There are many forms of fasting. From water fasting, intermittent fasting, and even something called “fast mimicking diet,” there are lots of options to choose from if you are searching for a new way of eating that works for your body. One of the ‘buzz words’ that you have probably heard flying around in the last year or two is intermittent fasting. What is it? Why are people swearing by it? What other fasting options are out there? Let’s dive in and see if we can answer some of your questions about fasting!

Intermittent Fasting
This popular fasting technique is cycling through periods of eating and periods of fasting. The beginner level is a 12 hour fast where you eat for 12 hours out of the day and fast for the other 12. Basically, that’s like not eating a snack after dinner. Most people choose to do the next level, where they consume their meals within an 8-hour window and fast for the remaining 16 hours (commonly named the 16/8 method). Many people choose to skip breakfast and eat from 1-9 pm. 

Intermittent fasting is very easy for people to manage, seeing as though they could skip breakfast naturally without even noticing. The benefits of fasting include something called “cellular autophagy” where the body has a break from metabolizing and is able to repair other regions, getting rid of old cells it no longer needs. This is why we see such benefits, like for example in our gut, in such a short period of time- because we have not necessarily cut calories, but instead have just expanded the window of time in which the body can heal itself. You are also more likely to cut down on the number of calories that you are consuming, which could result in weight loss. It is very important to listen to your body and find what works best for you! Try it for 3-4 days and give your body time to adjust to the new pattern. You might feel yourself having more energy, sleeping better at night, or losing a few pounds. 

The Circadian Code
Our recent guest on the Be Organic podcast, Tyler Jean, talked all about The Circadian Code and what this diet & sleep schedule is. The Circadian Code is based on the theory that we should be timing our diet and sleep with nature. We eat in the twelve hours it is light outside, and we fast for the 12 hours it is dark. It’s also important to try to sync this with sleep, going to bed when it gets dark. This allows your internal body clock to sync externally with the elements of nature and thus will begin to rebalance hormones. It should feel pretty natural and the idea is to consume a large breakfast and lunch, with a smaller dinner. This is an ancient practice that is being brought back to the table once again, showing that nature always knows best.

Water Fasting
Water fasting is an intense way to reset your body, but it comes with some serious health risks if you are not careful. Most water fasts last for 24-72 hours and should not go any longer without medical supervision. The main reasons why people start a water fast is to promote autophagy (a process that breaks down and recycles potentially dangerous parts of your cells) or to lose weight fast (even though this weight loss could come from water weight, carbs, or even muscle mass).

Juice Fasting
Drinking fruit & vegetables that have been cold-pressed in-house should almost not even be considered a fast since your body is still receiving macro and micronutrients and minimal fiber so that your digestive system is still stimulated. Doing a water fast, where the water has been stripped of all vitamins & minerals, your gastrointestinal tract is really put on hold. Doing a juice cleanse is a more safe option for resetting your body. Not only are you getting the rest your body needs from digesting physical food, but you are also flooding your body with valuable nutrients and minerals that you would not be able to get normally by eating pounds of produce. Of course when you are cleansing it is critical to make sure it is a USDA-certified organic juice cleanse. When doing our juice cleanse, you can drink more than 15 pounds of produce each day. That is A LOT of fruits and veggies. And if this produce is conventional and non-organic, you are essentially flooding your body with pesticides, possibly even to a toxic level, making for a very ineffective and perhaps even detrimental cleanse. So give your body the best juice cleanse available by making a certified organic juice cleanse from Clean Juice. Want to learn more about juice cleansing? Visit our cleanse page or call your local store, we can answer any questions you make have.

Fast Mimicking Diet®
Tyler Jean also mentioned in his episode of the Be Organic Podcast that the Fast Mimicking Diet® was working well for him. This diet was created by Dr. Valter Longo, an Italian biologist, and researcher. This diet is a five-day pre-packaged meal kit that is full of meals and snacks that are whole-food derived and plant-based designed to ‘go undetected by cellular food sensing paths’ to keep the body in fasting mode. If you don’t want to pay for a pre-packaged meal kit you can do it yourself! There are plenty of bloggers who have done the hard work for you and give their recommendation for keeping your body in “fasting mode” while still eating.

