2nd Annual International Juice Feasting Day

I was going to blog about a great article I read on inflammation but then I realized that Sepember 12th is the 2nd Annual International Juice Feasting Day!  I've been contact this past week by a couple of people interested in juice feasting and/or juice cleansing.  In fact I had just posted a juicing  "Question of the Week" on my website (http://www.rawkstarlivingfoods.com/) and then realized that the auspicious celebration was on the horizon.  So with that, I thought I would duplicate my efforts here.  If you want to participate in a "donation only" web conference with the founders of International Juice Feasting Day go to their website: http://www.dayofjuicefeasting.com/dojf/Welcome.html



Q: Can you recommend a juice cleanse?
 (submitted from Raleigh, NC)

A: KINDA- the extent of my juice cleansing has been limited to doing a day or two here and there (normally after I have consumed too much cooked food - like after a vacation). The length of a cleanse varies with most people doing a 7 day. However, some people such as Philip McCluskey (http://www.welikeitraw.com/) completely transformed himself with a 100-day juice fast - or "juice feast" as it has been renamed.. Proponents of juice fasting feel that giving the body a break from solid foods can:

• regulate the colon
• balance the pH of the body (in essence returning the body to an alkaline state)
• reduce the cravings for sugar, caffeinne and other stimulants
• clean the blood, organs, tissues, and cellular structures of the body
• increase energy levels
• restore liver functioning by reducing toxic load
• increase mental clarity and sense of wellbeing

 Juice feasting doesn't mean starvation. Your body will be feed with copious amounts of green and fruit juices. I do know a number of people that have done juice cleansing following the protocols in the book Raw Food Cleanse with good success. For anyone starting a juice cleanse, try to find a good time to start. Choose a time where you will be at home, not too busy, no temptations, and no horrific strenuous tasks. Depending on how long your juice feast is, give yourself time to adjust before swinging back into your busy life. Take it easy and really try to enjoy the feeling of letting your digestive system have a little break from all the work it does. Let your brain be free of the need to think and worry about food. Encourage yourself to concentrate on the healing powers of the juice.

 Below are a few recipes you will normally see with a juice feast. Good luck with your endeavor!!

Vegetable Super Juice

Ingredients:
1 whole cucumber
1 sticks of celery
 2-4 handfuls of spinach
 8 lettuce leaves
Optional boosters: parsley and fresh alfalfa sprouts
Water

Healing Juice

 Ingredients:
3-4 Carrots
2 Handfuls Fresh Spinach
Handful of Flat Leaf Parsley
2-3 Sticks of Celery
Water

Blood Builder (Iron-enriched)

 Ingredients:
2 bunches Grapes
6 Oranges
8 Lemons peeled
1/4 cup Honey
Water

Ginger/Lemon Cleanse

Ingredients:
1-inch slice Fresh Ginger Root
1 Fresh Lemon
6 Carrots with tops
Apple
Water

Stomach Cleanser

Ingredients:
1 bunch Grapes
1 basket Strawberries
3 Apples
4 sprigs Fresh Mint
Water

Constipation Cure

Ingredients:
1 firm Papaya
1/4-inch slice Ginger Root
1 Pear
Water

Skin Cleanse

Ingredients:
1 Cucumber with skin
1/2 bunch Fresh Parsley
1 4-oz. tub Alfalfa Sprouts
4 Sprigs Fresh Mint
Water

DIE-t soda

I admit that I use to be a consumer of diet soft drinks - not a heavy consumer but one or two a day.  This is one habit that I am ecstatic that I gave up.  The evidence against sodas in general is mounting.  Regular soda is being charge with causing obesity among other things. In fact, new studies out of California indicate that 62% of people who consume one soda per day is, indeed, overweight. 

While diet soda may not directly cause immediate obesity at the same rate as its sugar-filled sister, diet drinks are not off the hook.  The San Antonio Heart Study concluded that the more diet soda that a person consumed the greater their risk for future obesity.  In fact, for each diet soda consumed per day the likelihood of becoming overweight within the following 7 years increased 65% (becoming obese in the same time period increased at a rate of 41%).  Hardly a diet soda but certainly a DIE-t soda!

If the potential of becoming "larger than life" is not enough to get you off the juice, how about fatty liver disease?  Studies have indicated that the methane component of aspartame is converted into formaldehyde.  The body doesn't know what to do with formaldehyde so it is stored in the liver. Because the body doesn't know formaldehyde, the fat where it is stored cannot be processed for use as energy.  In essence the body cannot get rid of the fat no matter how badly it is needed to supply energy to the body. This could be one reason many people cannot lose weight even with exercise and healthier diets.  Additionally, in other studies diet soda has been linked to metabolic disorders and type-II diabetes.  Studies participants who consumed diet soda at least daily had a 36% greater risk for metabolic syndrome and a huge 67% greater risk for the development of type-II diabetes.

Still thirsty?

My New Obsession

For all you green tea lovers you must try Green Coconut from TeaGschwendner.  It is incredible!  It's always a bonus when something so good for you tastes great too!  There is at least a decade's worth of research about green tea's health benefits -- particularly its potential to fight cancer and heart disease.  There is also a number of studies about green tea's role in lowering cholesterol, burning fat, preventing diabetes and stroke, and staving off dementia.  So...........brew a cup and drink up!

You can get this at: http://shop.tgtea.com/store/product/5382/Green-Coconut/

The creamy richness of coconut milk on a dazzling and brisk Japanese Sencha base. A true customer favorite.

Ingredients: Green tea from Japan, shredded coconut and flavor.

Preparation: One heaping teaspoon per 8oz cup of filtered water, boiled and cooled for approximately 5 minutes to 90°C/194°F. Allow to brew 2 minutes.

International Green Smoothie Day!

In case you missed it, August 15th was International Green Smoothie Day. I think Hallmark is really doing the Raw Food Community a disservice by not creating a card to commorate the grand event.  So, here was my celebratory glass of green............ This is one of my favorite blends:

2 carrots

2 celery stalks

1/2 cucumber

1/4 red cabbage

All of that juiced up and then blended in the Vitamix with

a couple of handfuls of

spinach

DELICIOUS!

Water - The Liquid of Life

Water is an incredible thing!  It truly is the Liquid of Life. Though I'm a Fire Sign, I seek water everywhere I go.  The first plunge under an ocean wave is a renewing, cleansing experience to me.  Water can soothe us, heal us, renew us, refresh us, revitalize us, reward us, and keep us alive.

Clean water is vital to our good health and it's worth investing in.  Good clean water is needed to help eliminate toxins, keep blood flowing and help with digestion and metabolism.  I have an inexpensive (about $150) reverse osmosis system installed on my kitchen sink so that all water that I am ingesting is clean, pure and has a great pH.  Here are some interesting water facts to think about today:

• You can live 40 days without food, but only 3 without water.
• You can loose 50% of your glucose, body fat or protein and survive, but if you loose 20% water, you'll die of dehydration.
• Babies are 90% water, adults about 70%, elderly about 60%.

Most cooked food doesn't contain much water:

• Bread 30%,

• Butter 16%

• Cheese 40%

• Cereal 5%.

But raw vegetables have a lot:

• Cucumbers, celery and lettuce 95%.
• Broccoli, cabbage, carrots, peaches, strawberries 90%.