Is juice feasting with pasteurized juices still beneficial?

[Zaulche]

If anything similar to this has already been covered feel free to redirect me. I did some searching and did not find anything directly related, but I could have missed something.

The setup:

Ever since Steve mentioned juice feasting I have been looking up information about it online, reading the forums, and other research. It seems like a 30 day detoxification would be good for me because I know I do not eat properly and resetting my system would be a good way to motivator to continue with a healthier diet.

I do not have a juicer, or even a good blender, so making my own juices would not be feasible right now, since it would not be much different from me just eating the fruits and vegetables. Therefore, the first question I had was would it still be beneficial to undergo a juice feast with store bought products?

Currently:

I believe it will be (though if you believe differently please let me know why), especially considering I am probably close to a typical American diet wise (i.e. horrible nutrition). I think that a juice feast with store bought juices might be less of a shock to my system then the route Steve took. I looked into what was around my area and have found several juices that are natural (insofar as all the ingredients are natural and there is little or no additional sugar added). I have tried them and they are good, so I would be able to drink them. However, they all have one thing in common, they are all pasteurized. Thus, would it still be beneficial at this point?

I do remember some controversy over the things pasteurization does to food and was wondering if pasteurizing something then makes it unnatural because natural parts of the food have been destroyed?

I thought that I could still take multivitamins to offset the lost natural vitamins and mineral, but it might not really compare.

Alternatives:

If juice feasting with pasteurized juices would not be beneficial then something else I have considered is just eating only fruits and vegetables (but probably mainly fruits) for 30 days. Food takes more to digest than liquid, but since I eat mostly complex carbohydrates (grains, potatoes, lentils, et cetera) fruits would be a lot less work to digest comparatively. What does everyone here think?

Another thing I have thought of is the V8 Juice that mixes fruits and vegetables. Does anyone know if those are any good nutritional wise? If they are I could feast on those for 30 days. It would not be much more expensive than the other juices.

Thank you in advance for all replies and I appreciate the additional brainpower.

[liamona]

Whatever you do, you may want to avoid boxed orange juices:

Civil Eats » Blog Archive » Freshly Squeezed: The Truth About Orange Juice in Boxes

In the 1980s Tropicana coined the phrase “not from concentrate” to distinguish its pasteurized orange juice from the cheaper reconstituted “from concentrate” juice that began appearing alongside it in the refrigerator section of supermarkets. The idea was to convince consumers that pasteurized orange juice is a fresher, overall better product and therefore worth the higher price. It worked. Over the next five years sales of Tropicana’s pasteurized juice doubled and profits almost tripled.

In fact, “not from concentrate,” a.k.a pasteurized orange juice, is not more expensive than “from concentrate” because it is closer to fresh squeezed. Rather, it is because storing full strength pasteurized orange juice is more costly and elaborate than storing the space saving concentrate from which “from concentrate” is made. The technology of choice at the moment is aseptic storage, which involves stripping the juice of oxygen, a process known as “deaeration,” so it doesn’t oxidize in the million gallon tanks in which it can be kept for upwards of a year.

When the juice is stripped of oxygen it is also stripped of flavor providing chemicals. Juice companies therefore hire flavor and fragrance companies, the same ones that formulate perfumes for Dior and Calvin Klein, to engineer flavor packs to add back to the juice to make it taste fresh. Flavor packs aren’t listed as an ingredient on the label because technically they are derived from orange essence and oil. Yet those in the industry will tell you that the flavor packs, whether made for reconstituted or pasteurized orange juice, resemble nothing found in nature.

The packs added to juice earmarked for the North American market tend to contain high amounts of ethyl butyrate, a chemical in the fragrance of fresh squeezed orange juice that, juice companies have discovered, Americans favor. Mexicans and Brazilians have a different palate. Flavor packs fabricated for juice geared to these markets therefore highlight different chemicals, the decanals say, or terpene compounds such as valencine.

