For Christmas, I received a Cuisinart Juicer which sat on my counter for about a month before I decided to start using it. My co-workers ironically had begun 2012 with a new idea in mind - Juicing! For the last month or so I have introduced "juicing" into my diet after I shared a couple of interesting conversations with my colleagues. I overheard them speaking about it and discussing the benefits; of course I know myself and I will do research before I do anything! HA! That's just me! So during one of the conversations one of them suggested I watched this documentary about how juicing not only cured this man's rare illness but changed his life for the better. The documentary is titled "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead" By Joe Cross http://www.fatsickandnearlydead.com/
I decided to watch the documentary and to be quite honest, it was very inspiring!!! Joe Cross was suffering from a debilitating autoimmune disease and had to constantly be taking steroids to alleviate his condition and on top of that he was 100 pounds overweight.
"With doctors and conventional medicines unable to help long- term, Joe turns to the only option left, the body's ability to heal itself. He trades in the junk food and hits the road with juicer and generator in tow, vowing only to drink fresh fruit and vegetable juice for the next 60 days. Across 3,000 miles Joe has one goal in mind: To get off his pills and achieve a balanced lifestyle. While talking to more than 500 Americans about food, health and longevity, it's at a truck stop in Arizona where Joe meets a truck driver who suffers from the same rare condition. Phil Staples is morbidly obese weighing in at 429 lbs; a cheeseburger away from a heart-attack. As Joe is recovering his health, Phil begins his own epic journey to get well."
It is a truly inspiring documentary and after I watched it I decided to incorporate juicing into my diet. Of course I wasn't going to do it alone. I dragged my two best friends into it with me! LOL! Mind you, Desi who's one them hasn't been able to consume raw veggies or fruits because he lacks an enzyme that allows him to digest them properly and if he consumes them it makes him sick. So, I convinced him to start off slowly and introduce a few vegetables/fruits at a time. And to our surprise he has been able to consume the few veggies and fruits that he has been juicing with and we are both now addicted to it. V, my other friend is also doing it sporadically to detox.
We're all mainly doing it to jump-start our immune systems and detox which feels amazing!!! At first it was a bit weird just consuming juice but we got used to it and now I personally can't go one day without having my 32 ounces of juice!!!
If you have a chance check out the documentary, it's on Netflix. You will be inspired!
From Wikepedia: "Juicing proponents claim that juicing can maximize nutrient intake, fight disease, strengthen cellular defense against free radicals, alleviate pain, encourage weight-loss, and decrease the need for medication. They also claim that juicing can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, strokes, diabetes, certain types of cancers, mental illness, metabolic syndrome, and may result in longer life spans."