Ready to start buying organic but don’t know how to make the switch? Start small! No need to throw out your entire refrigerator. Here are our favorite tips for buying organic:

• Buy in season! Fruits and vegetables are cheapest and freshest when they are in season. Find out when produce is delivered to your market so you’re buying the freshest food possible. To find farmers’ markets, organic farms, and grocery co-ops in your area, check out  Local Harvest.
• Organic doesn’t always equal healthy. Making junk food sound healthy is common in the food industry but organic baked goods, desserts, and snacks are usually still very high in sugar, salt, fat, or calories. It pays to read food labels carefully!
• Grow your own! If you’ve got extra time on your hands at home, try your hand at gardening. By growing your own organic veggies you can save money and appreciate putting fresh produce on your table.
• Start with The Dirty Dozen. Here are the top pesticide-laden fruits and veggies from EWG’s 2020 list. Try to buy these USDA-certified organic if possible:
  • Strawberries
  • Spinach
  • Kale
  • Nectarines
  • Apples
  • Grapes
  • Peaches
  • Cherries
  • Pears
  • Tomatoes
  • Celery
  • Potatoes

And of course, visit your local Clean Juice and let us do all of the heavy lifting for you. We source our USDA-certified organic ingredients for you, so you don’t have to plant a garden to get your greens in. Smoothies, juices, acai bowls, and wraps – we’ve got you covered!

Clean Juice is the first USDA-certified organic juice bar franchise in the country. What does that mean? Is being certified organic really better for you? Is it more than just a seal?

Organic produce is healthier, safer, and more sustainable than foods grown in conventional farming practices. Clean Juice only uses USDA-certified organic ingredients. Other juice bars may only use limited organic ingredients or no organic ingredients at all. But our commitment is to the highest quality nutrition possible, which you can only get with certified-organic fruits and vegetables. 

We firmly believe that organic isn’t just a trend, it’s a return to tradition. Pure food, grown as it should be, and improving people’s lives one bite at a time.

Let’s talk farmers

Organic farmers have to go through a rigorous process to become USDA-certified organic. In order to become certified, farms have to prove their produce and farming methods are organic. An inspection may include:

• Checking out neighboring land
• Inspecting powerlines and make sure they are not sprayed for weeds
• Monitoring erosion prevention
• Inspecting irrigation sources
• Looking closely at the farmer’s barn, shop, wash station, field equipment, field hours, lumber, seeds, and more.

Organic farming is also healthier for farmers. Fruits & vegetables that are being farmed organically do not use harmful chemicals and pesticides, instead they use organic fertilizers and natural pest deterrents. Their work can thrive without putting their health and the health of their communities at risk!

Let’s talk logistics
Farming without the harsh pesticides- how does that work? Farmers typically use three lines of defense against pests and disease:

• The first line of defense is managing weeds, insects, and diseases by having a well-designed and healthy organic system that will naturally have fewer pest problems (through crop rotation, intercropping, and resistant varieties).
• The second line of defense is to use mechanical and physical practices (like burning crop residues, mulching, or introducing insect predators) and non-synthetic and natural materials.
• The final line of defense against pest control if all other options are in-effective is to use biologicals and botanicals to control pests. Botanicals are derived from plants that contain unique bug-repelling properties and biologicals are animal properties like pheromones that naturally deter pests.

Let’s talk environment

The chemicals involved in conventional farming practices usually end up eliminating important complementary species from farms, throwing off the balance of the local ecosystem. Chemicals and harmful pesticides can also leech into the soil and water, contaminating plant, and animal life. Organic methods are good for biodiversity, ecosystems, and the environment — and choosing organic means supporting these alternative means of production!

Organic agriculture has been based on the principle of sustainability since its beginning.This means that many farmers add organic matter & soil microbes that will naturally increase over time and create rich healthy soil that will help their crops better fight off drought, diseases, and insects. Happy soil = no need for harmful pesticides!

Let’s talk health
Choosing organic means that you are exposed to less harmful pesticides than in a conventional diet. Studies have linked pesticides to a variety of negative health problems (headaches, cancer, birth defects, and more) and a report by the National Academy of Sciences shows that even low-level pesticide exposure can still be significantly toxic to children.

Did you know that organic food may also have a higher nutrient content than conventional food?

With no harmful pesticides and fertilizers, plants boost their production of phytochemicals that strengthen their resistance to bugs and weeds. Why do we phytochemicals? Because they are the vitamins & antioxidants that our body needs!

