I was reading a bunch of websites where people were juicing for health purposes. Just wondering if anyone here juices or makes smoothies or anything for health purposes? If so how well is it working? Have you noticed any changes in how you feel or anything?

Hi...I've been juicing/smoothies but not on a regular basis. When I started I had my CRPS localized. And it was working okay. Now that it is spreading, I haven't been able to have even a little structure...so I've stopped. I can't remember who in here talked about being hydrated, but I agree; hydration is very important.

We have a new one.

Bananas, almond milk, unsweetened greek yogurt, coconut oil, kale or spinach (we use baby spinach because we can't get young kale), lemon juice and tiny pinch cayenne pepper. It's supposed to have some protein powder in it, but we don't use whey so don't know what else to use.

This is for energy and we've changed diet quite drastically (daughter and self) so need some extras we're not getting in diet so this is one quick way to get it.

Juicers are just too darned hard to strip down and clean daily, especially as my local shop has a vitamin enriched juice which I enjoy.
Blending is another matter, in the Summer with fresh fruits reduced whole. My Ex does this for us for healthy kicks and because it's so good!

Dave.

Organic green food powder, coconut milk, apple, celery is my normal mix when I do these. I don't own a juicer, use my blender, works fine. Maybe I'll do one later...I have all the ingredients for a healthy drink.

We just use a blender too. It's one of those mini blenders.
Works fine and was very inexpensive.

Yes,
I juice vegs every day and wheatgrass and they do make a difference.
My green veggie juice twice a day is celery, cucumber, fresh ginger and then whatever other greens I have, spinach, parsley, kale, romaine or some herbs from my garden. I do agree with folks though that most juicers are a pain to clean. I also have a nutribullet that I absolutely love and it was much less expensive then the juicer.

I do a 1-2 ounce shot of wheatgrass juice once a day. I grow my own wheatgrass, it is very simple to do.

I had gone to a holistic health center in Florida called Hippocrates Health Institute many yrs ago and did a 3 week program where you lived on a raw, vegan, organic diet and did a host of other things to cleanse and heal the body, reduce inflammation and make it more alkaline, which is supposed to be conducive to keep bacteria, etc in check. I have an old post somewhere on here that details what I did. Just search on Hippocrates Health Institute.

I did very well, got off ALL my pain and neuropathy meds and lived on that very extreme diet for just over 2 yrs....however, it was almost a full time job to live raw vegan and juice wheatgrass and green juice several times a day. I don't work, am out of work on disability and found the regimen very helpful for my pain and somewhat for neuropathy but I was also treating severe Lyme Disease that had done damage to my brain and I have alot of cognitive issues.

I find the raw vegan diet very extreme and frankly I got tired of it but there is no doubt the regimen really helped me. It is just time consuming with juicing and expensive to live on all organic food. Recently I was dx'ed with breast cancer so have gone back to a limited form of the diet but I still eat fish and chicken and eggs to get more protein as my oncologists all feel I need protein to keep up my body/strength due to surgery and treatments.

Is there something specific you are trying to treat?
Diandra

Hi Diandra,

Oh, wow! Thanks so much for you post!
I really needed to hear of your experience tonight!

I was just reviewing my treatment plan, I have meetings with specialists this week and next... and we have tried to treat for over 25 years now. I am allergic and/or intolerant of most medications. There's not a med we haven't tried, repeatedly. Everyone is trying so hard, including my physicians. We simply don't know where to turn next.

I was just discussing getting into a more lengthy juice fast with my husband.
I then came back to visit the forum and found your post.

My doctors encourage the juice fasting on a longer term.

I honestly think I need to do this more.

It is a lot of work. It's not easy to do this when ill or in pain.
Yet, I know my husband will help me. He has fun with juicing and drinks his share, as well.

I will look up your Hippocrates post. I have heard very good tings about that health center. A friend of mine goes to a similar one in California. (She goes once a year for three weeks.)

Thanks again, Diandra!

To Our Healing,
DejaVu

P.S. My daily green juice: Kale, Broccoli, cukes, celery, lemon, green apple, ginger. Yum! I crave this juice. (I also make beet juice and carrot juice when I can do more.)

