Long time, no see, again! I've been busy with work and family, but there is a topic I'd like to address, and this was the best place to do it since it's diet related. No promises on when my next post will happen after this, but I can hope it won't be as long as from the last time till now.

I have a couple of friends who have jumped full throttle into juicing and have seen some amazing weight loss results. Although I don't think it would be my cup of tea...err, juice...many people find that juicing helps them lose weight and feel better. I don't know the exact details of what they are juicing, but I assume from their results that they are mostly “green” juices and they aren't going wild on the fruits. I also gather that they are using the juice as a meal replacement and not as a supplement to a meal. It can be done healthfully as long as one keeps a couple things in mind on ones juicing journey.

  1. Eat at least one or two high saturated fat, moderate animal protein, low carbohydrate meals a day. It can be breakfast, lunch, or dinner, whatever works best for you. Why? You can't get all of the vitamins and protein your body needs from vegetables and fruit, not even if you are brave enough to add beans to your juice. Tough plant cell walls make it impossible for your body to extract all the vitamins in plants, so they are not as reliable a source of nutrients as animal sources. Vitamins A, K, and B12 in particular need to come from animal sources. You can't even get vitamin B12 from a plant source! Animal fat is important in the diet as some vitamins are fat soluble and cannot be absorbed by the human body without it.

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  2. Don't count on juicing alone to boost your immune system. “But I get TONS of Vitamin C from juicing!” Uh huh. BUT, Vitamin C has never been proven to boost ones immune system, stave off a cold, or even shorten a cold. Vitamin D has, though. So, if you're relying on all that Vitamin C (which can be found in a more absorbable form from an animal source) to keep you well when your sick co-worker sneezes in your direction, you're barking up the wrong tree. Good sources of Vitamin D are: plenty of sunshine, salmon, egg yolks and beef liver. Also, Vitamin D supplements, especially oil filled gel capsules.

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Okay, that's all I have time for today. I hope this information gives you some food for thought if you are entering into, or are already doing, a juicing diet. Feel free to share your experiences if you have or are juicing, and let me know if I've forgotten to add any pertinent information, since I'm doing this on the fly right now.