Juicing, Fasting, and Detoxing for Life

Introduction

Would you like to be healthy, happy, and energetic? Want to look younger and more vibrant? How about losing some weight? Or do you need help healing your body? If you said yes to any of these questions, rest assured. The programs in Juicing, Fasting, and Detoxing for Life have helped thousands of people lose weight, get rid of cellulite, look healthier, soften wrinkles and lines, gain energy, restore health, prevent disease, and feel years younger.

If you have a health issue, this can be your opportunity to discover not only what contributed to your ill health, but also what will enable you to become healthier than before and live an exciting, fulfilling life of purpose. Even if you don't have any particular ailments, you can experience more energy and greater vitality along with disease prevention by using juicing, short juice fasts, and periodic detoxes for various organs of the body.

I first wrote about juicing in 1992 in my best-selling book Juicing for Life. Nearly two million people have read Juicing for Life and my sequel, The Juice Lady's Guide to Juicing for Health. Exciting testimonies have poured in from people all across America and around the world whose lives changed for the better when they started juicing, cleansed their bodies, and changed their diet. The "live foods" I recommend, such as fresh vegetable juices, green smoothies, and raw foods, give life to the body. And the yummy recipes allow for delicious and varied menus. I'm convinced the juicing and cleansing programs I've developed have saved my life by helping me recover from debilitating illness and injury. And I know they'll make a big difference for you, too.

The programs in Juicing, Fasting, and Detoxing for Life go far beyond salads and V8 juice. In fact, juices that are canned or bottled have been pasteurized, which means that many of their life-giving nutrients, such as enzymes and vitamins, have been killed in the process. And while these processed options are better than soft drinks, they fall quite short when compared with freshly made juice. But there's another important reason to drink fresh juice. It's broken down into an easily absorbable form, which makes it superior even to eating whole vegetables when it comes to absorbing vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients, and enzymes. Plus, you'd probably never eat in one day all the vegetables you could juice. Live foods like fresh juice, green smoothies, green salads, and other raw foods, along with a diet of whole foods, offer an abundance of nutrients. That's due in part to the biophotons—the light rays of energy the plants absorb from the sun. Photons feed the mitochondria—the energy units of your cells that produce ATP, your energy fuel. These foods make your body feel alive!

The programs in Juicing, Fasting, and Detoxing for Life include short juice fasts and specific cleanse programs that act similar to spa treatments, but on the inside. They're somewhat like a housecleaning crew for your organs and fluids, on down to your cells. Juicing, fasting, and detoxing can help you get well if you're ill and make you even healthier if you're well—perhaps more vibrant and energetic than you ever thought possible. And that means when you lose weight using these programs, you'll look healthier—you won't look drawn or washed-out as many people do on other plans. I've seen remarkable results for people attending my juice and raw foods cleanse retreats. People have arrived sick, looking ashen, with dark circles under their eyes. In just one week, they have changed dramatically. They leave with color in their faces, dark circles gone, and glowing. Nearly everyone loses between 5 and 15 pounds. Amazing!

There are many detox programs on the market, and many focus on items to purchase. Very few programs have detailed menu plans with plenty of delicious recipes that make them easy to follow. Though a few of my cleanse programs need certain herbs or other cleanse agents to make them the most effective, many of the programs can simply be followed with recipes you prepare.

In the chapters that follow, you'll find the plans that turned my life around—from illness, debilitation, and disability to good health and a desire to help others be well. I want to share with you my own journey to health and wholeness to encourage you. If I could get well and stay healthy, there's hope and the opportunity for you to do the same.

A Health Crisis

Though I'd never been particularly healthy as a child and adolescent, I encountered a true health crisis when I turned thirty. I developed a severe case of chronic fatigue syndrome that forced me to quit my job in Hollywood and move home to Colorado with my father and stepmother. I was simply too sick and tired to do much more than lie around most of the time. I would often sleep for twelve hours at a time and still feel tired when I got up. Severe fatigue became a way of life. There were mornings when I'd get up feeling so weak that I could barely walk down the hall. I felt as if I had a never-ending case of the flu with continual swollen glands and a low-grade fever. My body ached as if I'd just been bounced around in a washing machine. And I had a severe case of candidiasis along with parasites (determined by a stool test) and heavy-metal toxicity (determined by a hair analysis). My life seemed hopeless.

