Hi all

Have any diabetics out there done a juice fast?

I would like to do one, but not sure what this will do to my blood sugar (I'm type 1).

Thought about going to consult my dietician at the hospital, but just get the feeling she won't be too impressed...she spends her time trying to get me to eat more starchy carbs and make my diet more "flexible"!!!

Any feedback would be appreciated

The Vita-Mix salesperson at Costco says that a juicers juice is too sugary for diabetics, where as the Vita-Mix "juices" are acceptable by some diabetic association because they are "while food" juices.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/17/2008 05:43AM by VeganLife.

Thanks

I don't think I'd juice if I were diabetic. The fiber will be a great benefit to you because it slows down your blood's uptake of sugar.

I was wondering the same thing!

Thanks

I haven't had much luck with any juice fasts I've tried.... I just get too thirsty (if that makes any sense!) and am in the bathroom going pee every 15 minutes. Smoothies on the other hand are a whole different story. The fiber makes it last longer in the body... and while I can't last entirely off of those, my blood sugar doesn't go through the roof like it does with juices.

Angie


Me (30), Joseph (24 mo.) Jeremiah (4 mo.)

We are enjoying spring and being outside!!!

I think I've gone off the idea of juicing more than, like, one glass of veggie juice a day.

A lot of things I've read say it's not so good for diabetics, or else juice fast under medical supervision only.

I'm not brave enough to go to my dietician at the hospital and ask her advice...I know exactly what she will think of that and she is pretty blunt with her opinions!

I don't have the money at this point in time to go and consult a private alternative practitioner (being in the UK I get all my conventional healthcare "free".

So I'll leave it. Maybe another time.

claire

Hi Claire,
If you've got type 1 diabetes, don't you have to mechanically check your blood sugar levels on a regular basis to adjust your insulin dosages?

Wouldn't that test tell you how the consumption of any food affects your blood sugar levels?

hyldemoer

juicing greeens and non sugar type juices should be beneficial in many more ways than just helping with diabetes.

type 2 diabetics may actually be able to overcome the condition accordin to the gerson institute information. evan though juicing will not cure type 1 diabetees it can help in other imoortant areas of your health.

jj

I am surprised your doctor suggests eating more starchy veggies,as those will affect blood sugar more than non starchy.
I was diagnosed type2,and my BS always is lower on raw food days,combined with my evening walks.
Brian

i heard that green bean juice can actually help stabilize blood sugar levels plus it has its own kinda sweet taste

mix with celery juice and a tad bit of spinach

fairly mild tasting

good luck claire

wishing u the best
and great healing success

i don't have diabetes

but i drank green bean juice many times and it tastes mildly sweet and nice and flavorful

when people say to stay away from juice

they are thinking about concentrated fruit or carrot or beet juice

not mild greens or rich chlorophyll juices

which help diabetic condition by helping the blood/cell condition overall

A lot of them on curezone.com that do. So you might want to ask this on the juicing or fasting forums.

A lot of diabetics to The Master Cleanse www.therawfoodsite.com but you have to use Blackstrap Molasses and I tried that once and it was disgusting.(unless maybe you already like the taste of that crap)

In Normal Walker's juicing book he highly recommends string bean juice for diabetics. And also carrot juice as long as its mixed with other greens like spinach.

VeganLife Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The Vita-Mix salesperson at Costco says that a
> juicers juice is too sugary for diabetics, where
> as the Vita-Mix "juices" are acceptable by some
> diabetic association because they are "while food"
> juices.


Of course they would say that. They're trying to sell blenders. LOL You can't fast with "blended" juices.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/01/2008 03:26AM by LikeItOrNot.

Thanks for all the responses - forgot that I had started this thread!

will let you know how it goes if i do decide to do a juice fast.

raw1228 - I know, it's crazy that the dietician advises us to eat starches...and it's not even starchy vegetables that she means, it's GRAIN STARCH!!!! Eat how the dietician recommends and watch your blood sugar go crazy, espcially if you're type 2 not on insulin

claire

Speaking from my experience, I am diabetic and I started juicing carrots, green vegetables and wheatgrass . eating a lot of raw food and lifting weights. Within a month, my blood sugar dropped from over 300 to normal (average around 114) Also, my blood pressure dropped down to normal and my early stage symptoms of kidney disease disappeared. When the doctor looked at the lab reports he could hardly believe his eyes. Even after drinking large glasses of carrot juice, my blood sugar remains normal. My doctor supported me by letting me try changing my diet before putting me on medication. Many doctors and nutritionists are strictly nutrition by the numbers. I am not offering any advice here, I have no creditials to do so, I am simply relating my personal experience.

