A juice fast is comprised of substituting solid food for a variety of single or mixed-fruit and vegetable recipes prepared in a hardware called juicers and/or extractors. There is often confusion and uncertainty as to the difference between one and the other.

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If you are interested or have decided to take up juice fasting for weight loss and improved health, then you are in the right place. If you already have all the information you need and are looking for recipes to start the juice fast, go to Fasting Juice Recipes for some of the most popular fruit / vegetable blends.

If you are seeking a good juicer, surf over to our Amazon Fasting Shop to browse through a compilation of what we consider to be the Top 30 juicers in the market.

If You Have Never Fasted

If you are new to juice fasting, or have "never" fasted before, we suggest you first swing by the Cleansing Diet page to learn how you can do cyclic or intermittent fasting to prepare for a total liquid fasting effort. A cleansing diet is a pattern of fasting that saved my life where one goes from eating to not eating nonstop for 60 to 90 days.

This system helped me because I was so far gone that I could not go anything like 24 hours without solid food without going into total detox hell. I also was the all or nothing type of person. If I could not drop the weight overnight or do a 40-day juice fast immediately, then "what was the point?"

So a cleansing diet gave me smaller attainable goals to shoot for, which made me feel pretty good. That way I did not have to put myself in the position to fail and continue to feed the ever-increasing wall of self-loathing that was killing me with isolation, despair and hopelessness.

I am not saying that you should not go straight to a prolonged juice fast. Perhaps you are ready. I know I was not. But if you want to ensure a transition from an unhealthy way of eating and relating to food, to a healthier one, then a cleansing diet can help you make slow but steady permanent changes.

Moreover, you can follow this link to learn more about Fruit Fasting and how it can help you start the fasting and cleansing process.

Over-Processed World

One of the key benefits of a juice fast is the injection of nutrition it gives the body. This is especially important in today’s world of over-processed “fast” foods. The more processed a food is, the less its nutritional value. When food is processed, pasteurized, or homogenized – the benefits for the body are drastically reduced.

Therefore a juice fast eliminates solid food for a season but in turn injects the body with unprocessed raw nutrition directly from fruits and/or vegetables - depending on which you are using. Raw fruit or vegetable juice is not processed.

If you put a carrot in a juice extractor, you are getting the liquid version of that particular vegetable. It is natural. It is what it is. It takes your body back to basics as when you were a baby. Raw, liquefied nutrition.

Raw Fruits & Vegetables - NOT Tang

Let me emphasize that what we are talking about here is a juice fast from raw fruits and/or vegetables -- not from powdered, sugar-filled or sugar-free substitutes. Some people have come to me and told me they were juice fasting with Tang or Kool-Aid. That is not the type of fasting we encourage or advocate here.

Raw fruits and/or vegetables is definitely the way to go.

Raw fruit such as oranges, apples, lemons and grapefruits provide a delicious treat and stimulate the digestive tract and inducing internal cleansing. With lemons, I suggest you DO NOT juice them but rather squeeze the juice manually or with a citrus juicer - explained below. If you juice lemons with an extractor, you risk making the juice way too acidic which can cause stomach pains and discomfort.

Vegetables like broccoli, lettuce, beets, tomatoes, carrots and celery, among others, are perfect to create a very nutritious liquid fasting diet. Watercress is excellent for the liver and I love the "spicy" taste it gives the juice. Carrots, lettuce, tomatoes and celery provide "a lot" of juice and will fill your glass quickly!

If you read the label on the popular V8 juice brand, you will find many of these ingredients that can make up your vegetable or juice fast. I am not saying that you should use a commercial vegetable juice.

Your personal relationship with a juicer, fruits and vegetables is a huge part of the process, and one that will open amazing doors to you as you discover the diverse tastes of fruits and vegetables.

Fruits & Vegetables Combination

Most people I work with like a combination of both juice and vegetable juices over the period of the fast. Fruits and vegetables are fat free, with few exceptions as avocados and coconuts. Bananas have a lot of oil and should be limited. But bananas do not "liquefy" with a juicer, so if you want to use them you will need a blender.

In addition, nuts as almonds, pecans, walnuts, cashews and peanuts can be compressed for their oil and added to the juice fast. They provide a “good” fat component to the vegetable or juice fast. But you must be very careful not to go overboard.

During the juice fast the hunger pains can be very strong and, many times, one can go overboard on the nuts and almonds in an attempt to compensate for a full meal. Don't! Hunger pains are part of the process and you should try to walk through them in the measure that you can.

You can also add two to four tablets of Hers & Prunes, a natural, tasteless laxative and cleanser that mixes very well with fruits and vegetables. I have used it for years and I can tell you that it is terrific for constipation as well as to help in staying regular.

Start slow with the Herbs & Prunes, however, until you are able to gauge how your body is reacting. I have found this product to be simply amazing, and the bowel movements you will have will be pretty dramatic. But be careful please! Take it easy. Do not attempt to cleanse yourself overnight.