I'd not been able to find a doctor who could give me anything to improve my health or any hope of feeling better. I finally went to a health food store and browsed around. I talked with employees and bought some health books. I discovered there was something I could do.

I totally changed my diet and started juicing every day. I eliminated all animal products, including dairy, along with all junk food, sugar, and wheat products. I started with a five-day juice fast. On day five, I felt much better. In the weeks that followed, I completed several other short juice fasts of two or three days and several cleansing programs. But instead of feeling better, I started feeling a little worse. Though I didn't understand the process at the time, I was detoxing. Detoxification is the process of removing toxins, which are substances that are harmful or poisonous to the body. They create irritating or injurious effects internally, undermining our health and stressing our biochemical and organ functions. Removing them doesn't happen on a wide scale without our assistance through nutritional intervention, cleansing programs, and dietary changes.

Family members were skeptical about my self-designed health journey, but I forged on with my whole foods diet, juicing, and cleansing programs. I also saw a reflexologist (a person who massages feet and applies pressure to certain parts of the foot for healing). He suggested I try a gallbladder flush because of the pain I experienced when pressure was applied to a specific area of my foot. The gallbladder detox produced rather astounding results, and I did get a little better. But I still often felt sick and tired.

Then one day, in a totally unexpected development, I woke up feeling brand-new—with energy to spare. I wanted to go jogging. That was a first. I'd made a significant turn for the better, and though my new health seemed to appear suddenly, it had been building for quite a while. I'd been on my health program for about three months. And I thought, "Wow! That was the greatest cure on earth." I realized that freshly made vegetable juices, green smoothies, lots of raw foods, periodic cleansing, and a nutritious, whole foods diet was a lifestyle I should follow for life to produce the health I wanted. I also realized there were foods I needed to let go of, like sweets, flour products such as bread and pasta, and dairy products, so I could maintain my high level of wellness.

Armed with a juicer, a new lifestyle, and an exciting set of goals, I returned to Southern California and my friends. For nearly a year, it was ten steps forward with renewed, sparkling health and more energy and stamina than I'd ever remembered.

Then, all of a sudden, I took a giant step back.

Another Crisis

I was house-sitting in a lovely Southern California neighborhood for vacationing family friends and working on my first book. A burglar broke into their home one night. I was shocked to wake up around three a.m. and see a strange young man in the bedroom crouched in the corner. Instead of running out the open door, he attacked me, beating me repeatedly with a pipe, yelling, "Now you are dead!" and then choking me unconscious. I felt my spirit leave, floating up and out of my body. Then all was still. I sensed I was traveling, at what seemed like the speed of light, through black space, with twinkling lights in the distance. Suddenly, however, I was back in my body, outside the house, screaming for help. I don't know how I got there.

I suffered serious injuries to my head, neck, back, and right hand, with multiple head wounds and part of my scalp torn from my head. I also incurred numerous cracked teeth that required several root canals and crowns to repair. But my right hand sustained the most severe injuries, with two knuckles crushed to mere bone fragments that had to be held together by metal pins, and six months after the attack, I still couldn't use it. The cast I wore, with bands holding up my ring finger, which was almost torn from my hand (it had remained attached by only a small portion of skin), looked like something from a science-fiction movie. I felt and looked worse than hopeless, with the top of my head shaved, red, swollen eyes, a gash on my face, a useless right hand, terrorizing fear, and barely enough energy to get dressed when I woke up.

I decided I'd be a survivor, not a victim. So I went to work on getting well again. This time, it took every ounce of my will, deep spiritual work, alternative medical help, extra vitamins and minerals, juicing, emotional release, forgiveness for the attacker, and numerous detox programs to heal physically, mentally, and emotionally.

