Juice Fasting

The juice fast has become very trendy in NYC, as well as in other parts of the country, yet most people aren't even aware of the momumental health benefits of juicing. The average person thinks of it as a weight loss vehicle. And although it does melt off the pounds (I recently completed a raw, organic juice fast, and lost 11 pounds in 5 days -- and kept it off!), it also has tremendous healing properties, and enormous anti-aging capabilities. And the best thing about it is, you're really not even hungry and have an inordinate amount of energy, as you're actually getting more and better nutrients than you would eating regular processed, nutrient-deficient food. The tradition of raw juice healing goes back to the 19th century. This is because human beings get well on live juices when nothing else seems to work. One reason for this is because all of the densely-packed nutrients and live enzymes in fresh fruit and vegetable juices are assimilated right into your blood stream within 20 - 30 minutes due to the fact that they are separated from the fiber which requires so much energy to digest...energy that can instead go to healing and regenerating your body. In addition, just 12 ounces of raw vegetable juice could have, on average, maybe 3 raw carrots, a cup of raw cabbage, 2 or 3 beets, 3 celery stalks, 3 lemons, and a clove of garlic. 12 ounces!! The average American person doesn't even eat this much raw food in a week, let alone in one serving! Even if you're not juicing for weightloss, just adding a juice to one or two meals a day can drastically improve your health and immune system. Ultimately, supplementing your diet with enough fresh, raw organic juices will raise your pH, and if your pH is high enough, your body can't catch anything -- from the common cold to cancer. If you're really interested in beginning a juicing regimine or doing a juice fast, there's a great book you could use as a guide called Juicing for Life by Cherie Calbom and Maureen Keane. It's slightly outdated, but really has a plethora of great information about the why and how of juicing, along with recipes for each day of the fast. Another great one is called Juice Fasting and Detoxification by Steve Meyerowitz, and it is also a really great step-by-step guide to juicing. I do stress getting one of the books though, as there's a very specific way to begin the fasts, and especially to end the fasts. You will most definitely lose weight and feel so great if you follow through with the juicing. You feel so much better physically, but it's also so empowering mentally and spiritually as well. If you focus on spiritual things during the time of the fast, it's a great experience. If it's less daunting, you can do a three day juice fast first, and then take a break and do a longer one. There are people who do juice fasts for 40 days, believe it or not. As always, I have to say that you should consult your doctor (preferably a naturopathic or homeopathic doctor, if at all possible) if embarking on a fast longer than 3 days.