Juice fasting
Juice fasting is a fasting method and a detox diet where a person consumes only fruit and vegetable juices to obtain nutrition while otherwise abstaining from food consumption. The health benefits are widely disputed. [1] Juice fasts may last anywhere from a few days to several weeks. The juice consumed during a juice fast is not the type commercially available, but rather that produced from freshly juiced fruits and vegetables. [2]
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[edit] Reasons for fasting
Additional reasons to undergo juice fasting include spiritual or religious reasons, weight loss, and attempt to wean oneself from such unhealthy habits as smoking, drinking soda, overeating, caffeine addiction, etc. Serious participants may use juice fasting as an alternative to conventional medical practices. Healing may be directed toward pain, cancer, depression, arthritis, severe infections that resisted antibiotics, autoimmune diseases, and many other disorders and diseases incurable through Western Medicine. [3] Others choose juice fasting to focus on healing specific organs and systems. The liver, kidneys, urinary tract, skin, gallbladder, brain, and immune system may all benefit from fasting, though there is no scientific evidence demonstrating its effectiveness. [4] Juice fasting is, however, clearly effective for weight loss in that overweight participants may lose over a pound per day. [5]
[edit] Methods
Some practitioners fast bi-annually in week-long (or longer) periods to purify the body in synchronization with the annual cycles of nature. Fasts may even involve retreats and travel, such as with popular week-long spa-resort style trips to Thailand.
Because pure juice contains little to no fiber, juice fasters often use an enema or an herbal or saltwater laxative during the time of fasting to efficiently expel waste from the intestines and colon. Another method to achieve this effect involves mixing psyllium husks in with the juice. Because psyllium is not absorbed by the body, but greatly increases in volume upon water absorption, it creates the bulk necessary to facilitate evacuation. [6]
[edit] Types of juices
Juice should have a 3:1 or 2:1 ratio between vegetable and fruit content. This provides the greatest health benefit while offering excellent taste. Garlic, ginger, and chard are a few pungent ingredients known to be adverse to drinkability. Ingredients may include any combination of the following:
- Greens - kale, spinach, lettuce, beet greens, dandelion leaf, parsley, sprouts
- Cruciferous vegetables - cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage
- Superfood - wheatgrass, spirulina, and aphanizomenon flos-aquae (blue-green algae)[3]
- Vegetables - celery, cucumber, red bell pepper, brussels sprouts
- Root vegetables - carrots, beets, sweet potatoes
- Fruits - dark grapes, apple, orange, lemon, Açai berry, tomato
- Herbs - yucca root, fennel, spearmint, peppermint, basil, chilli pepper, fresh turmeric root, milk thistle
[edit] Possible side effects
Fasters should take care to maintain their intake of vitamins and nutrients during fasting, though no specific side effects are associated exclusively with juice fasting. Medical conditions such as diabetes may be aggravated by excessive intake of certain juices. Juice mixes containing grapefruit juice may also adversely interact with certain prescription drugs. [7]
[edit] References
- ^ Susan Moores, R.D.. "Experts warn of detox diet danger". http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18595886/ns/health-diet_and_nutrition/t/experts-warn-detox-diet-dangers/#.T0oCYPF5mSN/. Retrieved 2012-02-25.
- ^ "Fasting". http://falconblanco.com/health/fasting.htm. Retrieved 2012-02-25.
- ^ a b Foster, Cynthia (2003). "Medical Doctor Explains How To Do A Juice Fast". Dr. Foster's Essentials. http://www.startthehealing.com/juicing.html. Retrieved 2006-03-22.
- ^ "Primer on Juice Fasting". Guide to Alternative Medicines. http://altmedicine.about.com/cs/dietarytherapy/a/Fasting_Primer.htm. Retrieved 2006-03-22.
- ^ "Day 5 - Juice Fast Plan Update". YouTube Video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inUKgKx4zh0&feature=related. Retrieved 2012-02-25.
- ^ "Healing Weightloss Detoxification". Fasting.ws. http://www.fasting.ws/juice-fasting/cleansing-the-colon/enema. Retrieved 2012-02-25.
- ^ "Grapefruit Juice and Some Oral Drugs: a Bitter Combination". Nutrition Bytes (UCLA). 1999. http://repositories.cdlib.org/uclabiolchem/nutritionbytes/vol5/iss1/art5/. Retrieved 2009-05-04.