I met a nutritionally minded physician who had healed his own slow-mending broken bones with lots of vitamins and minerals; he gave me vitamin cocktail IVs. Juicing, cleansing, nutritional supplements, a nearly perfect diet, and prayer, along with physical therapy, helped my bones and other injuries heal. But the restoration of my right hand was truly a miracle.

After about six months, what my hand surgeon said would be impossible became real—a fully restored, fully functional hand. He'd told me I'd never use my right hand again and that it wasn't even possible to put in plastic knuckles because of its poor condition. But my knuckles did indeed re-form, and the function of my hand returned. A day came when he told me I was completely healed, and though the doctor admitted he didn't believe in miracles, he did say, "You're the closest thing I've seen to one."

Equally important in the restorative process was the healing of my soul—a place where no one could determine the degree of injury. I experienced healing from the painful memories and trauma of the attack through prayer, laying on of hands, and deep emotional healing work. It seemed like endless buckets of tears had been pent up in my soul from old wounds, such as my mother's death when I was six, my grandfather's death when I was nine, a tragedy concerning my dad when I was thirteen, and the attack. All that pain needed release. Forgiveness and letting go came in stages and were an integral part of my total healing. I had to be honest about what I really felt and willing to face the pain and toxic emotions stored inside and let them go. But finally I was free. A time came when I could celebrate the Fourth of July (the anniversary of the attack) without fear.

Finally, I knew more peace and health than I ever thought possible. I experienced what it was to feel whole—complete, not damaged, broken, wounded, or impaired, but truly healed and restored to wholeness in body, soul, and spirit. And I knew there was a purpose for my life—a reason I had lived. I could help others find their way to wholeness.

You Can Enjoy Vibrant Health

Because of my health struggles and the long journey to wholeness by a road of trial and error, I wrote this book for you—wherever you're at in your pursuit of good health and vitality. You may be healthy and just want to gain a little more energy, lose a few pounds, and bolster your immune system so you don't get colds or flu as much. You may have a health condition you want to improve. Or you may have a life-threatening illness or serious injury and you want to do your part in getting well. Whatever you want to achieve, I know that you can make significant improvements in your health by following the programs in Juicing, Fasting, and Detoxing for Life.

I'm sharing with you what I've learned on my path to health and wholeness, as well as what I've studied in scientific research and in earning a graduate degree in nutrition, along with what I've discovered through years of counseling people regarding nutrition and their health. I've seen hundreds of people achieve near perfect health and get rid of a host of ailments, aches and pains, and even life-threatening diseases through juicing and following the various cleanse programs in this book. There's no magic bullet in this process—it's all about giving your body what it needs to heal and stay healthy along with getting rid of what hinders the healing process—the toxins, congestion, and acid buildup. As you remove toxicity, which interferes with health and healing, and give your body an abundance of life-giving nutrients like those found in fresh juice, your body can do what it was designed to—heal and stay healthy and trim.

In the chapter on mental and emotional cleansing, my husband, John, shares the knowledge he's gained about mental and emotional detox. Through his graduate work in counseling psychology and more than thirty years of working with groups and individuals regarding the care and healing of the soul, he's gained tremendous insights on letting go of mental and emotional toxicity that blocks health and healing, and he teaches you how to restore the soul.

Keep in mind that as you embark on your journey to vibrant health, it will take trust, patience, and endurance along with action to get good results. Restoration and preservation of your health come with time and persistence. If you stick with the programs in Juicing, Fasting, and Detoxing for Life, you will have a healthier body and soul. Your body was intended to function well. If you have physical ailments, remember that your body was designed to heal. It's important to provide the best internal environment possible so it can do its work of healing. Remember, it's taken awhile to get to where you are, so it may take awhile to correct your health issues. Take heart! You'll reach your goal if you don't give up. And while you're on your journey to vibrant health, be aware that any problems you face can be part of the weave of your new life of wholeness, vitality, and purpose—the purpose for which you were created.

