What is a Juice Diet?
A juice diet is a temporary alteration of the way that you eat, cutting out all solids and proteins and replacing them with the juice of fresh fruits and vegetables. People undertake juice diets for a variety of different reasons. For some, it is a good way to jump start a diet, giving them a sense of having cleaned out impurities and starting fresh on a healthy new way of eating. Some people engage in juice fasts for spiritual or religious reasons as a way of purifying themselves, while others believe that drinking nothing but the juices of organic produce gives them a boost of nutrition that protein, wheats and fats would interfere with. Still others believe that taking in nothing but fruit and vegetable juice forces the body to release toxins and poisons that the cells have been holding on to for a long time.
Juice Fasting
Juice Fasting is a method of taking in nutrition that involves nothing but water
and the juices of fresh fruits and vegetables. As compared to a true fast, in which absolutely nothing is eaten, when you are juice fasting there are any number of different combinations of produce that you can use to provide yourself with nutrients and vitamins, but you are cutting out everything else –
Juice Fasting for Detoxification
Many people believe that a juice or water fast is the best method of detoxifying your body and ridding yourself of impurities and chemicals that have built up over a period of time. They believe that by providing their bodies with nothing but the nutrients from fresh fruits and vegetables, and doing the work of breaking it down by blending it, it frees the body to use its digestive powers to pull out any toxins that have been stored in the cells. People believe that by fasting the are able to defeat and prevent disease; they also feel that by fasting they are providing the body with all of the nutrition that it needs and providing a boost to their immune system, especially because of the high number of antioxidants they are consuming within the juice.
Juice Fasting For Weight Loss
If you are looking to start a juice fast in order to jump start a weight loss program, there are people who say that starting a diet with a juice fast can result in as much as a half a pound to a pound a day, depending upon whether or not you are exercising at the same time. Though some of the weight that you lose at first through a juice fast will be water weight, soon it will turn to real weight loss because of the dramatic reduction in the number of calories and fats that you are taking in.
How Long does a Juice Fast Last?
A juice fast can last for as short or as long a period of time as you would like,
though it is good idea to have a game plan in mind so that you know exactly what to expect depending upon how long a fast you intend to keep. Most people juice fast for just a few days; this is a short enough period of time that it does not put most people into any kind of health jeopardy. In fact some people make a decision to do a juice fast for just one meal per day, such as lunch or dinner. For those who plan a longer fast, it is a good idea to add some kind of supplement such as a soy protein powder or liquid multivitamin in order to avoid health problems and muscle wasting.
How much Should you Drink on a Juice Fast, and what Kind of Juice?
Most juice fasts involve drinking about 64 ounces of juice per day, or about eight glasses –
Warnings/Side Effects
People who are on prescription medications should check with their physician before embarking on a juice diet, as some fruits and vegetables can interfere with the way that medicines work, and some require a full stomach in order to be effective. People who are pregnant or who have chronic conditions or diabetes should avoid juice diets, and many people experience headaches or dizziness when they first start a fast –