Here are some of the top benefits of organic food for your health:

1. Reduced exposure to synthetic pesticides:  Non-organic food undergoes multiple rounds of pesticide application to kill pests and parasites that would otherwise damage the food. One of the most common commercial pesticides, glyphosate (known by the brand name, Roundup) is classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer as a probable human carcinogen. Experts warn that over time, repeated exposure to pesticides can lead to certain types of cancer.Even after washing food, there’s still a risk of ingesting leftover pesticide residue and of the chemicals themselves affecting the integrity of the food. Over time, this exposure to pesticides may slowly erode our health and prevent us from getting the fullest nutrition we require. Eating organic foods and drinking organic fruits and vegetables reduces or eliminates this risk. Certified-organic foods don’t have any synthetic pesticides applied to them—only natural pest-prevention measures that are organic-approved. 
2. Increased antioxidant levels: Antioxidants from food sources help to reverse the effects of oxidative stress, which causes cellular damage and speeds up the aging process. Eating foods rich in antioxidants is one of the best ways to help protect your body. Research has found that organic farming practices preserve the concentration of antioxidants in crops compared to non-organic farming practices. A 2017 study concluded that organic onions had higher concentrations of antioxidants than non-organic onions (likely due to better soil management practices in organic farming compared to non-organic farming). Now we don’t use onions in our cold-pressed juices, but we do use organic produce that has these same organic farming practices! Antioxidant-rich ingredients are a fundamental component of our cold-pressed juices. Because all our juices are made from certified-organic ingredients, you can rest assured that you’re getting the highest concentration of antioxidant nutrients possible from all of our cold-pressed juices, cleanses, or any menu item. 
3. Minimized heavy metal poisoning: Non-organic foods put consumers at risk of heavy metal poisoning. When we eat plants and other crops that contain heavy metals, we can absorb them into our bodies where they accumulate in our livers and kidneys. In 2014, the British Journal of Nutrition published a meta-analysis that looked at nearly 20 years’ worth of studies on organic foods and found that organic foods had 48% less cadmium (toxic heavy metal) concentration than non-organic foods. This is important because reducing our exposure to heavy metals as much as possible is essential for lowering and preventing toxicity in your body. By eating certified-organic foods, you can take steps to prevent heavy metal accumulation and protect your long-term health. Bye bye toxins!

Feeling down or sick? We’ve got fruit + veggie power that is calling your name!

To prevent reduced nutrient levels and preserve our ingredients’ natural nutrition, Clean Juice uses a cold-pressed juicing technique that crushes and gently presses our fresh, organic produce into refreshing juices. Because Clean Juice’s cold-pressed juices are intended to deliver as much nutrition as possible, we don’t use HPP or any other pasteurization method that will alter the integrity of the nutrition in our juices. This means that all of those powerful nutrients can provide the maximum benefits to your body!

Tired?

There are many reasons for feeling drained: bad sleep, low blood sugar and even a lack of exercise. Chronic fatigue may be an indicator of a nutrient deficiency that can easily be remedied by following a clean diet with well-rounded ingredients. Cashew Milk Latte and Cacao Milk are our favorite cold-pressed juices to beat the sleep! 

Many people suffer an energy crash in the mid-afternoon and may lose concentration and begin to feel tired. One key contributor to the dreaded afternoon slump is a caffeine crash. Coffee has a temporary energy-boosting effect that can make you feel super productive and focused in the morning, but when the caffeine wears off, you could be left feeling lethargic, and your mood might even suffer.

Cashew Milk Latte and Cacao Milk are two healthy and nutritious coffee alternatives that won’t cause you to crash. In addition to their energy-boosting benefits, they both contain antioxidant-rich nutrients, which are beneficial to your long-term health. The cacao nibs found in both Cashew Milk Latte and Cacao Milk are rich in iron, an essential trace mineral needed to produce hemoglobin, which is what your red blood cells use to deliver oxygen throughout the body. One of the key symptoms of iron deficiency is fatigue. Drinking a Cacao Milk cold-pressed juice can quickly give you the surge in iron you need to combat your sleepy state!

Similarly, cashews are also a natural fatigue-fighting food. Cashews are rich in copper, a trace mineral needed for the metabolization of iron. Cashews can help boost energy and even improve blood vessel strength, which improves circulation and helps keep you alert and active. (1)

Sinus Trouble?

Feeling congested? Sinus trouble be gone with an Orange, Yellow, or Green cold-pressed juice!

Whether you’ve got a cold or flu or you’ve come down with a sinus infection, your immune system needs all the support it can get. As you start to get sick, many people find sinus issues as the first symptom. Getting these signs under control can help prevent full-blown sinusitis!

When you feel congested, the tissues along your sinuses are inflamed or swollen, which leads to an infection. The more inflamed these tissues become, the more mucus builds up, as the sinuses are unable to be drained thoroughly. If you’re feeling stuffed up, drink lots of fluids to stimulate the thinning of mucus and the draining of your sinuses.

There are also natural ways to reduce the inflammation and boost your immune system so you can breathe again and prevent a severe infection. Orange, Yellow and Green cold-pressed juices have immune-enhancing and anti-inflammatory ingredients that will target your troubled sinuses and encourage decongestion!

