Blog: Juice Your Way to a Healthier You

This summer while flicking through our netflix of shows, I stumbled across a documentary that I had never heard of...but it had good ratings...so I decided to give it a try. I do enjoy learning about new things (to me) and especially if it's something that offers good health.

The documentary I am writing about is called 'Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead' (I know, funny title, but it sure does GRAB your attention eh?) It's about a man who is overweight, out of shape, and on many different medications for all sorts of ailments. He (Joe Cross) decides to begin a juice ONLY diet for a course of 90 days. It completely changes his life, from weight loss to finding his way back to the best health he's ever been in.

After watching the show, my husband and I decided to go buy a juicer and begin the process of juicing. We juice at least one time each day and it makes all the difference for the both of us; more energy, less in-take/craving of junk foods, overall good feeling, etc...

People seem to be hesitant of making changes like this in life and it seems to be out of fear mostly. I would urge those people to please find out more about it and perhaps give it a try. Here's a good link to some simple facts about our diets and how we simply are not educated on the basic nutritional needs of our bodies. It's also a great link to read about how certain foods can help reduce the risk of many different diseases.

My Cleanse Experience:

So, in October of 2011, I decided to REBOOT my body with a juice cleanse. Now, Joe Cross in the film did this for 90 days, for me this would be a little extensive to start. I had already been juicing since early July so I knew what I was in store for. I did a juice only diet for 5 days. I complemented with water.

• The first full day I was hungry but mostly for things I was in the habit of being hungry for.
• The second day, I had a headache; the kind a person gets from not getting a caffeine fix. I was having one cup of coffee/day before the cleanse.
• Day 3 - I felt like a brand new person! This is what I hear from MOST juicers too...it's Day 3 you have to wait for. Anyway, I felt simply AMAZING! Full of energy, clear headed, vibrant, etc... As I am a yoga teacher, I did share the experience with everyone who attends classes. So, that helped as they were curious...but also because I felt some accountability to go thru with it. 
• After day 5, I was ready to eat regular foods again but I knew I wanted to keep juicing at least once each day - which I continue to try and do. The mistake I made getting back into regular eating again, was not doing it slowly enough. I jumped in with a common mentality of 'rewarding myself' and got chinese food. Blagh...will NOT be doing that again! The 'REWARD' was and IS the juicing!

What to Juice, How?

I can only suggest from what I have learned by my own experiences. Here's some suggestions for you and please remember to do your own research as well, especially if you have any complicated health issues.

Prepare for any cleanse with several days of eating high fiber foods, i.e. fruits and vegetables. Now, go to target and buy a juicer! No, a blender will not do the job. No, you can not juice bananas.

People always ask, "so what kind of things do you juice?" and I always say, "we juice anything and just put all sorts of different combinations together". But, there are tons of different recipes available on the internet. I would definitely say it's worth getting a couple of different recipes you like and go with those. For me, it's not a 'sit down and take your time savoring the drink' sort of deal. It's more like 'just get it down you and know it's doing good things' sort of deal ;) But, there are recipes available that people have actually put together because they TASTE good! So, go find those so it makes you a happy juicer :)

Eating plants that capture as many elements from the sun, air, water, minerals from the earth. The GREEN fruits and vegetables have more nutrition per calorie than there are int he orange, red, or yellows. Hear more about this from Joe Cross by clicking here.

Come See For Yourself

A viewing of the documentary will be available this weekend at . This will include a healthy pot luck and we are asking for a $10 contribution. A Mean Green Juice will be available for all to try and a group of us will be cleansing in the days following the viewing. If you would like some group support with this, please join us!

Please sign up if you are interested. Thanks and happy juicing! Namaste.