The first time I was introduced to juice cleanses was in Santa Rosa California in 2009. I met my dad at True North Health Clinic with the agenda of getting him healthy! Run by holistic medical doctors, True North is everything I envisioned the perfect health care system would encompass; whole foods, exercise rooms, health lectures and daily support from like-minded people around you. I swear I heard a choir singing “Hallelujah” the second I walked in. Although I was there to support my dad, along the way, something shifted in me. I was on anti-depressants at the time and using coffee and other stimulants to keep me awake and functioning. I even struggled with acne. As someone who never had acne as a teenager, this was frustrating! Although my weight was a healthy 130 lbs, I didn’t feel good and I was tired of relying on stimulants just to feel normal.
My dad stayed at True North for forty some odd days, lost over 50 lbs and more importantly, all of his blood work and vital signs were like that of a twenty-year-old. He had reversed years of damage. I met one women there who had cured her stage four breast cancer. Another gentleman cured his leukemia and arthritis. There were people there who had cured their diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure. The life-changing stories were endless and if I hadn’t heard them myself, I would be skeptical.
Although I was only there for seven days, it was life changing. I ended up doing a four day raw juice cleanse and eating a raw and vegan diet the other three days. In that short time, I was able to get off my anti-depressants and ditch the coffee. I went back to my husband and daughters with a renewed sense of peace and purpose. My mind was as clear as my skin. My energy was through the roof without coffee! I felt grateful, grounded and inspired. My eating disorder was not triggered AT ALL during this time either. It was like cleansing my body and offering it the best food energetically available shifted my obsession from weight to health. All this from changing what I put in my body? Could what we put into our bodies really affect us so deeply? The answer is YES!!
Fruits, vegetables, beans and seeds in their raw form (not pasteurized or heat treated) contain micronutrients or essential vitamins and minerals. As a whole, these are the nutrients that Americans are most deficient in. When you do a juice cleanse, you are not only flooding your body with these nutrients, you’re also detoxing all the junk stored throughout your body. Years of damage begins to repair itself. That’s the beauty of our bodies. They truly do know how to heal themselves when given the proper nutrients.
Juicing and sticking to whole raw foods has stuck with me over the years. So much so that I credit a huge part of my recovery to nourishing my body instead of pumping it full of processed food like I was fed in treatment. Maybe recovery is more about food than the “experts” care to acknowledge. I was told the damage I had done to my body was irreversible. The medical world underestimated me, and my body’s amazing ability to heal itself. My journey towards health has been nothing short of a miracle.
Re-inspired by the documentary, Fat Sick and Nearly Dead, I started a five day cleanse yesterday. The first day went pretty well. The second day is always the hardest for me since I detox the most. I have a little bit of a headache right now actually. I will keep you updated on my experience so you can decide if this is something that might be a good fit for you! My favorite part is coming off the cleanse and realizing my taste buds have completely transformed. A slice of pizza sounds yucky and a big spinach salad sounds like heaven on earth! Eating becomes a mindful practice because you realize you don’t need to live to eat, but rather eat to live.
Because my life is so busy, I won’t have time to blog every day, but if you would like to follow my fellow cleansing rockstar Jenny, head on over to her site Healthy Crush. She’s currently on a ten day cleanse.
Starting in February, I will be offering organic, raw juice cleanses and detox packages for the Boise area. I will have different packages and options available to tailor to both expert and novice cleansers. I want everyone to be able to experience the mind-altering joy of health! My juices will be made using the Norwalk juicer; a hydraulic press that has up to 5 times more minerals and vitamins than conventionally squeezed juices. Your body will be thanking you!
Contact me and let me know if you’re interested! The first cleanse will be in February and I will be taking about eight cleansers a week. I already have four spots filled. Two of those spots are a husband a wife! I LOVE it!
Let’s Get Juiced!
Rachel
