A three day juice cleanse can be taken up by those who are well versed with the One-day juice fast. A three day cleanse is little more intense than a 24-Hour juice fast, but not as intense as a similar duration water fast. During a juice fast, there is a constant supply of calories contained in juices, partially meeting your daily calorific needs. A three day juice cleanse can be a good cleansing program and gives physical, mental and spiritual benefits.
How to prepare for a Three day Juice Cleanse?
A three day juice cleanse can be done either at home or at a retreat center under supervision of either naturopathy specialists or doctors.
If you know the basic principles of fasting or if you have prior experience with shorter fasts, you can easily do a three day juice cleanse at home.
The first step for any fast is the mental preparation. There are plenty of popular books and testimonials on nutrition and fasting to familiarize you with the concepts. The human body is capable of surviving on just water for many weeks. Hence a three day juice fast should be easy for the body to handle. In case you have any chronic medical condition, you should to consult a doctor before attempting a three day juice fast.
You need to prepare the body too for the next three days. On the previous day of the fast, you should eat light and moderate food. One may also eat just fruits on the previous day. The choice is yours as per your convenience. The key factor is that the digestive system should not be overloaded before starting the fast.
After the three-day juice cleanse, you need about one or two days to slowly come back to regular eating habits. Hence you should plan for a total of around 5 days for the complete process.
Make sure you have a good stock of fresh fruits and/or vegetables of your choice. Get organically grown fruits and vegetables if it is available. Soaking the fruits and vegetables for few minutes in a 2% saline solution can effectively remove the residual pesticides and preservatives from the skin.
Get a good clean juicer, preferably a cold press or a hand press juicer. Centrifugal juicers can also be used with lesser benefits. The rotating blades of the centrifugal juicers generate heat which can destroy the vitamins and enzymes in the juice.
You will also need an enema kit which is available in any medical store.
What fruits/Vegetables can be consumed on a juice cleanse?
Fruit juices can be made from orange, grapes, tangerine, pomegranate, watermelon, lemon, passion fruit, apple, guava, strawberries, blueberries, etc. Coconut water may also be consumed in between.
Vegetable juices can be prepared from carrot, beetroot, cucumber, spinach, tomato, celery, parsley, kale, turnip, etc.
How to do a three day Juice cleanse?
In a three day juice cleanse, you must drink only fruit and/or vegetable juices for three full days. No solid food or other liquids like tea, coffee, milk, etc. should be consumed. Drink water in between as per your need.
Ideally about four full glasses of juice can be taken per day at regular intervals. That would be roughly one liter of juice per day. You may consume more quantity if you feel the need or if you feel too hungry.
Some people take just one type of juice every day. For example you can consume just orange juice all the time for all the 3 days. Others prefer a cocktail of various fruits and vegetable juices according to their taste, while adding lemon and small quantities of natural spices. The choice is yours. You can prepare your own favorite recipes according to your taste.
During the fasting period, toxins in the body get removed through the skin, breath and intestines. It is good to do an enema every morning to flush out these toxins. Enema can be done every day or on alternate days.
Also, you will notice that in the morning, the tongue has an extra white or slightly yellowish coating which is sign of toxins being pushed our through the outer layers of the tongue. Use a metal tongue scrapper to clean your tongue every day.
During the three day fast, avoid any strenuous physical activity like lifting heavy weights, running, long distance drives, excessive talking, etc. Light activities like yoga, meditation, watching television, watering the plants, cooking, shopping, slow biking, silent walk in the woods, etc. are fine.
Continue this process for 3 full days and enjoy the cleansing process.
Body reactions during a Three day Juice Cleanse
During a three day juice cleanse, you may experience certain reactions in the body. During a juice fast, you are consuming only between 300 – 600 Calories in a day. So the blood sugar may go down and you can feel a sudden bout of hunger. Do not worry. You can just prepare another glass of juice and consume it. If required, you may also add a spoon of honey to your juice for extra calories.
Sometimes the blood pressure may go down and you may feel dizziness and weakness. This is normal. You can drink a glass of water or juice and lie down for few minutes and the symptoms should go away.
If you are new to fasting, food craving is a common reaction in the mind. One starts thinking and imagining about eating various types of food. Try to maintain a witness attitude towards this. You can also distract your mind to some recreational activities like watching television, watering the garden, going for a casual walk, slow biking in the woods, etc.
There may be times when the mind throws up pent up emotions from the past that are stored in subconscious mind. Maintain a witness attitude and understand it to be a part of the cleansing process. You can practice slow deep breathing during this time.
The important thing to note is that these reactions are normal and will last for a short while and is a symptom of the detoxification and cleansing.
How to break a Three day Juice Cleanse?
Breaking the fast is equally important as the fast itself. The digestive fire goes down during the juice cleanse. So one has to gradually increase the digestive fire and bring it back to normal before getting back to normal food.
The fast is usually broken by drinking lemon juice or orange juice. On the first day after breaking the juice fast you can have fruits, honey, vegetable soups and boiled vegetables which are easy to digest. Chew your fruits well before swallowing.
On the second, you can eat vegetables soups, fruits, nuts, diluted milk, rice milk, small amount of cooked grains, oats, cooked starchy vegetables like potatoes and squashes, etc.
On the third day onwards one can get back to normal diet. At this point one has to be careful. There can be a tendency to overeat and overload the stomach. One should eat in moderation and slowly come back to the regular food habits. Avoid foods that are hard to digest for few days.
Benefits of a Three day Juice Cleanse
- A three day juice cleanse will give tremendous health benefits. Our digestive system works without any rest, day and night. A fast will give the much needed rest to the entire digestive system to repair and heal itself. Toxins are removed and one feels improved energy and vigor.
- Juice Fasting can improve immunity and gives longevity.
- Juice Fasting is the easiest way to lose weight. One may lose about 1 – 2 kg during a 3-day juice fast. But you will gain back most of this weight once you return to normal food. Following a controlled diet after the fast can help in maintaining the weight reduction.
- During the juice fast, one gets to observe our mind closely. It helps to understand of our food habits and cravings. This understanding helps to control the food compulsions after the fast, thereby helping in weight loss.
- Juice Fasting is a time of introspection and emotional cleansing. One has to maintain the witness attitude and watch the various thoughts and emotions thrown out from the subconscious mind. By witnessing the blocked energies are released and the negative mental impressions are brought under control.
Who should not do a Three day Juice Cleanse/Fast?
- Those who suffer from diabetes should avoid fruit juices and instead should use green vegetables only during the cleanse.
- Pregnant women are not advised to fast as the growing fetus needs extra calories and nutrients for its growth.
- Those who are on any specific medication should consult their doctor before taking up a juice cleanse.
- Those who have underwent a recent surgery, should wait till they have recovered before doing a juice cleanse.
- Those suffering from any kidney or liver problems should not normally attempt any fast.
- Those who are under a terminal illness or have any chronic medical condition should always consult their doctor before taking up a three day juice cleanse.
- Children should not attempt fasts without parental consent and medical advice.
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