The formulas vary to give a brand’s trademark taste. If you’re discerning you may have noticed Minute Maid has a candy like orange flavor. That’s largely due to the flavor pack Coca-Cola has chosen for it. Some companies have even been known to request a flavor pack that mimics the taste of a popular competitor, creating a “hall of mirrors” of flavor packs. Despite the multiple interpretations of a freshly squeezed orange on the market, most flavor packs have a shared source of inspiration: a Florida Valencia orange in spring.

[Jthorn]

You don't really need fancy equipment to juice fruits. There are old school simple manual juicers. Oranges are very easy to do.

[Zaulche]

That is interesting. I know that many food products have flavor injected because the cleansing process makes it devoid of taste. I did not realize that pasteurization is one of those processes. I wonder if the natural juices I found that are pasteurized have those unnatural flavors added. Since it is not labeled I am not sure how I would find out. It seems very sneaky that food companies would be able to label something with unnatural ingredients as natural because they are derived from something that is natural.

Does anyone know if apple juices and lemonades suffer the same fate?

Also, are all pasteurized juices injected with flavor, or just certain types?

I like Nantucket nectar juices and their big selling point is that they are all natural, but I believe they are still pasteurized.

Is it true that there are manual juicers. My grandmother had one and I remember how many oranges it took to make juice. It was a decent time and money sink.

[aelle]

Go read the nutritional facts on a box of juice, then enter it into a nutrient tracker like FitDay. Is it possible to get most of your needs met without downing several times your recommended amount of sugar/calories? I haven't checked but my guess is no. It's not the pasteurisation so much as the fact that juices are altered when boxed: less pulp, more water, more sugar.
You'd get a lot more health benefits from eating raw for 30 days, as you suggested as an alternative.

Also, if you were ready to buy several ready-made boxes of juice every day for a month.... I'm pretty sure buying a cheap blender and actual produce would end up cheaper.

[Zaulche]

Eating raw may be more beneficial in the long run, at least in ensuring that I do not lose any vital nutrients. One reason I was looking into the juice feast was for the detoxing effect, but that is something I would not be ready for until I am in a healthier state.

I did some number crunching and I found some good juices that I can buy in bulk (mostly apple juice) that do not have as much water and sugar added that actually came out cheaper than buying my own produce (fresh produce for a decent price is harder to get in my area for some reason). I still have some at home so I will look into using the FitDay site you recommend and I will post my results later.

[MightySunTzu]

Hi Zaulche,

Originally Posted by Zaulche

Therefore, the first question I had was would it still be beneficial to undergo a juice feast with store bought products?

In a quick word, yes. Your digestive system will be given a big break and cleansing will be done. But i will qualify this by saying that store bought pasteurized juice is nutritionally deficient and a feast of live juice would be so substantially better as to warrant borrowing or purchasing a juicer, even if it had to be a very inexpensive one. The live enzymes and the other additional nutrients will make this far and away a better choice. If this is simply not possible, then i believe your idea to have only raw (live) fruits and vegetables would be a better choice than dead juices.

Originally Posted by Zaulche

I think that a juice feast with store bought juices might be less of a shock to my system then the route Steve took.

I don't believe a live juice feast would provide a shock to your system. A water fast on the other hand likely would as the elimination of toxins is 3 times faster and is ideally entered into with some gradual pre-cleansing. If this is a concern entering into your juice fast, you could go several days with only live fruits and vegetables before you step into the juice.

Good luck to you!

[MightySunTzu]

Originally Posted by Jthorn

You don't really need fancy equipment to juice fruits. There are old school simple manual juicers. Oranges are very easy to do.

This is true Jthorn and this is certainly an option, but you would be pretty much limited to Orange and Grapefruit juice for 30 days. It would be so much more nutritious to enjoy the live juice from a wide variety of foods... Pineapples, watermelons, apples, pears, papayas, grapes, carrots, beets, celery, tomatos, parsley, spinach, lettuce, Cucumbers as well as Oranges and Grapefruits... among many other possibilities... and for most people this would make it a lot more enjoyable too.

[liamona]

Originally Posted by Zaulche

It seems very sneaky that food companies would be able to label something with unnatural ingredients as natural because they are derived from something that is natural.

