Today, I’m coming off one of my “juice fasts” that I undertake a few times each year.  For 3 days, I only drink vegetable juices, water and teas.  By the end of the first day, I feel more continuously awake and alive than any period during any “normal” day.  By the end of the second day I feel, well, more of myself… nerves, muscles, skin all seem more connected, integral to each other and to me.  Discomfort from changes in ambient temperature decreases.  Little annoyances flow past me without getting caught.  A sense of peace and clarity—grace, even—pervades.

Is it always this magical?  Nope.  Sometimes I can get headaches, or be irritable much of the day.  A few times I stopped after one day because I wasn’t enjoying it at all.  But in far many more cases, my experiences are positive… so positive, I wanted to share them in a blog and see if I can find anyone else to talk about juice fasting—someone who’s not selling juicers or detox products, that is!

I bought a veggie juicer in, um, 1993 I think, and have used it between one and four times a year since then.  The brand name is actually Acme!  I never even suspected it was a real company until I saw this.

Along with the juicer, I bought the book Juicing For Life by Cherie Calbom and Maureen Keane, and it’s remained my central guide.  I’ve gotten other books and read lots of internet sites, but I like this book the best; it has great discussions of specific effects of various juices, many recipes, and a large section on what juices can help with different ailments.

A few times over the years I’ve done a five day fast, since I felt so good after three days.  Five days is much harder for me to sustain and I don’t feel significantly better by day five.  Start to get some serious munchies on day 4!  Three days seems to be my magic number.

I’ve found it important to plan well: buy all the vegetables I’ll need ahead of time and make sure I’m not losing track of drinking enough nutrients.  It helps to have a big jug of V8 juice in the fridge for when things get a bit hectic and I haven’t got time to prepare fresh juice.  The taste of V8 is also a nice contrast to the sweet vegetable juices.  I know, that sounds weird.

Carrots make a foundation for most of the drinks.  6 carrots and 1/4” slice of ginger make a perfect morning energy drink.  Later in the day I’ll use carrots, a beet and maybe a wedge of cabbage.

This…

Becomes…

I know, it doesn’t look too appetizing, and my family is certain to remind me of that!   But the juice of root vegetables is surprisingly sweet… remember, more than half of U.S. sugar production comes from sugar beets!  The red beets you get in grocery stores are not sugar beets, but they’re still very sweet when juiced.  The beet is supposed to help move accumulated wastes through the liver and kidneys… maybe that’s just a conclusion drawn from the alarmingly purple color of urine a couple hours later.

I’ve tried juice recipes calling for a wide variety of vegetables but found that it all settles to a few favorites for me: carrots, beets, celery, cabbage, green apples, ginger and parsley.  I’ll use the cabbage to make salads the day before and after also, for their bulk and alkaline properties.  And I will never juice another turnip, man, that was some kind of bad trip!

I’ve read that water-only fasts are difficult or even dangerous… for the reason that toxins are released from your cells and interstitial areas more quickly?  I don’t know about that but I have the feeling it would be more difficult for me to function well without the vegetable nutrients.

I don’t take any supplements during the fast.  My main goal is to give my GI system a rest with just “gentle” natural ingredients.  Maybe it would be better to take some vitamins, but I don’t have interest in exploring any of the detox supplements.

Sometimes for dinner I’ll make a vegetable soup (fresh, not canned) and just drink the broth… this can be a very satisfying meal and makes it a more “normal” experience to eat along with family members who are not fasting.

One thing I’ve always done was advised in the Juicing For Life book: one day prior, eat nothing but fruits and vegetables all day. One day after, ease back to eating in a similar manner: mostly fruits and vegetables, perhaps some grains but no meat or dairy.  Basically make your day after a vegan experience.  Trust me, it’ll be no sacrifice: if you’ve been drinking nothing but vegetable juice for three days even a fresh apple is a startlingly delicious meal!  I remember one time I didn’t follow this advice and had a large sandwich for lunch the day after… it made me feel terrible and I even felt effects the day after that!  I think this ends up being a good body education also… your body learns, at least a few times, that even comfort foods might be hard on it.

I’d like to find other people who enjoy fasting for health benefits.  Share your experience!