Quarterly Detoxes
At the beginning of each new season in The Christian Health Club, we practice a 3-day detox that removes all meat, fish, eggs, dairy, nuts/seeds, grains, sugar and alcohol. Essentially this leaves you with vegetables, fruit and plant fats like avocados, olives and coconut. As much as I praise animal sourced foods and protein as a critical part of the diet, I recognize that periodically cycling them out is a healthy practice for the body.
When I learned that early Christians observed a three day spiritual practice near the beginning of each solar cycle, called Ember Days, which involved abstaining from meat and focusing on prayer and thanksgiving, I realized this would be a wonderful template to revive and utilize as a quarterly health and spiritual tune-up.
The word Ember comes from the Latin phrase Quatuor Tempora that means four times. Four times near the beginning of each season of the solar cycle, the Church set aside three days to ask for blessings upon mankind and to give gratitude for the blessings of nature - particularly harvests such as olives, grapes, and wheat.
Although the Ember Days are practiced at the beginning of each new season, they don’t exactly coincide with the solstices and equinoxes - that’s because they are based on the liturgical calendar and certain holy days.
For each season, Ember Days are observed on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. These days represent the day Christ was betrayed, the day He was crucified, and the day He was entombed. The traditional Ember Fasts were scheduled as follows:
Not all Christian denominations recognize or practice Ember Day fasts and they have slowly fallen by the wayside among those that do, but reviving them is a beautiful way to transition into each new season. Look at them as an opportunity for a quarterly spiritual tune-up in spirit, mind and body. Honoring three days with thanksgiving, prayer and fasting anchors us in the Lord, helps us appreciate the gift of the seasons, and is a good time to set new changes and goals for the next three months of the year.
The exact dates of the Ember Days vary each year, but you can find them easily by searching on the internet. As I mentioned, they don’t perfectly coincide with the winter/summer solstices or the spring/fall equinoxes, but they are close (typically occurring the week before these solar events).
Altogether, these quarterly tune-ups honor the way our bodies work in relation to Creation. Our body’s circadian rhythm is set by the sun and the foods the earth produces are set by the season. That’s the way God made it.
During our quarterly detoxes, we focus on seasonal foods that align with how God created the provision for bodies. Our ancestors would have naturally eaten according to season because they didn’t have any other choice. Even though we are blessed to have access to all kinds of foods all year round, we miss out the way God created our bodies to work in sync with His seasonal provision. HIs Divine design includes the perfect foods at the perfect times of the year to help best support our body through the conditions of cold, wet and heat of each season. Plus, science is also showing how the good bacteria in our guts actually change and thrive when we eat according to the season.
I encourage you to get in a routine of doing a seasonal quarterly detox that includes the following goals:
Members of The Christian Health Club do these together each season. Join us or engage other friends or family members to do it with you. It’s always better to have community and fellowship for momentum and accountability.
Let the Ember Days be your inspiration or simply set aside 3-days at the turn of each new season to do your quarterly detox. It’s a beautiful way to honor your health in Spirit, Mind and Body.