Calling All Juice Gurus!

[misslinda]

Several of us are starting a juice fast for 3-10 days starting tomorrow and I have a question.

It was indicated that we may experience bloating b/c of toxins drawing from the intestines so my question is "Would it be highly suggeested to do a salt water internal flush at any point of our juicing???"

Please Advise.

I would almost bet money that Rawkinlocs will be the first to the rescue!

luv,
Linda

[Jay]

nope, sorry, first comes my advise, lol ;)

I did do a salt water flush after my 10 days juicefast, and although it worked, I wouldn't really advise you to do one, I don't think it's that good for your system...
After your juicefast, when starting to eat whole foods again, you'll get enough fibres out of the foods, to help you with your bloated feeling and to get those BM's moving again...

that's my personal opinion...

J.

[misslinda]

Aha!

Jay, what did you not like about doing the saltwater flush after 10 days or is it in general you would not suggest the saltwater flush period?

Following you...or are we the only 2 on the board today?

Luv,
Linda

[Jay]

Lol, it does look like we're the only two on this board today, hahahaha!

Let me just explain what I think is the case (can be wrong about this though, so please explain if you think otherwise)

Basically, when 'eating' just juices, you are taking the fibres out of the produce, so your body doens't have to spend a lot of time digesting it, so it can continue with cleaning out the rest. But, in order to have regular BM's, your body needs fibres of fruit and veggies, so it's actually no surprise you don't have a lot of BM's while on a juicefast (maybe in the beginning a lot, because some stuff comes out right away, but after a while, it kinda slows down)

I think a salt flush can be done occasionally, like when everything's stuck and you are uncomfortable about it, but first of all, I think it's very un-natural to drink lots of salt water (unless you go jetskiing, lol) and second, how can you have BM's when not eating fibers, right? So I think if I just stuck it out for a while, eating whole foods again after my juicefast, I'd get the same effect as the salt flush, only in a more natural way.

There's a natural alternative for the salt flush, called cassia. It's something you can order from NFL, but find out if they don't sell it somewhere else, because NFL tends to charge you too much in my opinion...
Cassia is a kind of pod, with lots of 'wooden' discs in it, and on the disc is a kind of licorice substance/syrop that you have to suck on, untill it disolves (you are left with a disk without the black syrop. I have them at home, and whenever I feel like it get's stuck in my intestines, I suck on some (maybe 4 or 5) discs, et voila, next morning, I have a BM!

I hope this has helped,

bye!
Joke

[misslinda]

Wow....this has been more than helpful. Now I know that there is sucking involved???? Are we still talking about the raw thing????? ;-) I'm glad there is an alternative b/c quite honestly, I'm not real cozy with the idea of salt water internal flushing.

luv,
Linda

[Jay]

I knew you were going to make a comment on all that sucking, but seriously, is there another word for it?? Yes we are still talking about raw foooooood, lol!!

I've only done a salt flush 3 times in my life, and 2 times, including the last one about a month ago, made me throw up a part of the salt water... can you tell my body was rejecting it???

[misslinda]

I'm trying to get a visual for the whole disc thing--wait cassia they use that in lotions and such. :rolleyes:

[tglasco4]

Hi ladies,

Yes, I remember the salt flush didn't work too well for Jay :( .
I didn't like the taste either. Its not something one can do once or twice for the best results. I did it as part of a MC for 10 days in a row. It worked wonderfully for me. It was part of my 30 day juice fast. I did 10 days with a salt flush each morning and the recommended lemon mixture during the rest of the day. Then I did 20 days of fruit and veggies juices. Like I said, when I did that, my insides were cleaned out and I lost 16lbs. I felt light and flexible. The problem I have found with alot of people with the juice fast seems to be the same general problem with the whole raw experience. A general lack of commitment and an unwillingness to be uncomfortable during the process. One thing for sure, natural juice fasts and cleanses are not quick, easy and comfortable. The way I look at it, 30 days is a very short time compared to the rest of my life. Maybe I am in a very small minority in that regard.

Peace.

Todd

[Jay]

I agree with you on some points Todd, when you say that a lot of people don't like to be uncomfortable so they tend to give up too soon...
But as for the salt flush, it seems such an unnatural thing to do... I agree that it cleans you out, it did so for me to, partially, but I keep trying to visualise an orang utan doing a salt flush... (or an enema for that matter) :rolleyes: you know, I just can't see a visual of that...
No but all kidding aside, that's basically how I think about it, and everybody has their own opinions and idea's, that's what makes it so interesting!

Cassia to me is a perfect sollution, because it's found in nature, Linda, here's a pic so you know what I mean when I describe it...

