Juice fasting
Encyclopedia
Juice fasting is a type of fasting
Fasting
Fasting is primarily the act of willingly abstaining from some or all food, drink, or both, for a period of time. An absolute fast is normally defined as abstinence from all food and liquid for a defined period, usually a single day , or several days. Other fasts may be only partially restrictive,...

 and "detox diet" in which a person consumes only fruit and vegetable juice
Vegetable juice
Vegetable juice is a drink made primarily of blended vegetables. Vegetable juice is often mixed with fruits such as tomatoes or grapes to improve flavor...

s. Being available only in digestible carbohydrates, these foods are digested rapidly. However, this leads to quicker spikes in serum glucose, as opposed to eating the fruits or vegetables whole, and the body does not burn as many calories to digest the juice, as the juice digestion process expends only a small amount of energy. People choose to undergo juice fasts for various reasons and via various methods. Juice fasts are often marketed together with supplies, supplements and support groups.

Reasons for fasting

Additional reasons for undergoing juice fasts include spiritual or religious reasons, losing weight and attempting to wean oneself from unhealthy habits, e.g., smoking, drinking soda, overeating, caffeine addiction, etc. Some more serious participants use juice fasting as an alternative to conventional medical practices, i.e., as a healing technique for pain, cancer, depression, arthritis, severe infections that failed antibiotics, autoimmune diseases and many other incurable diseases.

Methods

Some practitioners take part in bi-annually week-long (or longer) periods of fasting in order to cyclically purify the body along with the nature's annual cycles. These semi-annual fasters and others may also take monthly, shorter (two or three days) periods of fasting. Some fasts involve a week-long trip to a spa resort, with Thailand being one especially popular destination.

Because pure juice contains little to no fiber
Dietary fiber
Dietary fiber, dietary fibre, or sometimes roughage is the indigestible portion of plant foods having two main components:* soluble fiber that is readily fermented in the colon into gases and physiologically active byproducts, and* insoluble fiber that is metabolically inert, absorbing water as it...

, juice fasters often use an enema
Enema
An enema is the procedure of introducing liquids into the rectum and colon via the anus. The increasing volume of the liquid causes rapid expansion of the lower intestinal tract, often resulting in very uncomfortable bloating, cramping, powerful peristalsis, a feeling of extreme urgency and...

 or a herbal or saltwater laxative
Laxative
Laxatives are foods, compounds, or drugs taken to induce bowel movements or to loosen the stool, most often taken to treat constipation. Certain stimulant, lubricant, and saline laxatives are used to evacuate the colon for rectal and/or bowel examinations, and may be supplemented by enemas under...

 during the time of fasting to efficiently expel waste from the intestines and colon
Colon (anatomy)
The colon is the last part of the digestive system in most vertebrates; it extracts water and salt from solid wastes before they are eliminated from the body, and is the site in which flora-aided fermentation of unabsorbed material occurs. Unlike the small intestine, the colon does not play a...

. Another method is mixing psyllium
Psyllium
Psyllium , or Ispaghula , is the common name used for several members of the plant genus Plantago whose seeds are used commercially for the production of mucilage.-History:...

 husks in with the juice. Because psyllium is not absorbed by the body but increases in volume greatly upon absorbing water, it creates the bulk necessary to keep the bowels moving.

Types of juices

  • Vegetable
    Vegetable
    The noun vegetable usually means an edible plant or part of a plant other than a sweet fruit or seed. This typically means the leaf, stem, or root of a plant....

    s - celery, cucumber, red bell pepper
  • Greens - parsley, kale, beet greens, chard, spinach, dandelion leaf
  • Cruciferous vegetables
    Cruciferous vegetables
    Vegetables of the family Brassicaceae are called cruciferous vegetables. The vegetables are widely cultivated, with many genera, species, and cultivars being raised for food production such as cauliflower, cabbage, cress, bok choy, broccoli and similar green leaf vegetables...

     - broccoli, cabbage
  • Root vegetable
    Root vegetable
    Root vegetables are plant roots used as vegetables. Here "root" means any underground part of a plant.Root vegetables are generally storage organs, enlarged to store energy in the form of carbohydrates. They differ in the concentration and the balance between sugars, starches, and other types of...

    s - carrots, beets, sweet potatoes
  • Fruit
    Fruit
    In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...

    s - dark grapes, apples, lemon, Açai berry
  • Herb
    Herb
    Except in botanical usage, an herb is "any plant with leaves, seeds, or flowers used for flavoring, food, medicine, or perfume" or "a part of such a plant as used in cooking"...

    s - yucca root, fennel, spearmint, peppermint, basil, ginger, garlic, green onion, chilli pepper, fresh turmeric root, milk thistle
  • Wheatgrass
    Wheatgrass
    Wheatgrass is a food prepared from the cotyledons of the common wheat plant, Triticum aestivum. It is sold either as a juice or powder concentrate. Wheatgrass differs from wheat malt in that it is served freeze-dried or fresh, while wheat malt is convectively dried. Wheatgrass is also allowed to...

     juice, spirulina & aphanizomenon flos-aquae (blue-green algae)

Possible side effects

Fasters must take care to maintain their intake of vitamins and nutrients. However, there are no specific side effects associated exclusively with juice fasting, though certain medical conditions such as diabetes may be aggravated by excessive intake of certain juices. Juice mixes containing grapefruit juice may also adversely interact with certain prescription drugs. Additionally, the juices from highly acidic fruits such as tomato and citrus juices can conceivably upset the body's natural acid-base (pH) balance.

Some individuals should be careful before performing excessive juice fasting or even attempting juice fasting without the consultation from medical practitioners. These include children; the malnourished and underweight; pregnant or lactating mothers; advanced cancer patients; individuals with poor immunity; individuals who have recently undergone surgery; individuals who suffer from stomach ulcers, low blood pressure, excessive fatigue.

Criticisms of fasting

Some scientists, dietitians, and doctors regard juice fasting and other detox diets as less effective than drinking a glass of water, and hence generally harmless but a waste of money. Dr Catherine Collins, Chief Dietician of St George’s Hospital Medical School in London, England, states that "The concept of ‘detox’ is a marketing myth rather than a physiological entity. The idea that an avalanche of vitamins, minerals, and laxatives taken over a 2 to 7 day period can have a long-lasting benefit for the body is also a marketing myth."

Proponents of fasting believe that, while fasting, less energy is expended on digestion of foods, leaving more energy available for the rest of the body to expel the normal byproducts of metabolism, which they call "toxins". Adherents believe that the human body is incapable of processing or excreting these byproducts under normal circumstances. As the "toxins" are believed to lie within many of the human body's eliminative gland
Gland
A gland is an organ in an animal's body that synthesizes a substance for release of substances such as hormones or breast milk, often into the bloodstream or into cavities inside the body or its outer surface .- Types :...

s and organs
Organ (anatomy)
In biology, an organ is a collection of tissues joined in structural unit to serve a common function. Usually there is a main tissue and sporadic tissues . The main tissue is the one that is unique for the specific organ. For example, main tissue in the heart is the myocardium, while sporadic are...

, different juice fasts target different sections of the body. For instance, a large portion of juice fasters believe that abstaining from solid food allows the body to recover and heal itself from damage and fatigue caused by the relentless stress of digestion. But while on a water-only fast, "the body burns up stored sugars, or glycogen, so less insulin is needed to help the body digest food. That gives the pancreas a rest. On juice diets recommended by some spas, you may lose weight, but your digestive system doesn't get that rest." Others choose fasting because they want to target the liver, the kidneys, the urinary tract, the skin, the gallbladder, the brain, the immune system, etc.

External links

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