Thank Goodness for Detox Symptoms!

I know, you're thinking "why should I be happy to experience terrible detox symptoms?" Well, because thats the only way to know your body is healing itself!! Be prepared if you are doing the 10-day detox with me, you may experience the following in the first few days or more:
Headache
Dizziness
Sore throat
Runny nose
Clogged sinuses
Coated tongue
Irregular bowel habits
Fatigue
Mental fog
Acne
Bad breath
Body odor
Canker sores

Sounds horrible right? These symptoms indicate a wonderful process taking place when the body embraces the fast and the digestive system is able to take a much-needed rest, focusing all of its energies on cleansing and healing. White blood cell and immune system activity increases, releasing all of these different toxins through every means available to the body. The good news? On around day 7 the symptoms usually dissipate and then you should expect to experience the following:
Mental clarity
Increase in energy
Need for less sleep
Clear skin
Stronger nails
Shiny hair
Emotional balance
Lack of body odor

Keep in mind I am not a doctor, just a humble medic ;). If you have any medical conditions or are on medication, you should probably check with your doc before doing a juice fast. That being said, if you experience horrible detox symptoms and just can't take it anymore, simply break your fast and the symptoms will go away. If your body has been used to the Standard American Diet up until now, I bet your detox symptoms will be pretty bad. If you have been following a whole foods diet it shouldn't be that big of a deal. Listen to your body and don't push yourself too hard. You can always do another detox and change bad habits in baby steps!

My personal experiences with any detox are sore throat, runny nose, and general flu-like symptoms. However mine usually only last a few days then I get to experience the list of positive side effects of the detox! And let me tell you, I feel its worth it. Today I finished day 1 of my juice detox, and it was a really good day. I drank a total of around 72 oz of juice and spring water. My energy was a little low for most of the day, but I'm not sure if its from the fast or the fact that I didn't get a good sleep the night before. My throat did start getting sore on the right side today, other than that I felt happy and satiated. When I got hungry I just grabbed for the juice! My plan for day 2 is to take more juice with me to work. Even though I have to pee every hour or so I'm going to slam the juice all day! I would love to know how day one goes for those of you starting tomorrow! Good luck and happy juicing!!