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'7lbs in 7 days' retreat at Juicy Oasis Feb 20-27th 2016. Blog about the retreat. Just returned from a week at Juicy Oasis
'7lbs in 7 days' retreat at Juicy Oasis Feb 20-27th 2016.
Blog about the retreat.
Just returned from a week at Juicy Oasis in Portugal - a health and spa retreat based on a juicing diet run by Jason Vale. It was a lovely sunny escape from the February cold and rain in the UK. The main features were (1) eat lots of vegetables and fruits by juicing them, and (2) exercise a lot.
It was a really enjoyable week and - since it was gently regimented and delivered in a supportive atmosphere with excellent staff - there was ample opportunity to indulge, read books, relax and do new things - I did Yoga, Tai Chi, and Pilates for the first time. I certainly lost some weight. It also inspired me to do more varied exercise as I've got into a habit of just doing a couple of runs a week on the same route with the same dogs.
The week was basically calorie-restriction with regular exercise. It sought to normalise the concept of drinking and easily surviving on freshly prepared juices whilst exercising. A modern form of the health retreat - the change of air and clearing of impurities from the body that has been with us since Victorian times at least.
Diet and exercise at a retreat is the core of what Juicy Oasis provides - a positive experience for many - healthy eating, exercise, and clearing the mind. Such a retreat would be a real boost also for those with chronic disease (type 2 diabetes, hypertension, obesity etc.) or complications of drug treatment (corticosteroids especially) that would benefit from lifestyle changes. Whether, such an intervention could be extended to a wider audience is an interesting discussion but juicing is becoming global phenomenon. Many of us left with a good dose of juicing evangelism to pass on to others.
Jason is planning a follow-up to his 'SuperJuice Me' experiment (individuals with a mix of chronic disease, obesity, and polypharmacy) with an observation of juicing in people with diabetes (Type 1 and Type 2). I look forward to hearing about it. Some may have continuous glucose monitors and would make for an interesting observation of the effects of a plant juice diet on blood glucose profiles.
There were some minor points of the week I took issue with - in the imagined biochemistry, and a few of the documentary films offered. I'll blog about some specific points of those elsewhere (e.g. the China Study myth) as they weren't larger about juicing. In the meantime I'd suggest alternative perspectives for some of the films shown (see below).
Looking forward to another Juicy week sometime.
The films shown during the week
Films about juicing and other lifestyle interventions
Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead. http://shop.rebootwithjoe.com/collections/movies
SuperJuice Me. http://superjuiceme.com/
Hungry for change. http://www.hungryforchange.tv/
May I be Frank? http://mayibefrankmovie.com/
Films giving a perspective on 'big food' and 'pharma' (I suggest some alternative perspectives)
Food Matters. http://foodmatters.tv/food-matters (Suggest reading Michael Pollan's "The Omnivore's Dilemma" instead.)
$tatin Nation. http://www.statinnation.net/ (Suggest Ben Goldacre's TED talk instead - "What doctors don't know about the drugs they prescribe", or his book "Bad Pharma")
Forks over knives. http://www.forksoverknives.com/the-film/ (Suggest instead something on the US dietary guidelines debate from 2015 … e.g. http://www.theverge.com/2016/1/7/10726606/2015-us-dietary-guidelines-meat-and-soda-lobbying-power, http://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/Regulation/USDA-HHS-2015-dietary-guidelines-won-t-factor-in-sustainability, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYAiS_ztqfI )
Source: docs.google.com
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