Juice Fasting

[OregonGirl]

If you go on a - lets say, 60 day juice fast - can you, or are you allowed to eat raw as well? I'm going to be getting my juicer ANY DAY now (I've been waiting for two weeks) and once I start, if I get extremely hungry - is it going to hurt if I chew on carrots, or sticks of celery or maybe grapes throughout the day? Or will it ruin the fast? Thanks

[MysticTree]

You can juice and eat raw but it won't be a fast.

[OregonGirl]

Which do you think is more beneficial? Going on a straight fast for 60 days then eating raw afterwards, or juice feasting, which is eating and drinking I think?

[MysticTree]

Juice feasting does not involve eating as far as I am aware. It's a term used instead of fasting because, to many, fasting implies water only. Juice feasting and juice fasting are used inter-changably on this forum forums a both mean juice only. If you haven't done 60 days of juice only before, I'd be inclined to try a 30 day raw challenge first. 60 days of just juice is quite a high level entry into juicing.

[laughalways]

You are right on MT. I think starting with just eating raw first and then moving to juice fasting. Or doing both together until you feel ready to juice fast. You will know I think.

[OregonGirl]

I know it's going to be pretty rough - So I'm actually only planning on doing a 10 day fast, and then see where it progresses from there. I don't want to set myself up for complete failure so I figure 10 days is a good starting place. The only think I'm concerned about is that I drink alcohol, smoke, chew tobacco, and drink around 6 energy drinks a day. I have a highly addictive personality. I'm hoping that I can quit these cold turkey. :D

[laughalways]

I know it's going to be pretty rough - So I'm actually only planning on doing a 10 day fast, and then see where it progresses from there. I don't want to set myself up for complete failure so I figure 10 days is a good starting place. The only think I'm concerned about is that I drink alcohol, smoke, chew tobacco, and drink around 6 energy drinks a day. I have a highly addictive personality. I'm hoping that I can quit these cold turkey. :D

Perhaps you should do some research first and try quitting one thing at a time. IMHO it might be too much for your system to quit all of those at once. You should also research the detox symptoms. I know quitting caffiene can cause headaches. You also should have "coping mechanisms" (can't think of a better way to phrase this) in place for your withdrawal symptoms for each of these. Are there behaviors or things you do associated with each of these? Thinking about that might help prepare you for when you will crave them. I mean things like taking a walk when you crave one of these substances. Or calling a friend when you have the urge. I'm sure you can come up with some others.

[MysticTree]

you'll have horrible headaches for a few days to a week. If you are giving those up then I would suggest you don't go straight to juice only. You will have enough detox going on without the added detox of juicing. 100% raw even may well feel challenging. If, like me, you are an all or nothing sort of person then I would say 30 days raw would be an ample start. Then when the energy drinks, tobacco and alcohol are out of your system move to juice only.

[OregonGirl]

Are there behaviors or things you do associated with each of these?
I pretty much smoke when I drink. That's the only one really. I drink the energy drinks in the morning at work because I'm tired, and I chew during breaks at work.

[laughalways]

I pretty much smoke when I drink. That's the only one really. I drink the energy drinks in the morning at work because I'm tired, and I chew during breaks at work.

The reason I asked because if you avoid situations/behaviors that contribute to your addiction, it might make it easier to quit. I hope you are able to quit and improve your health by going raw and juicing. Keep us posted as to your progress. I hope I was able to help a little!

[OregonGirl]

You did help alot, thanks :) I really want to quit everything - My husband and I are trying to have a baby and I want to be healthy - well not trying, just doing what we do, lol - I do have nicotine patches :D But those wouldn't be good during my fast.

[Juicerguy]

Did you ever start your juice fast? Also a few things I wanted to suggest that might help you some. If you can do it then quitting everything all at once is awesome! You will be changing your life more than you know even right now. Once you rid yourself of all of those habits and the toxins that they put and create in your body you will never regret that decision!

It wont feel the same at first, but I recommend a lot of people to slowly(or quickly better yet ) switch over to green tea versus coffee or energy drinks. While it is true there is caffeine in green tea, there is much less and it is a much much cleaner and healthier thing to put into your body. Green tea has a massive amount of health benefits associated with it.

Second with the other stuff and juice fasting in general, preparing your body ahead of time before jumping right into a juice cleanse can be a good thing. Start replacing meals slowly with a juice here and there and also increase the amount of raw foods you are eating. With all of the different things you are putting into your body, you could definitely experience some stronger detox symptoms which might discourage you from continuing. If you ease into a juice cleanse which I also recommend doing a "juice feast" cleanse your body will have a much easier time adjusting to the quick switch into pure liquid nutrition.

Basically you will want to be drinking a minimum of a gallon a day of juice where the majority of that juice comes from leafy green and/or vegetable sources. Fruits are really there mainly to help your palate adjust, enjoy and be able to drink the juice. While fruits are loaded with nutrition as well, when you juice them you are taking the insoluble fiber out of the equation which helps our bodies to absorb the sugars in them at a slower rate. You do not want to do a juice cleanse with fruit heavy juices. This doesn't mean you can't have some fruit juices or that you can't use apples in your juices. Just make sure you also load your juices up with things like Kale, Celery, Cucumber, lettuces(other leafy greens like chard and collard greens) Cabbages, Broccoli and other Green goodies.