No kidding. Also, according to DIRTY SECRETS OF THE FOOD PROCESSING INDUSTRY,

The FDA has decreed that we can no longer buy raw juice, because it might be a source of pathogens. But it might surprise you to know that they have found fungus that is resistant to pressure and heat in the processed juices. One study found that 17% of Nigerian packages of orange juice and 20% of mango and tomato juices contained heat resistant fungi. They also found E. coli in the orange juice that was pressure resistant and had survived pasteurization. So there is plenty of danger from contamination from pasteurized juices.

In one study, heat-treated and acid-hydrolyzed orange juice was tested for mutagenic activity. The authors hypothesized that the heating process produces intermediate products, which under test conditions, give rise to mutagenicity, and cytotoxicity. In other words you have got cancer-causing compounds in your orange juice. In another study, gel filtration and high performance liquid chromatography were used to obtain mutagenic fractions from heated orange juice.

Another study shows just how toxic and damaging these juices are to teeth. They found that rats had more tooth decay from these commercial juices than they did from soda pop, which is loaded with sugar.

One more thing about processed orange juice. Have you ever wondered why processed orange juice stays cloudy, why the solids do not settle? This is because soy protein combined with soluble pectin is added, and this keeps the juice permanently cloudy. It might be interesting to know, for those of you who are allergic to soy.

[Zaulche]

So far it seems that the general answer is that pasteurized juices are not beneficial because they are devoid of nutrients and could still potentially contain harmful pathogens.

If buying my own produce is the only way to do this then doing a 30 day eating fruit trial (and some vegetables) might be the best option for me. While not as cleansing it would still be a break from what I normally eat and would hopefully cement healthier eating habits into my routine. It is also less time consuming to just eat the fruit that I buy than it is to juice it, plus there would be little clean up for me for the month.

Considering this route a new question that comes up is that since I am not trying to cleanse myself I need to make sure I get enough nutrients. Do I need to make sure I eat a lot of vegetables as well or would mostly fruits suffice? Do I need to eat other products as well (like beans or nuts)?

Another thing I am thinking about is whether or not store bought multivitamins would be beneficial, or if it is better to just put forth the extra effort to make sure I eat enough of certain foods to cover everything.

[MightySunTzu]

Originally Posted by Zaulche

If buying my own produce is the only way to do this then doing a 30 day eating fruit trial (and some vegetables) might be the best option for me. While not as cleansing it would still be a break from what I normally eat and would hopefully cement healthier eating habits into my routine.

Very wisely spoken Zaulche.

Originally Posted by Zaulche

"Considering this route a new question that comes up is that since I am not trying to cleanse myself I need to make sure I get enough nutrients. Do I need to make sure I eat a lot of vegetables as well or would mostly fruits suffice? Do I need to eat other products as well (like beans or nuts)?

I believe to the contrary that you are still cleansing yourself albeit considerably more gradually than you would be in a juice feast . A lot of vegetables would be great, particularly green leafy's, onions and garlic, but yes for the purposes of putting your digestive system on light duty (and thus cleansing yourself), mostly fruits would work out well. Adding beans or nuts would complicate digestion and slow the progress of the cleanse as would the starchier kinds of vegetables... and this is merely a temporary measure, one which your nutritional reserves will pull you through.

Originally Posted by Zaulche

Another thing I am thinking about is whether or not store bought multivitamins would be beneficial, or if it is better to just put forth the extra effort to make sure I eat enough of certain foods to cover everything.

If you are convinced of the benefits of taking a multivitamin while you are eating normally, i believe you should continue to take it during this period as well. And i also believe (as i am sure you do too) that you are best served nutritionally by bringing in the greatest variety of fruits and unstarchy vegetables possible.

[funchy]

You can make your own fruit juices in even a crappy blender. When you add in veggies (usually the "green smoothie" recipes) you won't get as fine a blend, but it still works. I have a 30 year old Sears-brand kitchen blender that was given to me years ago. It does a good enough job.

If your blender is low power, add in hard to blend ingredients slowly. This may also include frozen fruit pieces.

