Naturalpath

..and I have never felt better. An occasional orange or apple in your "Green" drink would be okay and makes it taste GREAT. Good "Green" drink: Kale (best source of calcium), cucumber, fennel (licorise tasting!), celery, garlic, ginger, lemon, and an apple with some Soy Protein powder. I have the Jack LaLanne's power juicer and it works great! By the way, DO NOT THROW OUT THE PULP! You can mix it in with low fat or fat free sour cream and make an excellent dip or whip up a nice stir fry with it. I make it for the family and they love every minute of it!

Great questions... I'm not an expert, but here are my thoughts and what I've heard. Juice supposedly loses a good deal of its nutritional value not so long after it's squeezed. I've heard with wheatgrass, for instance, that you should drink it within 15 minutes of pressing to get optimal benefit. With other juices, I've heard different theories. If you use a traditional home juicer, the theory is you should drink within 30 minutes or an hour or it loses vitamins. With the big professional juicers, one retailer told me they'd be good for a whole day. Doesn't make sense to me really -- why should there be a difference. So during my juices, I just try to make them fresh if I can -- and if I can't I just make them ahead and take them with me (refrigerated, of course, b/c they can go bad fairly quickly). An expensive, but much easier than home-made, option is to see if there's a local cafe that does fresh squeezed, healthy juices and have them do at least some of your juices for you. There are some cafes/businesses that will even prepare and deliver fresh juices to you. One thing to really keep in mind is not to focus on the tasty fruit juices during a juice fast. Look to kale, spinach, and other green and various colored veggies - and sweeten up with beets and carrots (and the occasional apple), which are high in sugar. Ginger and lemon can also add a really nice taste. A friend of mine drank exclusively fruit juices for 3 weeks (way too long of a juice fast in my mind as well), and turned diabetic. He may have been on his way already to being diabetic, but so much sugar couldn't have been good for him! Fresh is so much better than store bought, because there are more vitamins in it. It's like eating fresh salad versus canned spinach... Also, store bought juices have loads of sugar in them. Makes them taste better, but it's really bad for you and defeats the purpose of the cleanse. With the fresh juice, you can drink it all day if you want -- as long as you're drinking the right kind (veggie, with just a little fruit). It takes a lot of work though -- which is why I don't do it for more than a week at a time and only a couple times a year. So, I generally will have about 7-8 large glasses of juice a day, mixing in between with lots of water and herbal teas (I do cheat and have green tea in the morning for that kick) and sometimes miso soup or avocado (not for my first fast, but since then). Adding a little vegetable protein and good fats (avocados are great for good fats) really helps me through the fast and is probably much better for you. Not sure what the purpose of your fast is...but wanted to mention weight loss versus cleansing (or both). My first fast was to help me rebalance my metabolism and lose weight after having my third child. I was very strict on the fast and didn't "cheat" with avocados or soup, etc. After the third day I felt great, but was ready to quit by the fifth day. I gradually stopped on the sixth day (it's important to go back gradually with adding brown rice and cooked veggies, etc. over the first few days after a fast, and to avoid fried and processed foods). It worked like a charm and my metabolism basically reset itself. I lost about 12-15 pounds over the next 2 months (interesting that it wasn't all at once). My subsequent fasts didn't result in any weight loss -- my cheating (with avocados and miso soup and the occasional raw fruit or steamed veggies) I'm sure had something to do with it (or my metabolism had already gotten to its normal level), but I did feel great and cleansed. So, keep in mind your goals if you try the fast. Hope this helps...

i am wondering where you get the veggie juices/how expensive is only drinking juices(organic i am assuming) for the week. i think that this article would be wonderful if supplemented with recipes for what to blend up.

I recommend the Big Mouth Pro juicer - you can find it on Amazon. I did the 10 day juice cleanse for candida and I feel amazing. An important supplement to the juice cleanse is colon therapy and attending a yoga class daily is very helpful as well. Also, make sure you drink plenty of clean water and consider adding a probiotic to your juices.

But not because I think there is something magical about juice that will "detox" me. I've just found in the past that a short break from eating as ususal causes you to come out at the other end with a new respect for good, solid healthy food and makes you more likely to shun the junk. I'll let you know how it turns out!