Curious About Juicing?

zewolf77

Disclaimer: I'm not a medical professional. I hold no nutritional degrees. I'm not an expert on anything. These are merely my own experiences. Use at your own risk. Also, I'm disclosing the full experience. If you're easily grossed out by bodily functions, stop reading.



My wife and I started juicing late last year after watching Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead. It was one of the first food/nutrition documentary that wasn't preachy or trying to demonize something other than the unhealthy eating habits of modern society. After watching that, we decided to give it a whirl.

To some people, this sounds ridiculous. Admittedly, I thought it was at first also.. I mean really.. no food for X number of days? This has to be some kind of Hollywood trick and these jokers are woofin down cheeseburgers off camera right? So I started doing research on it. I found the website www.jointhereboot.com which is an accompaniment to the movie. To my surprise, there's lots of people successfully doing this and being successful at it.. alright.. I'll buy.

So, we read up on some of the recipes on the site and ordered a juicer. We decided we'd start with a 10 day fast.. nothing drastic, but long enough to be effective and give us a feel for how this works. After the juicer arrived, we bought a bunch of produce based on some of the recipes we read and looked up. And then.. we took the plunge.

Okay.. so we didn't fully read the process on the website that said step down slowly into this. We tried to go cold turkey. Day one, by evening time, I was dizzy and hurled a couple times. Ate a bit of sushi (keep it light, natural) and all was good in the world. Day two, we went full juice. Now.. I'm not going to lie to you. Day two I had a raging headache almost the entire day. Reading up on various other people's experiences, it's a side effect of your body detoxing, and it went away after a day or so. Ok.. pressing on to day 3. Day 3 I pretty much felt tired for most of the day, but.. I pressed on. When I woke up Day 4, I expected the worst.. however.. i felt like I could run a marathon. My head was free and clear and I had energy for days. Day 5-10 were about a carbon copy of Day 4 and I hadn't slept deeper in recent memory. But.. I made it. It wasn't easy, but I made it. Those first couple of meals after the fast, all I could eat was some soup, salad, fruit, lighter stuff like that. Anything heavier made me feel sick to my stomach.

Since then, we've done a 30 day fast in January-February of this year to kick off our current health journey.

Pros:
- All natural
- Cleans out your digestive system
- Stomach shrinks naturally
- Diet change up/jump start
- Clean energetic feeling.
- Blood/Body detox
- Builds tremendous willpower
- Confidence boost (finish a detox with no food, 'dieting' becomes easy)
- The juice works to loosen food deposits from intestine walls after you stop putting food through it. (similar to a colonic experience)

Cons:
- Side effects like the headaches
- Not for everyone. Check sites/doctor for whether its right for you if you have diabetes, blood disorders, etc
- Not the easiest to do.
- You will notice every food commercial on TV, smell of food at the office, etc.
- If you have kids, they still have to eat. See willpower builder above.

Tips from Experience:
- The first 3 days are typically the hardest as far as temptation, side effects, and hunger. Power through.
- Find a natural protein source to add to your juice. We use Spirulina. Others are Whey, Pea protein, Soy, etc. It will help curb the hunger and make you feel full longer.
- I've learned the natural protein drinks from Naked Juice and Bolthouse Farms (there's a few others) work well in a pinch to help you feel full all day.
- When you start a juice fast, within the first day or two, there's a 'cleanout' period. MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A BATHROOM HANDY. You will need it.
- Try out different recipes, even ones with stuff you might not like by itself. Some recipes are great, others not so much.
- Try to keep your juice about 70/30 vegetables to juice to keep the sugar down.
- I've taken relatively unsweetened or bitter juice and put it in a blender after making it and blended berries or a banana in it to make it thicker. This is also how I added the protein. Adding ice makes a nice chilled drink.
- If you use beets, use the whole beet (greens too) or your juice will have this funky aftertaste like you've just chewed a dirt clod
- Cucumbers overpower the taste of almost anything
- Be careful with ginger, a little goes a LONG ways.
- The human body has roughly 25ft of intestines. You'd be amazed how long you're still 'regular' after you stop eating.

