Have you ever had a toxin headache? They are really nasty. They start as a sharpness of pain in the middle of the back of the head, or behind the eyes, and if not addressed, it increases in intensity until you are unable to think of anything else except its piercing existence.
When we have insufficient water in our body, we become dehydrated. During a juice fast, the body will dump toxins from the cells into the bloodstream for the liver to process. This requires vast amounts of fluid (water) to complete this procedure successfully. If the body is dehydrated, the toxins cannot be flushed out properly, so they build up in the bloodstream and consequently enter into the brain and cause inflammation to the sensitive brain structures. This results in a toxin headache. Anyone who has ever had a hangover will know what I’m talking about with regard to the pain and feeling of sickness.
I have come to realise t
hrough this juice fast so far (and it’s only been four days) and the many toxin headaches I have had (most occur in the middle of the night) and feeling only so-so, that I really do need to drink more water. The juice on its own is not enough to satisfy my body’s requirements for water. If you choose to do a juice fast, remember to continue drinking water as per usual (about 1.5-2 litres per day).
After a restless night (full of headaches and feeling blurghhh), I awoke early to trundle off to the local organic markets at Northey St, Windsor. It’s a good walk and I get to hear wildlife at Enoggera Creek. It’s pretty around there. I was so hungry when I arrived, that I had a litre of green juice from one of the stalls (Parkers Juices). I always enjoy those markets. They are lively, with great food and entertainment, and I get to spend some time with my friend Amelia and her daughter, Lucy….and of course, the recordist, Shawn Michael (I’m sure he’s part-leprechaun).
I came home and put together a medicine that my friend, Colleen Cheketri (she’s a naturopath) told me about to help with coffee cravings. It consisted of 1 litre of water, with 1tbsp maple syrup and the juice of 1 lemon. It worked so well, I didn’t feel hungry until later on in the evening.
I had Gaelle take photos of me (have a look on EleniSeitis.com), and measure my waist and weight. I’m glad I’m doing this juice fast for health reasons and not for dramatic or fast weight loss. There has obviously been a visual difference in my body (many have commented about my weight loss even if they’ve been unaware of my present fasting situation), yet the scales and tape measure are only giving the appearance of minimal shrinkage. I expect that at some stage that will change, and I look forward to seeing how my body responds to the ongoing fast.
I had a nap for a couple of hours in the afternoon. My body is obviously still detoxing quite a lot for me to be so tired. Even though I eat very healthily normally, the stress I had been under prior to moving house over Xmas, had caused my body organs to break down. This meant food was not being assimilated properly, which led to toxins being stored in my body. And the body is rather ingenious where it stores toxins. It creates fat cells and stockpiles them there. That accounts for increased weight gain and why eating healthy may not necessarily drop the excess kilos. If the stress is still present in your life, that needs to be dealt with. Otherwise, it is only creating inflammatory conditions within the body’s interior.
I searched www.RebootWithJoe.com for another recipe with tomatoes in it as I had accumulated a few of them. I found a V6 Juice, with tomatoes, celery, cucumber, carrot, capsicum, spring onions and basil. Salt and pepper added extra flavour. That was a great night-time juice, like a cold soup in a glass. I’ve added the recipe link for you here.
(http://www.rebootwithjoe.com/hot-v6-juice-recipe/)
Here’s to your good health….Gia Mas (Γεια μας!) means “for your health”, it’s the Greek equivalent of the word “cheers” in English.
Eleni 💖