Juice fasting is gaining popularity these days in the health field, especially after the “Fat, Sick And Nearly Dead” documentary made it onto Netflix. I’ve only done one 5 day modified fruit cleanse and I have never done any sort of fasting until this past weekend. Being a health coach, a yoga instructor and a fitness trainer, I thought it was important for me to try it out so that I had the ability to have a hands on experience when people asked me my opinion on it. I’m not going to say it was easy, but it wasn’t hard either. The worst part was cooking delicious whole foods meals for my husband and kids and picking fresh peas from the garden without being able to eat them. We also set up a make-shift dry sauna out of our wall tent and did our hydrating honey mask to really make it an all around health detox weekend.

So What Health Benefits Are People Achieving From A Juice Cleanse?

-A High Dose Of Vitamins And Minerals: Vitamins and minerals are considered to be the building block of the body. This is why so many of us take a daily multivitamin supplement. Drinking a juice is a real food multivitamin. Multivitamins found in health food stores do a pretty good job of balancing out what our body needs, however, nothing is as good as real food. By juicing we can extract nature’s balance of vitamins and minerals and consume heaps of vegetables in one glass without taxing our digestive system.

–Chlorophyll: About a year ago, I heard of some fascinating research that came out regarding the ability of chlorophyll once ingested to convert sunlight into ATP. The study was done using an earth worm model with hopes for a human study shortly. Chlorophyll is sold as a supplement and many have reported an increase in energy and mood when using it. Chlorophyll has an excellent anti-inflammatory effect in the body and helps to combat oxidation. Oxidation causes cell damage so consuming high amounts of chlorophyll will help to reverse daily damage in the body, including the intestines, skin, and organs.

–Intermittent Fasting: Intermittent fasting gives the body a break from one of it’s hardest jobs, digestion. Intermittent fasting can be done in several ways. Some people will fast overnight making sure that there is 12hrs between their last meal of the day and the first meal of the day. Some people fast one day a week during the day, only having a very early breakfast and a late supper (again with a 12hr period of time food free), other’s like to do things like 2 or 3 day juice cleanses once every month or 2.There is a lot of research being done into this area as many people who are living with diseases are finding health benefits in intermittent fasting.

Why Is This Also Great For The Skin?

-Vitamins and minerals are what the body needs to regenerate the skin. If you’re eating (or drinking) a diet rich in vegetables, your body has what it needs to to make healthy tissues, including the beautiful ones on your face.

-Chlorophyll will help to combat cell oxidation in the face. Consuming high dose of chlorophyll through juice or through a vegetable rich diet will give your body what it needs to brighten the skin and it will also help to combat acne by helping to alkalize the body and reduce inflammation.

-Intermittent fasting gives our body the time it needs to work on our beauty! In the anti-aging cosmetic industry, everyone is searching for the best way to topically provide the skin what it needs for fastest regeneration. Intermittent fasting revs the body’s regeneration and cell turnover from the inside, allowing for anti-aging to naturally take effect.

The explosion of nutrients in each glass during my cleanse was not only what my body needed for health but also what my skin needs for beauty. Many vegetarians, vegans and raw foodies swear that their skin has become more vibrant and youthful since switching their diet over to a more plant based one. Now that the paleo food movement is strong, we are also hearing how much eating paleo has improved skin health too. There is one major thing in common in eating a healthy paleo, raw food, vegetarian and vegan diet. Eating plant based is the foundation of all of these diets when done right. So, after only 3 days of hardcore juicing, it’s no surprise that my skin responded with vibrancy.

After going through the juice cleanse, I’m not convinced that everyone needs to fast and only drink juice in order to highly benefit from juicing. Adding in 1 or 2 juices a day while eating a healthy, dense, plant based diet with a little intermittent fasting for 3-days to a week will have an amazing effect on the body and the skin. Our favorite juicer in Edmonton is Splash Juciery In St. Albert. For those on the other side of the city, revojucinary is also a great option. Both are organic which is very important when choosing a juice. Investing in your own juicer is also something I would highly recommend and SPUD delivery even offers juicing packages of fruits and vegetable to make your juicing more affordable and easy.

Enjoy You Glass Of Beauty

Jayleen