21-Day Juice Diet: the How and Why
The 21 day juice diet is a great way to ensure that you eliminate the toxins accumulated in your body as quickly as possible. It may be your getaway to a healthier life, provided that you are ready to change your eating habits after this program has finished.
And make no mistakes. Today we live surrounded by toxic substances from all sides. These substances accumulate in our bodies every day. You should do everything in your power to reduce the amount of toxins your body is exposed to. The type of juice cleanse we are talking about in this post is one of the best ways to purge them from your system.
Typical allowed levels of chemicals and harmful compounds have been set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Some of the most harmful pollutants include lead as well as arsenic.
Other different class of chemicals include flavors, preservatives, and artificial colors which are gotten from petrochemicals. These can also be found in lots of foods which we take into our bodies.
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The Background Behind The 21 Day Juice Diet
One of the problem with these toxins is that they build up in your internal organs and systems. If you had just one or two types of toxins in lower concentrations, the liver would be able to deal with them. But what if there are many more? And what if you take them day in day out?
Too many toxins are capable of causing a lot of problems. For example, they may prevent your body from being able to properly metabolize the nutrients from the food that you eat. This may lead to weight gain, not to mention other health concerns.
The 21 day juice diet is aimed at ensuring that these toxins aren’t only removed, but also that your body can restore its nourishing capabilities.
When juices are being taken for a period of 21 days or more, this can help to bring about some amazing benefits. One level where this becomes evident is the better capacity for digesting nutrients.
The process of digesting nutrients is something that requires a lot of energy. The amount of energy that is required is determined by the type of foods and beverages. Let’s see some of these types.
For instance, processed foods are always difficult to digest. Some examples are pasta and white bread. The general rule is that anything that isn’t fresh or whole will fall into this category. Fast food also belongs to foods difficult to digest.
Because of the prevalence of processed foods, most of what a typical American takes into their body is very low in terms of nutrients.
Meat is also difficult to digest, which is one of the reason why some people become vegetarians or vegans. In the world of Standard Western Diet, people usually lack the needed amount of energy on a daily basis. They can’t get up in the morning or even have some simple tasks completed. They even struggle to embark on one exercise or the other.
Do you want to know why? The answer isn’t that far fetched. Ask yourself how much you eat in terms of vegetables and fruits on a daily basis. A lot of what you eat doesn’t have any nutritional value and as such contributes to your problems.
The 21 day juice diet will help to ensure these problems are fixed, even though it will be on a temporary basis. That is, if you go back to the former way of life.
For a period of 3 weeks (21 days), you are going to be taking mostly juices. These should primarily be freshly squeezed vegetable juices. They are very easy to digest, which implies that you will have extra energy, as it won’t be used for digestion.
The digestion of fresh juices doesn’t require much energy. Also fresh juices contain lots of raw nutrients, for example, potent digestive enzymes, antioxidants, minerals, and vitamins.
The most amazing benefit from a program such as this is that your body will be able to heal itself, given the fact that it now has a lot of energy available for the healing process.
Instead of being spent on digestion, this energy will be used for detoxifying, as well as cleansing the body.
Even though this is a program with many benefits, it is recommended that you consult your doctor first before embarking on this dieting adventure. Do that in any case, and especially if you have health problems. From a qualified nutritionist or health care professional you will get the best advice about how to get the best and avoid the worst from this program.
How it is done
Despite the name, you won’t spend the entire period drinking juices. There are three phases, and only during the first you will drink only fresh juices. After the first phase, you will gradually introduce solid food into your meals. Here’s how it’s done.
Phase One – Juice Fast
This is a period that will span for 7 days consecutively. It entails you drinking only fresh vegetable and fruit juices. Ensure that you are making your own juices. This is an important point if you want to get the highest nutritional value from this program. Buying already prepared juices or various commercial beverages is not something you should rely on. There are people that will have their juices diluted with water, and that’s fine. Or you may drink water after drinking your juice. In either case, make sure you use pure spring or filtered water.
Phase Two – Eating Light
In this phase (the next 7 days) you are going to start eating solid food. Your body should be given time to adjust to solid food after ingesting only juices during the first phase.
During a period of 3 days, make a transition by taking only fresh fruits and vegetable soups. Make sure that your meals are light, half the size you would usually take. You can increase the frequency of your meals if you need to. For instance, rather than eating 3 large meals a day, you will eat 6 much smaller meals. This will enable your body to get used to digesting solid food once again.
Phase Three – Raw Food
Majority of your food in this phase has to be raw and fresh. As much as two thirds of what you eat should now be solid. Base your meals on raw fruits, salads, and vegetables. Ensure that you avoid meat. You can take some smaller amounts of fish or seafood though, but it shouldn’t be fried.
A Word of Caution
As already said, make sure to speak to your doctor before making any alterations to your diet. Just to be on the safe side.
The 21 day juice diet isn’t appropriate for those who are pregnant, nursing, or going through some medical treatments. Some nutrition experts warn that there is very little evidence to support detox diets such as this.
The possible side effects include dehydration, nausea, and dizziness. If you are unsure what you are doing, your diet plan should be reviewed by your doctor to make sure that there are enough vital nutrients, such as essential proteins, calcium, enough calories, and the others.
There is always the temptation of going back to your unhealthy diet system after finishing this 21 day juice diet. Avoid that. Use all means available to you to prevent the old way of life.
Know that the benefits of this program are great, but they won’t last long. In order to reap these benefits on a consistent basis, you have to change your eating habits and lifestyle. Regular exercise will also be needed at this point.
Being able to live healthy is simple if you can exercise regularly and eat healthy. If you want such benefits sustained over the course of time, ensure that you stick to what this program outlines.
Conclusion
Many people have positive reviews after trying out the juice diet program for 21 days.
Juicing is a perfect way to maintain your health. However, for proper digestion, you need the right amounts of solid foods as well. Solid foods are needed because of their fiber content, which is important for the proper functioning of the digestive system.
You should try to avoid environmental toxins as much as you can, independently of the actual diet habits. If you are careful in selecting your groceries (organic foods, farmer’s market, etc.) and if you know what you are doing, they won’t be a huge problem any more.
And once in a while, repeat the cleansing process with this 21 day juice diet. You will feel so much better, refreshed and ready for new life adventures. To your health!
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