An Introduction To Juice Cleansing
By Keare Smith
My article for this month’s issue is a continuation article in my new Juicing series. In last month’s issue I discussed the basics of juicing and introduced the reader to the different types of juicing. This article will cover the basics of juice cleansing and inform the reader on how to properly begin a juice cleanse. (What I discuss in this article is solely a recommendation and not medical advice; always consult with your doctor before a cleanse).
Lately, cleansing has become a topic that is frequently discussed and publicized. But what exactly is cleansing? When most people hear the word “cleansing,” they relate it to religious or spiritual fasts, or to someone starving himself. But cleansing is not about depriving yourself of nutrients in an attempt to clean out your body. Cleansing should be considered a way to give our major bodily systems a much needed break while still supplying the necessary nutrients to sustain a healthy state of being. There are hundreds of cleanses, ranging from very normal to borderline insane. Some involve only drinking an odd combination of lemon juice, water, maple syrup and cayenne pepper (master cleanse). Others allow solid foods to be consumed but advise the cleanser to abstain from a list of certain forbidden foods. After detailed research on the various types of cleanses out there, I recommend a raw juice cleanse.
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We currently live in a polluted world. The air we breathe, the cleaning products we use on a regular basis, and some of the foods we eat, are all toxic. There is an alarming amount of toxins that penetrate our bodies on a daily basis. These toxins affect us on a physical and mental level. Toxin build-up has been linked to various diseases, including cancer, depression and even migraine headaches. Juice cleansing is a way to reduce the level of toxins in our body and enable our body to cleanse itself from the inside out. Juice cleansing goes a step further than healthy eating. While on a juice cleanse, tissues and cells are able to regenerate and remove toxins. Juice cleansing is all about giving the body an abundant amount of vitamins, nutrients, and living enzymes while we refrain from consuming solid foods.
The purpose of food and the consumption of food is to provide nutrients and energy for our body. The fact that our body must use energy from food to digest food often gets overlooked. Many of the foods found in the standard American diet are tough for our bodies to digest because they require an abundant amount of energy to carry out the digestion process.
My Thanksgiving day meal.
In today’s world of foodies and Food Network, we choose food based mainly off of flavor, unknowingly taxing our body each time we eat certain foods. For example, think about how you felt on Thanksgiving day. This was roughly two weeks ago, so the feeling you felt should still be in the back of your mind. Picture your Thanksgiving plate, think about how much food was piled high on your plate, and remember exactly how you felt after you consumed all of this food. This feeling is typically referred to as the “itis.” It is that tired, sleepy, and groggy feeling you feel after eating a large meal, such as a Thanksgiving feast. The feeling is a direct response to the amount of strain you have just put on your digestive system. It is a necessary response to get you to lay down and not waste any more energy, because your body now needs to dedicate most of its energy to digesting the large amount of food that was just eaten. Cleansing is all about taking this process in the opposite direction. Cleansing gives your digestive system a needed rest so your body can dedicate energy to maintenance work and cleansing.
Juice cleanses can last between 1-60 days or even longer than 60 days for those advanced cleansers. Juice cleansing should not be viewed as a form of starvation, and one should not push the body past a certain limit. The purpose of a juice cleanse is to heal while still properly nourishing the body. Juice cleansing allows us to detox and rebuild. Cleanses can be viewed as hitting the reset button. Periodic cleanses can tremendously benefit your digestive system and overall well-being.
Leading up to the cleanse you should begin with a pre-cleanse regiment. The first phase of cleansing is known as the pre-cleanse phase. This is usually the period beginning 5-7 days prior to your juice cleanse. The pre-cleanse is all about slowly easing into the fasting process. This helps enable a smooth transition into the actual juice cleanse. This step should not be overlooked and must be adhered to. It consists of cutting out unhealthy products and habits, such as processed food, caffeine, milk, eggs, red meat, white sugar, shellfish, soy protein isolate, and even nightshade vegetables (see Note #1 at the end of the article). Jumping right into a fast and avoiding a pre cleansing phase is bad for our bodies and is usually the main cause for failed juice cleanses. Your body will be in shock when you suddenly go from eating bacon double cheeseburgers to drinking cold pressed juice for 24 hours straight. The foods that are natural and easy to digest are recommended. This includes all fruits and veggies, nuts, seeds, sprouts, and a small amount of grains, chicken and fish.
The target length of your juice cleanse should be attainable and realistic. Everyone is different. The key is to choose what will work for you and to not go past a limit you can handle. It is recommended that you start off with a 1 to 3-day cleanse if you’re a beginner. After a few successful shorter cleanses, you are advised to slowly build your way up to longer 5-30 day cleanses. In addition, the juices consumed during juice cleanses should be heavier on the vegetables (the consumption of homemade nut milks and soups are also a recommended addition to juice cleansing regiments). The most important aspect is hydration. It is important to drink plenty of water to aide in the flushing of toxins that will be flowing through your body due to the nature of the cleanse (see Note #2 at the end of the article). Your body will want to naturally rest as it begins the cleansing process. Over time, this feeling will subside and you will have energy to carry out your life as normal. It is not an easy feat, but it is well worth the effort, and the rewards will be enough motivation to keep you going.
Thanks for reading. In next’s month’s installment I will discuss juice cleansing as it applies specifically to athletes.
Note #1: Night shades are a family of plants that are mostly poisonous to humans. But there are some night shades that we do eat into today’s society. These night shades we consume include eggplants, hot peppers (such as chili peppers, jalapenos, habaneras, Red pepper, cayenne), white potatoes, and tomatoes.
Note #2: I don’t want to recommend an exact amount of water because I’m not a doctor or dietician. But typically an ounce of water for every 10 lbs of body weight is right. For example, an 150 lb male would drink 15 oz a day.
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