Hi everyone,

I have been juicing for about 2 weeks, 2 juices per day between meals.

My problem is I am finding that I get extremely sleepy / tired right after a juice, but I am not sure why.

A typical juice would be -

1 apple
1 big handful kale
1 big handful spinach or greens
1 piece broccoli
2 carrots
1/2 avocado
1/4 cucumber

I would REALLY appreciate any help and advice anyone could give me, as I thought juicing should give me energy and I REALLY want to stick with it forever.

Do you think I should cut out the fruit completely perhaps? perhaps I am doing too much too soon? Not much organic fruit / veg available and I really dont know how to correctly wash my produce, perhaps I am taking in pesticited etc?

How do you juice avocado?

Hi Wildli, this happened to me when I went all raw, but before I began to juice regularly.

I had a fruit salad for my midday meal and a veg salad at night. Straight after I ate the fruit, I'd feel sleepy and would bomb out for half an hour. This happened every time and I still don't know why.

I found that the veg salad was too heavy just prior to sleep time, so I swapped my meals. Therefore, the fruit sleepiness was resolved, as I'd eat my fruit salad and crash out for the night.

This has worked well for me, but everyone is different and may not work for you. I now juice heaps, but I don't feel sleepy, whether it's whole fruit or juice.

So I'd just stick to it and see if it balances out over time.

However, I don't want to alarm you, but a common check for a blood suger imbalance is to drink a very sweet beverage that really sends you to sleep. Then they check how well your body's insulin is working. So, there maybe other reasons why you feel tired.

It might be best to run it by your GP, just in case.

Cheers, jalan

Sorry about that I meant I blend the avacado in after juicing.

Thanks for the input Jalan, had my bloods done a few weeks back - perfect. I will take your advice and stick with it and see how it goes

is it possible you are detoxing? How long have you been juicing?

How much sleep are you getting?

[fresherthanlife.com]

It is not the juice that is making you sleepy, it is the actual cooked food that you are eating. If you are going to juice then juice, but if you are going to eat cooked foods then eat cooked foods. Try juicing in the am without eating anything. Juicing is like an upper which would give you alot of energy, but you are eating cooked foods which is like a downer because it is slowing you down and making you tired. Does this make any sense, your mixing an upper and a downer and the result is you getting sleepy and tired. Not a Dr. just my opinion...

I have been sleeping my norm 7 ish hours. I guess I thought I would have noticed more energy or something by now - i have only been juicing about 4 weeks once or twice per day.

Agreed on the "either juice or eat" sentiment--so long as you're eating regular meals, your body is expecting food, not just juice, so right off the bat, we're dealing with unme expectations!

Then yes, more sleep--especially when you're detoxing heavily, you'll need more sleep....at first. After long juice fasts, many people feel like they don't need as much

[fresherthanlife.com]

Avacodo is very healthy, but it's probably slowing down the absorption of the other items you're juicing.
So, first I'd recommend leaving out the avocado, and having it as a snack by itself later in the day, with a little fresh lemon or lime juice, and a sprinkle of cayenne powder if you like spice.

In order to ensure some variety when being a juice-only diet, I stick to a 'base', and then add another ingredient as I like:

Base:
1 tart apple (such as granny smith)
3 stalks celery
2 medium carrots (cut the green part off, plus another 1/2 inch from the top which is often bitter)
1 cucumber
1 inch ginger(optional, try to see if you like it)

Then, pick 1 of these, depending on what's in season:
1 bunch leafy green (kale, spinach, watercress, etc.)
1 bunch watercress
1 large zucchini
1 raw beet, ideally including the greens

As jalan pointed out, sweet foods can spike your blood sure - thus, the juice combos I tend to favor are low glycemic. If you do decide to enjoy a high-glycemic juice (pineapple, orange, etc.) then treat it like a solo snack - don't blend it with veggies, and keep the portion small.

You may find that a short juice fast (1-3 days of juice only) followed by a few days of raw/cooked food would suit you as well. Experiment a little, and you'll find what works for you. Your tastes/nutritional needs will also change with your stress level, and the seasons, so take it easy, and enjoy!

Just a guess per what I've read.

Perhaps eliminate the apple unless you are using a very tart one. Maybe you're getting too much concentrated sugar without fiber all at one time. Carrots are plenty sweet on their own.

If you make a savory juice as opposed to a sweet one, use a couple of stalks of celery which will give a nice saltiness. I use 1/2 lemon also (which some folks may disapprove of??) to help counter the sweetness of the carrots as they are just too sweet for me and I can't stomach it.

Are you getting lots of fiber throughout the rest of your day??

Mindy