A couple of years ago, I wrote a blog called Juicing Momma. Earlier this year, I shut it down because I had lost my motivation to blog there and the blog had been hit hard by spammers. I moved most of the content over here to Ben and Me because my health issues are a huge part of our story. I sincerely hoped it would entice me to become more faithful with leading a healthier lifestyle and blogging about my experiences when I added the Juicing Momma category to Ben and Me.
As a woman who lives with autoimmune diseases (Lupus and Fibromyalgia), my health should be at the top of my list of priorities right after God and family. But this has been a challenging year for me.
Lately I’ve been spending more time thinking, praying, and re-teaching myself the importance of vital nutrients to a healthy body — or more importantly, a not-so-healthy body.
Many health companies push their superfoods, vitamins, and supplements like crazy. It’s a multibillion dollar industry. It’s true that we all do need to make sure that we get enough vitamins and minerals into our diets. But, what is the best way to get them? Supplements, super foods, powdered “smoothies,” or food?
The best answer is food, especially fruits and vegetables, where most healthy phytonutrients, vitamins, and minerals come from. The problem with getting all we need from food is twofold however. First of all, most people in North America tend to eat diets high in processed foods, that are void of fresh fruits and vegetables. Secondly, even people who consume a healthy diet comprised mostly of fruit and vegetables and other plants, as well as organic grass feed animal products void of hormones and additives, are not getting enough of the greatest nutrients.
Why is that?
When is the last time you ate the recommended daily 9-13 fruits and vegetables?
Have you ever regularly consumed that?
It is nearly impossible to get all of the nutrients our bodies need from food, especially if we suffer from chronic inflammatory illnesses, like I do. Unless you are growing your own food, and eating it as soon as you pick it, the nutritional value, even of that healthy, organic produce you bought at Whole Foods has diminished in the days (or even weeks) it took to get it into your grocery cart. Couple that with the difficulty of consuming so many fruits and vegetables, and we have a nutritional crisis on our hands.
This is why I began juicing 3 years ago, and then began taking the number one researched nutritional supplement in the world about 2 years ago. Juicing and Juice Plus+ have helped me bridge the gap between what I need and what I eat. At least they have in the past.
Are you familiar with Juice Plus+?
Juice Plus+ is whole food based nutrition, including juice powder concentrates from 30 different fruits, vegetables and grains. Juice Plus+ helps bridge the gap between what you should eat and what you do eat every day. Not a multivitamin, medicine, treatment or cure for any disease, Juice Plus+ is made from quality ingredients carefully monitored from farm to capsule to provide natural nutrients your body needs to be at its best. SOURCE
Please know if you are are one of those people consuming tons of processed foods, Juice Plus+ might raise your blood serum levels of important nutrients, but you’re not going to be healthy or get healthier. Nutrition from your food, coupled with Juice Plus+, is the best way to improve health in both the short and long term. Juice Plus+ can only go so far if you’re still eating foods devoid of nutrition. I know, because I have been one of those people who thought I could just take Juice Plus+ and be “healthy.”
When I eat well, juice regularly, and take Juice Plus+, my autoimmune symptoms all but disappear. I was even able to go off all of my medications for Lupus and Asthma. But take away the eating well or the Juice Plus+ and they come back. I need them both to stay off my medications. Earlier his year, I pretty much stopped everything good for me, and I have been the sickest I’ve been in a long time. I came to a crossroads — get my act together nutritionally, or go to the doctor for new prescriptions.
Those medications are horrible. I hated taking them. There really is only one option here.
I’m telling you all here publicly on my blog that my lifestyle changes now. I am back on Juice Plus+. I am back to eating a more healthful diet. And starting September 14, I will attempt another long-term juicing fast to detoxify my body. After that 30-day fast is over, I will be continuing to use Juice Plus+ and adding daily juicing/blending/protein shakes to stay healthy and hopefully lose this weight (I can’t even tell you how much I weigh right now because I refuse to get on the scale).
If juicing, blending, or general healthy eating is something you care about, I’d love to have you come join my Facebook group — Juicing Mommas. There, I will document my fast and my ongoing journey back to health. You can also follow along with the hashtag #juicingmomma on Twitter and Instagram.
Also, during the month of October, I will be participating in a 31-day blogging challenge. I have decided to write a series titled, 31 Days of Juicing for Health. In that series, I will share all I have learned and am learning about using juicing to achieve good health. I’ll also use the #juicingmomma hashtag for that in social media.
I am not an expert at any of this, so we can all learn along the way. I hope you’ll join me in getting healthier.
Are you feeling good about your health? Or could you use a change? Tell me how I can help!
