What to expect from a Juice Cleanse

I was curious, I love a challenge, I was recovering from my explant surgery and wanted to

distract myself whilst limited in mobility and ability. All this led me to research juice

cleanses and find one that delivered to my area. Read more about my personal juice cleanse experience below.

THE CLEANSE I CHOSE

I wasn't willing to do the prep work so I searched google until I found a quality juice cleanse that delivered to my area. The top 3 cleanses I found were: KARMIC Cold Pressed Juice (VIC only), Sol Cleanse (Gold Coast, Greater Sydney, Newcastle, Wollongong) and Orchard St (Sydney). KARMIC was 'out' because they produce in and deliver to VIC.

Choosing between Sol Cleanse and Orchard St, I decided to first go with Orchard St for a few reasons. They are pretty much the same price. Orchard St bottles are 500ml, Sol is 400ml per bottle. Comes to about $15 per bottle. Yes, it's expensive but hear me out. It's a cleanse. You're not meant to do it for more than a few days and you're not meant to do it year round. Both companies offer a 1 day, 3 day and 5 day cleanse. With both companies you receive 6 bottles per 1 day. However, I found that Orchard St had more variety of micronutrients and more energy in their bottles. I'll admit I was a bit scared of being hungry.

I also preferred Orchard St because I had the option of ordering Mix & Match. This enabled me to order the 1 day cleanse and then order day 2 myself. I tried to mimic the order of the cleanse because there is a variety of smoothies, root juices, tea elixirs, tonics, nut mylks and soups. You can check out the whole range here.

I have ordered from Orchard St before. I regularly use their plant medicine. I find them high quality and effective. Both the tinctures and the powders. After this cleanse, they now have me as a fan of their teas as well. Orchard St philosophy and values are what I want to invite more of into my own life, so it made sense to me to support the company that I am aligned with and that I already trust.

Orchard St was my first cleanse experience. However, I am a big fan of trying new things and about 2 weeks later did not hesitate to trial Sol Cleanse! I ordered the Active Cleanse and the Organic Celery Juice. Another way to incorporate the cleanse into your day is to order the Goddess Greens Pack or Rainbow Pack and eat mindfully and intentionally choose wholefoods throughout a day or two to help your body detoxify naturally and reset after a holiday food splurge.

BENEFITS

This is not an article about the benefits of juice cleanses, this is my person experience doing a juice cleanse. Without going into too much detail, you can read about the benefits of cleanses here. However, I will say as some of you may be confused by my usual stance of 'Diets and Detoxes Don't Work', it's not about the diet or the detox - it's about what you do the other 90% of the time, before and after the cleanse. We live in a highly industrialised and urbanised world now, especially if you are in a state capital city like Sydney. It is hard to escape the fumes and toxins which affect our wellbeing. These include stress and other emotions which most of us are still learning to handle (including me), as they present themselves as chemical feedback in the body.

Furthermore, with such a cleanse you are achieving a caloric restriction. Scientific studies have shown caloric restriction has an anti-depressant effect, reduces risk factors for depression, neurodegenerative diseases, increases longevity, memory and quality of life. The mechanisms are not yet known but may be due to an increase in blood flow to the brain. This in turn increases stem cell production (new cells) in the hippocampus responsible for mood and memory, promotes autophagy which eliminates toxic waste build up in the brain, increasing BDNF (brain derived neurotrophic factor) which enhances learning.

Image: Metagenics "How Toxins Disrupt Health and Drive Disease"

I love what Sol Cleanse have written on their website: "By returning to the purity of organic nourishment of our juice or wholefood cleanses, in essence you are giving all your detoxification organs less work to do, particularly the liver and digestive system. When we begin to wonder how our body detoxes or cleanses, the reality is that it is happening unconsciously for us, every second, of every day. Every breath you take, without you even realising is your body carrying out one of its many roles of detoxification."

So why wouldn't we help our bodies natural detoxification process a few times throughout the year with additional support from a cleanse like Orchard St and Sol Cleanse? I would recommend for the average healthy individual with no medical concerns a cleansing protocol 2-3x per year (Orchard St offers seasonal cleanses).

DISCLAIMER/WARNING: For those who have additional medical concerns, please seek advice from someone who knows more (Hi my name is Kathy, I am a qualified Dietitian and Wellness Coach, Holistic Health Practitioner) to guide you on what would be most appropriate for you. In such cases a detox protocol underpinned by clinical dosages of natural medicine (Metagenics) specific to your needs may be more appropriate. For example, a liver cleanse, kidney cleanse, gut parasite cleanse. Some of the natural medicine can be found in the products of Orchard St but not at the concentration required for clinical benefits in someone with the particular condition.

After a year of trial and error and correction (including my breast implant EXPLANT) I have decided to do an individualised Metagenics detox protocol once yearly and a juice cleanse from (or similar to) Orchard St twice yearly. I may also include nurturing cold pressed celery juices intentionally throughout the year at specific times such as my recovery weeks (deload gym weeks). Like I said, we live in an urbanised industrialsied world where our body is constantly under additional strain to detoxify. Furthermore, after having silicone breast implants in my body for the past 6.5 years which Dr Eva Nagy has removed successfully, my body will continue to excrete the toxins I unintentionally and unknowingly agreed to place into my body (more one that topic later).

