Green Lemonade

Despite their popularity, many western doctors and scientists believe a healthy human body is capable of eliminating the toxins it encounters on its own, and do not support detox diets nor juice fasts.

Be aware of what the fasting skeptics are saying, but don’t let the tales and descriptions of extreme, uncomfortable liquid fasts overwhelm you.

Many people operate on limited information about juice fasting. Its about being educated, and finding a nutritious, liquid fast that is compatible for you. If you want to read and learn more about juice fasting, this recommended reading list is a good place to start.

Participants on both sides of the fasting argument actually agree that an extended juice fast is not necessarily right for everyone at any one point in time (your diet history is a big factor); and an extended juice fast can be dangerous if not done correctly. Do research on the topic and even fasting pioneers, veteran cleansers, functional medicine doctors, and participants themselves will admit that an intelligent application of a fast is best. This requires preparation. Read on for more information. These articles may also be helpful to you.

• Juice fasting 101
• How to prepare your body for a juice fast
• Sample menu: How to prepare your body for a juice fast
• Juicer recipes for weight loss
• 1 day juice fast – create your own
• The many ways to detox

Skeptics of Juice Fasting Believe:

1. Our body naturally cleanses itself through its elimination channels…so a diet that promises to “cleanse” really isn’t necessary

   While our eliminative systems are powerful, given the abundance of processed foods in many of our diets, the occasional over-indulgence and the increasingly stressful environment we operate in today, some additional nourishment and support of our elimination channels is best.

   An occasional change in our diet or lifestyle through a strategic combination of a short nutritious juice fast – perhaps fasting until lunch or dinner occasionally – combined with clean eating gives the body a chance to catch up on its housecleaning work as the energy in the body shifts from digestion (which requires a tremendous amount of the body’s energy resources) to healing.

   In your clean eating regime focus on incorporating a few more whole, natural foods and reducing your intake of refined and overly processed foods.

2. There is little evidence to support detox diets or fasting do much more than lead to unhealthy, unpleasant side effects

   Juice fasting skeptics usually point to the Master Cleanse (a water fast) when making these statements.

   The elimination process causes discomfort – True! BUT the key is to control this eliminative process in a way that is safe and bearable.

   When detox symptoms such as headaches and sluggishness arrive, everyone blames the juice fast and assumes they are not getting the nutrients they need (supported by work done by well respected cleansing veterans Arnold Ehret, Alejandro Junger and Natalia Rose).

   The reality is that these symptoms occur from the release of too much waste too fast.

   Detoxification symptoms resulting from a nutritious juice fast can be moderated through the incorporation of a few raw vegetables – a few bites of avocado is my personal favorite. Eating these foods returns the body’s focus and energy to digestion vs detoxification.

3. Most people do not know how to harness the power of fasting in our modern society today

   Yes, sadly this is the case today. There are many individuals who operate without a proper knowledge in place on how to strategically and safely conduct a proper juice fast. Other times many of us are mislead as companies prey on our health insecurities to make money. Powders, pills, and other herbal based colon cleanses should therefore be off your list to purchase. These artificial products just aggravate our systems! Detoxification through fresh vegetable based juices, green smoothies and raw foods is best.

4. Detox diets can actually do more harm than good as they lead to a shortage of some very important vitamins and minerals which weakens our immune system and our ability to fight off infection

   A nutritious juice fast centered around green vegetables (vs a water fast such as the Master Cleanse) is actually loaded with vitamins and minerals, antioxidants and blood alkalinizers for superior health and energy. These nutrients help with the awakening and releasing of toxins in the body as well as aid in the rebuilding of the body’s terrain. This also includes a rebuilding of the biological terrain of the colon where the majority of the body’s immune system is housed.

5. Juice fasts also contribute to muscle breakdown

   As far as muscle loss is concerned, there is a slight breakdown in muscle tissue in the early portion of a fast, but then stabilization occurs.

   Essentially, you have to tear down a house before you can rebuild it.

   Personally, the dramatic detoxification experienced in a juice fast is worth a little muscle loss to me. A fast not only detoxifies as Dr. Fuhrman highlights in “Fasting and Eating for Health”, “it also breaks down superfluous tissue – fat, abnormal cells, athermoatous plaque, and tumors and releases diseased tissues and their cellular products into the circulation for elimination”. Compelling benefits which are hard to ignore!

6. Most detox-type diets incorporate little to no protein, which are not only the basic building blocks of cells but also a key ingredient to losing weight

   We have to rethink what we have been taught about protein. We do need protein – both the essential and non-essential amino acids that make up a “protein”. We can’t be healthy without protein. However, we have been led to believe that animal based proteins are the only way to get the necessary amino acids (or protein) we need – in the form we need.

   Leafy green foods however also have protein! In fact, check this table from Dr. Joel Fuhrman from his book “Eat To Live” which compares the amount of protein per calorie in vegetables vs other common foods. Per calorie, green veggies actually have more protein than animal based products. Pretty cool!

7. A juice fast will slow your metabolism down, leading to weight gain when you start eating again

   Skeptics believe a fast or diet that cuts calories too low will trigger a biological response that will slow your metabolism down and when you begin eating again you will typically regain all the weight you lost on the fast (usually just water weight) plus more.

   Veteran detox enthusiast and clinical nutritionist Natalia Rose expands upon this often raised fear beautifully in her online community, “detoxtheworld.com”.

   She notes, “A well executed fast actually improves metabolic function. The metabolism is not some phantom part of the body that operates in a vacuum, but the composite of every system in the body constantly breaking down substances that threaten its pristine state. The metabolism keeps the body clear and functioning optimally from the cellular level through (1) ingestion, (2) digestion, (3) absorption, and (4) elimination. Maximum metabolic power comes from ensuring there is never more to metabolize than these systems can gracefully manage. If the cells become overwhelmed and congested with more than they can reasonably metabolize, the whole body becomes congested and backed up with waste. This is why diets recommending 3 to 5 meals a day are so damaging. The average person today has deeply clogged cells, a condition that can lead to exponentially larger problems with every meal. Juice fasting, mini-fasts, and Quick Exit eating [executed through proper food combining] all help correct this problem and thereby support a highly functioning metabolism.”

   One additional thing to keep in mind is that while in fact on a short fast often water weight is the first thing that you lose, if you emerge eating a clean diet filled with nutritious fruits and vegetables, you will sustain the weight you lost and perhaps lose more.

8. Critics of fasting therapy often confuse fasting with starvation

   In an intelligent, supervised fasting state, nonessential tissue, like fat, is used for fuel while vital organs are spared. Starvation occurs when the body has depleted its fat stores and begins to use vital organs for fuel. Many first time fasters think that we get headachy and uncomfortable because we are not getting the nourishment we need from food, and point out that when we eat, we feel better. The reason we feel better is because we have stopped the process of detoxification by taking the body’s energy and focusing it on digestion.

In conclusion, diet and fasting have not been properly combined in today’s modern society.

With the right preparation and guidance, a juice fast is a powerful tool to cleanse and heal the body.

More user-friendly juice fasting programs are gaining popularity for all lifestyles, from those coming from more of a purist, raw food background to the rest of us looking to occasionally offset the “setbacks” of our indulgence.

One of the quickest and easiest ways to begin a detox-diet and ultimately prepare for a juice fast, is to introduce more whole fruits and vegetables and avoid processed foods and refined carbohydrates such as white rice, white bread and sugar, which provide minimal nutrients and can be calorically-dense.