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<\/a><\/p>\nFlawless skin: an unexpected side effect of juicing<\/h2>\n
Most everyone who tries juicing does so for health or weight loss, and will attempt to subsist on juice alone for anywhere from three to 30 days during what the health community has come to refer to as a juice fast or cleanse. But not me. Not anymore. Now when I juice, I do so for amazingly flawless, beautiful skin – a little known side effect of juicing I discovered during my one and only juice fast a few years ago.<\/p>\n
Growing up, my dad taught me about the health benefits of juicing by allowing me to taste a few of his creations whenever he and my mom made juice. Thinking back, I wonder if my mom\u2019s interest in juicing had more to do with weight loss than overall health, as she had tried many diets over the years. Though both she and my dad were also very health conscious.<\/p>\n
For the first time in my life I had found real, scientific explanations for exactly why and how juicing could improve your health, and was drawn immediately to the idea that I could detoxify my body of all the junk from my bad eating habits<\/strong>, improve my overall health and energy levels, and lose weight too! It was like a miracle pill in the form of a natural solution.<\/p>\n I read that to improve my overall health and energy, I would need to juice for at least 21 days, and to lose weight, I would need at least 30 days. But why, I wondered. Why was 21 such a magic number? Why 30? What actually happens inside the body on a juice cleanse? I found a lot more milk than meat from the various health blogs I was consulting during my search to answer this question, so I purchased three top seller books on juicing, one of which was The Detox Prescription: Supercharge Your Health, Strip Away Pounds, and Eliminate the Toxins Within<\/a><\/span> I did everything right. I used only organic fresh fruits and mostly green vegetables. I fasted without any cheating for a full 21 days and was aiming to make it to day 30.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Shortly after I began researching juicing to deal with my weight, I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS.) A 21 day juice fast seemed right up my alley at that point, especially considering that many of the symptoms my research had led me to believe could be cured by a juice cleanse (such as brain fog and low energy) were also symptoms of my MS.<\/p>\n I did everything right. I used only organic fresh fruits and mostly green vegetables. I fasted without any cheating for a full 21 days and was aiming to make it to day 30.<\/p>\n By day 5, I really had not seen any of the detox side effects my research had led me to believe would appear by this time. Plus, I was craving real food. My brain wanted to put texture into my mouth. It was missing the pleasure of my saliva working to process food.<\/p>\n Each day I continued my fast and each day I saw no effects of my detox efforts save for fatigue. I became more and more tired with each passing day. I weighted in every day and became addicted to answering the question, \u201cAm I losing weight?\u201d As it turns out, I was consistently losing one pound per day. So that was pretty cool at least, or so I thought.<\/p>\n Still I continued. I am a competitor by nature. When I do something, I’m in it to win. I aim to succeed and I don\u2019t quit. It simply isn\u2019t my nature. However, by the last week all I could do was sit and watch TV. Getting up to walk outside and get the mail simply took more energy than I had. So, on day 22 I ate real food. I had made it 21 days but there was no way I was going to continue to day 30.<\/p>\n Did the books lie? Was juicing just a fad based on pseudoscience after all?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n I didn\u2019t follow the advice about bringing solid food back into my diet at this point either, or slowly reintroducing meat. I ate Mexican and drank a beer, and I felt so much better!<\/p>\n On my way home I couldn\u2019t help but wonder, \u201cDid the books lie? Was juicing just a fad based on pseudoscience after all?\u201d I had done everything right, yet my juice cleanse experience was about as far removed from what everyone seemed to think I should feel. My body just didn\u2019t seem to fit the bill of what the books said should happen. What happened next was even worse!<\/p>\n The next morning I weighed in with a total of 18 pounds lost. I didn\u2019t want to ruin the one thing that seemed to have actually worked during my juice cleanse so I decided I would still carefully watch my diet and eat healthier. Going out for Mexican and beer would have to become a thing of the past.<\/p>\n I reduced my calories to 1200 per day and made sure the foods I was eating were rich in nutrients. I increased my exercise too, yet each day I weighed in I would see that I had gained back another pound until by the end of the month I was right back to where I had started.<\/p>\n That\u2019s right. All the weight came back. I’m sorry, but I didn\u2019t have 18 pounds of water weight. What I did have was food stored in my digestive system working its way through my body. You see, a person\u2019s digestive system is never truly empty, unless he or she has just juice cleansed for the past 21 days. Each day when a person eats, the food in the digestive system remains and until it is either used (converted into energy or fat) or disposed of (via waste.) Solid foods retain most of their weight even while being processed in your digestive system so if you eat one pound of food, you will gain about one pound, at least until your body finishes processing the food.<\/p>\n …my poor body didn\u2019t have a way to know to use the fat as fuel while I was on my juice cleanse, hence my fatigue, since I kept feeding it carbs, albeit in liquefied form.