Regarding my previous post about juicing with diabetes, I have type II not type I. Also, I think it is just common sense to use a meter to monitor your blood sugar when experimenting with juices. That will answer your question and concerns with scientific data. I've had great success controlling diabetes while drinking all the juices I want including carrot juice,

well, if someone has diabetes, they should listen to the grass dude

i mean, he is talking from EXPERIENCE...so there you go

grass dude

your news made me smile

i wish a guy i knew would do what u did

i really do

it hurts me to see him hurting

i tell him stuff and he sees what i'm doing is working for me

but he has his own fears

that i can't touch

still

it really makes me feel good to know other people with diabetes are doing well

thanks for sharing

Hi, I'm new here. My name is Julie and my husband, Rick, and I are both dibetics (I take insulin; he dosn't), and we juice. As long as you are getting all of the skin (other than that of citrus fruits due to their bitter taste), and all of the pulp from the fruits and veggies that you juice, you should have no problem with the 'juices' and a negative effect on your blood sugar. In the past, I've had my blood glucose go has high as the 700's, but that all before juicing. But now that we do about a 80/20 raw to cooked foods ratio and use juicing, we both have blood sugars in the low 100's most of the time, and under 100 increasingly often. We don't kid ourselves that we have "arrived" concerning getting to a truly tight control on the disease, but we do believe that we're getting closer with the changes in our eating pattern and the use of juicing. But remember this... you really CANNOT juice something like, say, three oranges and expect not to elevate your sugar level. ACK! No, THAT won't do AT ALL! And sip the drinks. They're much to good to GULP! Otherwise, juice away and enjoy the health benefits it brings to you. Plus, it just tastes great!

Blessings and Good Health to All!

Julie & Rick (ArtsTech2)
Georgia, USA

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hi Claire,

I'm a Type I diabetic like you, and I've been looking for ways to heal myself for the last few years. You may be interested in the book There is a Cure for Diabetes, recently released. The book describes a 'juice feasting' program followed by a low-glycemic live food diet, that has reportedly helped a few Type I diabetics.

I'm on day 1 of my juice feast and so far I'm seeing very stable and normal blood glucose levels. Don't know how it will go, but so far I like the juices and my sugars . I have reduced my basal (long-term insulin) on my pump to 50% of what it was before, and am taking very small dosages of fast-acting insulin when I drink a juice (I had a celery-cucumber-green-apple juice this afternoon, and dosed 0.8 units of insulin. 2 hours later my sugar was 4.8 mmol/L).

My juices mainly consist of cucumber, celery, tasty non-sweet fruits (tomatoes lemons etc), greens (kale, chard, parsley, dandelion, etc), and very small amounts of calorie ingredients (carrots, green apples, sweet potatoes, parsnip, beets). They taste wonderful, although I don't know what effects such low calorie intake will have on me during the fast. If my blood sugars are agreeable I may slowly increase caloric value in the juices and see what happens.

Supplement-wise I'm also going to be adding a small bit of E3 Live (blue-green algae) to one of the daily juices. I'm also drinking Dandelion-root tea because of it's reported rejuvenating effects for the pancreas. I am going to juice 1 bitter melon (foo qua) per day and gulp that down with some cucumber juice because of it's hypoglycemic effect and reported medicinal effects for Type 1 diabetics.

About dieticians.. you should really try to find an open-minded dietician that can help you structure your diet with sound nutrition and support. My first dietician basically told me the diabetes diet I should eat and that was that. I've since found a much better dietician who wasn't against the idea of eating vegetarian, vegan, or even raw (although she admitted she didn't have experience with raw food). When I came to her with the Gabriel Cousens book she made sure the details looked nutritionally sound and advised me on monitoring and reducing my insulin dosages according to how the juicing went.

I hope that helps. Check out [healing-diabetes.com] another Type 1 I spotted on the net who is having some success with reducing insulin, and recently tried a juice feast as well.

