Juicing to Stay on Top of Your Health
I’m a huge advocate of healthy eating. In my previous blog, Be Sure to Eat Lots of Fruits and Vegetables, I ‘fessed up to my lack of healthy eating until the age of 26. (Before then, the only fruit I consumed was the orange juice (actually Tang™) in my screwdriver! I have definitely changed. Since contracting Lyme disease 21 years ago, I have been desperately trying to find ways to be as healthy as I can be. I’ve learned that I can buy a lot of things in this life, but health is not one of them. The good news is that I can buy some things that can help me get healthier, and a juicer is one of those things. I have had one for years, and I just found one on Facebook Marketplace for both my daughter and my friend Cheryl.
I reconnected with Cheryl as an adult. A couple of years ago, I read one of her Facebook posts that stopped me in my tracks. She was going through a divorce, was a single mom, and was struggling. I can’t remember verbatim what she said in her post, but I do remember that it made an impact on me. I knew I needed to help her, so I reached out. We attended the same high school, and although she’s only three weeks younger than I, she was a full year below me in school. We knew each other back then, but didn't really socialize together.
Our friendship is a long distance one—she still lives in California and I’m here in Minnesota, yet we have built a strong relationship. I am used to that with most of my friends as I have lived in many places. I love reminiscing with someone like her because her memories of high school are totally different from mine because of our difference in grades and circle of friends.
But despite the differences in our high school experience, we’re going through our 50’s together, and often lament over the trials of aging...namely menopause. (A note to all you 20, 30, and 40- somethings out there reading this blog: stay with me here. You will learn something that will be useful in a few years.)
Our major lament? Hot flashes. Yuck, yuck, and double yuck! True, not every woman experiences them, but Cheryl and I do! We have both taken herbs and prescriptions. We have tried meditation and exercising for so-so results. The one thing we both think has helped tremendously is juicing. The natural sugar has helped both of us feel better. We both love our juicers by Breville, and I haven’t found a better book of juice recipes than Crazy, Sexy Juice by Kris Carr. Kris explains everything about the food you are using to juice or make smoothies. Her recipes are excellent, and her three day cleanse is bomb city! Take it from me and Cheryl: if you use Kris Carr’s recipes and change what you put into your body, you will definitely see a difference in your health (menopause or not).
We women can feel isolated when we aren’t keeping up with what’s happening around us, like being the first of your friend group to get married. Being the last to have children, or choosing not to have children while everyone around you is. You’re facing divorce, or choosing not to marry and it seems everyone else is living happily ever after in the confines of their white picket fences. For me, menopause is isolating. True, I’m tough enough to get through it alone, but it sure helps when you have a girlfriend to be able to share the feelings of isolation.
My Wednesday’s "Let's Eat" blog offers two great recipes for your juicing regimen, or for your next girls weekend. Try it! With liquor or without, they are delicious—and can be life changing!
I love that you were with me today. Hope you come back soon!
XO
Lisa A.K.A. Loopie