I’ve been on a health kick lately because I’m tired of feeling bad all the time. Not to bring the room down here, but let me tell you all about my problems! Maybe you can relate. I’ve had headaches and back/neck pain almost every day for the last 3 years. Yeah that’s right – 3 years. I’ve been controlling it with chiropractic care, massage (as often as I can afford) and lots of over the counter pain relievers. In the last 4 months, the pain has gotten worse, and I’ve felt sluggish, stressed out and generally bad. I even gained 15 lbs in 4 months. Nooooooooo!
So, in addition to beauty products, I’m going to start writing about some of the health products, services, and supplements I’ll be trying. Hopefully, this will help some of you who are dealing with similar health issues.
When I was offered samples of the Kaeng Raeng cleanse, I was immediately intrigued. The name alone sounded mysterious, and the pitch promised to help me lose weight, clear my skin, improve my damaged hair, remove toxins, bolster my immune system and help with digestion.
Basically, you drink 3 meal replacement shakes per day (for 3 or 6 days) and supplement your diet with raw fruits and vegetables and a small amount of raw, unsalted nuts. While this sounds great for some people, I am not ready for that type of commitment. Instead, I decided to try the shakes as a healthy supplement to my regular diet. My boyfriend and I are already into making healthy “life shakes”, as he calls them, in our VitaMix blender. The cool thing about Kaeng Raeng shakes is that you get all the benefits of a fruit shake, plus protein and probiotics in a convenient, powdered form. You don’t need a blender at all. Just mix with water or juice (I used apple juice) and drink! I used a plastic bottle with a lid, added the powder and a small amount of juice, shook it like crazy, added more juice, shook it again, and then boom – done! Ready to drink!
One serving of Kaeng Raeng makes 24-32 fl oz, which is quite a lot. The taste is not bad at all considering the amount of protein powder in it. If you mix it with juice, it tastes pretty good. And there’s no added sugar or anything weird in it. If it’s not your thing, you can easily mix it into a smoothie and add fresh or frozen fruit.
Each packet contains:
-Fewer than 230 calories!
-1 oz of raw, freeze-dried fruit powder — that’s the equivalent of 8 oz of fresh fruit per serving! No preservatives, no chemicals, just fruit, straight from the ground, freeze dried for convenience.
-15 grams of lean non-genetically modified soy protein and daily vitamins including B-12
-2 billion CFUs of vegan L. Acidophilus probiotics to bolster your immune system and improve digestion
-Full serving of vegetable fiber (safe for daily use)
-No artificial colors, flavors, or sweeteners
-No caffeine, laxatives, or stimulants
-Vegan – no animal products
-No preservatives or fillers – what you see is what you get!
The Kaeng Raeng cleanse comes in Beginner (like me!), The Veteran (for people who have done a cleanse before) and The Master (regular detox-ers). I’m not entirely sure what the different levels mean, but the Beginner level shakes made me feel great! Some day I may get up the nerve to try the cleanse the way it was intended, but until then, I’d love to hear what you guys think if you have (or will) try it. It’s a bit pricy ($69.99 for a 3 day cleanse), but when you consider that there are no fillers – just high quality ingredients, and you won’t be spending money at that deli down the street for lunch and on Chinese takeout for dinner, it’s not that bad.
Would you try it? Have you tried any other cleanses? Good or bad? Tell me in the comments below!
I love your blog and am extremely interested in healthy living. You can do a lot better than this product. Soy is extremely bad for your health. You can read more about it here –
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/09/18/soy-can-damage-your-health.aspx
Also, that price is ridiculous! A really great protein shake – whey or plant-based – doesn’t have to cost more than $2.00/serving. Check out Dr. Mercola’s products, PlantFusion, Swanson, Life’s Basics – there’s tons of great protein drinks out there that are organic, from grass-fed cows, etc. – Paleo, vegetarian, vegan – but don’t do soy – most of it is genetically modified,all of it is heavily processed, and it contains substances that are linked to hypothyroidism and cancer.
I’m glad you will be posting about health stuff too! I’m curious to hear all about it. I’m definitely on a path to regaining my health and love the alternative health info. Dr. Mercola’s site that the poster above mentioned is a great (trusted resource) for info. It tends to be rather “alarmist” in nature, but I take that with a grain of salt. The information is accurate. 🙂
Probiotics are SO important as most of our health and immune system is gut based. I have struggled for a couple of years to get my gut in order (with diet changes, herbs, probiotics and supplements.)
I also do juicing when I can. When I can’t, I use a powdered green juice called “Greens First” that is SUPER healthy. Good luck with your path to health and feeling better!
xo Amber
I was all excited to try this myself until I saw the price. Ouch! That would ‘detox’ my wallet too!
I’ve never tried a cleanse before, but after reading this I’m kind of intrigued and tempted… 🙂
Thank you Amber! I have tried Greens Plus capsules but not the powder. It’s hard to take that many pills so the powder is probably a lot easier!
Interesting. Thank you for sharing Marianne!
I would defenitely try this one, but pretty expensive. BTW I’m a new visitor Jen, and just gone through your previous articles, your blog is like a library girl. Keep up the great work.
Going to try your suggestions. My skin looks really bad now because of the stress. I try to drink a lot of those drinks with antioxidants. Hope it helps because I really miss my glowing skin.
Thank you so much Kate!! 🙂
Marianne – just wanted to let you know that the soy in these shakes is GMO-free.
For Elizabeth Burris ~ try a loofa on your complection. gently at first. I have been using them for 20+ years and will not do without. Actually, because loofas will eventually soften too much, I use a particular brand of pot scrubber/teflon scrubber, something most people would think much to rough for the “delicate” facial area. Let me tell you, faces are not THAT fragile, well, except on an individual basis.
For Ms. Beauty Bunny,
I’m have only just discovered your site, but I know I will find it infinitely useful! Please do combine your holistic methods with modern medicine and make sure you don’t have fibromyalgia (A syndrome characterized by chronic pain in the muscles and soft tissues surrounding joints, fatigue, and tenderness at specific sites in the body. Also called fibromyalgia syndrome, fibromyositis, fibrositis.) or another auto immune issue.
Thank you Gail! I have thought about testing for fibromyalgia. Hopefully it’s something easy to treat (and I know fibromyalgia isn’t so easy to treat).
Chief Bunny, have you seen these 10 smoothie recipes for clear skin?
http://www.totalbeauty.com/content/gallery/smoothies-for-skin#3
Hmmmm, interesting. I am looking into different ways to reduce the pain I feel in my joints and haven’t had success so far…perhaps this may work if it has worked for you.
Hello
Pain in your body can often be cured by something natural. It’s great to see something such as this. Thanks for posting.
Nathan
Hi, I love your blog most than other because I learn huge useful tips from here. My sister is your blind fan and she always follow your post for her makeup as well as face care. All the best for your bright future.