Holy Detox! Juice Fasting My Way

Those who know me, know I've done lots and lots of cleanses, so people often ask me to send them an email of my program, which is derived from reading many of books on the subject, visits to serious health spas and some personal trial and error.

Early summer is a good time to start thinking about a cleanse- the social season is winding down in Miami, and up north, it's getting warm enough to tolerate it (cleansing is not recommended when it's really cold.) It will also help prepare your body for its debut after hibernation. So wipe your social schedule clean for a whole week, very hard for some of you, I know. If you don't live near a place that sells fresh squeezed vegetable juices, you'll probably have to buy a juicer. In Miami Beach, we have Apple a Day and now, Jugo Fresh. It's also advisable to start the cleanse with a new, clean toothbrush.

Day 1 - Eat raw, light foods. Whole fruits, salads, nuts and anything else that is raw and vegan. This facilitates and prepares you for the cleanse.

Day 2 - Begin program

8am  Kyo Greens - I have this every morning. It is an important green juice to begin with and you buy it powdered and make it yourself. (powdered barley grass, wheat grass, FOS and chlorella)

9am - breakfast juice:  beet, carrot, ginger  (try fresh grapefruit too)

11am - herbal tea of your choosing (Yogi Tea make a good one called Peach Detox)

12:30pm - lunch juice: celery, carrot, tomato, lemon, garlic, parsley, cilantro (kinda like a raw V-8)

3pm- afternoon snack juice: apple, cucumber, lemon

6pm - dinner juice: try a yucky kale shot followed by a tastier juice (honeydew and parsley with lemon)

or have more Kyo Greens  - on day 3 try to add a tablespoon of flax seed or raw coconut oil

9pm supper -  miso soup made with purified water, white mellow miso paste and a tsp of Bragg's Amino Acids. (You'll be really looking forward to this after all the sweet juice and the aminos are important.)

 before bed: Linden tea steeped with Senna tea   **the linden tea will help you sleep, which may not come easily. The senna tea will allow you to have a bowel movement in the morning. This is very important as you'll be releasing a lot of toxins you don't want your colon to reabsorb. Because you're not eating fiber or solid food, the elimination process would normally and you don't want it to until it's all out (usually after 4-6 days). Some people go and get colonics to get a true, true cleanse, but you have to be cautious to get a good practitioner and there are a few risks. If you do this - follow with probiotics.

Day 3-6 will follow the same arc. I usually plan on 4 days of juicing and extend it if I'm in the mood.

important tips

*Get a massage on day 2, 3 or 4 (or all of them)

*You can choose whatever juices sound good, as long as they are mostly vegetable and not sweet fruit (these aren't great for the cleanse and will make you hungrier)

*Having any fiber at all will start the digestive process and make you hungrier

*Take it easy, do light exercise like walking or gentle bike rides. The beach is a nice place to go during a cleanse.

*Stay away from restaurants and places that have food, don't watch tv - the commercials are killer.

*The first 2 days are the hardest. By day 3 or 4 the hardest part is over, so if you can, keep going.

*I drink juice whenever I get hungry, so I'm never too hungry when I do this.

*Try to take a sauna, or long, hot bath with Epsom salts every day. Sweating will provide another route for the toxins to leave the body. Careful not to over do it though and always get out of a hot bath slowly.

*Yoga is good too as is making sure you breath deeply. The lungs / breath are another route that toxins leave the body.

*Don't use chemical / commercial perfumes during the cleanse.

*flu-like symptoms, including a headache, are called a 'healing crisis' this means you are coming into contact with some of the toxins your body is pushing out. Drink more water, it will pass. 

*It's not that hard to do the cleanse when you are working, just begin on the weekend so that Monday is day 2 or 3. Bring juice in glass jars in a little cool pack. You may find yourself with more or less energy at times, but you'll be focused and the distraction makes the time fly by --  unless you have a boring job where you usually snack a lot to keep yourself entertained. Then you really need this cleanse and a little extra willpower!

*Read about cleansing. My favorite book is Juice Fasting & Detoxification by Steve Meyerowitz. Reading about what it does for you makes it more interesting and strengthens your resolve.

*A true cleanse can take up to 30 days and many interesting, unusual stages will be reached. If you do a longer cleanse, you will stop taking senna tea by day 6 or so.. you won't have much left. Make sure you continue medications too.

*Feeling competitive? Do it with a friend - Yannick did this last October and made it for 16 days, felt great and lost more than 10 pounds.

Coming off the cleans correctly is important. Regular food will make you ill. The first food you should eat would be a banana, or avocado. Try to subsist on whole fruits and light salads for a few days supplemented with nuts. This will continue the cleanse a bit while transitioning you back to the real world. Keep avoiding coffee and alcohol for as long as possible. You may find you don't need the caffeine anymore!

 

**Legal disclaimer goes here. If you have any medical conditions see your doctor before starting a serious cleanse. For healthy individuals this cleanse should be purely beneficial, but if any conditions arise, related or unrelated to the cleanse, consult a medical professional,