Think about when you are sick - you usually loose your appetite. Instead of allowing the body to do what it's supposed to, we try to get sick people to eat so that they keep up their strength. By juice fasting when you have an illness or disease, your body is given the best conditions as well as the nutrients to regain strength, cleanse and heal itself.

Our modern lifestyles are often high in refined sugar, meat, grains and dairy, causing the cells of your body to become more acidic. By consuming more whole foods, vegetables, fruits and especially leafy greens, you allow your body to become less acidic and more alkaline. The detoxing process rids the body of any accumulation of acidic waste and toxins. Disease can only grow in an acidic environment, so by getting rid of the acidic waste and making your body more alkaline, you can treat and prevent illness.

Juice detoxing is not only for people with 'symptoms', it's great for everyone! However, here are some signs that your body likely has a build up of toxins and it's time to detox:

Beetroot (1 small - without skin if you don't want the texture!)

Apple - green (2)

Lemon (1 with skin)

Apple - golden or yellow (2)

Carrot: rich in antioxidants and carotenoids which help to prevent cancer, support immune function, and reverse negative side effects of toxins in the body. Carrot also helps to reduce high cholesterol and regulate blood sugar levels.

Apple: apples are high in pectin which binds itself to toxins, assisting them to leave the body. The natural sugars found in apples also stimulate digestion.

Beetroot: boosts circulation around the body and cleanses the gallbladder and liver.

Lemon: like beetroot, cleanses toxins from the liver and kills intestinal parasites. It helps the body to absorb maximum nutrients and is alkalising and detoxifying.

These quantities yield around 2 litres of fresh juice. I always use organic produce where possible - there's no point putting more toxins into your body during a cleanse! Make sure you wash your fruit and veg well and chop into smallish pieces (for your juicer's sake!)

Don Tolman CABALA PDF

What should I expect?

The benefits of juice detoxing are endless, and completely different for everyone. Some of the common things to experience during and after your detox include; improved skin (whether it is clearing of a condition or an all over healthy glow), improved energy and digestion, boost in confidence, loss of excess weight, ease or treatment of health conditions and motivation to live a better, healthier lifestyle!

Choose a 14-21 day CABALA juice detox depending on your current health, symptoms and time. The idea of a 'juice fast' is not to feel like you're fasting - you shouldn't feel hungry. You should be consuming AT LEAST 2 litres of juice daily (you're likely to need 3 - 3.5 litres). On a CABALA juice detox, you can also drink the fresh coconut water of 1-2 young coconuts each day. However, you may get the 'munchies' and crave snacks, which is where the mental battle comes in the first few days (or did for me anyway!)

Let's face it, most people these days have an addiction to caffeine or sugar. You may experience a headache around day 2 and 3 because your body is fighting the addiction, causing you to have withdrawal symptoms. Once your body has cleared this out of your system the headache will clear, just keep up your water intake and have a pinch of salt to aid  the process.

Detoxing has the ability to bring up old suppressed emotions for SOME people, as toxins are disconnected and flushed out of your body. During a detox is a good time to deal with these emotions, often leading to increased healing. So don't worry if you feel like crying or screaming while you're on a fast, just allow yourself to do it! Everyone's different and some people need an emotional detox, I definitely do from time to time.

A good way to keep the detox interesting is to change up your juice recipe for one meal a day. You might decide that instead of CABALA juice, you will have an apple, watermelon and mint juice for breakfast! Get creative! If you find yourself going back to having 1 meal a day, don't worry! Take the detox at a pace that works for you (of course challenge yourself if you can.) Try having a vegetable soup or broth as it will still give your digestion more of a rest than solid food, and then if you feel like you need to eat solid food again, start with raw fruit and veg like apples and carrots or some lightly steamed broccoli. The same goes for the end of your detox; ease yourself back onto PLANT BASED solids one day at a time. And remember it's OKAY to eat a meal a day if that works for you. I didn't feel ready to do the full detox, so I still ate dinner each night and I still experienced a worthwhile detox. It simply slows the detoxing process a little bit. You need to respect your limitations and work with them! Try stick at the detox for 14 days, as days 10-14 are where the real detoxing happens!  

What type of juicer should I use?

Remember that any juicer will do the job! You just have to find the juicer that works for you.

However if you're looking to make juice regularly, a hydraulic cold press juicer is worth the money. A cold press juicer applies enormous amounts of pressure to the fruit and vegetables, meaning it won't create heat like other juicers, causing fewer nutrients to be destroyed in the process. You will also yield more juice using a cold press juicer, making it more affordable, causing less wastage and making it better for our environment!

It was after completing a 21 day CABALA detox, that my parents and later my sister and I made a lifestyle choice to become vegetarian. My Dad put up with painful psoriasis all down his knees for years and with just one fast, it was gone! He also lost 15kg of excess weight in 14 days. The detox will clear what it needs to depending on the individual - when my Mum detoxed she lost 2kg because that was the healthy amount for her body to get rid of. I experienced only small weight loss, but my skin cleared up and energy improved hugely. Plus, I felt more comfortable in my own skin than ever before, inspiring me to live the healthy, active lifestyle that I do now.