Just dropping a note here to say that I'm on Day 4 of the juice feast and everything is good. I have been able to reduce my insulin because of the low calorie intake, but still need to use a bit. Long-term insulin is at about 40% of normal, and for fast-acting insulin I dose about half the regular amount for any carbohydrates in my juices. Definitely seems safe for a Type 1 diabetic to do.

Physically my energy is high (just came back from a 1 hour walk and am rebounding daily) and mentally I am clear and am able to work fine (coding).

I'll note that I have the best success when my juices do not contain much concentrated carbs. I find it best to base my juice on celery/cucumber/zucchini and then add carbs in small quantity.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/12/2008 11:32PM by Witek.

Sounds good Witek, nice to hear from you

good luck with the juice feast...how long are you doing?

Claire

Hi:

I am diabetic. On insulin etc. I tried many different diets over a few years. Blood type, low carb, alkaline, etc

I went raw the other day, and on the second day I was off my insulin. That lasted a few days till I was in a jam and ate stuff I shouldn't have. But back at it again.

I cut out grains and only raw veg and lots of it. I also juice but keep away from high sugar stuff like beats, carrots and fruit. Juice green leafy stuff mainly and celery and cucumber. The problem is most don't eat enough. You got to eat a ton of the stuff. And eat a lot of nuts.

I do intense exercise involving cardio and weights 4-5 times a week. I didn't have a problem with energy levels being without carbs.

In my opinion most dietitians don't know much. They tell me that I need protein from meat or i need the carbs from grains, especially if I am working out intensely. The person who got me on this plan, used to be medical doctor, would run ultras(bigger than marathons) after cycling 150km. He did all this on a a vegan raw diet. To me that is impressive.

"I am not recommending anything as I am not a medical doctor, have no training. This email is for entertainment purposes only."

The point is this: For about 5 years I have been "diabetic" last 2 on insulin. I have tried so many things. For the first time I did not need insulin.

Also, my friend got someone off their insulin. They were about to cut off his damn feet due to diabetes. He got on the raw vegan thing. Now no insulin etc. Since you can't say "cured" he is medication free etc.. Later, he was given a fruit/date pie(that would normally shoot his sugar through the roof), he ate it. His blood sugar levels was fine. As far as I understand it, you can reset/reprogram your body/cells to work as they should. That means no more doing the diabetic thing.

I've only started so I can't say that for sure but I will keep people posted.

There is no need to fast; all is needed one glass of juice per day. Do not drink tap water or processed foods and you will see an improvement within a week.

Daily Juicing of vegetables and fruits can be used in any combination of the following: ginger, garlic, celery, pumpkin, cabbage, asparagus, parsley, spinach, leeks, spinach, beets and carrots. Juicing fresh green vegetables such as Brussels sprouts and string beans is a wonderful health benefit as both are good sources of natural insulin. Nutrients such as silicon works to support the pancreas and are found in alfalfa, olives, asparagus, lettuce, mustard greens, radishes, cabbage and cucumbers. Use fruit combinations sparingly due to their high sugar content. Sweet juices such as carrot, beet, grape, and apple or pear juice should be half diluted with water or mixed with other juices such as celery.
Make only as much juice as needed for immediate use. In storage including refrigeration, raw juices oxidize rapidly and lose their medicinal value in as little as 10 minutes.

Drinking juice is one of the best and quickest ways for the body to utilize these nutrients within minutes instead of hours.

A high fiber diet is necessary in diabetes, in weight loss and for general health, to promote healthy digestion and elimination. The vegetable pulp helps to balance the sugars in vegetables, so in diabetes, over consumption is not recommended.

Grind flax seed in a blender or a coffee grinder that is not used for coffee. Store the ground seeds in the freezer. Add one to two tablespoons of the ground seeds to every meal. The freshly ground seeds, can be eaten with porridge or on salads or drunk after mixing with a little water.

I started a juice diet about 2 weeks ago, and I too am a type 1 diabetic.

BACKGROUND STORY:

I typically have a range of blood sugars ranging anywhere from 30 to the high 300's, with an average on my glucometer of around 170. And this is with close careful monitoring. I check my blood sugar usually 6 times a day and correct often. (being also a bit insulin resistant has made managing my type 1 even more challenging).