Yellow and Green both have lemon—a major source of the immune-boosting nutrient, vitamin C. Green has ginger, which not only helps with immune support, but it can reduce inflammation in your sinuses too. Similarly, the cayenne in Yellow is another powerful natural decongestant that will help clear your nasal cavities.

Orange is another reliable source of vitamin C, but this cold-pressed juice also contains turmeric, one of mother nature’s best anti-inflammatories that can reduce sinus swelling and clear up your stuffy nose. (2)

Headaches?

Headaches can be painful and debilitating, especially when they don’t seem to want to let up. Healthy diet and lifestyle practices may help prevent headaches and our mineral-rich Cashew Milk Latte may help as well!

Headaches are a highly personal condition, triggered for different reasons in different people. Primary headaches (those that aren’t a symptom of another underlying condition) can be caused by muscles strains in the head and neck or dilated blood vessels around that skull. Both of these add pressure to the head, resulting in a pounding sensation. Stress, caffeine, diet and many other factors may contribute to headaches.

Cashew Milk Latte cold-pressed juice is a magnesium-rich drink that can relieve and prevent headaches. Both cashews and cacao nibs in the Cashew Milk latte contain high amounts of magnesium, which can give you the mineral boost you might need to relieve your headaches. Our Cashew Milk Latte cold-pressed milk contains cinnamon. Many studies have shown that cinnamon has powerful anti-inflammatory benefits, including potentially reducing inflammation that causes headaches!

Stomach Unrest?

Experiencing digestive issues? You can regulate your gut health with one of our Pink or Orange cold-pressed juices.

Stomach unrest may be attributed to an imbalance in your gut microbiome. Within your intestines, there are hundreds of different bacteria, and having a proper balance between the good and bad ones is critical. A healthy gut microbiome keeps your immune system in check. An over-stock of bad bacteria is linked to mental health issues, mood, autoimmune diseases, skin disorders and much more.

Balancing your gut health is dependent on what you do and don’t eat. Diets rich in probiotics, fiber and antioxidants can help promote gut health by balancing gut bacteria, eliminating more waste and repairing and healing damaged cells in the digestive tract.

Clean Juice’s Orange and Pink juices can help achieve exactly this. Our Orange juice is a blend of oranges, carrots and turmeric. Both oranges and carrots are high in fiber to help promote healthy bowel movements and the elimination of toxins. Turmeric is an anti-inflammatory that may help address inflamed digestive tract tissues. Pink juice is made with pitaya—dragon fruit powder—which is a natural prebiotic to help bring a balance in your gut microbiome.

Aches and Pains?

Aches and pains got you struggling to stay active? Orange or Gold cold-pressed juices have got you covered.

Aches and pains happen for a variety of reasons. If any of the moving ligaments, muscles, or bones become inflamed or worn out, it can cause your joints to ache. When your joints experience excessive wear-and-tear or inflammation, it’s important to nourish your body with plenty of antioxidants to help heal and repair damaged cells and tissues, preventing further deterioration in your joints.

Both Orange and Gold offer anti-inflammatory and antioxidant nourishment. Orange’s primary ingredient (you guessed it – oranges) is a super source of vitamin C—an immune-enhancing antioxidant. Researchers have linked diets high in vitamin C with reduced inflammation and healthier joints. Both of our Orange and Gold cold-pressed juices contain turmeric, a spice with anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving properties. Gold also contains cashews, which are a rich source of magnesium for natural relief of muscle stiffness!

Sore Muscles?

Had a hard workout and now you’re recovering? Muscle soreness is a natural byproduct of strenuous activity. But you can heal sore muscles faster with a few great cold-pressed juice options like White, Celery and Red.

The point of working out is to get stronger. And to get stronger, you need to increase the intensity of your activity and perform exercises you’re not used to. As you exercise more intensely, your muscle fibers and connective tissues develop microscopic tears, and they become inflamed. If you feel sore the next day or two following intense or strenuous activity, it’s because your body is repairing itself. This Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS) is a normal and expected consequence of the physical stress you put on your body. But you can get over the soreness faster with the right nutrients that help repair stressed muscles and tissues. 

To heal sore muscles, you want to control inflammation, nourish your tissues and stay hydrated. Thankfully, nutrient-rich and hydrating cold-pressed juices can deliver all these benefits and more to help you overcome muscle soreness.  

