One Day Juice Fast, Take a Short Break and Rejuvenate

This may be something you wish to experience periodically, throughout the year, or you might want to make it a once a week ritual to reset and reboot your digestive system.

Often times 24 hour fasting stints are more appropriate than longer more intensive ones.  The colder winter months, for example, can make it harder to fast for extended periods of time and is typically the season to "build" rather than "cleanse."

This means that we might be eating heavier foods and larger portions to instinctively keep us insulated.  Wintery outside temperatures can be the perfect opportunity to take a day off from solid foods and allow for some light internal house cleaning. 

Filling your body with colorful juicing liquid can also be especially helpful when there is a limited amount of sunlight being absorbed through the skin.  In the dreary days of winter, brightly pigmented or green chlorophyll-rich juices are one of the best ways to receive stored sunlight energy.

In addition, a short one day fast might be suitable after certain holiday festivities or other celebrations that involve heavier rich foods and alcohol indulgences.

1) Cleansing and Detoxifying
2) Energizing and Nutrient Dense
3) Helps to Elevate Mood
4) Reboots the Digestive System

All of us are exposed to a certain amount of environmental pollutants that can build up in the tissues and fatty deposits of the body over time.

It is nice to facilitate the process of detoxification, even if only for a short period, to allow the blood cells the opportunity to release some of these potential poisons so that the organs and glands can function more efficiently.   One day of juice fasting is better than no days of juice fasting!

Freshly pressed juice, especially from organic green leafy vegetables and low sugar fruits, is very purifying to the blood and lymphatic system.  Chlorophyll is a natural detoxifying antioxidant that helps to cleanse the blood, remove toxins and enhance blood oxygen capacity. 

It has the ability to bind to and flush out various toxic chemicals, pesticides, plastics, radioactive isotopes and heavy metals, like mercury and lead.  An infusion of chlorophyll-rich juice throughout the day will help the liver more effectively do its job as the surface toxins are removed from the bloodstream.

The effects of wheatgrass juicing or green juicing, in particular, can help relieve inflammation in the body and decrease the risk of associated health conditions, like high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease and arthritis.

In research conducted in 2012 it was established that "chlorophyll is a valuable and abundantly available anti-inflammatory agent and promising for the development of phytomedicine or conventional medicine to treat inflammation and related diseases." 

For those of you who have a past history or current dietary habit of consuming processed, overcooked and denatured low quality foods, a one day juice fast might be just the experience you need to understand how the body can work for you, instead of against you, if you simply give it the chance.

We feel it is very helpful to incorporate some kind of periodic cleansing protocol into your weekly or monthly routine.  In addition to juice fasting, this could also involve the use of other detoxifying superfoods and cleansing herbs, like zeolite, chlorella, charcoal, MSM powder, milk thistle and dandelion root.

Juices can not only be an effective way to detox the cells and tissues, but can also help to clear the sinuses as well as eliminate mucus from the body.

Juicing whole, organic fruits and vegetables concentrates the vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, raw living enzymes and chlorophyll content, making the extracted liquid extremely high in energizing nutrients that help to nourish possible nutritional deficiencies. 

Initially, when you first start juice fasting, most people feel an immediate increase in energy as the juice is readily absorbed.  Because juice does not have fiber content, uptake is enhanced as it moves through the digestive tract very fast, quickly transporting phytonutrients to malnourished cells.

In addition, it is not uncommon to have a greater amount of energy throughout the day because you don't need to spend the necessary reserves digesting solid food.  This is why most people who participate in a short day juice fast can still remain physically active within their daily work schedule. 

For longer fasting periods, you might experience low energy days or brief moments when a greater amount of toxins are being released into the bloodstream.  This can often result in what some health authorities call the "healing crisis", a series of unpredictable side-effects including fatigue, muscle aches, cravings and possible emotional distress. 

Although these occurrences, once you move through them, can be very beneficial as a natural part of the cleansing process during a longer juice fast, they might make it harder to live your everyday life. 

A one day juice fast can be a particularly helpful way to uplift the spirits and clear the mind.  You are essentially juicing a rainbow of brightly colored antioxidant plant pigments that will not only boost the immune system with ingredients like quercetin, carotenoids, anthocyanin, lutein and zeaxanthin, but also tends to act as a natural antidepressant to increase better feeling thoughts.

A 24 hour juice cleanse can be especially beneficial when you are emotionally stressed, unmotivated or lack a positive mental attitude. Throughout history, fasting has been used as a tool for spiritual pursuits and achieving "enlightenment" in many religions around the world. 

Consuming green vegetable juice additionally provides an influx of vitamins like vitamin C, vitamin A, vitamin E and vitamin K as well as vital minerals such as magnesium, potassium, calcium and essential fatty acids, including omega-3.  Chlorophyll is also high in iron which helps to build the blood, energize the body and prevent anemia.

It can be challenging to give up food, even for just a day, but once you feel the positive mood elevating results it can actually be hard to stop.

