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

Juice cleansing really isn’t something you should decide to do today and start the very next day. Your body, your mind, and your refrigerator need some preparation. Here are a few things to remember when planning your juice cleanse:

Set the date – Plan to do a cleanse on the weekend or during a period of low stress.  Set this date to begin about a week or more in the future to allow yourself enough time to get used to the idea and follow through with the steps below.

Get rid of toxins – You might think that by juicing you’re removing all toxins, but think again.  Do you consume alcohol, caffeine, red meat or dairy?  These are sources of toxins and if you continue to eat these, you’ll hinder your cleansing process. To help your body cleanse, begin eliminating these things from your diet a week before the cleanse.

The mental zone – Your state of mind can either make or break your success with a juice cleanse.  During your cleanse, once your hunger has subsided, your mind may still think it needs food.  Prepare for this possibility with daily affirmations.  Have faith that you will be able to finish the cleanse.

Equipment and recipes – You will need a juice machine to make the juice.  This is different from a blender.  A juice machine separates the juice from the fiber.  If this is your first cleanse, you may be wondering about recipes.  You can find some recipes on my site here, or consider purchasing a book of recipes.  The one I recommend is called The Juicing Bible.

Prepare your fruits and vegetables – It’s best to shop for your produce a day or so in advance.  You can wash the vegetables and cut most of them so they’ll be ready to make juice on the spot.  Remember to cut them into sizes that will fit into your juicer.

Recently ABC News aired a short report on the dos and don’ts of detox. Nutritionist Kimberly Snyder highlighted the fad detox methods such as the Master Cleanse, Oprah’s cleanse, and detox foot pads claiming that each of them are shocks to the system which stir up surface level toxins but don’t eliminate them. Kimberly recommends (as I do), to drink one green juice or green smoothie every day. If you think of the word cleanse as a verb it helps you remember that detoxing is an ongoing process. Here’s Kimberly’s recipe followed by the video.

Green Smoothie

1 1/2 cups water
1 head romaine
4 stalks celery
1/3 bunch cilantro
1/3 bunch parsley
1/2 lemon, peeled
2 apples
2 pears
1 banana

Put all in a blender and mix. This recipe may be halved for 1-2 servings.

Note: To prepare this drink in the juicer, eliminate the water and banana.

Video source: ABC Detox Report

For more great juice recipes check out one of my favorite books, The Juicing Bible

When your body fills up with toxins and starts to feel sluggish, a juice cleanse is one of the best ways to detoxify and get your body back into optimal health.  The feeling is great, but sometimes lasts only a few days as you may tend to go back to  your previous eating and lifestyle habits.

But if you knew you could keep that healthy state all the time, wouldn’t you want to do that?  Well there might just be a way and David Wolfe, the well respected nutritionist, raw food guru, author, and founder of the SunFood company (their raw cacao nibs are great by the way), has developed a new program called Longevity Now.  David hasn’t been sick in 15 years and he will show you how to achieve the same results yourself.

David has made some videos with incredible information about how to keep your immune system healthy, so I encourage you to watch (and keep a pen and paper handy to keep notes).  You can watch the video here.