Does a the thought of doing a 10 day juice fast seem like more than you can handle?  Why not try a modified juice fast!

The modified juice fast or modified juice cleanse is a great way to test the waters and gain some confidence in starting a new healthy eating routine.

So what is a modified juice fast?  Basically the concept involves changing the juice fast to fit your nutritional and emotional needs by adding some solid foods and/or supplements.  This type of cleansing also modifies the rate at which your body will detox and eliminate toxins.

I’ll explain the details of this cleanse below but first….

Who should do a modified juice fast?

Are you wondering if this might be for you?  Have you wanted to start a juice cleanse but keep putting it off?  Do you think you are too busy to do a long term fast?  Is your situation on this list?

• Procrastination in getting started
• Too busy to fit anything more into your schedule
• Worried about not getting enough calories on a juice cleanse
• Have a weakened immune system
• Pregnant or breastfeeding
• Emotionally not ready to handle the detox process

Are any of these situations familiar to you?  If you want to begin a healthy lifestyle but any of these apply to you, you may be a good candidate for the Modified Juice Fast.  Keep reading.

Keep Juicing

Juicing is still the basis for this cleanse.  I recommend you drink juice first thing in the morning just like a regular juice cleanse. Depending on your situation you may modify the cleanse in any one of these ways.

1. Continue drinking juice throughout the day until dinner.  For dinner eat simple, whole, and natural foods.  Fresh steamed vegetables, brown rice and a green salad (no store bought dressing) are good choices.  Do not eat dairy, meats, or caffeine on this cleanse.  Keep portions small.
2. Drink a combination of juices and smoothies.  The same ingredients can go into your smoothies as in your juice.  You’ll need a blender.  Peel all your vegetables and fruits.  The skins will wear down your blade unless you have a heavy duty blender such as a Vitamix.  You may need to add filtered water to make the consistency drinkable.
3. Add supplements to your juices.  There are many powdered supplements available such as green whole food supplements, protein powders, ground chia or flax seeds which you can add to your juices for additional nutrition and calorie boosts.  Some people don’t consider this a modification of the juice fast but rather an essential part of a cleanse.

Is It Right For You?

But wait.  You may be asking yourself, “Isn’t this cheating?” or “Will I really get results from this?” or “Is this really detoxing?”  The real answer to these questions sits only within each person.  You will gain some healthy benefits from any of these modifications though perhaps not as noticeable, as with a full juice cleanse.  You may not lose as much weight for instance.

The point of modifying the process is to make cleansing achievable for anyone.  If you are still on the fence about starting a juice fast you should consider this.

Your turn

Would you ever try a modified juice cleanse, especially if it was your first time?  Let us know in the comments below.  And please share this article with a friend who may find it useful.

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Question: What does a log cabin in the wilderness have to do with juice cleansing the body?
Answer: Detoxification.

I’m writing this post as I sit inside a cozy A-frame log cabin in a canyon north of Santa Barbara California. My family and I have come here, to this wilderness location to get away from the city for a few days and in essence we are here to detox from our modern lives. We have limited access to phone and internet connections as well as modern cooking equipment.

What are we doing?

To outsiders it might seem that we are giving up a lot. In fact we are even paying money to the cabin owner for this natural experience. But we are also beginning to notice the simple things that we never would have noticed without taking a break from our hectic schedules. And it’s making a great improvement in our lives.

Simplicity

In just a few short days we’ve noticed a bluebird on our picnic table, the fresh scent of California lavender, and the sound of a single falling leaf. These all remind us to slow down the pace, practice being in the moment, and cleanse our souls.  Juice cleansing is also based on this same simple detox principle. Your body needs a break from the hectic routine of eating on the go and often eating the wrong kinds of foods.

