When I am having a hard time in life, emotionally, juice fasting helps me gain clarity. I was amazed how good my body started to feel when I adapted to drinking freshly pressed juices from fruits and vegetables! Grant it, the beginning was rough, with the classic detox headache and a myriad of old symptoms that appeared, but I knew they would pass…and when they did, my body was full of energy again and my mind was so clear that I was able to see solutions to my problems that I wasn’t able to see before.
First and foremost, if you have never done any kind of fasting before and eat a standard western diet (consisting primarily of meat, pasta, bread, fried foods, refined sugar, industrially processed foods…), then you will want to prepare for a juice fast for 7-10 days by tapering down and ultimately cutting out caffeine, sugar, processed foods, grains and meat and concentrating on consuming as much raw fruits and veggies as possible. If eating raw veggies is too big of a challenge for your digestive system, feel free to lightly steam your veggies so that they still have some “crunch” to them. Fruits are generally easily digestible, unless you have a hard time processing glucose due to adrenal depletion and/or insulin resistance.
Freshly pressed fruit juices are especially conducive to eliminating toxins from the body and thus allowing for tissue regeneration (see “The Detox Miracle” by Dr. Morse) In addition to needing the least amount of energy to be digested, raw fruits give your body the highest amount of energy of all foods and contain a greater amount of phytochemicals and nutrients as well.
For the juice fast, I would suggest choosing those fruits (or veggies) that you enjoy the most and taking these tips into account:
Tip Nr.1 - Make sure you have enough produce at home to get through the fasting time frame (ie. 2kg oranges needed for 1L juice, 1 pineapple for 0,5L of juice…)
Good preparation is worth its weight in gold! Having to go shopping every day is a nuisance.... I like to make sure I have enough fruit at home for the planned duration of the juice fast. Juice yield can vary, but good empirical values are, for example, 2 kg of oranges for 1L of juice, 1 pineapple for 0.5L of juice. On a juice day I personally drink up to 3.5L of juice.
Tip Nr.2 - Choose a time frame for the fast that is doable
If you are a beginner, try 1 day first. The next time you can increase to 2 days, then to 3 days, and so on. Also, be sure to choose a time frame when you have fewer commitments and can take the time to lie down if you feel the need.
„Detoxification rids the body of acidity, toxins, chemicals, mucus and harmful parasites. It frees the mind from unwanted thoughts and cleanses your soul from anger and other emotions“ - Dr. Robert Morse (The Detox Miracle Sourcebook)
Tip Nr.3 - Drink mono-juices, meaning the juice of one type fruit or vegetable at a time
Mono juices, like a freshly squeezed orange juice, are the easiest to prepare and you can easily gauge the body's reaction to the juice or fruit.
Tip Nr.4 - Sip instead of gulping your juice and don’t “over drink” - wait until you’re “hungry” for your next juice
Small sips ensure that the fructose of the fruits (or glucose of the vegetables) is slowly absorbed by the body. It is especially recommended for melon juices and grape juice. Many people are sensitive, but tolerate these juices wonderfully in microdoses. I have had this experience with grape juice in particular.
Also, it is best to wait until you are "hungry" for the next juice to avoid "overeating".
Tip Nr.5 - Make sure you can take it easy, because your body will be busy purging toxins
The juice pushes toxins out of the body, which are then excreted through the intestines, kidneys and skin. By increasing the amounts of freshly squeezed juices, which, after all hardly need any digestive energy, you save energy that can be used towards the detoxification process.
Moderate movement like a walk in nature is great for promoting movement in the lymphatic system. It would however be prudent to avoid sports that require a significant amount of energy during the juice fast.
Outlook
Imagine how energetic and clear headed you will feel afterwards and let this image be your motivation! After your fast is over, why not keep drinking those freshly pressed juices on the side? Your body will thank you!
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