An Introduction to Juice Fasting
Juice fasting is a very popular form of detox diet. Many have reported about the many benefits that they experience with juice fasting. These include clearing of skin allergies, reducing frequent headaches and as a natural remedy for constipation. Juice fasting provides your body a chance to take a break from having to digest food. During a prolonged fast (3 plus days), your body starts to burn off and digest its own tissues by process of autolysis. It starts off by decomposing cells and tissues, which are diseased or damaged. These include tumors, dead cells, abscesses, excess fat deposits, etc. Less acid in your stomach is produced as there is no food to digest. Your organs such as the colon and liver, can focus on the elimination of toxic waste matter which had built up over the years.

You may experience certain detox symptoms such as acne breakouts, tiredness and headaches, as your body eliminates its toxins. These symptoms are expected to be short lived and you should feel a sense of renewal after the cleansing period.

Be warned however. If you find that your symptoms are extremely severe, it may be the case that your body is detoxifying too fast. You will need to adjust your detox diet plan accordingly. As such, before you start on juice fasting, you should always go under the guidance of a natural health practitioner so that you can consult him or her when necessary.

Different natural health practitioners recommend different juice fasting methodologies. In general, most would agree that you can juice almost any fruit and vegetables that you can eat raw.

Here are some basic tips for juicing:

1) As you are having raw juices, you should try to use organic fruits. Also rinse off the fruits using filtered water.

2) Juice should also not come from a packet, despite what the label on the packet says. Any juice in a carton, can or bottle has been heat treated for preservation.

3) Prepare and drink your juice fresh. The longer the juice stays out in the open, the less fresh raw food enzymes it will contain.

4) As you need to have good fresh juice, the best is to invest in a good juicer yourself. Good juicers make tastier juices and are able to extract more juice from the fruit. Good juicers also clean up more easily than cheap ones and last longer.
Benefits To Juice Fasting

There are many benefits to juicing, especially if you prepare them yourself:

1. If drank fresh, the juice is full of live enzymes, which is helpful the body.

2. Unlike coming out from a packet, the juice is fresh and not pasteurized. Pasteurization many have its conveniences but it has resulted in nutritionally dead foods. During pasteurization, high heat is used and this destroys the vital nutrients within the juice.

3. You consume more vegetables by drinking than by eating. As you probably have experienced, it’s not always possible to eat as many vegetables as you would like. Drinking fresh vegetable juice helps take care of this problem.

4. Digestion and assimilation of the vegetable nutrients is much easier. Your body is in fact, like a juicer. When you eat a celery, your body will digest the celery by extracting the juice to get the nutrition. The fiber is eliminated via the colon and bowel movements. However, if you juice, you have already extracted the juice for the body thus making it easier for your assimilation. Nevertheless, it’s still important to eat whole vegetables and fruits because you need some amount of fiber as well.

5. Fasting gives your digestive system a rest. Since fresh fruit and vegetable juices require little digestion, and are quickly assimilated into your body. Most of the 10% of bodily energy normally involved in your assimilation, digestion, and elimination is freed up. The end result? You feel a sense of renewed energy after the fast.

6. A fast helps to also break down toxic materials - fat, abnormal cells and tumors–and releases diseased tissues and their cellular products into the circulation for elimination.

7. In addition, new cell growth during fasting is stimulated and accelerated as the required proteins are re-synthesized from decomposed cells (during autolysis). Your serum albumin reading, that is blood-protein level, remains constant and normal throughout your fast, as your body very smartly uses protein and other stored nutrients where needed.

8. Juice fasting is a much gentler process of detoxification as compared to water fasting. For a juice fast, a broad variety of fruits and vegetables should be used in combination and that is necessary to enhance health during the fast. In this manner, the body still gets its daily calories from the easily-digested juices as compared to the more extreme water fast. Thus, the release of toxins from the fat cells in a juice fast is much more gentle and gradual.
An Overview Of A Detox Diet Plan
Your body naturally detoxifies on its own. Your colon, liver, intestines help your body remove toxic waste from your bloodstream and tissues. However, modern day diet can easily cause your organs to become overloaded with toxins and slow down their functions.

Adopting a detox diet plan may help to remove toxin buildup. If you feel constantly fatigued, have frequent colds, having problems with digestive system, skin allergies or just do not feel your best, a good detox diet plan is very useful to clean your body itself from these toxins, increase your energy, stamina and aid in the digestive process.

Some people believe that detox diets may involve unhealthy and weird foods. This is totally not true. A detox diet plan simply involves plenty of vegetables, fresh fruits and fish (for those who find it hard to stay off meat or for those who do not have a weight problem). It is a diet that enhances the process of eliminating toxins and waste. For a dedicated period, your natural health practitioner may prescribe that you go on a special cleansing plan which involve some fasting. This is designed to give your organs a rest and to stimulate them for the removal of waste.
The best vegetables for detoxing are broccoli, artichokes, garlic, cauliflower, beets red and green vegetables. Keep away from corn products, as it often contains allergens. Beans, rice, nuts and seeds all all acceptable on a detox diet.

It is also recommended that you drink about 6 to 8 glasses of water a day to help your body flush out the unwanted toxins. Our organs can only function in optimal state if we can maintain a hydrated body.

A simple detox diet plan may range from staying off meat for a couple of days to going on a fast for 3 days. However, if you have specific diseases or conditions that you want to target, then it is highly recommended that you work closely with your natural health practitioner.