Slow down and practice being in the moment. Drink fresh juices to recharge your physical (and spiritual) health. As you do this you will begin to notice the little things too. Here’s a list of five benefits you might experience on a juice fast cleanse:

Five Benefits of a Juice Fasting Cleanse

1. increased energy
2. better skin tone
3. reduced cravings for junk food
4. improvement in chronic conditions
5. clearer mental focus

Detox Naturally

At first it might seem like you are giving up a lot but your body knows how to heal itself if you give it a vacation. After juice cleansing for a few days the gastrointestinal tract will begin to clear itself of the residue accumulated from a busy lifestyle and unhealthy eating. It’s so amazing that such simple actions can help you recharge quickly and greatly improve your life.

Related posts:

1. Simple Lemon Juice Cleanse
2. Juicing Benefits
3. Stick to That Juice Cleanse!

Who is Joe Cross you ask?  In many ways Joe is (was) a typical person.  Like many Americans and also Australians (where Joe is from) he worked too hard, played too hard, and ate too much.  After years of this self abuse Joe tipped the scales at over 300 lbs.  The extra weight caused health problems for which he took medication and he was at risk for a heart attack.

With a flash of inspiration Joe realized he needed to change his routine in order to change his life.  “I felt like I needed to give my body the energy it needed to perform the function of self-repair. I thought, ‘If I just get out of the way, it will heal itself,’ ” .

Joe enlisted the help of Dr. Joel Fuhrman in America and began a 60 day juice fast.  He traveled across the country, with a juicer in the back of his car, to share his new found love of juice and talk with people about their lifestyle habits and hopes for the future.  The inspirational journey was documented in the film Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead.

Remarkably Joe lost 82 lbs on his juice fast and helped many others to do the same.  It has created such a buzz that people are wanting to know how to start their own juice fast like Joe.

Tips for a 60 day juice fast

1.  If you are on any medications or have any health problems, have a medical professional monitor your progress.

2.  Start out with a small goal, say 10 days.  This makes the task more manageable mentally and makes it easier to chart daily progress.  Not everyone needs to fast for a full 60 days.  As in #1, a medical professional can help you determine what is right for you.

3.  Though it would appear in the film that Joe just woke up one morning and started juicing, it is best to prepare mentally and physically for at least a week prior to the cleanse.  You can read about my preparation process here.

4.  Easy does it.  This is not the time to multi task.  Take a few days off or lighten your work and responsibilities.  Your body will be hyper focused on cleansing during this period, so relax and let your body work it’s magic.  Light stretching or walking is all you need to do to assist.

5.  Continue drinking water.  Water has an important function of flushing out the toxins and waste.  You still need to drink plenty of water.

6.  If you experience any adverse effects besides light headache and fatigue in the first few days, consult a professional.

7.  Congratulate yourself on ANY progress made!

Happy Juicing!  BONUS!  Here’s the recipe for Joe’s Mean Green Juice!

In the movie Joe uses a Breville Juice Fountain similar to this:

To learn more about juicing and juice fasting, including recipes I recommend the following books:

Related posts:

1. What about a water fast?
2. Juice Fast, Juice Cleanse, or Juice Feast?
3. Juicing Versus Blending

Believe it or not, as a child I used to love to eat beets.  My favorites were the diced beets (yes we ate them out of the can) because they were sweet, fun to eat and the red juice would run across the plate, coloring all my other food!  Beets didn’t taste like any other food I had ever eaten. They tasted like the ground, but not exactly as i would have imagined dirt to taste.  Little did I know that I was tasting the powerful punch of so many minerals and nutrients.  Today I know more about beets so I include them in my diet for health reasons and not just because I like the taste.  And I’ve discovered  the best way to eat them–raw!

Beets are members of the spinach and chard family.  The beetroot with it’s earthy taste and the bitter beet greens are high if folic acid and vitamins A, B, and C.  Also they contain potassium, calcium, betacyanin (antioxidant), calcium, copper, iron, iodine, manganese.

Because of the iron content beets are powerful blood purifiers.  This offers a multitude of health benefits and can improve the following conditions:

• constipation
• cancer
• anemia
• gallbladder and kidney ailments
• ulcers
• anemia

Detoxification

Beets and stimulate enzymes in the liver.   For this reason they give support to detoxification and fight cancer.  Juice cleanse recipes often utilize beet roots and greens for their detox qualities.