White is a post-workout recommendation because it contains protein from cashews that help repair your muscle fibers. It also delivers lots of minerals from Himalayan pink salt to replenish your electrolytes. Celery juice also provides intense hydration and contains several phytonutrients with anti-inflammatory properties to ease muscle swelling. Finally, our Red juice is a workout recovery must-have thanks to its beet content. Beets contain nitrates, which help reduce muscle inflammation and soreness, allowing you to recover faster.

Heart Health

Protecting your heart health is critical to your longevity. The health status of your heart has a lot to do with how often you exercise and what you consume. Our Celery, Gold and Cacao Milk cold-pressed juices have the cardio-protective properties you need to keep your ticker in tip-top shape.

Certain foods are heart-healthy in that they perform functions like reducing inflammation, stabilizing blood pressure and balancing cholesterol.

Celery juice, for example, may help to lower blood pressure. Celery contains phytonutrients that promote the relaxation of arterial walls, which improves blood flow and reduces blood pressure. Celery has other nutrients that are good for blood pressure, such as magnesium, potassium and fiber.

Gold juice also has blood pressure-regulating properties, thanks to its turmeric content. Tumeric has been studied extensively for its heart health benefits, and researchers suggest that compounds in turmeric can help improve blood vessel function and even prevent clots. Gold also contains cashews, which may help to balance your good and bad cholesterol levels. Cacao Milk gives you a dose of cinnamon, which has been linked to a lower risk of heart disease. Similarly, cacao nibs are also packed with flavonoids—an antioxidant linked to heart disease prevention. (7)

Mental Clarity

Can’t seem to concentrate or feeling too overwhelmed to focus? Fuel your brain with our Green or Sweet Green cold-pressed juices.

Most people experience difficulty concentrating from time to time, either from being over- or under-stimulated. Striking that balance is critical to sharper focus and better memory retention. Mental clarity is often tied to factors like diet, exercise and stress. If any of these aspects is off, it can impact your ability to focus, sending you into a state of brain fog. Limited physical activity can decrease circulation and oxygen flow to the brain. Too much stress can overwhelm you and prevent you from being able to focus on one thing at a time. And certain foods—especially heavily processed ones—cause inflammation in the brain.

Improve your mental clarity with one of our two green juices. Both Green and Sweet Green contain two brain-boosting leafy greens—spinach and kale. Studies have found that eating leafy greens improves cognitive function. Spinach and kale are both rich in antioxidants. The nutrients found in kale and spinach help reduce oxidative stress. Both spinach and kale have been shown to help reverse age-related damage to the brain that’s associated with cognitive decline. Fueling up on both Green and Sweet Green can have anti-aging benefits for your mind to improve your mental clarity. (8)

(1) Sources:

• https://books.google.ca/books?id=UOfcBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA41&lpg=PA41&dq=iron+found+in+cacao&source=bl&ots=tqtIttrgf_&sig=AUJWeep-MOwr6ZTZEpGjqb7cDhs&hl=en&sa=X&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=iron%20found%20in%20cacao&f=false
• http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=98

(2) Sources:

• https://draxe.com/health/cold-and-flu/sinus-infection-natural-remedies/
• https://exploreim.ucla.edu/wellness/a-guide-to-natural-ways-to-alleviate-allergy-and-sinusitis-symptoms/

(3) Sources:

• https://www.mayoclinic.org/symptoms/headache/basics/causes/sym-20050800
• https://americanmigrainefoundation.org/resource-library/magnesium/
• https://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/nut-and-seed-products/3095/2
• https://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/custom/2277624/0

(4) Sources: 

• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3983973/
• https://www.livestrong.com/article/484122-carrots-and-digestion/
• https://draxe.com/nutrition/fruit/dragon-fruit-benefits/

(5) Sources:

• https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/arthritis/symptoms-causes/syc-20350772
• https://www.arthritis.org/living-with-arthritis/arthritis-diet/anti-inflammatory/the-arthritis-diet.php
• https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/10/19/the-doctors-remedy-turmeric-for-joint-pain/
• https://health.clevelandclinic.org/feeling-fatigued-could-it-be-magnesium-deficiency-and-if-so-what-to-do-about-it/

(6) Sources:

• https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/exercise/pain-after-exercise/
• http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=14
• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4997419/

(7) Sources: 

• https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/heart-disease/in-depth/heart-disease-prevention/art-20046502
• https://health.clevelandclinic.org/celery-may-help-bring-your-high-blood-pressure-down/
• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19233493
• https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/heart-disease/in-depth/nuts/art-20046635
• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25272572

(8) Sources: 

• https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/foods-linked-to-better-brainpower
• https://now.tufts.edu/articles/kale-and-brain
• https://nccih.nih.gov/health/antioxidants/introduction.htm
• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10479711