Health is Wealth

So get this. I'm currently on day 4 of a 5 day juice fast. Wait, did I say fast? I meant feast, because as you can see in my photos below in the post, no one's being even remotely deprived around here, which is a good thing because I am a FOOD ADDICT. Few things in life excite me as much as good food or just the potential of good food, and few things can cause me to break down the way a ruined meal can (just ask one of my friends what happened when I ordered a Cuban sandwich to-go and found that it was pickles-less when I went to eat it). So what I'm getting at here is that if I can abstain from eating solid food, I have to believe anyone can. And should.
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But why on earth would anyone voluntarily want to live off of only freshly-pressed juice for a few days (or even months)? Well, fresh fruit and vegetable juice contains a ton of fragile enzymes, phytonutrients, vitamins, minerals, amino acids, etc. that we so very rarely give our bodies because we so very rarely consume whole, fresh, raw food. We eat it after it's been cooked and processed and basically lost most of its nutritional content, and then maybe supplement our diet with non-bioavailable vitamins. And even if we do eat a high raw diet, we eat it, which means our bodies have to work to digest the food so that it can absorb those nutrients. Juicing is allowing your body to rest while simultaneously supercharging it with a veritable IV of essential nutrients. To me, it feels like hitting the proverbial "reset" button on my body, and who couldn't use that every now and again?
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Other people, however, do much more rigorous fasts than I have embarked on, and will juice for 60 or 90 days. Juice fasts like these have been shown to reverse and cure all kinds of different diseases and ailments including various forms of cancer (Doctor's note: I'm not saying they will cure anything and everything on anyone and everyone, I'm just saying that they have in numerous cases). And when you really think about it, that makes sense. Supercharge your body with a slew of things that it needs to operate optimally, clean out your digestive system so these nutrients can be absorbed rapidly, allow your body to rest and use the saved energy where it best sees fit healing and renewing and recharging. I know I sound like a hippie nut job right now, but I honestly believe the body is capable of amazing feats when you give it what it needs.  
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And listen, I don't care if you're a 100% raw, clean-eating vegan who uses no chemicals of any kind in your home, rides your bike to work, makes all your own cosmedics and skin care products, drinks alkaline water, and grows your own organic food- YOU STILL NEED THIS. Regardless of what you do personally to make your life clean, the world itself is far from being clean and non-toxic and it takes a toll on your body whether or not your see or realize it. So yes, I think this is important, and I can't believe I've waited 28 years to try it. But it's going surprisingly well, so I'm definitely going to make this a tradition. I was actually planning on feeling cranky and starved and miserable, but I'm none of those things. I feel really good.
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To give you an idea of some of the things I've been juicing, I photographed a day's worth of juice ingredients. To do this right, you really need a wide variety of fruits and vegetables every day, so I've been having fun trying new juice recipes. The one below is appropriately named "Sunset Juice" (though I drank it for breakfast, so I'll call it sunrise juice). I had never juiced sweet potato before, thinking it would just lend a starchy flavor, but I was pleasantly surprised!

(Ingredients: 2 red beets, 1 orange, 1 carrot, 1 sweet potato, 1 red bell pepper, and 2 apples.)

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Next I decided to mix up concepts from two juices, the Mexican-Style Jugo from Reboot Your Life and the Tomato Satisfaction from 7 Day Juice. As much as I have juiced, I never really made savory juices. I'd just toss in a bunch of veggies and add enough apples, ginger, and lemon to make it palatable. But experimenting with different flavors has been so much fun, and now I know that tomato juices with herbs like cilantro or parsley, and spicy peppers, and even garlic are so fantastic. And when you're fasting like this, you really need to experiment with different flavor combinations because your body will inevitably crave something savory after enough "breakfast-type" juices.

(Ingredients: 2 tomatoes, 1 apple, 1 jalapeno, 1/2 bunch each of parsley and cilantro, 1 cucumber, 2-3 stalks celery)

 

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For my last juice of the day, I just kind of threw a bunch of stuff together. I thought the pomegranate and cabbage were so pretty that I needed to do something with them both. It turned out alright, but I ended up adding a lemon at the end to help cut some of the residual bitterness from the cabbage.

(Ingredients: 1/3 head of purple cabbage, large handful pineapple, 1 crown and stem broccoli, 2 large kale leaves, 1 apple, 1/2 pomegranate, 1 pear (not pictured), 1 lemon (not pictured))

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So there it is, a day in the life of a juice faster. I've also personalized my feast to include coconut water, green tea, and miso broth. Maybe that's not a true juice fast, but everyone's got their own opinion of how to do this, and I went with what felt doable for me. I thought I'd be starving and would be juicing anywhere from 5-7 times a day, but I've really not felt the need to juice more than 3 times. I mean, look at all that food I'm consuming! It's plenty to keep me sustained and satiated.