[tglasco4]

Yes, Jay. You are right. To each his/her own. The sea salt does seem natural to me because its sea salt. I read where sea water (from which the salt is derived) has all the mineral properties that human blood has. Now the commercial salt that contains iodide and chloride is definitely NOT natural at all. It may accomplish the same purpose as the sea salt, but I personally don't want it in my body. The sea salt immediately flows down thru the digestive tract and its tiny grains scrub the intestinal walls. I agree, its not the greatest tasting thing in the world thats for sure :p , but after 10 days I tell you it does quite a job.

[misslinda]

Here is my problem,

Jay by the way, TY for the picture. If I am correct, upon researching, cassia is AKA senna (senna leaf commonly used for laxative teas). Suppose this is the case, I have an allergic reaction to senna--my heart palpitates and I cannot breathe and get body chills. However the salt flush as I have read, does not damage the kidneys (as in the MC booklet)and I wonder b/c of the MC program involving just the lemon mixture??? Will the saltwater flush be damaging if I am doing a juice fast?

I'll see my naturopth today and bring back info to compare.

BM crisis,
linda :eek:

[Jay]

I didn't know cassia was also known as senna... maybe that's incorrect, I don't know, I'll ask around and do some searches on the internet...


talk to you later,
J.

[Stargazer2]

Just my two cents...I did the master cleanse thing a while ago, and while the 'lemonade' part of it was all right, I had some real serious reactions to the salt flush. First of all, it didn't 'flush,' I retained so much fluid I gained something in the are of 15 pounds in 24 hours. Now, I am older than you and overweight, so that might have made a difference. However, as I did continued research it appears that one reason the flush works so well is that your body is in a way treating all that salt as a toxin, and works quickly to move things through. The same thing happens with some of the herbal teas that are used for laxatives (I've given those up as well). Could be why you reacted to senna the way you did.

I think Jay's advice to be gentle is probably the wisest way to go. I've been pretty hard on my body over the years, trying all sorts of diets and going to extremes with food plans, exercise plans, severe fasting, etc. and it's only been since I've begun to eat more healthfully, get enough sleep, fresh air, sunshine, etc., that I've seen real healing happen. For me, it used to be all about the weight. Now it's all about health.

Keep us posted ! You are asking great questions!

Peace,
Valerie

[tglasco4]

Just my two cents...I did the master cleanse thing a while ago, and while the 'lemonade' part of it was all right, I had some real serious reactions to the salt flush. First of all, it didn't 'flush,' I retained so much fluid I gained something in the are of 15 pounds in 24 hours.

Stargazer, I had a similar reaction after about 2 days. How long did you do the salt flush for? Did you do it for the recommended 10 days or longer? I also gained weight at first (although not as much as you, I think I gained about 3-5 pounds). But when it started flushing out, it really came out! :eek: . I ended up losing the initial gain and another 5 pounds after the 10 days.

I am interested to know how many days did you use the salt flush?

Todd

[misslinda]

Hey you guys,

I got back formthe Naturopath this afternnon and b/c he is busy as usual, I forgot to ask the question. Anyway, I don't mind not flushing after 10 days of juicing and slowing work into faw food to "clean me out" but I'm intending to do 20 days and intuitively feel that I will need to "clean out" before it starts fermenting in me?????

Another question, there is no doubt like alot of other people doing a juice fast, wants the wieghtloss effects too. So here is my concern/question........however many pounds one loses, what is the average weight gain when slowly working into a raw food diet???? Yes, I do realize that it depends on each person but perhaps anyone can share their personal experience?

So far I am juicing mostly veggies and my sugar level feels stable--my naturopath says I am doing awesome from what I have been taking in and the amount of each fruit and veggie. My favorite is cabbabe but be careful too much can cause goiter (thyroid condition). I'm mixing so that I don't take alot of one thing.

me talking to much,
linda :p

[Stargazer2]

Hi, Todd,

I only did the one day, because the 15 water gain caused a severe peaking of my blood pressure, along with severe shortness of breath, and exacerbated some other health issues I was dealing with at the time. It was too dangerous for me to keep it up at that time. Like I said, being older (I'll be 50 this next year) and very overweight, I'm unwilling to take that kind of chance of stressing my body. So, I'm taking the gentle route, and so far, so good. I'm feeling good, all bodily processes are working fine (digestion and elimination, if you will forgive me, LOL), and I don't have to worry about anything being harmful in any way to my system. And like another writer said, it just doesn't seem like a natural way of dealing with my body. If something feels awry with my system, a few days of simple water fasting seems to work best for cleansing.

