☆ What's Going On: Juicing ☆

Juicing is awesome! And Juice Fasts will boost your body and get you pumped and detoxing! 

Benefits of Juicing: 

It is recommended that we eat five servings of vegetables and three of fruits each day, but sadly most of us don't even come close to this. The average American eats only 1 1/2 servings of vegetables and, on average, no fruit on any given day.

Juicing is an easy way to get in those extra servings and to reap the benefits from fruits and vegetables. They contain essential phytochemicals that have shown to heal the body of all sorts of ailments, including cancer, heart disease, as well as some of our most common, like asthma, arthritis, and allergies.

Juicing is an easy process in which its natural vitamins, nutrients, and raw enzymes are extracted and easily absorbed by our bodies. Fresh juice is packed full of nutrients, minerals and vitamins, and raw enzymes so you're feeding your body all sorts of goodness it often lacks in your regular diet too. 

Fresh juices are a tremendous source of enzymes which is why the whole "freshness" of juicing is so important. The natural enzymes found in our foods are destroyed by heat, so when you eat cooked foods, whether its grains, fruits, or vegetables, if the food is cooked at temperatures above 114 degrees, the enzymes have been destroyed by the heat. Since fruits and vegetables are juiced raw, the enzymes are still viable when you drink the juice.

Juicing also removes the indigestible fiber, meaning the nutrients are available to the body in much larger quantities than if the piece of fruit or vegetable was eaten whole. For example, because many of the nutrients are trapped in the fiber, when you eat a raw carrot, you are only able to make use of about 1% of the available beta carotene. When a carrot is juiced, removing the fiber, nearly 100% of the beta carotene can be assimilated.

Juicing literally give our bodies a boost with all of those amazing nutrients. Plus, it's much easier to juice 5 carrots than to eat them all. (I'm not saying don't eat raw carrots, in fact, eat LOTS of raw fruits and veggies as well as juicing ~_^). 

Juice Fasting:

A Juice Fast is a great way to cleanse the body because the juice is rapidly digested and only uses a small amount of energy to do so, giving your body that chance to cleanse. It makes more sense to me as well as opposed to starving your body with a water fast. 

To do a full juice fast, typically you should be juicing for Eight Days. Why? Because for the first couple of days your body uses stored food reserves from your liver. However, if you have never done a juice fast, or even if you have, it can be a challenge. Juicing for even one day reaps tons of benefits and still begins the detoxing. 

It is important that when you stop a juice fast that you EASE back into eating solids and you should watch what you are eating thereafter. This is equally important going Into the cleanse. For the days prior and after you should avoid eating coffee, dairy products, meat, sugar, wheat, flour-products of any kind, and alcohol. 

While doing a juice fast you can drink as much juice as you want! If you're hungry, juice. If you're thirsty, juice! 

Drink plenty of water with any cleanse as well. Well, drink lots of water regardless of what you are doing, it is necessary for the body to keep it healthy and to upkeep proper digestion. 

*Because your body has a build up of toxins, quite often you may feel undesirable side-effects while doing a cleanse. This is known as a "healing crisis". The more badly you need a cleanse, the worse the side-effects usually are. Let it be a wake up call to eat better and cleanse more ;). Just remember that while these symptoms can be uncomfortable, but they are a part of the cleansing process.

It is quite normal to feel one or more of the following; mild nausea, rashes, headaches, irritability, joint pains, or other indications of detox. You can also sometimes feel weepy or emotional--that can be years of pent up tensions releasing.

But the possible side-effects pass fairly quickly and are insignificant when you think of the rewards.

Afterwards you will be be blessed with feeling energized, clearheaded, rejuvenated and revitalized! Your body and your mind will thank you for it! Hugely!!! 

To find out more about Why you should cleanse, check this post.

A little Note:

*Please note, I am not a doctor or medical practitioner of any kind, this is a sum of research and personal experience. Fasting is not for growing children, and not for anyone pregnant or nursing. People who are taking certain medications and people who have other compelling medical reasons should not fast. If you are uncertain, maybe talk to your doctor (I'm against doctors but I kinda have to suggest it ;p).*

That being said, there is argument against fasting as there is argument against anything that is healthy for you and takes money away from the medical industry. You'll learn from your own experience and consider the following as well before you buy into any of the skepticism that is being put out there.

"Each year, doctor-prescribed drugs kill more Americans than street drugs. Drug Abuse Warning Network statistics indicate less than 10,000 deaths annually from illegal drugs. 130,000 Americans actually die in hospitals each year from prescription medication." (Whitaker, J. in Health and Healing, September 1993 Supplement, Phillips Publishing, page 3)

All animals naturally use fasting as a means to heal itself when it is sick. Neat huh? ;)

Cancer patients and many others with severe illnesses have CURED themselves through juice fasting! 

Now that that has been said, onto more about juicing ;) 

Buy yourself a Juicer:

To make juice you WILL need a Juicer. 

Juicers are needed to extract the fluid part of the vegetable along with the vitamins, minerals and enzymes it contains. This is why a blender isn't the same thing, or buying prepackaged "juice" in stores isn't the same either. There are juice bars out there though, which are always great on those lazy days when you don't feel like juicing yourself or when you are out and about.  

There are tons of juicers on the market, ranging from all sorts of price-ranges. It's a good idea to spend the extra money to get a good juicer though. The "Champion" brand are one of the best, but they are also expensive! One day I will invest in one of these but until then I will recommend a "Brevelle" one for that in-between price range. They are sturdy machines and do the trick. I don't recommend the cheaper ones, I've owned one before and it was not worth it. 

What to Juice:

Vegetables are best, especially carrots, cucumbers, beets, tomatoes, zucchini squash, romaine lettuce, sprouts, celery and cabbage. 

Fruits are great too and can add that extra sweetness to a juice combination. Raw apples are best but its always fun to play around with different flavors. 

Buy Organic vegetables and fruits to juice. I'd say that you can juice non-organics and peel them, but I don't want to even suggest it. The point of a cleanse is to detox your body and you're not doing yourself any favors by putting pesticide-heavy produce into your body--those are some of the toxins you are trying to Detox from!!!   

Drink your juice right away! I mean, immediately! Fresh juice contains all those amazing food enzymes and vitamins and they are easily lost the longer the juice sits there. 

Carrots are amazing to juice, they are definitely my favorite. They taste amazing and are sweet, so they go great with any combination you choose to juice. 

Other fruits and veggies commonly used in juice fasts:

Vegetables - celery, cucumber, red bell pepper

Greens - parsley, kale, beet greens, chard, spinach, dandelion leaf

Cruciferous vegetables - broccoli, cabbage

Root vegetables - carrots, beets, sweet potatoes

Fruits - dark grapes, apples, lemon, Açai berry

Herbs - yucca root, fennel, spearmint, peppermint, basil, ginger, garlic, green onion, chilli pepper, fresh turmeric root, milk thistle

Wheatgrass juice, spirulina (a blue-green sea algae)

I'll say it again; there should be a gradual return to solid foods! Start with raw foods and maybe a bit of grains (quinoa or brown rice) the day after juice fasting. After that, ease into other solids but keep away from those mentioned earlier. If you want to start eating those "no-no" foods again, introduce them ONE DAY AT A TIME! This way you will actually notice the effect they have on your body. You may be amazed! Better yet, it may make you want to continue to keep them out of your diet. It's easier than it sounds, trust me. ;) 

Whether you are fasting or not, a cup of fresh Juice a day is great! Your body will thank you for it too. So invest in a juicer and enjoy all the fun you can create with all those different veggie and fruit combinations! 

Peace & Love,

xo

~Bianca

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