I have never been overweight but recently put a few pounds on. I Leave for a bathing suit vacation in Costa Rica in 2 months, and was not feeling great about my body.

I started a juice diet with the goal to look my best in a bathing suit by the time I leave for my trip. I didn't carefully consider the effects of diabetes (which is probably stupid).

THE BEGINNING:

I started during the 3 day Memorial Day weekend. I woke up that morning, went to the health store around the corner and had a few fresh squeezed veggie juices made. When I got home I announced to my boyfriend "I am just juicing for the 3 day weekend". (Being an avid health and diet nut himself), He thought it was a great idea. He suggested I do it for a week. That sounded like a lot of pressure for someone who has never been a diet, so I insisted that this would be a 3 day venture.

The first 3 days sucked. I was hungry and CRAVING solid foods. The 3rd day, at night I cracked and cheated with a handful of vanilla wafer cookies and peanut butter. When I woke up the next morning for work, I thought... "What the hell, let's try this for another day or 2. There are juice places near my office!" By the end of day 4, I had lost all my food cravings and had more energy than I can ever remember having. (I should also note that I unwillingly gave up coffee 3 months earlier because it was making me sick to my stomach).

When I got home from work that day I had come to the conclusion that juicing was a very good thing, and that perhaps this should be a more long term process. If I feel this good, how could I stop?! I was allowing myself a nutrigrain bar or protien bar once a day. Usually I eat half of one just when I have a real hunger pange. It is enough to satisfy that. I save the other half for later or the next day.

A week and a half later, I have a brand new top-rated juicer in my kitchen (thanks to my wonderful boyfriend).

DIABETES:

What about my diabetes? My range of numbers from 30 - 300's has shifted to be around 50 - 170. A MAJOR change. I am taking the same basal dose of my long acting Lantis insulin. BUT my low carb diet has reduced the amount of short acting novolog I take very siginificantly. I used to take between 15-25 units of short acting insulin every day, both for food consumption and correction factors. Since juicing, I take only around 3-5 units of short acting insulin a day. Not to mention I have to inject myself much less often. I should note that I am continuing to check my blood sugar 6-7 times a day to make sure that I am maintaining optimal health. This can not be a guessing game.

I still get some low blood sugars. Especially over night, which was an issue even before I started juicing. I have found it helps quite a bit if (I check my sugar before bed, and assuming my blood sugar is at an ideal level...) I eat a protien bar or nutrigrain bar and DO NOT take insuliln to compensate for the food. When I wake up in the morning my blood sugars range from 75-110. This means that the carbs I took in may cause a slight sugar spike, but prevent the drop I was experiencing at night. By morning everything has leveled itself off perfectly.

MODIFYING THE DIET TO WORK FOR ME:

So my juice diet is slightly modified and imperfect, much like me. I am allowing for some foods, but sticking to mostly liquids. And ALL VEGGIES. Fruit would change things a lot, although occasionally I add small amounts of lemon for preservation.

I am also, if I feel very hungry allowing myself to eat small amounts of raw veggies. But only raw, and only veggies. Carrots, cucumbers, radishes and spinach mainly. This means I am taking in only the foods I would take in while juicing, but allowing myself some of the fiber. It helps when I have the urge to eat. But I don't go crazy with it, I keep it to small enough amounts that I would not need insulin. Like a handful of baby carrots or half a cucumber.

Also an occasional handful of almonds for protein. Concerned about taking in enough protein, I occasionally add protein powder to my juices, though I don't love the taste it gives them. So the protein bars once a day make me feel better about taking in what I need.

TAKING A BREAK:

I am now 2 weeks in, and have decided to take a break from the juicing for the weekend. Why? That euphoric energized state I felt the 1st week is gone. My energy levels are rather depleted, and I am finding that I am REALLY missing the way I felt last week. According to my boyfriend, my body has now used up all of it's stored glycogen, which provides the body with energy. From what I can read online, lots of juicers and raw-foodies take a break once every week or 2 to restore their glycogen levels. I did not know much about glycogen before all of this, so if you need more info try the wikipedia link:
[en.wikipedia.org]
I think it explains things pretty clearly. So with my much depleted energy levels, I have decided to take a break from the juicing for the weekend. I am being careful not to eat processed foods and not to binge or over eat. I am sticking with whole wheats and whole grains. Last night I had a small bowl of whole wheat pasta (mixed with some cooked carrots and raw bell pepper wedges, topped with a small amount of pesto sauce). I also have been snacking on a carrot and zuchini bread that I baked using the left over pulp from my juicer. I used whole wheat flour, honey, instead of sugar, and in smaller moderation than the recipe called for. I also added almonds for protein, of course.

