Ha! I dared myself to make that the title, but the truth is for me a good poop is worth a million dollars. Juicing was something I always wanted to do. I was merely curious what all the hype was about and while it made sense to me to consume fruits and vegetables in a form that wouldnt make me so full, I was skeptical. Like always I wanted to research what made juicers different, which ones had the best reviews, and more importantly how and why to juice.
I purchased the Hamilton Beach Juicer as a gift to myself. The reviews stated that it was cost effective, and cold, but unfortunately loud. I’ll go into this in detail but first – my story. I took a few quick recipes from the internet and bought the produce needed. Like any juicing beginner I wanted the first juice to taste good so I did a mix of fruits and veggies. The first juice I made was carrot and orange. It tasted great! But yes, loaded with sugar. So I decided to just jump right into it and do a green juice with spinach, celery, cucumber, apple and lime. First thing the next morning I cleaned my produce, cut them all up, and put them through the juicer. I did what I read – drank up real fast while the juice was still cold – and then waited. Ha! the waiting was not long. A little rumbly in the tummy but no pain. And then that sort of unsettling ‘i gotta go’ feeling. Because I have endo, I was expecting the usual um… how do I put it… more juice than pulp?? But when I sat down, it was the most beautiful, solid single effort poop. I did a little dance 🙂
If a single juice could make me feel this good, why stop? So I did some more research into combinations, advantages, benefits, etc, and came up with some delicious yet nutritious juices. I did this until – as weird as it sounds – I felt like I was cleansed. Like everything that was blocking my system was gone, and that I could start changing my diet to a cleaner more natural diet.
Today I juice if I feel like Im getting sick, or Ive gone home for Christmas and have snuck one too many desserts and pasta dishes. It is a staple in my house and I continue to explore new varieties.
But for you, I assume you are reading this because you are curious and have not yet started juicing.
There is a lot of skepticism around juicing. For heaven’s sake why not just eat your daily dose of fruits and vegetables?!? That is just it – I dont have enough time to eat the required amount every day. And that tends to be the issue with most people. Juicing allows you to get the nutrients you need without filling up on the fibers. If you have ever juiced, you will have noticed that juicers have a compartment where it spits out the skins and other components that do not have juice in it. Thats all the parts that make you full!
“Without the fiber, your digestive system doesnt have to work as hard to break down the food and absorb the nutrients. Juicing allows the nutrients to be immediately absorbed into the body” – Jamie Graber
There is also the question of the whole food diet. Is juicing contradictory? Maybe so, but again, the alternative is not getting enough nutrients.
When buying a juicer, you want one that does not create a lot of heat so your produce stays cold and therefore keeps the integrity of the nutrients. As soon as those warm up you change the activity and/or deactivate certain nutrients. Here are a few rules to live by when juicing:
- At first it is ok to have fruit juices but as you get used to the concept and the taste of juices try to reduce the amount of fruits (sugars).
- To achieve the highest absorbency of nutrients make sure to juice on an empty stomach and allow 30 min for your body to absorb the nutrients before eating or drinking anything else.
- Make sure to keep the produce in the refrigerator until you juice. This keeps everything cold along the way. I like to add an ice cube into the glass prior to juicing.
- Cut produce into relatively small pieces so not to overwork the juicer.
- Start with the leafy vegetable first and work your way to harder veggies. These latter ingredients will push remnants of the leafy greens through the mechanics.
- Do you research on recipes. Not all fruits and veggies work together. Trust me!
- Make sure to clean all materials right away. If the bits stick to the hardware or your glass for too long it stays… for what seems like forever.
So whats the end of the trilogy, you ask? Well, the truth is I continued to eliminate refined sugars and sweeteners, and use juicing as my detox. But the journey continued from there. The real beginning to my routine started when I cut out wheat. In due time I will write about that too.
Happy Juicing!
References:
‘Juice it, blend it, live it’ – a book by Jamie Graber.
‘Juice it to lose it’ – a book by Joe Cross
‘Fat, Sick and Nearly dead’ – a documentary by Joe Cross
‘Hungry for Change’ – a documentary by Jason Vale (life changing)
Cramp My Style 