Vegetables Need Not Apply

I started my journey into juicing with the intention of writing about it on a daily basis. It hasn’t worked out that way. The main reason being things happened too fast to keep up with for the most part. I’ve lost a couple of pounds almost every day but as the experiment went on the whole process became less about losing weight and more about nutrition and the food that we put into our bodies.

I have spent some time watching documentaries on the subject of food and how it’s produced: “Knives Over Forks,” “GMO OMG,” etc. These shows have had a profound effect on how I look at the food that I have spent my whole life eating. They have shined a light on how food in this country is now being produced and how it is engineered to be consumed in great quantities. You hear that there is an obesity epidemic in this country…I would suggest it’s almost been manufactured by the large food companies.

Most of the food that the average American consumes is processed in some way. If it’s processed, you can pretty much guarantee that it has lost most if not all of its nutritional value. The result of this is a body starved for the real nutrients that it needs to function and it constantly nagging that it’s hungry. It is hungry but on a cellular level. This produces a cycle. You eat, stay hungry and eat some more. You eat foods that are high in fat and sugar and that are converted to fat almost the minute they hit your stomach. You are then bombarded with media telling you that meat has protein, eggs are filled with omega 3 (which you HAVE to have), and that milk builds bones. All of those statements are true on some level I guess but when you peel back the layer of bullshit you realize that you don’t need nearly as much as meat as you think you do (palm of your hand sized about once a week if at all), eggs that come from commercial chicken farms are loaded GMO’s and a bunch of other stuff your probably could do without, and milk is not the cure for osteoporosis but can be the source. Now I know what you’re thinking, I live in Oregon, we just legalized pot, and I must be smoking it in great amounts. Nothing could be further from the truth. All the data is out there…reams of it. I would suggest you go find out for yourself. If you want the short version watch a documentary called “Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead” by a guy named Joe Cross. It’s where it started for me. He keeps it simple and is a great jumping off place.

The recommended amount of fruits and vegetables that should be consumed is 7 servings of veggies and 5 services of fruits. If you pile all those greens up you can see really quickly why juicing is such a cool alternative. It makes consuming all those greens a lot more manageable. I started doing a 10 day juice only fast. I am on day 7 as of this writing and I have consumed nothing but juice and water over the course of those 7 days. When the fast comes to its conclusion I plan on going on a plant based diet. I am still on the fence about dairy but I feel like I will most likely move away from that as well. If you have every had a meal with me and watched me throw a beat down on a plate of pasta or a rare steak you should really question what would get someone like me in this mind set. There must be something to it. There is: it works and it just makes sense.

Should you choose to try this experiment yourself let me give you a couple pointers that might help you. First, it’s hard initially. Not going to lie, your body is filled with junk and getting it out can be painful. The good news is that it won’t last. By day 3 you should be feeling much better. You should juice about 4 times a day (every 4 hours or so). You consume about 12 – 14 ozs in each instance. I know it doesn’t sound like a lot but you would be surprised how much mileage you get out of it. Juicers aren’t cheap. I paid $150 for mine and its middle of the road. Do your homework but I would suggest you go lower end (around $100) until you decide if it’s something you plan on doing long term. Check Craiglist for deals. I was really surprised how many people were selling juicers and I wish I would have started there first instead of Sears. Juicing isn’t cheap either. Produce, depending on the time of year, can be costly. If you go organic the costs can go even higher. Don’t stress about organic initially. Buy what you can afford and just stay with it. My go to juice is something called a "Mean Green." It gives me lots of energy and its relatively inexpensive to produce. As you educate yourself you can make your own decision as to where, what kind, and how much. The juicing part is really easy. There isn’t a whole lot of prep for the food. Most things that can be juiced go in whole. Things like oranges get peeled but that’s about it. The cleanup is pretty straight forward and easy.

On the upside you will start to feel better almost immediately. Over the course of a week you will find that your skin, hair, and nails get clearer and stronger. In my case, I found that my concentration and memory functions improved significantly. Lots and lots of energy: the kind that I could never get drinking energy drinks or gallons of coffee. I feel like I did 20 years ago physically. My joints stopped hurting and I found that my general overall outlook and attitude improved a truck load. I haven’t had heartburn since I started which means the omeprazole magnesium that I was taking every day is no longer necessary. The physical benefits have been significant enough that I have to really wonder what’s going on with the food. It needs closer scrutiny but that’s the topic for another rant.

So what are you waiting for? Don’t believe me? Try it for yourself. It requires a mindset. Mine came from education. Learning what was really going on in my body as it relates to the food I eat. There’s a lot there to process but if you start with small bites, you can finish the elephant.