But again; everyone is at a different place, and I know that different things work for different folks. You've had an amazing experience with the whole raw foods lifestyle thing, Todd, and you have my admiration. (I've been following your story on fromsadtoraw--thanks for being willing to share so much of your story.) I just am following a different path that seems to work better for me right now.

Peace,
Valerie

[Jay]

Linda,

in regards to your question: I think almost everybody will lose weight, and with some people they might gain a bit of weight when they stop juicing and start eating whole foods again, but eventually I think the weight comes off again...

I don't remember in pounds how much I lost, it wasn't a lot, and I gained a couple when breaking my fast, but a week after that, I was back at the weight the last day of my fast, so don't sweat it, it will come off...

You know, my weight sometimes stays the same for a couple of weeks, and then it starts dropping again, in the beginning it went pretty fast, but then at some point it's like your body needs to take a break, and at that point the weight plateaus (sp?), but after a week (of two, different from person to person) you start losing pounds again!
Did you know I lost almost 2 pounds in one day -since yesterday? (that's what 7 BM's do for ya, :rolleyes: )

Take care, and your naturopath was right, you are doing AWESOME!!!

[misslinda]

Yeah, the weight loss can be a good thing but not knowing what the balance will be is a little unsettling. Let me stop thinking about that--your right, it will work itself out.

Goodness gracious--That's almost one per hour in a work day here! Don't forget to hydrate. Are you feeling better? I haven't had a bowel since I juiced 3 days ago? Feel like I shoud but still undecided about what to use to help me with the bm.


Congrats on a Clean Get Away with a 2 lb loss (!!!!)
(((no pun intended))) :D

day 3 juice fast,
linda

[Jay]

LOL! ;)

yes, today I finally felt better after 5 days of misery... thankgod!

Linda, the fact that you haven't had a BM in 3 days... looks to me that I was right about the fibres (check my first or second post again)... if your body doesn't get fibres, it's harder for your body to produce BMs...
I had the same thing, only had a couple in those 10 days (yes yesterday sure made up for THAT, lol)
But seriously, I'm wondering what the actual benefits are from juicing...
the way I see it is if you eat raw and drink enough, you'll get the same results... just my 2 cents...

J.

[coffeesquirrel]

i'm on day 14 of my fast and yesterday i switched from the mc to a juice fast. i have tried that salt flush and the senna tea, not a good time with either one. tried some flax tea and while that did not give me any cramps it also did not seem to do any flushing. so once again i was at an impass. so i did something i though i would never do. the BIG E . warm pure water approx 2 quarts and was amazed at the flushing that happened. how just to let you know i am so not a fan of the BIG E but i felt like i had to do something and nothing else was a working. i've been reading a lot of fasting sites and they say that if you do it every 2-3 days you will be fine as far as the flushing and with 2 quarts of water you should reach most of your intestines.. who knows if i did but it was good just to know i got some of the stuff out and gone. Sorry this is kinda gross but since where talking about flushing i though it might help. here's to the flushing lol coffeesquirrel :D

[Sharon in Colorado]

I've heard that "The Solution to Polution is Dilution", and didn't understand it until it was explained to me.

When you add a toxin to your body, often your body will cause water to collect in order to dilute it & carry out of your system. That is what salt will do to a body, any form of salt. It will cause you to swell up so that your body can deliver the toxin out.

I think taking salt in a large amount like that isn't too wise IMO.

An ounce of salt is actually a deadly dose. Remember the old saying when lost at sea "water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink"...drinking salt water will not sustain you but kill you eventually.

So to me, taking a quart of water with salt in it doesn't seem health giving. If anything, the reaction of your body flushing it out is what it's doing to get the poison out of your body, quickly. If it carries out stools on the way, well, that is why it seems to work as a laxative effect. But I don't believe your body recognizes it as a laxative, it recognizes it as a type of irritant, poison or toxin.

I use salt here and there to season, which I realize isn't any better, but one day would like to give it up.

[Sweet lips]

MissLinda,

As I am fasting now, using juices, blended soup and blended drinks - my drinks are cleanning me out. There have been a couple of days where I thought I would need to take a cleanse and with in hours, watch out what you ask for happened. I amy take an enema during this course, but the salt water is very difficult for me at this time because of my toxic body and hypertension, which is slowing being relieved, but certainly not abated at this time.

In my various fasting experiences, I have been instructed to get as much fresh air as possible ( I live in the Country), ounces for ounces of juice consume that much water, and rest, flor clogged pipes, use an herbal solution, like bentinite and psyllum husk, or flax. The body will do the rest.

I PM the info, I am sending the group of people who are fasting with me at this time.

Have a nice day,