I am looking forward to start my juicing again on Monday. But it is nice to know that I can do this and take time off from it occasionally to still eat the foods I enjoy. Now those foods are treats that I look forward to, rather than the staple of my diet.

THE RESULT:

In 2 weeks I fit back into the majority of my pants. They are still a little snug, but 3 weeks ago I couldn't even get some of them all the way up around my butt. Now I can put them on AND zip them up. My diabetes is MUCh more well managed. Overall, I feel the best I have ever felt.

For me, the key is not to put too much pressure on myself. If I am super rigid and strict, I simply won't do it. If I am easy on myself and allow a (small) cheat here and there, it relieves the pressure and makes it feel less like I am torturing myself and more like I am giving myself a gift. I understand that this method may not work for everyone, and some people need to be very rigid and strict because the little cheats can turn into more and lead to not doing the diet at all. But for me this works.

My boyfriend says he sees a difference and that I look slimmer all around. But I am not where I want to be yet.

I do not own a scale, and don't want to. In the past when I have had a scale in my apartment I obsess about it. I check my weight twice a day and it has become unhealthy, unproductive, and just stupid. Now, I choose to focus on how I look and feel, and not think too much about or obsess over a number. I am guessing that I have lost about 7 pounds in the past 2 weeks. For a 5' tall girl that is significant. But like I said, it is an estimate and I am aiming to lose more. Next time I am around a scale I can determine for sure.

This has also been combined with adding more excercize into my life. As a New Yorker, I am naturally more active than people not living in a city, simply because I walk all over the place. I am now trying to have some form of excercize routine 4-5 days a week. One day it may be an active yoga, another day it may be a brisk 3 mile walk around central park. I have started doing squats and hip excercizes combined with P90x Ab Ripper X 15 minute ab routine (that one is a killer) to work on the parts of my body I'd like to see trimmer in a bathing suit.

I want to note that the most important change I have experienced in the last 2 weeks is not weight loss. It is the easier management of my type 1 diabetes, and the overall way that I feel physically (including the increased energy). If I lose no weight at all and look exactly the same, this new lifestyle is worth it for these reasons. And I am so thrilled to say this, because it is not at all the reason I started this in the first place. But my results are much more and much better than what I would have hoped for.

There is a gal referred to as the "Juice Lady" and she has a bunch of books on juicing and varied health issues. You can check her website out where there is a bio about her at: [www.juiceladycherie.com]

I have installed the "free" Kindle for PC app on my computer, and have purchased one of her books - - very interesting

** Every success has to have a beginning. **

Hey! I'm also type 1 diabetic and I'm following Dr. Robert Young's pH Miracle program. His philosophy is that there is one cause for all disease and that is the over-acidification of the body. He promotes getting the body to an alkaline state by raising the pH of the body and keeping it there (this is a lifestyle approach) and by doing so the blood and fluids in the body, including those that surround the pancreas are no longer acidic, but instead alkaline. Once that occurs diabetes goes into remission. I have been on the program (the liquid cleanse phase of the program) for 6 weeks and I have been completely off all my insulin. YES, I have been officially diagnosed as type 1 (I have all my medical records) and I am continually meeting with my doctor for regular tests, check-ups, a1C, etcs. So in regards to type 1's being able to juice, yes, we can! However, strictly juicing is too concentrated and for the phase of the program I am on, currently, I dilute my juice with alkaline water. I just chop up all the veggies I want, add to blender, and dilute with water, then strain with an almond milk bag and then I have my juice for the day. THIS METHOD OF JUICING WORKS FOR ME AND I KNOW MANY PEOPLE WONT AGREE WITH THIS WAY OF JUCING, SUCH AS ADDING WATER BUT TYPE 1 DIABETES HAVE TO EXPERIMENT WITH WHAT WORKS FOR THEIR BLOOD SUGARS. I also made a youtube video on my story so check it out and feel free to contact me with questions! good luck and happy juicing!!

[youtu.be]
[youtu.be]