Good sites to read more:
jointhereboot.com
juicefasting.org

Do a search for juicing, there's lots out there. Just like your nutrition plan, tailor it to your own goals. Some do full juice, others do a hybrid plan where they still eat a little natural food.

We're currently in the middle of our 3rd fast (10 day, day 2). This has been the most pleasant of the three. I've had little or no side effects this time and my hunger has been less intense.

Feel free to add me or send questions if you have them.

RonSwanson66

Pros:
- All natural
- Cleans out your digestive system False
- Stomach shrinks naturally False
- Diet change up/jump start
- Clean energetic feeling. YMMV
- Blood/Body detox False
- Builds tremendous willpower [
- Confidence boost (finish a detox with no food, 'dieting' becomes easy)
- The juice works to loosen food deposits from intestine walls after you stop putting food through it. (similar to a colonic experience)

Congratulations. You fell pray to a thinly-veiled infomercial for juicers.

zewolf77

Pros:
- All natural
- Cleans out your digestive system False
- Stomach shrinks naturally False
- Diet change up/jump start
- Clean energetic feeling. YMMV
- Blood/Body detox False
- Builds tremendous willpower [
- Confidence boost (finish a detox with no food, 'dieting' becomes easy)
- The juice works to loosen food deposits from intestine walls after you stop putting food through it. (similar to a colonic experience)

Congratulations. You fell pray to a thinly-veiled infomercial for juicers.

As I said.. I've experienced this myself. I wouldn't post it if it didn't happen. I went a full 30 days without any food, drinking juice. I was regular all the way up to the end.. I'd call that a good clean out. The Blood/Body detox, I was eating all natural not processed. The stomach shrinkage was also mostly on the 30 day fast. I couldn't eat NEARLY as much as I could after no food going in it for 30 days.

cheesy_blasters

I tried juicing but I'd rather just eat the fruit. I did have a crappy juicer though so it couldn't do any veggies. That might make a difference? Otherwise it seemed like a lot of money for not much in return.

zewolf77

Yes.. we asked around on juicers also. The juicer does make a difference. The one we have basically pulverizes the fruit/vegetables and the juice goes into a pitcher, all of the pulp/fiber gets separated out into another bin and discarded.

The idea of juicing it instead of eating it.. I don't think I can physically eat 2.5lbs of carrots, 1.25lbs of spinach, an apple, and a handful of strawberries.. but that was 2 16oz juices today. Concentrated nutrients.

cheesy_blasters

Yeah that was my biggest problem. To really get the benefits of juicing would mean spending more than I could afford on produce. What I would have, it really wasn't worth it (juicing a few apples or an orange or something). I could easily eat that.

I had a centrifugal force juicer that was lower to mid level and could barely handle veggies and no leafy greens at all. I keep thinking about getting one to juice leafy greens since I like green juices and smoothies but maybe once I'm done school.

How much did you spend on your juicer (if you don't mind me asking?)

zewolf77

We bought a Breville Juice Fountain for about 150 bucks.

The cost was prohibitive at first for our produce. We have a Costco membership and discovered a more economical way to make it. We make mostly Carrot/Spinach base juice. I can get 10lbs of carrots for 5.50, 2.5lbs of spinach for 3.50 or so. Those two together make about a day's worth of juice base for me. Add in a few pieces of fruit and you're looking around 10-12/day depending on how exotic you want to get with it.

cheesy_blasters

Interesting! I finally live somewhere with a Costco but I've only been inside once.

I looked at the Breville fountains...which did you get? I know some are better for veggies than others.

zewolf77

We have the Breville Juice Fountain Plus: http://www.brevilleusa.com/beverages/juicers/juice-fountain-plus-je98xl.html

blacksagephoenix

I juiced for about 8 days and lost like 15 lbs doing it, but I didn't poop the whole time and started to get freaked out over that. lol So I stopped juicing, tried eating a healthy diet of fruits and veggies, watching carb intake, 1200 calorie diet, and gained the weight back. But atleast I pooped! lol

cheesy_blasters

We have the Breville Juice Fountain Plus: http://www.brevilleusa.com/beverages/juicers/juice-fountain-plus-je98xl.html

Thanks!

