

Returns à the normal.

Once your cure is over, it is very important not to immediately start eating again as you did before the cure, otherwise you will lose most of the benefits of the cure. It is also very common that at the end of a grape cure our relationship to food has changed significantly and that naturally we are much more inclined to avoid heavy, bulky and difficult to digest foods. In the same way that before the cure we gradually eliminated stimulants, animal products, high-fat dishes, after the cure we will follow a reverse progression before finally returning to our usual diet. The time of this rehabilitation will depend on the number of days of treatment. The longer the cure, the longer this rehabilitation will take. The rehabilitation time is roughly estimated at half the time of the cure. For a cure of one week the progression will be done over three days. The first day we will eat cooked fruits and vegetables. On the second day we will introduce the most digestible cereals and a fermented animal product such as yogurt or fermented milk. And on the third day fish or white meat.

I would deeply like to encourage you to do a grape cure. I am now on my second day and I already feel its benefits so much: simple and direct energy, a general feeling of lightness, both physical and mental cleanliness, a mental clarity that puts me in communication with the essential rather than superfluous. Already during the first twenty four hours the appearance of this well-being was present. All this to tell you that you don't need to set yourself a duration goal that could scare you. Why not start with a 5 hour cure. Have a light meal one evening. The next day, eat only grapes at will. And the day after tomorrow resume its usual rhythm by trying at first not to consume animal products or stimulants. And then ten or fifteen days later repeat this experience and, if you feel like it, do it over forty-eight hours. Maybe next year you'll be encouraged to do it over five days… Today I can find certified organic grapes at less than €2,5 a kilo. At most, if you manage to eat 12,50 kg of grapes per day, the grape treatment will cost you €XNUMX per day. That's less than you would spend on a restaurant meal. And when it comes to well-being and health, it's incomparable. Happy fall and good health to all.