Love deeply. Laugh. Cry. Talk to God. Be realistic about the to-do list. Stay in touch. Hug. Dream. Smile. Break Bread often with Family. Spend Time with your Girlfriends. Shop til you Drop! Extend Grace. Be Quick to Forgive and Slow to Anger. Walk. Breathe. Sing. Dance. Read. Eat Chocolate. Savor a Good Glass of Wine. Wiggle your Toes. Sleep well. Life is Good!

Sunday, July 31, 2011

J U I C I N G ! ! !

You know that song "There's Always Tomorrow"?
Tomorrow is here!  Well, tomorrow it is anyway!

I've been reading about juicing for quite awhile.
I amateurly tried it several years ago (one meal a day)
 and loved the way I felt.   
At the time I borrowed my mom's juicer.  It was great!
Today I bought myself a Jack LaLanne Juicer...
and a fridge full of fruits and veggies.
It was costly .... but so is junk food and medication, right?!



I was hesitant at first, because you lose all the fiber bonus when you juice but the micronutrients benefits are enormous!  After doing a lot of research I found that you can save/freeze the pulp (fiber) to use in muffins, soup stock, etc.  Glad there is little waste!   I will continue my morning smoothie making with my blender because I lose no fiber there, but there isn't enough power to breakdown celery and other tough produce.

Why am I doing this?  I have experienced many autoimmune disorders over the last 30 years.  I am hoping to nip that in the boo-hiney.  We'll see.

What's an auto-immune disorder?  Well, to put it simply:  say you catch a bad cold or injure yourself somehow -- your immune system goes into overdrive and doesn't know when to quit after it has knocked out the bad guys and continues to attack good, healthy parts of your body.  I have already been diagnosed with Hashimoto's Thyroiditis (not bad considering the initial diagnosis leaned towards lupus or scleroderma), Reynaud's Syndrome, Pernicious Anemia and possibly my iron deficient anemia as well.  Toss in gallbladder disease and an elevated inflammatory process and you have my "soup" so to speak!   Considering the fact that processed foods and preservatives aggravate and play a part in causing every disease known to man, I don't see how I could go wrong with juicing.  Besides becoming healthier and kicking the AI issues, a side benefit is sure to be weight loss.  Who doesn't need that?   My more recently diagnosed back/neck/shoulder issues can only benefit from less stress weight.

I'm not looking forward to the side effects of the detox phase (the first three days).  This is why I'm considering a slower go.  But I'll make up my mind this evening whether to jump on board 100% for the ten day start or to modify it.  I'm not sure I need the irritability and exhaustion expected during the start-up .... especially while caring for a two year old!  I'll just have to take it as it comes .... like I have learned to do other obstacles.  I know I've started and failed countless times when just jump starting with gusto.  I have a reminder sitting on my countertop! 




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