Jill_newimprovedversion

I just watched this documentary and found it EXTREMELY informative.

I didn't see it as an infomercial for juicers, because it doesn't endorse one at all. In fact, you have to pay attention to find out
what brand in particular Joe Cross uses....
and that's simply because he's from Australia, and that seems to be the top selling brand
or they helped sponsor the video?? Dunno.


Anyhow, I also did some of my own research trying to find out more about WHICH juicer would be a good choice for me.
Came across this video- highly recommend
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKT3JVXbhIg
Buying Your First Juicer

It does feature 4 different brands/models for comparison sake- but VERY informative
in showing the different features of each.

Just thought I'd share.

iris8pie

I am a fan of the juice!
I used to work at the whole foods juice bar and met many people who reportedly healed themselves of many things with juice. I did it myself but only for a few days at a time, and felt amazing, my eyes were super clear and skin was really nice.
I think raw fruits and vegetables are the way to heal a body for sure... If I ever got cancer, Id go on a juice fast.

Jill_newimprovedversion

I am a fan of the juice!
I used to work at the whole foods juice bar and met many people who reportedly healed themselves of many things with juice. I did it myself but only for a few days at a time, and felt amazing, my eyes were super clear and skin was really nice.
I think raw fruits and vegetables are the way to heal a body for sure... If I ever got cancer, Id go on a juice fast.

I'd like to DETOX my body from sugar overload- and hopefully break this addiction for good.

but I'm also interested in PREVENTATIVE care- not waiting to be diagnosed with another disease first,
gonna head 'em off @ the pass.

dsegel

Yes, but what about the all essential fiber that encapsilates the sugar and aids digestion? When you juice, you are throwing all the fiber away. It makes the nutrients more absorbable but you are creating sharp rises in blood sugar when you juice things like fruits and carrots. And I have read that even juicing vegetables is not good because there is such a thing as overloading your system with nutrients. I think blending your food would be better--it breaks the fiber down but doesn't remove it.

Lea_8D

Nice post describing your juice fast experiences, thanks! I love my juicer, though I haven't tried an actual juice fast so far.

Anyhow, I also did some of my own research trying to find out more about WHICH juicer would be a good choice for me.
Came across this video- highly recommend
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKT3JVXbhIg

That's a really good video to explain the differences between types of juicers. I have the Omega 8006 - single auger type - because I juice mostly greens, with some carrot and/or apple to sweeten it, and ginger to add a nice zing. One thing the guy in the video didn't mention is that the centrifugal ones produce more foam (air in the juice). They also heat your juice somewhat because the of high speed, so for both those reasons the augur types are better at retaining the maximum amount of nutrients.

Lea_8D

Yes, but what about the all essential fiber that encapsilates the sugar and aids digestion? When you juice, you are throwing all the fiber away. It makes the nutrients more absorbable but you are creating sharp rises in blood sugar when you juice things like fruits and carrots. And I have read that even juicing vegetables is not good because there is such a thing as overloading your system with nutrients. I think blending your food would be better--it breaks the fiber down but doesn't remove it.

You will have some of the fiber because some pulp will still get through the screen. You wind up getting more nutrients than you would get by just eating the veggies because a lot of them are trapped in the cellulose and pass through your system (that's why it's good to really chew your greens thoroughly). But it's true that you lose most of the fiber. Some people even juice wheatgrass, which would not even be digestible by humans if not juiced. And at least in my case I still get plenty of fiber from the fruit, veggies, and other food that I eat. Blending is also a good thing to do too, though. It's not like you have to give up green smoothies or a nice salad just because you also juice.

As for overloading your system with nutrients, I would imagine that if your body can't absorb or use all the nutrients you consumed, they just wouldn't get used. I don't see how it would cause any kind of damage. I agree that you could get a big sugar spike if you drink a big glass of pure fruit juice (probably still better than drinking a bottle of soda pop). I personally would rather eat my fruit than juice it, except for adding some fruit to my green juice to sweeten it and dilute the strong flavor.