My Juice Cleanse Journey
I have always been intrigued in cleanses for the body. Whether it be gall bladder cleanses or toxin cleanses, I wanted to see what all the talk about cleanses were about. For the past 3 days, I participated in a juice cleanse. My reason for juice cleansing was purely to flush out any toxins in my body and to feed my curiosity as I am someone who is obsessed with holistic health. This is the first time I have done it and overall it was positive! During the cleanse, I was energetic, had more capacity to focus, and felt lighter (spiritually and physically). The thing I struggled most with was thinking about food ALL THE TIME. I definitely was very close to sneaking in a banana or munching on some nuts, but I withheld my urges! I was also constantly cold. Perhaps the weather shifted my body homeostasis as well. However, I was able to counteract the coldness by drinking A LOT of ginger tea.
Overall, I would do this cleanse again, perhaps limiting it to twice a year. If you feel the urge to juice cleanse more, please do so but do not forget to listen to your body! It is important that you do so in a safe manner and have the correct intentions when juice cleansing.
I did my juice cleanse with “Pressed Juicery” and bought their “Cleanse 2: Most Popular” pack (linked below). This pack contains 6 juices for each day. The juices are:
- Greens 2: apple, cucumber, celery, lemon, spinach, kale, parsley
- Citrus 2: apple, pineapple, lemon mint
- Greens 3: apple, cucumber, celery, lemon, spinach, ginger, kale, parsley
- Roots 3: apple, lemon, ginger, beet
- Citrus 1: cucumber, pineapple, coconut water, lemon, aloe vera
- Vanilla almond: almonds, dates, vanilla, sea salt
Pressed Juicery offers many other juice cleanse packs from half day to full day, from beginner, to advanced. There are limitless brands that offer juice cleanse packs; however it is important to do research and to ensure that their juices are pure, and that they are pasteurized (you don’t want unnecessary bacteria entering your system when you aren’t supporting your body with solid foods).
I limited myself to 3 days juicing every 2 hours. As a rudimentary “juice cleanser”, I didn’t want to exceed 3 days because:
- I’m a highly active person and didn’t want to limit my movement
- I LOVE eating and always have CRAVINGS
- I didn’t want any potential mental fatigue to affect my studies (TCM school)
I wanted to outline some pros and cons of juice cleansing for you all, in case you are interested in trying it in the future!
Pros:
- Juices are high in vitamins, rich in anti-inflammatory compounds, and have the ability to flush out toxins
- The vitamins in juices can boost your immune system and help you feel energetic
- Juicing can help improve digestion by introducing enzymes into your gut
- Some people feel improved mental clarity and increased spiritual grounding
Cons:
- Juicing is very low in calories and can lead to fatigue, headaches, hunger, dehydration, and irritability
- Juicing is in no means a weight loss solution and should NOT be used to lose weight as it is unsustainable. Juicing can slow down your metabolism and will result in weight gain post juice cleanse.
- Juices can contain natural laxatives that can disturb your bowls
- From my traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) knowledge- juicing introduces a lot of cold into your body and your spleen and stomach cannot function properly with only cold raw foods. Your spleen and stomach are essential for digesting and spreading the foods “qi” or “vital substance” to the rest of your body, essentially nourishing your entire body and giving you the nutrients and energy you need. Juicing can create an imbalance with your digestion and contribute to overall fatigue. Your body loves to be warm and to throw its temperature off balance results in other imbalances in your body.
If you have any questions, don’t be shy to shoot me an email or comment on this post! Or you can DM me on IG felsbels.
Lots of love always,
Feli