DAY 1 - ORCHARD ST CLEANSE

I chose to do 'The Purist' cleanse because it had more energy (calories) than the summer cleanse. I loved that I also got a reusable straw with my order as well as the little cleaning brush (Sol Cleanse also provides these for you). Made me feel looked after and special. You will also receive a little booklet with handy tips and a guide. An easy to follow timetable explains the day and order of the drinks (Sol Cleanse also provides this for you). The day starts with warm lemon water (nothing new to me). I was scared of getting hungry but after the first smoothie of the day my appetite was shot. Not going to lie, 'Shanti' didn't taste so good at first but that slows you down and after a few slow sips you do start enjoying it.

It was actually exciting doing the cleanse because I had never tried these juices and smoothies before, and they had a few ingredients I had never tried before like Aloe Vera, Marshmellow Root, Camu Camu and all sorts of others. As the day progressed I was more and more impressed with them. The Peace Mylk was a stand out. The detox tea had a teaspoon of chia seeds in it and that made all the difference. So much that I started doing the same with my own homebrewed teas. I brew them, wait for them to cool, transfer into my Orchard St glass bottles, add a teaspoon of chia seeds and leave them in the fridge overnight.

At the end of day 1 I felt light and satisfied. I was more mentally alert throughout the day, excited and proud of myself. All good chemicals circulating my body!

DAY 2 - ORCHARD ST CLEANSE

I mixed and matched day 2 by myself. I wanted to make sure I get a variety to try and also followed the general pattern (I was pretty close to guessing even without the guide which I received with my first order). Day two started out strong however, I did notice by mid afternoon I started to feel weak.

Walking was a bit more of a struggle and I got puffed. I felt a bit heavier. I put this down to not having much protein. I had maybe had around 50g of protein each day. Something to consider if I was to do the 5 day cleanse but nothing to worry about during the 2 days. Sol Cleanse takes this into consideration with their 'Active Pack' and include a few sachets of plant based protein powder.

USEFUL TIPS

• Do the cleanse on non-working days like a weekend, public holiday, announced day off.

• If there is a particular order of consumption, number the bottles so that you can grab and go.

• Plan for gentle movement only, such as easy walks (no hikes) and yoga.

• Have minimal food in the house, only light foods which are recommended such as celery, pineapple, a banana, cucumber sticks.

• Order your groceries to arrive the morning after your cleanse.

• Set your intentions for the cleanse and spend time journaling whatever comes up for you emotionally, physically, spiritually.

• Ease your way back into eating wholefoods and start with lighter meals, some examples below or have a look at my recipe corner

Post Cleanse Meal Ideas

Breakfast ideas: Homemade Smoothie (recipes here); Coconut Yoghurt topped with cut fruit, raw oats, chia seeds, crushed almonds; Avocado on wholemeal toast with a boiled or poached egg and tomato slices

Lunch ideas: Vegetable soup; Roast vegetable salad with brown rice; Rice paper rolls with cucumber, carrot, lettuce, capsicum, avocado

Snack ideas: Fruit; Herbal Tea with chia seeds; Turmeric Latte; Veggie sticks with hummus

Dinner ideas: Steamed/Roast/Fresh vegetables & grilled chicken breast/ Salmon

I'll admit, it was definitively 110% easier for me because I live alone and have no responsibilities towards anyone else but myself at the moment during my post surgery period. So, take into consideration your personal responsibilities, the kids or pets. Maybe it would be better to do the cleanse when kids are at a sleepover. That way you can keep minimal food in the house and not be tempted! If you have any questions or would like some guidance devising your own personalised cleanse protocol book here.

TAKE AWAYS

I ended up liking the products from Orchard St so much that I reordered for the following weekend. This time I didn't do the 2 day cleanse but rather incorporated a morning smoothie and an afternoon juice into my usual eating routine. I wanted to try the flavors I hadn't and I wanted to retain my strength. It's a great experience to have. I think I will challenge myself to the 5 day option sometime in the future when I am mentally up for it.

Remember, I am all about finding what works for you. By exposing myself to more of these positive experiences I am better able to tailor your nutrition plan to you and your goals. If a juice cleanse doesn't fit your lifestyle then there is no need to put yourself through that. However, how can you be certain if you haven't even tried.

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Did you find this blog helpful and informative? Tag & Share with your friends who would love it too! Sign up for my Free NuFit Wellness Newsletter to stay in the loop. Attend my Wellness Workshops. Promoting consciousness in food choices helping people heal. Dietitian & Wellness Coach, Health Presenter, Gut Health Specialist - Kathy Ozakovic.

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KEYWORDS: Weight, Loss, Maintain, Holidays, New Year, Food, Tips, Healthy, Cleanse, Juice, Diet, Detox, Bloat, Digestion, Nutrition, Nutrients, Micronutrients, Energy, Toxins, Tips