Chocolate Bunny Slope Smoothie

A juice fast, or “juice cleanse” as it’s commonly called, is a period where you consume only liquids such as fresh juice, waters, herbal teas, and sometimes clear vegetable broth. A juice cleanse can also include a fresh nut or seed milk for extra support.

Juice fasting is one of the most natural, healthy, non-invasive methods to roll back the years. I will cover just some of the amazing benefits here.

DIVERTS ENERGY TO OTHER PROCESSES

When you are eating food, your body spends a lot of time and energy on the digestion process. When you are consuming only juice and liquids, your body can quickly absorb all that nutrition and put it to work within 20-30 minutes. Your body can then spend its energy on other processes, like detoxification, cellular repair, and the removal of aging, dead or diseased cells.

NUTRITIONAL BOOST

A juice cleanse provides abundant vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients, (disease fighting nutrients only found in plants,) enzymes and biophotons (stored sun energy that can enter our cells.) Our 3-day Signature Cleanse provides the nutrition of OVER 17 POUNDS of produce plus nutritious pumpkin seed milk for extra support and coconut charcoal water to help your body get rid of the toxins that have been released from your cells. Most people get more health promoting nutrition on a juice cleanse than they get all month long!

DETOXIFICATION

Detoxification occurs on the cellular level, and what you eat and drink either helps or hinders that process. Fresh, raw juice is high in nutrients that support and accelerate the detoxification process.

Studies show that babies are born with over 200 industrial chemicals and pollutants in their blood. Just imagine how many we have accumulated after years of living in a world with increasing pesticides and other pollutants in our food, water and environment! 

During your juice cleanse, your body will be able to focus on removing the accumulated toxins stored in organs, cells and tissue spaces.

DIGESTIVE HEALTH

Juice fasting is often called a “juice cleanse” because of the cleansing nature of fresh juice. Many of us have pounds of waste that have accumulated in our colons. This can result in constipation, bloating, foul smelling gas, body odor, fatigue, skin eruptions, and other symptoms of ill health. Fresh juice contains soluble fiber and other nutrients that promote healthy bowel movements to clear the toxic waste out of your system. You may notice that uncomfortable bloating goes away, and you have a flatter stomach.

Fresh juice supports the healing of the entire digestive tract. Celery juice, for instance, has been proven to reduce or heal peptic ulcers. Fresh juice can also be used to improve other digestive complaints like irritable bowel syndrome, diverticulitis and Chron’s disease.

BRAIN BOOST

Juice fasting is not only a vacation for your digestive system, but also a boost for your brain. The phytonutrients and antioxidants in fresh juice scavenge free radicals which prevents further damage to the brain and other organs. Research indicates that fasting can significantly reduce the effects of aging on the brain. “Brain fog” goes away, replaced by a sharper mind, better cognition, and better recall.

WEIGHT LOSS

Looking to lose a few pounds? Many people lost 3-5 pounds on a 3-day juice fast. If weight loss is a goal, you may be able to increase that to 5-10 pounds by sandwiching your 3-days of liquids with a day or two of eating mostly raw fruits, vegetables, salads and plant-based smoothies on the days before and after your fast.

JUMPSTART A HEALTHIER EATING
PATTERN

A juice cleanse is an effective way to “draw a line in the sand,” so to speak, stopping the intake of highly processed foods full of saturated fat, sugar and salt. As you exit your cleanse you will be set up for a healthier eating pattern higher in vegetables and fruits and other plant-based foods that support good health.

SUPPORTS GOOD HEALTH AND IMMUNITY

You don’t need to have a health condition or ailment to benefit from a juice cleanse. Juice fasting is the best kind of preventive medicine, flooding your cells with the nutrition it needs to operate at its best – including a robust immune system that can handle today’s viruses.   

If possible, prep your body for your juice cleanse by eating mostly fruits and vegetables for a day or two prior to your cleanse. This will help set you up for better elimination and minimize any detox symptoms. This can easily be accomplished with a diet of plant-based smoothies, salads, vegetable soups, cut up carrots, sliced cucumbers and bell peppers, and of course, fresh juice!

Caffeinated beverages are usually not consumed on a juice cleanse, so if you drink caffeinated beverages, it is a good idea to taper off caffeine over a few days to reduce the chance of a headache. If you do experience a headache, you can have some green tea, which has a small amount of caffeine, in order to dial it back.    

How you reintroduce solid food is critical to the success of your juice cleanse! You may be craving a burger or pizza, but this is not the time for those foods. Your body has been consuming very little fiber and almost no fat for several days, and diving into a big meal is the recipe for gastrointestinal distress.

Instead, break your fast with some high-water content whole fruit or vegetables, like grapes, melon, strawberries, cucumber or bell peppers. Keep your meals small and chew well. You might also enjoy a small, simple smoothie made from plant milk, a banana and frozen fruit, or a simple vegetable soup.

When it comes to grains, reintroduce easier to digest gluten-free grains and save gluten-containing grains for a couple of days later. Reintroduce beans, lentils and chickpeas starting with ¼ serving and increase over a couple of days.

Keep fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains, and a small amount of nuts and seeds as the focus of your meals and you will reap the benefits far longer than the 2 or 3 days of your juice fast.

Every person is different, and your experience will differ based on your current health and diet. Most people find any detox symptoms to be mild and well tolerated. These can include a mild headache, a little fatigue, and more frequent elimination. These are all good signs that your body is doing important work! If you experience stronger detox symptoms like diarrhea, fever, nausea or night sweats, you can slow down your detoxification by adding some chia seeds to one of your juices, or blending a green juice with some avocado. (Fats and fiber slow down detoxification.) But these symptoms are rare, and most individuals experience mild symptoms or none at all.

Our juice cleanses include enough calories to support normalactivities. If you feel hungry, it is usually mental hunger rather than true hunger. We are used to chewing food, so the desire to eat something can be quite strong. We can also have the habit of eating for entertainment and comfort. If this happens, recognize what it is and distract yourself with another activity for 15-20 minutes. The craving will usually pass.

Cleansing is a terrific time to rest and reflect. Disconnect from technology or limit its use and enjoy a book or do some journaling.

Get a relaxing massage.

Engage in light exercise that you enjoy like Pilates, yoga or nature walks.

Get outside. Breath the fresh air.  

Go to bed early. This will help you get more needed rest and avoid evening “stack attacks.”

Mind your mindset. Keep positive thoughts about your experience going. Imagine all that goodness flooding your cells, cleaning things up and helping you create your best health ever!