Vegetable & Fruit Juice Fasting

Juice fasting (also known as “juice cleansing”) is a fasting method and a detox diet where a person consumes only fruit and vegetable juices to obtain nutrition while otherwise abstaining from solid food consumption. Juice fasting utilizes a juicing machine or blender to make fresh juice from hopefully organic vegetables and fruits.

Using a blender for making “green smoothies” is a great way to get raw veggies, including the fiber, into your diet. Realize though that making “smoothies” with a blender and making juice with a juicer are different things and it is a worthwhile investment to purchase a juicer.

Virtually every health authority recommends that we get 6-8 servings of vegetables and fruits per day, yet very few of us actually get even close to that. Juicing is an excellent way to enable you to easily reach your daily target for vegetables.

While you can certainly juice fruits, if you are overweight, have high blood pressure, diabetes or blood sugar issues, it is best to limit using fruits until you normalize these conditions. The exception would be lemons and limes, which have virtually none of the offending sugar—fructose—that causes most of the metabolic complications. Additionally lemons or limes are amazing at eliminating the bitter taste of the dark deep leafy green vegetables that provide most of the benefits of juicing.

During juice fasting, the body autolyzes—self-digests—its own stored substances, resynthesizing nutrients and eliminating toxins. Additionally, fruit and vegetable juices, alkalinizing vegetable broth, and herbal teas all add vitamins, minerals and trace elements to the body, in addition to aiding detoxification. After the fast, the body is better able to digest food and is better at utilizing nutrients in the food. The organs have a new vitality—any sluggishness will have disappeared.

Fasting is a catalyst for change and an essentialpart of transformational medicine. It promotesrelaxation and energization of the body, mind and emotions, and supports a greater spiritual awareness.Dr. Elson M. Haas Nutritional Program for Fasting