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n When I was on my juice cleanse I had ZERO solids going through my digestive system so everything was processed fairly quickly. When I went back to eating real food I didn\u2019t take into account that some foods take longer to process than others. Some will fly straight through you, while others can take a day or longer. So, in reality, I didn\u2019t really lose any weight \u2013 no excess fat was removed from my body. Not even a little, and my poor body didn\u2019t have a way to know to use the fat as fuel while I was on my juice cleanse, hence my fatigue, since I kept feeding it carbs, albeit in liquefied form.<\/p>\n Sorry vegans, but I believe I need real animal protein in my diet. I’ve always been a\u00a0 high protein eater so my body was used to 60+ grams of protein per day. The only significant source of protein I was getting while on my juice cleanse was from the wheat grass. I had to force myself to drink it.\u00a0 Maybe wheat grass is flavorful to some, but I thought it tasted like pure dirt. By day 10 I had to stop. It was expensive, so why should I spend my money on something that tasted bad?<\/p>\n The only lasting benefit to my juice cleanse was the effects it had on my skin. During my cleanse I was so focused on watching the scale and dealing with my fatigue that I didn’t think to look in the mirror at first, but once I did I noticed that my skin had a new found youthful glow. Patchy spots were now smooth. Areas that had looked dull and lifeless for years once again had color. Sagging areas of skin were once again plump. It was like I had discovered the fountain of youth! Now if only the fountain could taste a little better!<\/p>\n I did find quite a few juice recipes I liked (that did not include wheat grass) and I formulated one myself which I really love<\/strong> and will share with you in a few moments.<\/p>\n To this day, I actually still juice despite my first experience, mainly to get the necessary amounts of fruits and vegetables in my diet and for the amazing skin care benefits I had discovered during my first juicing attempt. I juice periodically a few times per year as a meal replacement. For example, I’ll juice for 7 to 10 days for my lunch, while eating breakfast and dinner as normal. Since juicing removes all the fiber from the plant<\/strong>, adding back fiber in my breakfast or dinner works best for my age. I don\u2019t know if my first juicing fast went so horribly because I have MS or if it is like this for more people than who would care to admit. But since that time I’ve created my own unique juice recipe to maximize the skin care benefits I observed and make it more palatable.<\/p>\n I don\u2019t know if my juicing fast went so horribly because I have MS or if it is like this for more people than who would care to admit.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n I’m not arguing against anyone doing a juice cleanse. All I’m saying is that trying to go 21 days on nothing but juice did not work for me. As I said, I still juice to this day (though I do hate cleaning the machine \u2013 it has way too many parts and has to be taken apart and washed after every single use.) Just because a full 21 day juice cleanse didn\u2019t work for me doesn\u2019t mean it won\u2019t work for you. Juicing actually does have some irrefutable benefits<\/strong> that apply to everyone, to include:<\/p>\n Whether you’re considering trying a juice fast or you’re like me and you just want to add juice to your existing diet and reap the skin care benefits, you\u2019ll likely become frustrated to the point of hating juicing if you don\u2019t get a good juicer because of how horrible it is to clean. I\u2019ve owned several juicers since my juice fast, some of which worked better than others. Here\u2019s what I recommend you look for in a juicer.<\/p>\n My first juicer was a pretty good one. It had a wide mouth opening so I could use whole apples, even though I always cut them in half anyway. The one downside to this juicer (this was the one I used for my fast) was that it was made of plastic, so juice acids would stick to it like there was no tomorrow. The machine was dishwasher approved but it still had to be cleaned ASAP. You couldn\u2019t just rinse it out, put it in the dishwasher and run it later. Plus, though the pitcher itself was dishwasher safe, not all the component parts were, so these needed to be cleaned by hand.<\/p>\n<\/a>In mid-2007 I had been traveling for a lengthy time and had put on some extra pounds from eating out and eating poorly on the road. I started researching what I could do to regain my youthful, trim figure and encountered the concept of juicing for the second time. In fact, everywhere I looked for advice I inevitably saw juicing\u2026 juicing\u2026 juicing\u2026 over and over again. It was so popular it seemed like a fad, but I purchased a few books on the subject anyway, and within a few hours of reading about the process, I was hooked too!<\/p>\nMy 30 day juice cleanse<\/h2>\n
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<\/a>Juicing rests the stomach.<\/strong> Digestion uses up a lot of energy, especially if you\u2019re routinely eating foods with little nutritional value. The longer it takes, the more fatigued you may feel. If you\u2019re one of the tens of millions of people on acid blocking drugs or if your stomach doesn\u2019t produce enough acid naturally (as can happen in older people) the digestion process can take even longer. Juicing in a sense pre-digests your food for you to give your stomach a much needed rest.
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\n<\/li>\nSo, what did I conclude from juicing?<\/h2>\n
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Juicing for beautiful skin – what type of juicer should I use?<\/h2>\n