Adopting a good detox diet plan can improve your health, help you to lose extra weight, make you feel energetic and much lighter.
Cleansing Herbs For Detox
You can use herbs to aid in detoxification. Herbs have many therapeutic abilities and can be used to support the functions of your colon, liver or kidney. There are many types of herbs from various countries. You can consume herbs in the form of supplements, teas or serve them in your cooking. However, if you have diabetes or pregnant or have other serious diseases, you should consult your doctor before using herbs. Although natural, some herbs can have potent effects.

Here is a list of commonly known western herbs that can be used to detoxify and cleanse your body.
• Cascara Sagrada - This herb works like a laxative. It helps your body to move your bowels.
• Garlic – Garlic is an excellent home remedy and widely used as an antiseptic. It detoxifies the gut and aids proper functioning of your bowels function. It is also a laxative.
Colon Cleansing For Constipation Relief
Constipation refers to the irregular movement of bowels. When you have constipation, your stools are hard and you experience great difficulty in passing them. You also experience bloating, the swelling of your abdomen. Constipation is a very common complaint. In fact, an average of 4 million Americans annually find that they have constipation related problems.

What is considered healthy is a bowel movement of at least once a day. If you have fewer than three bowel movements a week, you have a case of constipation. A frequencey of less than one bowel movement in a week is considered acute constipation.

Constipation and bloating should not be left untreated. On the extreme, you are at risk of developing colon cancer. Stagnant stools stored in your colon give rise to several harmful bacteria. These bacteria causes your colon linings to become inflammed; thus resulting in colon cancer.

In acute constipation, the bacteria from colon can enter other parts of your digestive system and hamper the entire digestive process. Symptoms of toxicity of your colon include eczema, acne, skin problems, weight gain, headaches, a lowered immune system and mood changes.

Colon cleansing is often recommended as a solution by natural health experts to clear the toxic waste build up. Colon cleansing can be achieved through a detox diet plan that is rich in fiber. Fiber retains water in the stools and eases the passage of the stools out from your body. A fiber rich diet also helps in the growth of good bacteria. It has been found that consuming psyllium, which is high in soluble fiber, with large amounts of water helps to alleviate constipation.

An age old home remedy for constipation relief is with the use of prunes. Prunes contain a substantial mount of potassium which stimulates the linings of colon. This results in easy bowel movements. Potassium also cleans the fecal matter attached to the colon linings. An excellent way to consume prunes is by juicing. Other rich sources of potassium including vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, cucumber and tomato and fruits like the pineapple.

Herbs for colon cleansing include aloe, senna, buckthorn and frangula. Flax seed and Rhubarb are two other herbs that alleviate the symptoms of constipation.


Colon Cleansing For Constipation Relief
Constipation refers to the irregular movement of bowels. When you have constipation, your stools are hard and you experience great difficulty in passing them. You also experience bloating, the swelling of your abdomen. Constipation is a very common complaint. In fact, an average of 4 million Americans annually find that they have constipation related problems.

What is considered healthy is a bowel movement of at least once a day. If you have fewer than three bowel movements a week, you have a case of constipation. A frequencey of less than one bowel movement in a week is considered acute constipation.

Constipation and bloating should not be left untreated. On the extreme, you are at risk of developing colon cancer. Stagnant stools stored in your colon give rise to several harmful bacteria. These bacteria causes your colon linings to become inflammed; thus resulting in colon cancer.

In acute constipation, the bacteria from colon can enter other parts of your digestive system and hamper the entire digestive process. Symptoms of toxicity of your colon include eczema, acne, skin problems, weight gain, headaches, a lowered immune system and mood changes.

Colon cleansing is often recommended as a solution by natural health experts to clear the toxic waste build up. Colon cleansing can be achieved through a detox diet plan that is rich in fiber. Fiber retains water in the stools and eases the passage of the stools out from your body. A fiber rich diet also helps in the growth of good bacteria. It has been found that consuming psyllium, which is high in soluble fiber, with large amounts of water helps to alleviate constipation.

An age old home remedy for constipation relief is with the use of prunes. Prunes contain a substantial mount of potassium which stimulates the linings of colon. This results in easy bowel movements. Potassium also cleans the fecal matter attached to the colon linings. An excellent way to consume prunes is by juicing. Other rich sources of potassium including vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, cucumber and tomato and fruits like the pineapple.

Herbs for colon cleansing include aloe, senna, buckthorn and frangula. Flax seed and Rhubarb are two other herbs that alleviate the symptoms of constipation.

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• Dandelion - This is an herb that benefits the whole body, particularly your immune system. It works to eliminate toxins from the cells in the body. It also stimulates bile production. It increases the production of white blood cells thus strengthening the immune system.
• Licorice Root - This herb has antioxidant properties. It is used to help fight viruses and helps the body produce antibodies.
• Black Walnut Hulls - This herb also works in the bowels. It fights against parasites and removes them from the intestines. It also helps remove fatty material and toxins.
• Goldenseal - This herb has cleansing properties. It helps the body eliminate toxins and to remove obstructions.
• Psyllium - This popularly known herb also works to help move the bowels.
• The Chinese also have a long history of using herbs for healing Here are some Chinese herbs that are used for detoxification.
• Lian Qiao – Lian Qiao is the forsythia flower. It has cleansing properties and helps to clear heat and toxins.
• Pu Gong Ying – Pu Gong Ying is the dandelion plant. It is the parts of the plant above the root that is being used as a remedy. It is effective as a detoxification herb.
• Ju Hua – Otherwise known as the Chrysanthemum. It can help cleanse your body especially after an oily meal. Many Chinese consume Ju Hua in the form of herbal tea.
The main aim of detoxification is to aid your organs in removing toxins from the body, usually through the bowels. Using herbs is an excellent method for cleansing. In addition, there are nutrients that the herbs supply to strengthen your organs.