The Best Ingredients for Juice Fasting

Different people use juice fasting for different reasons. Some people decided to juice fasting for spiritual or religious purposes while others use juice fasting to help lose weight or to act as an aide to eliminate bad habits like smoking, alcohol or even drugs. Hence juice fasting is often accepted by those who choose alternative healing and is often used to assist chronic health problems.

Not only does juice fasting help eliminate toxic waste from the body, it also provides an abundant supply of vitamins, minerals and enzymes. When juicing whole, fresh fruits and vegetables, you are providing your body with a living fuel that requires no digestive energy. In turn, this gives the body a break and allows it to focus on healing and rejuvenation.

There are many types of juice fasting programs. However, the most important thing to remember is that you should always use fresh organic fruits and vegetables. Commercially grown produce contains high levels of toxins including herbicides, pesticides, and fungicides. If you use commercially grown fruits and vegetables for juice fasting, you are defeating the purpose as you will only be adding more toxins to the body.

If you find it difficult to buy organic produce, health experts recommend peeling off the skins of the fruits or using a non-toxic produce cleaner or baking soda to wash your foods. While most skins of organically grown fruits and vegetables may be left on, you should remove the skins from pineapples, oranges, papaya, melons, and kiwi fruit.

If you are unable to locate organic produce, experts recommend removing the skin and washing vegetables with a non-toxic produce cleaner or baking soda.

While most skins of organically grown fruits and vegetables may be left on, you should remove the skins from pineapples, oranges, papaya, melons, and kiwi fruit.

The fibers of fruits and vegetables have essential nutrients locked within them. To absorb the highest level of nutrients, you would need a juice extractor that can release the essential nutrients.

Having said all these, the best ingredients for a juice fast include: apples, beets, cranberries, carrots, celery, cabbage, kale, pineapple, spinach, and leafy green vegetables.

Other common fruits and vegetables used in juice fasting include:

- Cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli and cauliflower - Root vegetables such as sweet potatoes and yams - Greens such as parsley, kale, chard and dandelion leaf - Herbs such as basil, ginger, fennel and turmeric - Wheatgrass

Women who are pregnant or nursing should avoid juice fasting, as should people with chronic health problems such as diabetes, asthma, irritable bowel syndrome, colitis, epilepsy, kidney disease or low blood sugar.

People who are taking prescription medications should never embark on a juice fast unless under strict supervision of a qualified healthcare practitioner. Grapefruit juice and pomegranate juice should never be used during a fast when a person is taking prescription medications because they can increase the amount of drugs in the body.

Individuals who consume high levels of caffeine are likely to experience severe headaches when embarking on a juice fast. Therefore, it is recommended to gradually decrease caffeine consumption one to two weeks prior to starting a juice fast.

Other common side effects of juice fasting include fatigue, constipation, increased body odor and bad breath. Oftentimes people who embark on a juice fast will experience skin outbreaks. This is because the skin is the most effective way for the body to eliminate toxins. Typically, these side effects are temporary and will disappear once juice fasting is completed.

About the Author - Emma Deangela is the author of detox and fasting site at eDetoxify.com. Combining both Asian and Western philosophy, Emma Deangela has helped many people by giving them health consultation to make their lives better and healthier through natural health philosophy. Visit eDetoxify.com to discover the health philosophy that lead many people to a healthy life.