Jucing: Is there a Real Benefit or Just a Fad?
Once again with a new year comes New Years Resolutions....people wanting to get healthy and try new things in hopes of becoming a better person. All too often this doesn't last very long, but at least for the first two weeks of January, it sounds like a great idea!
One of these great ideas is Juice Fasting. Fasting has been around forever, nothing new at all about this concept; especially for those who do it for spiritual growth. Others however, do for detoxification. There are all sorts of ways to fast; which is the act of not eating, but only drinking water (water fasting) , only eating at certain times of the day, or solely getting nutrients from raw fruit and vegetable juices (also known as juice feasting). After learning more and more about the nasty unnatural things that are found in our foods...and with the creation of documentaries such as "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead", it has become more of a new trendy thing to do to “cleanse” the body in order for it to renew itself. But does it really work?
Depends on who you ask. According to some sources that promote juicing, it is said that refraining from eating solids while drinking an abundance of freshly pressed juice (not your run of the mill store juices loaded with sugars) will nourish your body of all the vitamins and minerals that are many times missed in cooked foods. Not only will you get these vitamins and minerals, you will also get them immediately since your body does not have to break down to foods to get to the good stuff. In addition, you will give your digestive system a rest since you are not actively breaking down foods that you are eating through the day. This saved energy, is then able to focus on cleaning the cells of your body, getting rid of toxins that are put into our bodies daily. The cells will be able to rejuvenate themselves, which will give your entire body a much needed cleaning. Sounds wonderful right? Well the downside to this is that before you get to that glowing happy healthy feeling...the toxins will first have to come up which will initially make you feel ill, possibly have pain if you've ever suffered from ailments, break out in acne or get canker sores potentially....and of course there's that lack of chewing all the great foods you like and having to convince yourself that you are NOT starving (you aren't if you drink adequate amounts of juice and water). If you can tolerate the first few days of suffering...after 3 to 4 days you will start to feel anew.
There isn't a great deal of “proof” or research supporting that this fast actually “detoxifies” the body. But asking people who have done this fast themselves, everyone tends to have the same belief that it does as well as the same answers about the overwhelming great feeling that they begin to have within a few days of fasting (including yours truly—the writer). Does that prove anything still?
No. Other sources suggest that this type of fad is dangerous and unnecessary...citing that the body naturally detoxifies itself, and forcing yourself to refrain from eating is practically insane. People with kidney disease, diabetes or that take certain kinds of medications are advised to either avoid fasting like this altogether, or at least have a doctor monitor them very closely and only to fast for 3 to 5 days. Another thing that is stated as a con about juice fasting is the lack of caloric intake you are getting. Naturally, if you cut calories and still burn calories you will lose weight, but the issue that some have with this is the fact that you are limiting yourself to so little calories. The body's metabolism will reduce in response because it goes into “starvation” mode.
Then of course there is the bigger issue in the end regardless of you are for or against it....what are YOU learning or planning to make different. Those in support of fasting consider juicing as a “gateway drug” (not literally) to eating clean and the beginning of a healthier lifestyle. Sure, if you don't end your fast with a big double bacon, extra cheesy burger! This last part....is all about the person. If you are looking at this as a diet...you have already failed. If you go into this as the beginning of a new lifestyle, then there is hope. It is easy to fall off the wagon and go back to bad habits (again, this writer...speaking from experience). But that will happen whether you are fasting or just deciding one day on the fly that you are going to lose weight and don't stick with it. Yo Yo'ing in weight is very dangerous.
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Jucing: Is there a Real Benefit or Just a Fad?