Every season pretty much, I will do a juice fasting, which is sometimes referred to as a "juice feasting." This is when you go on a strict regiment of only drinking fresh fruit and vegetable juices. There is also the other extreme which is called "water fasting," which refers to only drinking fresh distilled or purified water and nothing else. Since I have a bit of a hectic work schedule I find water fasting to be extreme (plus : they suggest that you should only do this under supervision). When you water fast your body flushes away harmful toxins, and give your digestive tract a time to relax, rejuvenate, and heal itself. I prefer juice fasting since the fresh squeezed juice provides me with the calories that I need to get through my day and it also cleanses my body in the same way as the water fasting, just not as harsh. I have done both though, and I have to say that if your a beginner at fasting...stick with juice!
A detox program can help the body's natural cleaning process by:
1) Resting the organs through fasting;
2) Stimulating the liver to drive toxins from the body;
3) Promoting elimination through the intestines, kidneys and skin;
4) Improving circulation of the blood; and
5) Refueling the body with healthy nutrients.
1) Resting the organs through fasting;
2) Stimulating the liver to drive toxins from the body;
3) Promoting elimination through the intestines, kidneys and skin;
4) Improving circulation of the blood; and
5) Refueling the body with healthy nutrients.
I've been reading this book recently, and I suggest anyone who's curious about juice fasting should read it as well. It's even for people who have fasted many times before (like myself), I think those people will still come away from this reading with additional knowledge that they didn't know about before hand.
"Juice Fasting and Detoxification"
by : Steve Meyerowitz
This book explains how to fast using raw fruit & vegetable juices while maintaining a nearly normal work and living schedule. Includes: Juice recipes, detoxification techniques, exercises, weight loss, water fasting; organs of elimination; how to handle a "healing event," and how to come off a fast safely.
The human body has an incredible capacity for healing and longevity. Within it is an intelligence more powerful than any drugs or a surgeon's knife. Fasting gives your body the well deserved vacation it needs to repair itself. The power that made the body can heal the body. Fasting and juice therapy revamp your health from the inside out. This book shows you how to tap that power and how to fit it into a busy lifestyle. It's easier than you think. Even just one fast day per week provides 50 rejuvenating days per year. Give your cells and yourselves the opportunity to cleanse, nourish, rejuvenate and heal.
The human body has an incredible capacity for healing and longevity. Within it is an intelligence more powerful than any drugs or a surgeon's knife. Fasting gives your body the well deserved vacation it needs to repair itself. The power that made the body can heal the body. Fasting and juice therapy revamp your health from the inside out. This book shows you how to tap that power and how to fit it into a busy lifestyle. It's easier than you think. Even just one fast day per week provides 50 rejuvenating days per year. Give your cells and yourselves the opportunity to cleanse, nourish, rejuvenate and heal.
Here are some of the detoxing methods mentioned in this book, as well as some that I follow when I juice fast : (I will attach links if anyone is interested in learning more about each one)
1. Drinking your fruits and veggies within 24 hours of juicing them to keep them fresh, so you can get the most vitamins and minerals out of them
2. Drinking plenty of water to flush the toxins from your body. It is suggested that Distilled Water is better for you because all of the "cooties" are steamed out leaving you the purest water.
3. Getting plenty of sleep, this is the time your body uses to repair itself. I can not express enough how important this is! You should also try and relax when fasting, you don't want to strain your body too much.
4. Meditation & or Yoga is great to do in general, but also helps you clear my mind and focus. Especially Bikram Yoga, which combines yoga and the sauna experience in one.
http://yoga.lovetoknow.com/Benefits_of_Bikram_Yoga , which takes me into.....
(sorry...I'm on a cartoon kick today...hahaha)
6. Dry skin brushing & or skin brushing in the shower. This will increase your circulation and help push the toxins out, it's especially good for cellulite, which are fat deposits under the skin. Fat stores toxins so not only is it unattractive it is also unhealthy. You should always brush or exfoliate your skin motioning your arms towards your heart. http://www.naturalhealthtechniques.com/healingtechniques/Dry_Brushing_Technique.htm
7. Oil Pulling : (this is new to me) It involves swishing 1 tbsp. of cold-pressed oil in your mouth for about 25 minutes, after brushing your teeth. Doing this will use your enzymes, which in turn will draw out harmful toxins out of the bloodstream. Do not swallow it though since it will absorb toxins and you want them out, not back in. Also, do this in the morning before you eat your breakfast.
8. Colon Hydrotherapy : I've done lots of research on this recently but I do not really have any story's to tell. I do have to say that the health of the colon is grossly underestimated. Your colon is a breeding ground for toxins (I'm so passionate about this...I may just blog about it later).
"Water is absorbed into the body through the colon which increases the volume of blood. The circulation of the blood is increased, resulting in a greater bathing of the cells. This dilutes the toxins and flushes them out; relieving toxemia and uremia; and increasing elimination both through the kidneys, and the skin as well as the bowels. All this generally assists the cardiovascular and circulatory systems to be more efficient."
colonics session it can help the process of bowel elimination (god that sounds so textbook!!!)
So, here are a few juicing recipes which I will be using on my fasting program (I didn't make up their titles....haha) I will have more on my detoxing soon, since I just started this week. Generally I will fast for 1-2 weeks at the most, some advanced "fasters" will do this for 30+ days, that's a bit too hardcore for me. Always follow your body and don't try to over do it.
COLON CLEANSING
1 red apple
1 medium size carrot
5 slices of cucumber
1 stalk of celery (optional)
1 big glass of cold water
1 tbsp of honey
1 tbsp Apple cider vinegar.
MORNING TONIC
1 apple
1 grapefruit (peeled)
DIGESTIVE
¼ lemon with peel
½ grapefruit (peeled)
2 oranges
BODY CLEANSER
4 carrots
½ cucumber
1 beet
EVENING REGULATOR
2 apples
1 pear
Thanks for a good article about Oil Pulling
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