A short juicing session can improve digestion, assist in clearing up acute digestive disorders and reestablishes regular bowel movements.  It may be useful to do an enema at the end of your juicing day to help release any undigested waste material and flush out the lower portion of the colon. 

Even though a one day juice fast is a relatively short period of time, it puts you in touch with how the body works and can be a gentle reminder to appreciate the foods you eat on a regular basis.  Healthy  digestion of our meals is encouraged by learning how to chew food slowly and savoring every bite with all of our taste buds.

Sometimes the day fast process additionally inspires healthier food choices once you get back to a regularly scheduled meal plan and furthermore helps prevent tendencies to overeat.

When preparing to do a juice fast it is good to make sure you have enough produce on hand for a 24 hour juicing frenzy, plus other fruits and vegetables you might want to break the fast with.

We recommend always juicing with organic produce.  Simply put, you don't want a concentrated amount of pesticide and herbicide sprays in your juicing liquid.  After all, those are the toxic substances we are trying to eliminate through the cleansing process.

The list of raw organic fruits and vegetables may vary, but generally the standards are cucumber, celery, apple, carrot, lemon or lime as well as lots of green leafy vegetables like kale, collard, parsley and cilantro.  Additional ingredients may also include turmeric root, fennel bulb, ginger, beetroot, fresh dill, arugula, misc sprout varieties, hot peppers, red bell pepper and most any ripe juicy fruit.  Juice fasts also give you the opportunity to make use of the wild edible greens that may be growing in your local environment, such as chickweed, dandelion greens or mallow leaf.

It is a lot easier to go into a juice fast when you have spent a day eating fruit and vegetables ONLY with no oil, salt, sugar, protein or added condiments.  This slowly introduces the cleansing process, so there is less chance of any uncomfortable detox reactions. 

It is furthermore very important to break your day juice fast by slowly integrating solid foods, essentially eating raw fruit and vegetable salads or blended raw soups or smoothies for one day after the fast.  The second day after your juice fast you can begin to introduce oil, salt and protein foods back into the diet.

While eliminating internal stagnation, why not spend the day pampering yourself with relaxing activities that help to celebrate your life.

1. Take the day off from work or schedules of any kind.
2. Rest when you feel tired.
3. Lay naked outside in the sun or in a sunlit window.
4. Juice with a partner or friend and spend the day together.
5. Take supplements, like MSM, Vitamineral Green or zeolite.
6. Do yoga if you feel energetic and stretch out your body.
7. In the morning after your day juice fast do an enema or colonic.
8. Go for a meditative walk or hike in nature.
9. Add in some micro-nutrients and top superfoods, like marine phytoplankton, camu camu or aloe vera.
10. Write in your journal about insights or inspirations.
11. Have a juicing potluck, dance and celebrate life with family and friends.
12. Do a cleansing face mask.
13. Get a massage.
14. Skin brush, take a hot sauna or warm bath.
15. Keep yourself well hydrated and drink plenty of pure filtered water.
    

The usual way most people fast is to drink three quarts or 32 ounces of green juice three times a day, basically using them as substitutes for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  This amount seems to work for most people because it provides fuel for being physically active in addition to satisfying any hunger pangs. 

But, you can also break up your juicing into small quantities and drink more throughout the day if you like.  Here are some general juicing recipes to consider for your one day juice fast, plus other supplements and superfoods you can incorporate between juice feasting sessions.

1. A glass of pure filtered water with lemon.
2. MSM and camu camu powders mix into a small glass of water.
3. Pure filtered water with 1tsp of zeolite powder.
4. Probiotic powder supplementation.
5. A shot of wheatgrass juice with aloe vera gel.
6. Digestive enzyme powder (minus the gel capsule).
   

Juicing Recipe #1

Green Juice 

• kale
• parsley
• broccoli sprouts
• chickweed
• cucumber
• celery
• one carrot
• green apple
  
• fennel bulb and stalk
  
• pinch of cayenne pepper

Juicing Recipe #2

Carrot Smile Juice 

• cucumber
• celery stalks
• carrots
• sunflower sprouts
• fenugreek sprouts
• red bell
• ginger root
• squeeze of lime juice
• piece of fennel bulb
  

Juicing Recipe #3

Green Orange/Apricot Juice

• dandelion greens
• spinach leaves
• apricots
• peeled orange
• chlorella and aloe vera

Juicing Recipe #4

Red/Green Juice 

• carrot
• beet
• collard greens
  
• cucumber
• arugula
• green cabbage
• romaine or red lettuce

Juicing Recipe #5

Sweet Beet/Carrot Juice

• beet
• carrot
• cucumber
• celery
• peeled lemon
• piece of ginger root
• apple

Juice Recipe #6

Green Juice Medley 

• cilantro
• Italian parsley
• sunflower greens
• fenugreek sprouts
• cucumber
• dandelion greens
• dino kale
• collard greens
• green apple
• carrot
  

Also visit our green juice blast recipe page for more ideas on how to spice up your juices.