The Transformational Power of a Juice Cleanse


By Tara Tranguch Y


ou have heard about juice cleanses and the many benefits they offer, but perhaps you are still dubious. Why is cleansing necessary? How can fresh juice offer a physical and mental


transformation? Why Cleanse? There are several benefits a cleanse offers: 1. Gives our body a break. Digestion is the #1 energy drain


on our body’s systems. Our body produces different enzymes in re- sponse to what we eat to break down the proteins, fats and carbohy- drates. The more complex the meal, the more our body has to work to break down the different foods and digest them. The process of juicing, which transforms solids into liquid, be- fore ingesting, pre-starts the digestive process for our body, lessening our energy expenditure. Moreover, juicing removes the fiber allow- ing the liquid to be quickly absorbed by our body. With all this energy freed from needing to spend time digesting,


the body can redirect it to other tasks, such as repairing cell dam- age.


2. Resets eating habits. Have you noticed that your mouth becomes habituated to what you eat and then it craves more of that taste? For example, your mouth craves a full fatty flavor or a sweet taste or salty flavorings? These cravings lead to eating increased amounts of richly flavored foods, most of which can be artificially flavored and heavily processed. Then it becomes difficult to enjoy the simple taste of a crisp apple. We remove these foods from our diet and allow our palates to reset during a cleanse. During the reset we have an opportunity cre- ate new eating habits and break past food addictions.


24 Natural Nutmeg April 2014


3. Lightens us physically and spiritually. During a cleanse, we enter a more raw and vulnerable state. No longer able to hide behind our comfort foods to mask an emotion, we find ourselves forced to face our feelings. This exposure - while sometimes uncom- fortable at first - allows us to release it.


In addition, as we clean out our insides, we find ourselves compelled to clean up our exterior surroundings as well. The weight imposed by the objects in our life is thereby also released, lighten- ing our mood and spirit.


The Power of Juice There are many types of cleanses, ranging from a whole foods


diet, to the raw food diet, to a water fast. Here we are talking about a juice cleanse, which means drinking only fresh-pressed, nutrient- dense, juices comprised of fruits, vegetables and herbs. Juicing is different than blending. Smoothies are made by blending fruits and vegetables together with water, which keeps the fiber in the drink. Juicing separates the fiber from the sugars. The length of the cleanse can range from 1 to 60 days. Perhaps


you have seen the movie Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead: a documentary of Joe Cross’s 60 day green juice cleanse and how it saved his life. During a juice cleanse, you drink primarily green juices supple- mented with fruit juices. A green juice has a base of greens (cucum- ber, celery, kale, spinach, swiss chard, cabbage, lettuce etc.) with fruits (apple, pear, strawberry, pineapple, oranges, lemon etc.) and perhaps some herbs (ginger, garlic, basil etc.).


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