3-DAY HOLISTIC JUICE CLEANSE

To juice cleanse, or not to juice cleanse. That is the question.

Throughout the years as a holistic wellness coach I have tried quite a few detoxes from Ayurvedic ones, homeopathic ones, herbal preparations, teas, fasting, and my current favorite way to cleanse and detox the body of toxins and waste is by doing an organic and holistic juice cleanse!

It's also a great way to get focused when life seems a bit out of control – like these days during the pandemic, since your mind has to be oriented towards the details of the cleanse for 3 days. From writing the grocery list, picking up the organic produce, juicing 5-6 times a day and cleaning up. It helps to filter out the bad stuff mentally for a few days. And you emerge feeling fantastic!

Now, if you are of the vata mind-body type like I am, then typically you don’t do well with fasting as this creates imbalance and is very ungrounding for vata. Also, if you suffer from anxiety, I do not recommend a complete fast (where you don’t eat anything for a day or more) as this too will be destabilizing for the anxiety sufferer.

 But this 3-day holistic juice cleanse fits the bill even for vata and anxiety conditions.

I developed this 3-day juice holistic juice cleanse strategy after becoming interested in the Blueprint juice cleanse. But at an almost 200$ price tag for 3 days, I created this do-it-yourself version that’s affordable, tastes fabulous and is satisfying!

 The price for the organic produce will run you between 35-53$ depending on if you shop for produce at Trader Joe’s or Wholefoods.

I have found that doing this 3 day juice cleanse is easy and provides all the nutrients needed to keep you hydrated, without hunger and without getting a headache.

Keep in mind to reduce your activity level during the 3-day cleanse to let your body really focus on cleansing and detoxing. And yes, you should be pooping daily even during this juice cleanse. We are detoxing – and we don’t want the toxins to be reabsorbed.

Other than detoxing and cleansing the system, the benefits of this holistic juice cleanse include…

·      Allowing your organs to rest from digestion so they can accomplish other important functions

·      Weight loss, and waist circumference reduction

·      Energy boost

·      Glowing skin

·      Improved sleep

·      Improved mood

·      Improved immunity (we could all use a dose of this lately), and

· Balancing of body, mind and spirit ! Yes 🙌.

Do this cleanse anytime you’ve over indulged – think holidays, vacations, celebrations; or when your digestion seems out of whack; and seasonally (yes, it’s important to cleanse seasonally).

 You should not have the runs or any diarrhea during this cleanse, so no need to keep yourself close to the loo.

 You’ll want to drink only the juice of specific organic fruits and vegetables, not ingest the fibrous bits (you will throw those out, compost them, or make muffins! I also give some to the dogs for extra nutrients).

Here’s how you can do this at-home 3-day holistic juice cleanse… 

STEP 1 : JUICER - preferable a masticating juicer, not a centrifugal one as they tend to produce“foam” quite a bit which just increases bloat in the belly and is not pleasant. Here’s an example from amazon of a masticating juicer . This one goes for 129$ but there are less expensive ones.

STEP 2 : GROCERY LIST- get all organic produce as we want to detox not add more toxins during the cleanse: 15 green apples, 6 celery stalks, large box of spinach, 6 heads of romaine lettuce, 6 lemons, 3 cups or 3 boxes of cooked and ready to eat beets, 1 inch ginger root, bag of fresh carrots, 6 medium cucumbers, 3 pineapples (frozen bags are fine), 2 limes, 48 oz. cashew or hemp milk, vanilla extract, mint, cardamom and nutmeg.

 Remember to peel the apples, cukes, carrots, ginger, lemons, limes – right before juicing!

STEP 3 : SCHEDULE - you’ll be having 5-6 juices (16 ounces each- add more fruits and vegetables or water if needed to make 16 oz) per day following this schedule:

Upon waking -12-16 oz warm water with lemon juice (1/2 a lemon)

 8-9 AM – juice # 1 – 16 oz: 1 cup spinach, 2 celery stalk, 1 head romaine, I cucumber, 1 green apple, ½ lime (or lemon)

 10:30- 11:30 AM – juice # 2- 16 oz: 1 c pineapple, 1 green apple, water and mint

1-2 PM – juice # 3- same as juice #1 

3-4 PM- juice # 4- 16 oz -1 box beets, 2-3 carrots, 1 green apple, ½ lemon, ½ inch of ginger root peeled (yummy juice)

5-6 PM – juice # 5 – optional – have only if hungry - apple, ginger, lemon or snack on a banana or avocado

6-8 PM – juice # 6 – warm 2 cups cashew milk with cardamom, nutmeg and vanilla on the stove (you can drink this cold as well)

STEP #4 : REPEAT - Repeat step 3 for 1-3 days depending on your detox goals.

 Why not try this out this weekend? Start next week feeling lighter and happier.

Let me know how it goes at care@karinejohnston.life. I’d really love to hear how it goes for you!

Karine Johnston LICSW CCA