Be sure to add a little water or other liquid in the bottom to get the mix going. Then I'll add something soft, like the banana. Then add the harder pieces a little at a time.

Affordable pre-owned higher power blenders are out there for sale. You don't necessarily need the $300 blender to do juicing. Check your thrift stores and garage sales. If you're serious about getting a brand-name one, keep watching eBay for bargains.

[MightySunTzu]

Originally Posted by funchy

You can make your own fruit juices in even a crappy blender. When you add in veggies (usually the "green smoothie" recipes) you won't get as fine a blend, but it still works. I have a 30 year old Sears-brand kitchen blender that was given to me years ago. It does a good enough job.

If your blender is low power, add in hard to blend ingredients slowly. This may also include frozen fruit pieces.

Be sure to add a little water or other liquid in the bottom to get the mix going. Then I'll add something soft, like the banana. Then add the harder pieces a little at a time.

Affordable pre-owned higher power blenders are out there for sale. You don't necessarily need the $300 blender to do juicing. Check your thrift stores and garage sales. If you're serious about getting a brand-name one, keep watching eBay for bargains.

This is a good point as long as we keep in mind that blended produce is not juice, it is puree. A juice fast is substantially less digestively challenging giving the body more energy with which to cleanse. A puree fast would still be cleansing, but would perhaps detoxify half as quickly as would a juice fast.

[Zaulche]

One of my biggest problems is grains and starchy vegetables. I love those foods, but it is not necessarily good for me. By far the food type that I do not eat enough of are fruits and green vegetables. I figure that if I concentrate on a 30 day trial of mostly fruit my build up of other foods would keep me going. I have plenty of fatty deposits should my body decide it needs something more substantial.

The main reason I was contemplating a multivitamin was because some minerals build up in your system and are stored, and others are not. I just wanted to make sure I was not going to be depriving my body of something it does not have the ability to store in the first place.

Is there a clear equivalent to eating fruit versus drinking fruit juice? For example, would eating 90 days of fresh raw fruit and green vegetables be equivalent to 30 days of drinking them? I did a quick search on-line and did find an inexpensive juicer for about $125 on ebay, though I do not know enough about juicers to know if it is a good brand. If juicing the fruit takes substantially less time to reap the benefits from then it might be worth waiting a bit longer until I can afford both the juicer and the large quantities of fruit.

Our current blender is low quality and has trouble making anything except milkshakes. It has probably been over half a year since the last time it was used. I will look into just getting a higher power blender instead of specifically a juicer, since it would be more versatile and a better justification of the expense.

Interesting, a puree fast. That might be something to consider, since it would be faster than eating solid foods. I can probably get a blender that purees well for significantly less than a juicer.

[MightySunTzu]

Originally Posted by Zaulche

Is there a clear equivalent to eating fruit versus drinking fruit juice? For example, would eating 90 days of fresh raw fruit and green vegetables be equivalent to 30 days of drinking them?

There is Zaulche. From what i have read in terms of detoxing, a 1 day water fast = a 3 day raw juice fast = about 10 days of raw fruits and unstarchy vegetables. I would estimate a puree fast to equal about 7-8 days.

Originally Posted by Zaulche

I did a quick search on-line and did find an inexpensive juicer for about $125 on ebay, though I do not know enough about juicers to know if it is a good brand. If juicing the fruit takes substantially less time to reap the benefits from then it might be worth waiting a bit longer until I can afford both the juicer and the large quantities of fruit.

When i said inexpensive, i was talking about $39 . A few months ago i picked up a very good juicer from Sams club for $100.00. It's a "Waring Pro" and is 850 watts. The Vitamix i picked up a month ago on the other hand was about $500 with tax, but that is my pride and joy .

[Zaulche]

That is a substantial difference then. Is that why the juice feast Steve linked to was set for 90 days (to be equivalent to a 30 day water fast)?

Is there a target amount of time that people aim for in order to achieve complete (or at least to the point of diminishing return) detoxification?

Does juice fasting for a month, eating regularly for a few months, then juice fasting again for a month come out to the same as juice fasting two months in a row? How often should someone fast to maintain optimal performance?

