CLEANSE We test out the Kitchari Cleanse, bringing balance to the body

CLEAN BREAK

This content was taken from Bath Life issue 410. This information was correct at the time

Lydia Tewkesbury tests out the Kitchari Cleanse, bringing balance to the body

Kate and Kim with a fresh batch of kitchari

When my editor first raised the possibility that I should maybe undertake a digestive cleanse, my initial reaction was one of alarm. The word ‘cleanse’ conjured up images of a liquid diet, hunger, abject misery, the possibility of inflicting hanger-related injuries on my colleagues, et cetera et cetera.

“Is it a weight loss thing?” I hesitantly asked, bracing myself for the worst.

I was assured it was not. Or, at least, it didn’t have to be. Hannah Marshall and Kim Koniotes’ Kitchari Cleanse, fortunately for me, includes actual food. I agreed to give it a go. The Kitchari Cleanse is part of the Ayurvedic tradition, meaning it’s from India, ancient, and all about restoring balance. You’re supporting something called Agni, Hannah explained over a pre-cleanse cuppa. An Ayurvedic concept, Agni means fire – and we have a lot of different Agnis in the body, all serving different purposes. In the context of the cleanse, you can think of Agni sort of like your metabolism. It breaks down your food, separating the good from the bad – but, it’s important to note, according to the thinking of Ayurveda, Agni is much more complicated than any comparison to modern science terms like ‘metabolism’ or ‘enzymes’. Agni is more than automatic bodily process – it has intelligence, and (those that follow the Ayurvedic tradition believe) your Agni has an ability to distinguish what is good for you and bad. Strong Agni is crucial to good

health, and it’s an interconnected system, so if one Agni is out of whack then the rest of them will soon follow.

So, what happens if your Agni is weak? “It’s not about depriving yourself at all”

In a word: sludge. Or Ama, as it is officially known. Ama is formed of undigested food particles that decay in the body – sludge – wreaking havoc and weakening the all-important Agni. Feeling dull, heavy, lethargic, bloated, without appetite and a bit glum are all signs of Ama in the body. I did this cleanse right after a festive break filled with Lindor and all the cheese I could eat, so as you can imagine I was experiencing all of the above.

The Kitchari Cleanse is designed to restore and balance the Agni to its pre (in my case) two-week Pringle-binge glory. Traditionally a blend of lentils and rice, fresh ginger, ground turmeric and ground cumin served with fresh lemon juice and coriander, the kitchari crafted by Kim Koniotes at St James’s Cafe Deli that I would be living on for the next few days was the traditional recipe combined with Kim’s own, delicious take. Kitchari mixes ingredients that strengthen the Agni and restore digestive function by stimulating the production of the enzymes that aid digestion. The ingredients also support the body to absorb the nutrients and eliminate what we don’t need – hopefully improving the state of body and mind in the process. So it’s not about depriving yourself at all, as I had worried, but actually about giving yourself exactly what it is that you need. And, I was relieved to discover, there is plenty of food. You can do either a one- or three-day variation of the cleanse, but I would recommend doing the threeday option if possible. In its most basic form, this means popping over to St James’s once a day to pick up your lunch and dinner (kitchari with a lemon and a handful of fresh coriander to garnish) – along with a couple of tea bags. Kitchari makes for a refreshing but hearty meal. Depending on whether you’re cleansing with weight loss in mind or, like me, just to give your digestive system a bit of a kick start after much festive (and delicious) abuse, you can choose to either eat the full two pots per meal, or stick to one if you’re trying to drop a few pounds – though Hannah is launching a cleanse specifically for the purpose of weight loss on 24 February. You can find more on that on her website.

Aside from the health benefits, it felt such a treat to have all my meals cooked for me. The cleanse does mean eating the same meal for lunch and dinner every day, but I found I didn’t mind it. For one thing, Kim’s kitchari was tastier than anything I’d ever make – I’m a lazy cook – and the novelty of not having to make any decisions about what to rustle up for myself every meal made up for the ‘samey’ complaint Hannah said some of her customers sometimes struggle with. It’s easy to make positive choices when the food is already in your fridge.

The cleanse has a layer of flexibility that allows you to really go as deep – or not – into the whole experience as you like. I went all in, which meant tongue scraping with a 100 per cent pure copper scraper – to clear the morning Ama off the tongue. It makes you gag, but you do feel somewhat refreshed afterwards. I also took a spoonful a day of Chyawanprash, an Ayurvedic Indian herbal jam that supports immunity and detoxification – probably my least favourite part of the whole thing, but not unbearable – and enjoyed a daily massage with Ayurveda Pura oil, which Hannah will help you select, depending on your body type. While the cleanse itself is very much one size fits all, if you choose to go deeper, finding out your body type is a great start – from there you can establish a routine that supports your constitution on a deeper level. Hannah has the resources to help with this. Honestly, the three days passed too quickly for my liking. The impact of the cleanse for me, more than anything, was how it made me conscious of the small ways I can take care of myself in my daily life. From feeding my body the right foods to taking a bit of extra time for a short massage before the shower, I was shocked at how these moments gave my days shape, purpose and a lot more satisfaction than my usual dinner of a chunk of cheese grated over a bowl of pasta... Sorry Hannah, I’ll try to do better from now on, I promise. www.thekitcharicleanse.com “Kitchari makes for a refreshing but hearty meal”