By Miranda

The Holidays have passed. I've been pretending they haven't over the past week, letting myself continue to indulge in a sweet treat here and there, saying I'll get back up on the elliptical first thing next week. Really, I will.

And, I will.
Luckily I've never had any trouble exercising; I quite like it.
And, believe it or not, I've also grown to like cleaning up my diet.

Jason and I will periodically shift gears with our dietary habits when we find we've grown too lax, are getting lazy with healthy habits, or have had a couple of weeks of loosening our standards as we do around the holidays.

I don't believe that dramatic diets and cleanses are necessary for health. I believe in the happy medium; I believe in healthy habits and living a wholesome life, and that eating real food is the way to health.

But the occasional "cleanse" is warranted.
Unfortunately, there are substances found in trace amounts in our food, water and air that warrant supporting our naturally-occuring internal cleansing processes. We find optimal health through lending our liver a helping hand here and there, through supporting our kidneys, intestines and lymphatic system.

This is done in part by simply avoiding what we know hinders our health.
Before the holidays, I simply abstained from all refined sugar and added sweeteners of any kind for a month. That is only one exmaple. Other ways of cleaning up can be pledging to eat only organic foods for a while, avoiding processed food, eating only things you cook yourself, and so on.

The other part of cleansing diets is in what we choose to eat, as compared to what we choose to avoid. We can choose to add things into our diet that are beneficial to our health. For example, we may pledge to eat five whole servings of green vegetables a day for a couple of weeks. Or we may add more healthy fats if our diet is generally lacking them.

A popular method of cleansing diet that I have mentioned multiple times before is the juice fast. I have written about it here on our website, and I have spoken to many of my patients about it, many who may be reading this right now.

A juice fast allows the body a respite from unhealthy foods, while also adding a large quantity of antioxidants from freshly juiced organic fruits and vegetables. It is generally done for a matter of days.

When speaking to my patients about it, most are friendly to the idea. One of the most prohibitive and daunting aspects is the preparatory work. The shopping, the chopping, the juicing and the organizing. This can be particularly challenging if you are working a full work day. In the past, Jason and I have actually brought our juicer to work with us out of desperation! It worked, but wasn't ideal.

So I am very happy to share a wonderful solution (if you happen to be local to Grants Pass.) If you don't live in our area, you have my apologies. I am teasing you with a great opportunity that we have in our little town; maybe you are lucky enough to have something similar where you live.

True Juice Organic Juice and Smoothie Bar is offering organic juice cleanses to the public. They make all the juice for you, you simply stop by at a pre-arranged time to pick it up! It really doesn't get any easier than that. Please follow this link to True Juice's event page where you can download an information packet that includes all of the details.

The founder of True Juice and True Food Coach, Karen Daggett Austin, will be providing a free informational class, Juicing 101, for anyone who is interested but has more questions. This class will be held on Saturday, January 14th, from 3:00-5:00pm at True Juice, which is located at 124 NW D Street. For more information, see True Juice's website here, or call them at (541) 441-4541. Learn more about Karen's work as a Certified International Health Coach and Integrative Nutrition Consultant here.

I've never been a fan of New Year's resolutions; I am resolved to be healthy and balanced all year long. That being said, I do believe in the power of making a fresh start. Consider your year ahead, consider how you would like to live it, consider how you would like to feel. Find the places in life where you have the power to make a difference. I would wager that near the top of that list is how you choose to treat your body through your dietary choices. Make the choice to enjoy health. Start your year with a healthy tone by giving your body a fresh start.

Consider a juice cleanse as one way to begin your year of healthy aspirations. Whatever your choice, remember how much power you have over your health through the choices you make every day, and choose to live a life that keeps you healthy, happy and fulfilled.

A New Year's Gift from Jason