Juice Fasting - effects and tips
Side effects of the juice fast
There are certain side effects that you may encounter when you commence your
juice fast. When you start your fast your body will be trying to eliminate a
large amount of toxins from its cells. The noticeable effects of this can include
headaches, nause and dizziness as the blood recieves waste toxins from your
cells. This is a natural part of the detox. Many people who fast believe that
the fast is complete 2 days after this uncomfortable stage of the juice fast
has ended. You may also experience bad breath and a ‘furry’ tongue
as the body attempts to expel toxins through the throat and mouth.
You may experience a surge in energy levels when juice fasting and while gentle
exercise such as walking is ok, intense exercise such as weight lifting, long
distance running etc are not recommended.
After fasting your mind will be more alert and your energy levels will be higher.
You may also experience an increased sex drive.
Juice fasting tips
A common error with people entering the world of juice fasting is the idea
to ‘stock up on fuel’ the night before the fast commences by having
a large meal. This is entirely the wrong thing to do. You should have a light,
easy to digest meal such as steamed fish and vegetables the night before a juice
fast to ‘ease’ the body into the fasting process.
Try to have some variety in your detox juices so that you don’t get bored
or sick of the same juice taste all the time. An added benefit of this is that
your body will receive a wider array of vitamins, phytochemicals, minerals and
enzymes for use in its cell generation and cell repair.
Make sure you drink your juice as soon as you have finished making it as otherwise
the enzymes in the juice will start digesting the other nutrients in the juice.
Do not use shop bought juice as these have a much lower nutritional content
due to the preservation techniques used in their preparation, i.e. heat treated
juices lose their nutritional enzymes value.
Try and make sure that you drink filtered or purified water rather than tap
or mineral water. This is because you don’t want to cancel out the fast
cleansing effect by introducing unknown minerals, chlorine etc into your body
through unfiltered and unpurified water.
You should not smoke or drink alcohol during your fast as these actions introduce
toxins into your body and defeat some of the main purposes of juice fasting.
After your fast make sure you have had a few solid meals before drinking alcohol
as your body will be more susceptible to its effects.
When you finish your fast ease your body back into solid foods with simple
easy to digest food such as soup or porridge.