[MightySunTzu]

Hi Zaulche,

Originally Posted by Zaulche

That is a substantial difference then.

It is, yes. If you do juice fast you might consider after several days stepping into the faster detox of water-only which will be much more comfortable after several days of juicing has paved the way. Since juice fasting will tame your appetite quite a bit, you might be surprised at how easy a step it is to make. You can do water for as long as feels comfortable then switch back to juice and so on back and forth. But i have to say, the longer the period of consecutive water only days here, the better.

Originally Posted by Zaulche

Is that why the juice feast Steve linked to was set for 90 days (to be equivalent to a 30 day water fast)?

I have no idea about this, but could be. Though a 30 day live juice fast would, in itself, be a pretty awesome thing to do for yourself.

Originally Posted by Zaulche

Is there a target amount of time that people aim for in order to achieve complete (or at least to the point of diminishing return) detoxification?

From what i understand, complete detox could take 30-60-90 days of water fasting... (it could take multiple long fasts with nutritious re-feeding and replenishment of the nutritional reserves in between to achieve this). But on the other hand, you can eliminate quite a bit of bad stuff in even just 3 days and walk away really noticing the difference.

Originally Posted by Zaulche

Does juice fasting for a month, eating regularly for a few months, then juice fasting again for a month come out to the same as juice fasting two months in a row?

The body is said to detox more efficiently with each passing day. Day 31 is said to be more detoxifying than day 30. So the short answer to your question is that 60 consecutive days would be substantially more productive than 2 separate 30 day juice fasts. But on the other hand, if one can't really do the 60 (this would take an immense amount of will power), then 2 30's are quite awesome as well.

Originally Posted by Zaulche

How often should someone fast to maintain optimal performance?

For me, i would like to water-fast to "completion" and then water-fast about 4times per year for 5-10 days, exercising agressively and eating with immensely good nutrition in between, with the goal of maintaining a strong, healthy body with a system completely free of toxemia. But again, another person could decide this is too much and feel the immense benefits of 4 or so 3-5 day water fasts per year (or the equivalent), never having come close to achieving the elimination of all toxemia within.

[Zaulche]

Alright, I think I have an idea for what I can do. It will take some time for me to save to get a good juicer (if it is worth doing it is worth doing right), but I should be able to get a better blender within the end of the month.

I’ll start by purchasing more fruit, just to get it into the house. One reason I do not have more fruit is because after I buy some, it is gone before other things run out and I just never get around to getting more until the next grocery purchasing phase. If I put forth the conscious effort to make sure there is always fruit in the house (so I supposed that means I’ll have to get more every couple of days) then hopefully I can turn it into a habit. Plus, it will also give me some time to see if I can afford the juice fast (because I can number crunch all day, but until I do it I will not really know what kind of financial toll it will take).

Once I get a blender I can try puree feasting for a couple of days, see if it helps at all. Just to get used to not eating as much (getting hunger pains in the only real hurdle I foresee; since I get those really bad. I think I can deal with the mood swings I read about). That way by the time I get the juicer it should be easy to transition to juice feasting. From there I can take it day by day and decide at that point if water fasting would be more beneficial.

I know I have not been taking care of myself the past couple of years, so easing into it seems like a good way to put my mind to ease about any complications doing this may create.

[MightySunTzu]

Originally Posted by Zaulche

Once I get a blender I can try puree feasting for a couple of days, see if it helps at all. Just to get used to not eating as much (getting hunger pains in the only real hurdle I foresee; since I get those really bad. I think I can deal with the mood swings I read about). That way by the time I get the juicer it should be easy to transition to juice feasting. From there I can take it day by day and decide at that point if water fasting would be more beneficial.

I know I have not been taking care of myself the past couple of years, so easing into it seems like a good way to put my mind to ease about any complications doing this may create.

Sounds like a very good plan Zaulche. The feeling of hunger or the craving of other foods will be very likely in the first couple of days in the puree feast, but the taming of your appetite is likely to be very swift. By the time you are adjusted to puree, a transition into juice should be surprisingly easy for you.

Best wishes in your noble pursuit.