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Something to Chew on: Help reset your healthy body with a 21-day juicing

As I complete Day 9 of my 21 day juice feast

As I complete Day 9 of my 21 day juice feast, I ask myself … do people think I’m crazy? “You mean you’re not eating any food? That can’t be healthy.” You may be surprised.

I can remember back when I had never been introduced to anything around juicing or fasting and how I would have reacted to someone doing a juice feast. I used to think it was absolutely crazy to even be a vegetarian. Don’t you disintegrate if you don’t eat meat? Quite the opposite actually. Eating actually shortens life. Caloric restriction, or eating “less” increases longevity and has been known to prevent cancer, heart disease, diabetes and a variety of illnesses. The implementation of short “fasting periods” can be extremely beneficial as a way of maintaining your health. Even so, who wants to find the willpower to restrict their caloric intake by eating less?

In a study hosted at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, researcher Valter Longo found that fasting, or the refraining from eating food had many health advantages. They trialed with rats, testing one controlled group to fast for two four-day periods each month on low calorie, low protein food and found that the rats were 45 per cent less likely to get cancer. Their blood sugar levels were lower and their mental ability stayed more in tact.

Restriction of food altogether allows your body’s energy to be diverted from digestion to “cleaning house”, metabolizing through old waste, reducing inflammation in the body, restoring and replenishing your tissues, reduce food cravings and leaving you shedding excess weight, feeling more mentally alert and energized. Not bad.

I have found many personal benefits from fasting over the years to keep over-indulgences in check and maintain my own vitality. And since I found juice feasting, it’s been a game changer. Adding an abundance of juice to my daily regiment, ¾ of the approximately four litres of juice I drink daily being greens to keep the glycemic index down, this practice can sustain for several weeks up to months for an ultimate reset, including having more than enough energy for exercise and day to day functions.

I’ve had a multitude of change in my own life this past year, from moving to Dubai, opening a plant based food delivery program and winding up in Bali. But with all the change has come a lot of various stresses too, including some weight gain and cravings for clarity on what’s next.

And so, I embark on my own 21-day-juice feast. Currently on Day 9 and feeling better than ever.

The inspiration, the clarity, the mental focus and the weight shed is well underway. People have already been remarking that I am “glowing.” Exactly I say. Everyone needs a reset from time-to-time. For more information on experiencing your own juice feast, go to www.innerglownutrition.ca

Kristin Fraser, BSc, is a holistic nutritionist and local freelance writer. She can be reached at kristin@somethingtochewon.ca.