If you can do a juice cleanse in a healthy way and stick to it then that might be right for you. Listen to your body during the entire process. Like someone else said above going raw or even part raw could seriously change your body as well. If you are taking in everything you mentioned above then your body will be detoxing whether starting raw more or juicing. Sometimes jumping headfirst into stuff is great and then sometimes it is wise to ease ourselves into some things. Remember in the end the juice cleanse is just the beginning of your journey into a healthier, better and happier you! Good luck and hope this will help some. Happy Juicing!

[Arky]

.... switch over to green tea versus coffee or energy drinks. While it is true there is caffeine in green tea, there is much less and it is a much much cleaner and healthier thing to put into your body. Green tea has a massive amount of health benefits associated with it.


I'm a big fan of white/green teas (just as they are, nothing added). In addition to their oft-touted health benefits, one thing that isn't often mentioned is that, provided you make a strong cup of tea, it is sufficiently bitter to stimulate bile release from the liver/gallbladder. This is usefully detoxifying if done on a daily basis.

Ironically, this brings me onto the topic of coffee. Whilst I don't drink coffee, I do use it the other end - i.e. high enemas, and it is great for deeply-stimulating the liver and gallbladder to detoxify, as adherents of the Gerson and Kelly cancer therapies will readily attest. The caffeic acid meets the hepatic portal vein and good things happen...

Not really something to undertake whilst on a prolonged juice fast, though, IMHO.


BTW, coming back to the tea drinking, Juicerguy, have you tried matcha tea? Very, very potent antioxidant dose from that stuff.

[Arky]

Juice feasting does not involve eating as far as I am aware. It's a term used instead of fasting because, to many, fasting implies water only. Juice feasting and juice fasting are used inter-changably on this forum forums a both mean juice only. If you haven't done 60 days of juice only before, I'd be inclined to try a 30 day raw challenge first. 60 days of just juice is quite a high level entry into juicing.

Good advice.

[Juicerguy]

I'm a big fan of white/green teas (just as they are, nothing added). In addition to their oft-touted health benefits, one thing that isn't often mentioned is that, provided you make a strong cup of tea, it is sufficiently bitter to stimulate bile release from the liver/gallbladder. This is usefully detoxifying if done on a daily basis.

Ironically, this brings me onto the topic of coffee. Whilst I don't drink coffee, I do use it the other end - i.e. high enemas, and it is great for deeply-stimulating the liver and gallbladder to detoxify, as adherents of the Gerson and Kelly cancer therapies will readily attest. The caffeic acid meets the hepatic portal vein and good things happen...

Not really something to undertake whilst on a prolonged juice fast, though, IMHO.

BTW, coming back to the tea drinking, Juicerguy, have you tried matcha tea? Very, very potent antioxidant dose from that stuff.

Yes Arky I love Matcha! I hadn't tried it until a few months back when someone recommended it to me when they saw how strong I made some of my green teas. Hehe. I also recently after reading more about white teas have been slowly working more of those in. I really like mixing 3/4 of a good white tea with 1/4 of earl grey for flavor. I don't know a whole lot a bout earl grey, but I just love the flavor and aroma of that stuff.

I also have been recently learning more about the enema cleansing process. There is a juice cleanse program that we are looking into which highly recommends doing them while doing their "juice fast". To be honest I have never done one myself and at first have been a bit squeamish about it, but after I have been reading more about the health benefits and especially in conjunction with a juice cleanse my mind is opening up more.

You have had good results I guess? I mean it really makes sense when it comes to cleaning out your body and fully detoxing to include this. I just know in general a lot of people might be squeamish as well. If there is really good benefits though that might change some peoples minds.

Anyhow yea I need to get some more matcha, I haven't had in about a month probably!

[Arky]

Yes Arky I love Matcha! I hadn't tried it until a few months back when someone recommended it to me when they saw how strong I made some of my green teas. Hehe. I also recently after reading more about white teas have been slowly working more of those in. I really like mixing 3/4 of a good white tea with 1/4 of earl grey for flavor. I don't know a whole lot a bout earl grey, but I just love the flavor and aroma of that stuff.

I also have been recently learning more about the enema cleansing process. There is a juice cleanse program that we are looking into which highly recommends doing them while doing their "juice fast". To be honest I have never done one myself and at first have been a bit squeamish about it, but after I have been reading more about the health benefits and especially in conjunction with a juice cleanse my mind is opening up more.

You have had good results I guess? I mean it really makes sense when it comes to cleaning out your body and fully detoxing to include this. I just know in general a lot of people might be squeamish as well. If there is really good benefits though that might change some peoples minds.

Anyhow yea I need to get some more matcha, I haven't had in about a month probably!

I don't wish to derail this thread, but here are some links related to our discussion on tea and (seperately) on colon cleansing:

http://www.rawfoodtalk.com/showthread.php?71604-Yet-another-good-reason-to-consider-including-fermented-foods-in-your-diet

http://www.rawfoodtalk.com/showthread.php?33443-can-anyone-describe-colon-therapy