You can begin your journey today by taking the first step—whatever that may be for you. Maybe you need to purchase a juicer or just simply go shopping for fresh, organic produce, or make a decision that you're going to do things that are really good for your body from this day forward. Whatever you need to do to get started, take that step today.

Juicing and Cleansing Programs That Get Results

Make fresh vegetable juicing a part of your routine—it can be life changing! Juice fast occasionally. Some people like to vegetable-juice fast one day a week; others choose to fast one or two days each month or once a quarter. Make sure you cleanse the organs of your body once or twice a year, or optimally, once a quarter—cleanse your colon, liver and gallbladder, and kidneys. If it makes sense to change the oil and filters in your car regularly, doesn't it make sense to cleanse your body's filter systems? Be sure to stick with the cleanse programs even if you feel a little worse initially. As you clear toxins from your body, you may not feel so great before you feel better. But when you've completed the detox programs, you'll feel like a new person.

The same goes for cleansing the soul. As you clear mental and emotional toxicity from your mind and emotions, you may have to face unpleasant memories and old wounds, emotional pain may surface, and buried memories may be revealed. But the results are worth the effort. Nothing can compare with the deep peace, joy, and healthier body that come from a balanced soul.

You'll find the chapters in Juicing, Fasting, and Detoxing for Life to be informative and easy to follow. In chapter one you'll discover the secrets of vibrant health. Chapter two introduces you to the world of juicing and gives you guidelines for using fresh juice for vitality, energy, healing, and detoxing your body. It also gives you lots of tips for purchasing a juicer that's easy to use and clean; a blender won't work for juicing, but you'll use one for green smoothies and cold soups. Chapter three tells you all about the benefits of fasting and how to begin with a one-to three-day vegetable-juice fast that will greatly accelerate any weight-loss or health program you choose. Chapter four gives you an overview of detoxification and explains why it's so important to your health. Various detoxification protocols follow in chapters five through seven, with juices, green smoothies, cold soups, raw foods, and supplements for the colon cleanse, liver and gallbladder cleanse, and kidney cleanse, along with various specialized cleanses for Candida albicans, parasites, and heavy metals. Chapter eight guides you through detoxing your mind and emotions. Chapter nine follows with an A-to-Z guide that gives you a list of the foods that are highest in nutrients from vitamin A to zinc. And the last chapter gives you dozens of delicious juice and green smoothie recipes.

John and I have learned through personal experience that proper cleansing of the organs of elimination can happen only through specific plans designed to promote "housecleaning" in each organ. We've completed numerous cleansing programs and have seen encouraging results each time. If you're ill or if you're highly motivated and have the time, you can go directly from one cleanse to the next. Alternatively, you can pace yourself with one cleanse at a time, with a break in between.

If you work away from home, you can still do the cleanse programs. Countless people have completed specific cleanses and short juice fasts and were still able to work outside their homes and even enjoy a social life. It takes some planning and preparation before each day so you can take what you need to work. You can also plan for certain social events by eating ahead of time and ordering sparkling water with lemon or lime or herbal tea at the event. You can choose what will work for you at restaurants by asking the chef to prepare all-vegetable salads or vegetable or vegan dishes. The goal is to fit the detox programs into your busy lifestyle and make them work. If you have a demanding or stressful job and you can try only one cleanse program when you have a few days off or a one-day vegetable-juice fast on a weekend day, this is a good start. Whatever positive changes you make will move you toward better health and give your overworked systems of elimination a much-needed rest so they can cleanse and rejuvenate.

A Healthier, More Vibrant Life Awaits You

When you complete these juicing, fasting, and cleansing programs, you'll have changed your internal environment. You should feel lighter, healthier, and happier. And as a friend of mine said recently, "You'll feel like smiling all the time!" You'll have more energy to enjoy each and every day. And you'll have the best chance of preventing common and even serious illnesses. If you're ill, you'll give your body the greatest chance to heal. Best of all, you'll have discovered a way of life that will help you feel and look alive and vibrant each and every day. As my friend and popular talk show host Dr. Alvin Jones said, you feel "born again." A healthier, more balanced life truly does await you!