The Breakdown of the Juice Feast

This morning I sat down with my trusty copy of  Understanding Normal and Clinical Nutrition by Rolfes, Pinna and Whitney, and calculated exactly what I've been taking in to my body this past month.  And it was a revelation.

I calculated my average caloric intake from four quarts of mostly green juices, and it came to approximately 860 kcal. ( Note:  this doesn't include the pure fruit juices I often drank in the afternoons.  I left them out because I didn't drink them every day.  But they would be adding a hefty amount of kcalories, and plenty of vitamins).

The total kcal could explain why I've been losing the weight.  But this is not about weight loss alone, it's about getting healthy.  So I took a look at the nutrient levels.

On the one hand, I was sorry to see the claims of the juice feasting gurus were not entirely accurate, in that the juice alone will not supply EVERYTHING we need according to official guidelines.  But I was surprised at just how much the juices DO supply.

My four green juices alone supply enough or more than enough magnesium, potassium, Vitamin A, riboflavin, Vitamin B6, folate and Vitamin C.

They also supply at least half of the daily requirement (for my gender and age group) of calcium, iron, sodium, thiamin and vitamin E.

Energy-wise, the juices supplied around 860 kcal, of which 848 are from carbohydrate, and 80 are from protein.  There is a trace of fat.

Of course there is no Vitamin B12 supplied at all, because there are no animal products in my juice, and that's the only reliable source in these days of depleted soils.  And even that is questionable.  Selenium is another which is noticeably lacking, again because of unreliable sources and poor soils.  It's possible to obtain selenium from vegetables, but it's not very dependable.  Incidentally, the best source is Brazil nuts, and if you eat one per day you will have all the selenium you need.

So an interesting morning's research.  As a raw vegan eating a solid food diet, the vast array of veges and fruits which I've been juicing provide enormous amounts of nutrition alone.  If I were to eat them whole, and with the judicious inclusion of nuts and seeds, I would be doing far better than so many others on the Standard American Diet (SAD, and it is.)  But is that good enough?

It comes to the question of insurance, in the form of supplements.  The addition of spirulina to a juice each day would seem to be a good idea, although I note that the labels on both my spirulina and my vitamineral green are lacking in details as to their actual nutritional breakdown.  Which is a shame.  I do know they contain many greens and are a good source of protein, but sadly it's not possible to be more specific.  Wheatgrass is also an option.

A good all-round vitamin supplement, eg Centrum (I'm reading the label right now) provides almost everything including B12, but I note it contains no thiamin.  With more research,  I found out that watermelon is a good source.  Perhaps that's why I've been enjoying those watermelon juices so much!

Supplements (including flax seed oil) can take care of the missing elements in the short term, but this is clearly not a long-term way of eating.  The body needs fibre.

So in a nutshell:  juice feasting supplied me with an amazing array of nutrients - my four quarts supplied me with all I needed of many individual nutrients and half the daily requirement of many more.

Five or more quarts of juice will take care of kcal intake, depending on your age and activity level, and supply more nutrients.  The key is to drink as much as you want to, and never to go hungry.  Listen to your body - it will tell you how much it needs.  Bear in mind that my four quarts per day suited me fine, but I am 43, work at a desk all day, and I am 5 feet tall.  My energy needs are low.

The great payoff is the pure nutrition you take in from the pure juice.  Unencumbered by processing chemicals and toxins, it is so easily absorbed.  Drinking fresh organic green juices provides the body with the fuel to repair cellular damage, is a great cleanse, and is a great way to rest and heal.

I've experienced a terrific burst of energy and a general lift in my mood.  I believe there are other elements at play here which we don't always see in the process of living on the SAD.  I also think juicing is a great way to kick off a new way of eating, and to quickly break the old habits of, and appetite for, eating toxic foods.  After all this effort and good nutrition, it would be very difficult to return to the dead food diet.  It may open the door to a whole new life.

That being said, I think 30 days is enough for anyone to do unassisted.  Longer periods may present  nutritional challenges for the uninitiated, and it would be wise to seek the support of experts in this field.

I'm going to take a couple of days to rest and regroup on the blog;  figure out what to do with it next.  My feeling is that I'll continue to share my food journey, but perhaps include some recipes and other news and interesting bits and pieces as they come along.

I know that right now nobody is reading this, and I'm just fine with that - as I find my wings I'll be glad to have had this as a record of where I've been at, and I like to think that maybe it will help someone else, somewhere along the line.