Keeping Coffee At Bay

Someday I will make a healthier choice! Someday I will drink lesser coffee! All your someday leads to no days at all. Why not start today?

As a nutritionist I have encounter many different individuals. Those self confessed coffee addicts admit that they have more than a cup of coffee throughout the day and there is no way out of it. The extreme of the situation is 20 cups a day and I am not joking or exaggerating. There are also those who survive only on coffee and at times skip meals with just coffee as their only source of energy. How can one make a healthier and balance choice? Can we lose our dependent on coffee? 

The answers that I got in return are as interesting: 

• No Way! I lose focus when I miss my cup!
• I am not a coffee addict! You mentioned 20 cups! I consumed only 10% of it, one or two cups a day. That would make no harm right?
• I only start my day with coffee, i mix and match other drinks so no problem!
• Nooooo! I tried before! I experience coffee withdrawal symptoms like shivering body and shaky hands.
• I get nauseous if I don't start my day with coffee.
• I tried but the lack of energy is not worth it, so I gave up!  

You may laugh and say "uh-ah not me!" or maybe as of now red flags are raised as a reminder of the real you. How do I get off! What is the deal?

The deal?

• The liver needs more focus to process and breakdown caffeine intake and more than usual consumption will flood the system with more than it can handle.
• In case you didn't know caffeine is some kind of drug and it is something you can do without. (No wonder your body crave more of it each day!) 
• Excessive caffeine intake will strip the body cells of water that helps to balance our beauty and vitality. (Dry and dull skin? That's the sign...)    

How to get off coffee?

Follow our step by step! We suggest you get off slowly rather than jumping head-first or some called it "cold turkey". 

Day 1 & 2 : Cut your intake by half! If you are consuming 6 cups a day try 3 instead. 

                  Drink at the longest interval of time. Try sipping them slowly! 

Day 3: Hold steady to your 3 cups a day and try mixing in decaf coffee instead. 

Day 4: Cut down to 1 or 2 cups and exchange your usual coffee with full decaf and add in

           1 cup of caffeinated green tea

Day 5: Try starting off your day with 1 cup of decaf coffee and then slowly consume

           decaf green tea as well

Day 6 & 7 : Curb every coffee attack with a cup of decaf green tea or any kind of herbal                     tea.

If you need longer time go proceed to the next step do so! Progress slowly but surely. For those who are strong enough to accomplish day 7! Please accept our sincere salute for having strong resolve to break free from comfort zone on your journey to a healthier, sexier and better version of YOU! 

Cheers and see you soon 

Juice'd by G.I.Juicery Team.

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Coffee and Cleanse.....

Coffee and Cleanse, Cleanse and Coffee.... Seems like a rhyming phrase (or not!) if you are into word rhyming but both are actually of the complete opposite. With that said we are not anti-coffee, we do enjoy a cup of warm aromatic comforting coffee at times. 

Many of our clients share their excitement when signing up for Cleanse and the results that they will get. All the good signs motivate them but when it comes to the statement "STAY OFF COFFEE during cleanse" we heard many protests and unwillingness. We are not telling our clients how to live life but simply sharing what is good for all of us. Here are some reasons why.

1) Coffee is acidic 
Yes it is! In fact one of the ways to determine grade and quality of coffee in the laboratory is to test the coffee acidity to sort the coffee bean and grade them. Not all coffee is grown equal but all coffee beans are acidic in nature. 

The ideal state of our body is a near neutral of around pH7.2 but very little of us can actually said we are anywhere close to that figure. It is usually tempered by our lifestyles. Meat, white flour, sugar, coffee, carbonated drinks and generally processed food are some of the villains that altered and push the balance to acidic or for some overly acidic. The main concern about body being overly acidic is the lowering of our immune system opening gateways to many complications.

Hence in our fight to maintain balance, we introduce juicing to alkalize our body and to return it back to normality. Fruits and vegetable juices are alkalizing. Therefore when it comes down to coffee and cleanse they are of the opposite nature and we would suggest not to take alongside one another. 

2) Coffee contains caffeine
Well! This has been an old saying and it fact, a boring one.. "Coffee contains caffeine and anything caffeinated is bad!" Nope! We are not going down that road. 

Anyway we would still stress that "Caffeine in coffee lessens down the overall effectiveness of the cleanse process." Why? Caffeine is a compound that needs to be metabolized by the liver. During a juice cleanse, we used specially formulated juices that is full with nutrients that exist in the simplest form to increase absorption, giving our liver a good rest while the body detox and cleans itself. If we were to consume coffee, the caffeine compound will activate the metabolic functions of our liver, interrupting the full effectiveness of a cleanse.

Juice'd Pointers:

• Do not be defeated! There is always a way out. Ideally try replace coffee with caffeinated green tea as its benefits outweigh the negative effects of caffeine. It is also great to find solace in herbal tea as it has an array of benefits including lower cholesterol, strong bones and so on. But do not use it as a substitute for water! Still consume your 2 liters per day.
• To slowly stay off coffee do check our entry on "Keeping Coffee At Bay" Post.

Are we there yet? Coffee after Cleanse.
There is no right or wrong to going back to coffee after your cleanse. We all know the pros and the cons to coffee consumption. Everything indulge in excess will be risky to our health. Hence we do hope you will make a healthier choice by avoiding excessive sugar, syrups or artificial sweeteners with your favorite cup. Better still add Juice'd Zen White/ Soothing White with your coffee for a healthier choice or maybe you will even find your favorite Juice'd provides the same kind of perk up for you to start your day.

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Benefits of Drinking Lemon water in the morning

There is a saying that goes "An apple a day keeps the doctor away" but let G.I Juicery tells you this

"Lemon Water in the morning goes all the WAY"

Here are the 8 reasons why

1. Aids Digestion
• Warm water stimulates the GI system, but with the zing of lemon it adds power and stimulates both GI and purify the liver. 
2. Supports Immune Function
• Citrus fruit like lemon has high level of acid ascorbic/ vitamin C helps fight colds and build the immune system.
3. Alkalize the body
• Diet that mainly consists of meat, cheese, coffee and/or alcohol the body pH might be experiencing pH imbalance. Although lemon is acidic it’s highly alkalizing when it enters our body.
4. Helps Detox

• Lemon is a natural diuretic which helps to flush toxins.
5. Energizes the body
• Especially for must have morning coffee people, if you are hesitant to give up coffee because it helps to energizes you, try lemon and water, it’s zesty taste will help wake up your senses. This has been tried out with many coffee drinker and it is proven to work after 1 week morning coffee replacement.
6. Keep skin beautiful
• Chronic hydration or pH imbalance body can leave the skin looking dull or even leading to acne. Start your day right with lemon water that is packed with vitamin C which is a powerful antioxidant that will help combat aging factors.
7. Enhance building of red blood cells
8. Iron is the main building block for red blood cells and the absorption of iron is greatly enhanced with the help of ascorbic acid.

So the next time you wake up in the morning remember to turn to your best companion before you take on the day. Warm Lemon Water. 

Cheers.

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