The juicer I use is not the very best extractor for leafy greens, but will work for kale. It's a very easy clean-up, compared to the more complex juicers. It is a Breville. Juicing gurus tend to suggest this one for people just starting out or for people with limited time or limited energy, simply because it is so easy to clean.

Hi DV,
Sorry it took so long to respond. Sometimes I forget where I posted and every week or so I look at the list of my posts....

When your docs talk about juice fasting long term, how long are they talking about? Have you ever done a juice fast before?

I have never done a juice fast for more than 2 days. When I juice, I do it in addition to my regular diet. It might be purely psychological but, I get light headed and "antsy" and cant sleep when I fast. At HHI they said it was because I was detoxing and because when we aren't using all that enegy to digest food there is alot of excess energy and that is why sleep issues and jittery feeling.

I have spoken to people who have done longer juice fasts and they say once you get past a few days, all those issues level off.

It must be so frustrating to be allergic or react badly to most meds. Does that mean supplements and vitamins as well or prescription or OTC only?

When I had reached the point when nothing seemed to help my crazy Lyme Disease symptoms (this was decades ago) I did Vit C IVs and all kinds of injections like magnesium,b12, calcium and it helped me quite a big. My doc tried so many things back then, natural thyroid and bovine colostrum and these weird vibrational concoctions....when I am desperate, I will try anything.

How did your meetings go with the specialists you met with a couple weeks ago?
Any new treatment plans?

It is late and I am nodding off.
It is so great your husband juices with you.
I had not heard of a Breville juicer...will look into it as my juicer is old and a pain in the butt to clean.

Take care...Diandra

Hi Diandra,

No worries about responding. I, too, often forget where I have posted.

I have met with specialists. We have not drawn up a new treatment plan.
We've exhausted most options. Specialists need time to confer with one another and we all meet again over the next two months. I am challenged with multiple conditions. In many cases, the treatment of one condition is contraindicated in co-existing conditions. If/when we identify potential treatments which are okay for co-occurring conditions, they are few in number and I am often allergic to those few. It's often very frustrating.

All of my specialists are fine with a strict juice fast -- with lower calorie veggie juices. My primary care doctor feels this may have the best potential for change (detox and fewer meds, lower daily prednisone dose, possibly).

I have also done juicing by combining it with solid food. I am dong this as my first stage of moving into a strict juice fast with no solids. I am also increasing raw foods right now. I will slowly transition into a strict juicing program. My PCP would like to see me do a strict juice fast for up to 30 days, under his supervision, and depending upon my tolerance. Time will tell.

He is a fan of the documentary, "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead." In the documentary, Joe has autoimmune challenges and is on daily prednisone. He cannot get off the prednisone and keeps feeling worse and worse over time. Joe goes on a juice fast. He also travels the U.S. and talks to people about diet, health challenges, juicing, lifestyle. He juices with a (Breville) juicer in the back of his car when traveling. (I did not know he was using a Breville until I had already bought mine, upon advice of a couple of experienced juicing "gurus," not affiliated with Joe. In the documentary, Joe is a beginner at juicing.)

I am very lucky my husband enjoys juicing.
He is very open-minded and had also participated in a full year of a"macrobiotic" diet when I tried that approach. He also took macrobiotic meals to work for lunch.
He is extremely supportive and enjoys learning all about dietary approaches.
He gets a bit creative with any protocol and has fun.
He won't be attempting a strict juice fast. He needs more than juice in order to attend to his career, etc. He will continue to juice once a day and will help me with juicing. I am very fortunate.

After a strict juicing protocol, if I can tolerate strict juicing, I then intend to fully adopt a level (of 3 levels) of the Wahls protocol.

Great to hear from you on this, Diandra.
I remain hopeful for our healing, yours, others', and mine.

Warmly,
DejaVu

P.S. Diandra, I have also done vitamin IVs and injections in the past. I have done comprehensive supplemental regimens. I have also done a few things that were probably "nonsensical." I need a newly refined plan now. I am currently trying to put together a helpful new plan.