What exactly is a “juice detox”? What does it accomplish, and how do you do it? Let me fill you in.
Juicing is a thing right now. If you know me, you know that I’m not into “things”. I don’t follow trends, I don’t use buzzwords, and I don’t get wishy washy with nutrition. But I DO juice. So, why juice? Let’s be clear right up front. Juicing is not a “diet” and it’s not for “weight loss”. That being said, be prepared to drop a couple of pounds, and completely eradicate any bloating during your juice detox.
Eating a healthy, balanced, clean and organic diet is the way to amazing health, there is no other way, and there is no question about it. It’s important to eat our food, and to get the fiber from our fruits and vegetables. But a periodic juice detox gives our digestive system a chance to take a little break, while flooding our system with easy to absorb nutrients, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals. By providing your body with this abundance of nutrition, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant compounds, you are boosting your immune system, and helping your body to fight off damaging free radicals. You’ve heard of intermittent fasting, try incorporating a juice fast, and you’ll immediately feel the amazing benefits.
Making juice at home with a juicer is very different than buying juice at the store. When you juice at home, and drink your juice right away, you are getting the nutritional benefits of the veggies and fruits you just juiced. This high level of nutrition doesn’t stick around long. If you use a centrifugal juicer (which is faster and easier) your juice is nutrient dense for a couple of hours. If you use a masticating juicer, your juice is nutrient dense for a couple of days. Buying your juice from a store is not even the same animal, and doesn’t come close to matching the nutritional value of the organic veggies and fruits you juice at home.
So how do we do a juice fast? A basic juice fast can be done for 1-3 days. (If you are new to juice fasting, stick with 1 day…my first juice fast failed miserably when I got hangry). The most important part is to A. have fresh juice ready, and B. Have it on a fasted, empty stomach. A sure fire way to accomplish this is to begin your juice fast in the morning when your body has been fasting overnight. By beginning your juice fast on an empty stomach, your body will be easily and efficiently flooded with tons of amazing nutrients. Here’s how I do a juice fast:
Anti-inflammatory/Digestive Boost Green Juice:
(All Organic!)
1 bunch dandelion greens
3 cucumbers
1 bunch celery
1/2 bunch parsley
2 TBSP fresh ginger root
1pineapple
1 orange
Wash thoroughly, juice, seal in mason jars and store in the fridge. This should give you 4 (ish) 12 oz servings of juice, which I lovingly refer to as liquid gold. Begin your morning with a fresh juice, and have one every three to four hours. Sip your juice slowly. A juice fast day should not be your heavy lifting, or intense workout day. Allow your body to reset, rest, relax and recover. If you meditate, this is a good day to spend some extra time in meditation, with the intention of letting go of the old, and letting the new in.
Juice fasting can be a wonderful reset, and these hot summer days are perfect for a refreshing change of pace. Cheers!