Heart Health

Beets create nitric oxide in the blood, which dilates blood vessels and thus lowers blood pressure.  Healthy HDL cholesterol is raised by the fiber contained in beets. (Remember that fiber is removed when juicing, so to include the benefits of fiber you must eat the vegetable in its whole form.)

Energy

Beets increase the oxygen in the blood by as much as 400%.  This provides you with energy and stamina.

Tip for Juicing Beets

It’s important to repeat that beets are powerful cleansers.  When beets are juiced, the fiber is removed but the sugars remain. The detox process may be rapid and may cause you to become light-headed and experience detox symptoms.  Drink plenty of water to help flush the toxins out.

Beets can be juiced with most any other vegetables.  For your first juice cleanse with beets, use only 1/4 beet in a recipe  to determine how your body will react.  Then add more accordingly.

More Information

Nutritional information on beets Nutrition Data

Beet Pigments May Help Prevent Cancer Report

Beetroot Therapy from Annie Appleseed Project

One of the first noticeable indicators of a health imbalance is chronic constipation.  As embarrassing as it is to think about or talk about, constipation is a common problem. Stemming from poor dietary choices and lack of exercise, chronic constipation can lead to malabsorption, low energy levels, and and inability to clear toxins from the body. Long periods of this condition can lead to increased risk for intestinal tract cancer. 

It is vital to get the colon functioning properly.  Natural methods will have better long term results over harsh chemical laxatives.  While a lifestyle change may be in order, there are some things that you can do today to bring relief of constipation and begin to get your colon healthy again.  Here are three steps toward feeling better:
     1.  Drink more water – Health experts recommend drinking 6-8 glasses of water per day.  More specifically, some recommend that you calculate half of your body weight, then drink that many ounces of water (150lbs = 75oz).  If drinking water is just too boring for you, try adding a slice of lemon or a splash of cranberry juice (no sugar added). 
     2.  Start an herbal cleanse – Many herbs can help soothe and benefit the colon.  Fiber is usually at the top of the list here because it helps the colon contract while helping the stool retain more water and bulk up for easier elimination.  Other herbs relax, stimulate and lubricate so stools move down the digestive tract more easily and faster.  Still other herbs can be used to support the liver and bloodstream, which are important to the detoxification process.  When doing an herbal cleanse it is best to consult a health practitioner or use a quality product from a health food store.  I personally use and recommend
ReNew Life Organic Total Body Cleanse. 
     3.  Do a juice cleanse – After doing the steps above, your colon will deserve a nice rest.  A two to three day juice cleanse will provide your body with healthy vitamins, minerals, and enzymes.  Try some juices with apples, pears, parsley, greens, strawberries, artichokes, beets, and asparagus.  They help stimulate the regular function of the intestines and provide vitamin C and calcium/magnesium.

Popular advertising leads us to believe that there are nasties in our bodies and that we should start juice fasting immediately to rid our bodies of them (and lose a few pounds that we didn’t want anyway).   It seems simple enough.  Remove whatever is in there causing our multitude of aches and pains, right?  This is the “juice to cleanse” approach.  Toxins are the problem.  Juice is the answer.  Drink the juice to cleanse the toxins.  I believe, however, that this is only partially right.

Juice cleansing does relieve the colon of the task of digesting so that it may cleanse itself.  But relying on juice to do all your cleansing is a mistake.  That’s where the “cleanse to juice” approach comes in.  I can’t stress enough how important it is to start changing your diet and routine BEFORE the cleanse.  Cut out the caffeine.  Add more fruits and veggies.  Anything that builds up your general health and digestion is part of the cleansing process and will help to ensure success with your juice cleanse.

Many people who use the first method are forced to quit early due to emotional and physical side effects of many toxins exiting the body all at once.  Do yourself a favor.  Ease into cleansing.  Consider the “cleanse to juice” mentality and fully engage in a new health routine.  You may even enjoy it!

Related posts:

1. Preparing for a Juice Cleanse
2. Juice Fast, Juice Cleanse, or Juice Feast?
3. Juice Cleansing Boosters