Vegetable Juice Fast

After watching a program on TV about the benefits of a Juice Fast, we decided to borrow a juicer.

The thing about a juice fast is it usually increases your vitamin and vegetation intake by a huge amount, often from practically nothing to 100% of your diet. This your body has the time to detox from all the rubbish eaten before hand while it receives the much needed nutrients it has been denied. While it seems to be a myth that some foods help the detox process, it does help not to put more toxic foods into your body while your liver and kidneys are trying to do their job.

I never planned on a full Juice Fast because I am a fairly healthy eater, my breakfast is filling and full of fibre, my lunch includes lots of salad (usually), dinner is the main problem though since I don't provide that for myself. I was noticing an increase in the chips and pastry and take away at mealtimes and I was beginning to feel uncomfortable. I am not against junk food, I just like to choose when I eat it rather then have others decide. We figured then that if dinner proved to be unwholesome I could have Juice instead or as well. Therefore we borrowed a juicer.

Here is what I discovered. 1) Vegetable Juice is an acquired taste, I don't really like it. 2) The Juicer is a pain to clean with a vast number of components. 3) It takes about 3 apples to make a small glass of Juice. 4) Stuff that is nice whole tastes like ditchwater when it is juiced (celery and cucumber) 5) All the recipes discount red apples for some reason (they are really nice, like lemonade). 6) when you juice carrots the pulp left over is really good in wraps and sandwiches. It still tastes fine, it does not soggy up the bread, and it is grated up really finely. I very nearly put cheese through the Juicer to see if it also grated up fine. I restrained myself since it is an expensive thing to break.

All in all the Juice fast wouldn't work for me because firstly I don't like enough of the vegetable juice to even nearly maintain a balanced diet and secondly, I like the texture of vegetables and Juice removes all that. However that is not to say it would not work for anyone. Especially if they have diet related health problems I would highly recommend trying it for 10 days.

Perfect timing

I have been having back difficulties for a few years. This is not a constant thing, in fact it is very rare. However it is very odd in how it comes, and it has come 3 times with exceptionally bad timing.

The first time was the worst, it came because I went for a walk to the shops and then when I got back I sat in a chair. When I got up it was hurting. The next day we packed for Summer School, then we went to Summer School to carry stuff round setting up, camping and sleeping on stretchers. The next day my back was so sore I couldn't walk. It was scary and painful. A friend gave me exercises and my back improved over the week.
Therefore the first time it happened was just in time for a week of camping at Summer School.

The second time it happened was 6 months later and I was picking a piece of paper up off the ground. My back gave a massive spasm and it hurt really badly. That was the day I was flying home from QLD for a week. I couldn't walk far, I couldn't do karate, I couldn't play with children. It was very frustrating but not a bad as the first one because I used the stretches and exercises from the beginning.

The third time was Friday morning. I was in the process of going from a standing position to a seated position in a chair. My back gave out and it REALLY hurt. Church camp started on Friday night and I couldn't even walk properly. Luckily the camp site is only 10 minutes away and I was able to sleep in my proper bed rather then a foam mattress.

Besides the fantastic timing of my back problems, I did go to a chiropractor to see if it could be more permanently fixed. It was an interesting if expensive experience, however today, just 2 days after I hurt myself my back is merely stiff and I can walk nearly normally.