Citrus Juicers and Extractors

Many people ask me what the difference is between a juicer and an extractor. A citrus juicer is used to squeeze juice from soft-centered, citrus fruits such as lemons, oranges, lime and grapefruit. It has a conical ridged center.

Centering the halves of fruit with their cut-side down over the juicer, the user presses the fruit down and turns the fruit back and forth to extract the juice. A juice extractor, on the other hand, is a machine which mechanically separates juice from the solid part (pulp) of most fruits, vegetables, leafy greens, and herbs.

Most persons use the juice and discard the pulp, although the pulp can also be used in muffins and breads. I personally sometimes eat the pulp because it helps with constipation and is a natural colon cleanser.

Make sure you put the unused pulp in a small bag and throw it away quickly because it spoils very quickly and, believe me, it DOES NOT smell good! Some people who juice fast also use the pulp as "compost" for gardening. Pretty amazing all the things that can be done.

An extractor also differs from a blender in that it separates the juice from the pulp, whereas a blender does not. The word "juicer," nonetheless, is used openly to refer to either a citrus juicer or an extractor. What is important is that YOU know the difference and how each one can assist you during your juice fast. Let us look at the basics so you can get started.

There are three main types of juicers - a centrifugal juicer that uses a blade and a sieve to separate juice and pulp; a masticating juicer that 'chews' fruit to a pulp before squeezing the juice from it; and a triturating juicer that has twin gears to first crush the fruit and then press it. Confused yet? He-He. Don't worry. The results are "pretty much" the same in terms of the juice output.

Masticating and triturating juicers can juice wheatgrass, unlike a centrifugal juicer which cannot break the fibers of the grass. I personally favor the triturating juicer because the final product is not too liquefied or "pulpy."

Anti-Juicer Argument

Believe it or not, there are some out there who are actually against juicers of any kind. According to these "anti-juicers," the speed of the moving parts of an electric juicer can adversely affect the juice quality.

The argument is that faster moving parts introduce more air into the juice, and therefore oxidize important nutrients more quickly. It has also been said that the heat generated from the machine and the friction of centrifugal juicers destroy enzymes found only in raw vegetables and fruits (because of the damage done during the cooking or heating process), thereby defeating the purpose. Juicers with variable speeds are regarded as being of higher quality.

I will leave you to make up your own mind, but I feel from experience that this argument is a stretch. Sort of like, which is better? A PC? or a Mac? A whopper? or a Big Mac? Woops, sorry. That last one was a bad analogy ...

Preparing the Juice Fast

Fasting with juice and/or vegetables is relatively easy to plan and carry out. Many persons that I have worked with say they like the juice fast because it frees them from having to prepare meals, which usually takes longer and has to be done every day.

Unless, of course, you were like me and lived off of TV Dinners.

You can prepare as much as two days worth of juices ahead of time. If you prepare larger amounts, I strongly suggest that the balance be frozen until the night before it is going to be consumed. But freezing the juice should be a last resort and I do not recommend it. Mostly, it is best if you prepare your juice as you go and drink it "the same day" that you prepare it.

It is also important to cover the juice glass or receptacle with aluminum foil to protect it from the light. Light can spoil fruit and vegetable juice in a hurry! Don't let that happen. So protect the juice - it's your personal Youth Fountain and Health serum!

Most persons do their juice fast on the go. Very few can afford to take time out for a fasting retreat or spiritual vacation. This, however, should not be an excuse to not look closer at what at what a juice fast can do for you. If you still feel you don't have time, then I encourage you to come see what Colonic Queen and holistic health coach Loree Taylor Jordan has to say in this excerpts from her book: Detox for Life. She will open your eyes and make you laugh too!

The Origin of Disease

As mentioned in the previous page, nearly all disease originates in the digestive tract from the buildup, over years, of toxins that pollute the blood. Vital organs as the kidneys and the liver, especially, are hit very hard by these toxins. With me, the liver had become so polluted that I started to get dark pigmentations in different parts of my skin.

Although I have gotten much better, the spots remain to this day as a reminder of what poor-eating and toxicity did to me. Toxicity fosters the clogging of main arteries that ultimately cause many heart attacks and premature deaths. Not to mention obesity, which can not only kill you as well, but it is a terrible condition that curtails your productivity and often has a very damaging effect on your social life.

A juice fast reverses the toxic buildup and gives the body a chance to regenerate. In fact, a great portion of the digestive goes into hibernation during fasting. If you worked twenty four hears a day, seven days a week, how long do you think it will be before you collapse?

The digestive system is no different. It also needs rest. The only organ that can work without rest is the heart. You owe it to yourself and to your loves ones to take a hold of your health and do whatever it takes to detox and lose weight. A juice fast is a very poweful way to do that. You are worth it!

Return from The Juice Fast Process to Juice Fasting MAIN.

Robert Dave Johnston
Fitness Through Fasting Fasting Coach
Editor & Webmaster Fitness Through Fasting.com