Most of us enjoy having a clean house, a clean car, a clean body. We do regular housekeeping, wash our vehicles, and shower every day to maintain that enjoyable state of cleanliness. But when was the last time you thought about cleaning the inside of your body? That needs to be cleaned every bit as much as anything else. In fact keeping our body internally clean should be even more important to us than keeping our outer environment clean , for our body is the most immediate environment we inhabit.

If you are feeling sluggish, tired, bloated and want to shed a few pounds; if you sleep poorly, have indigestion and constipation; if you are just plain achy and cranky, it's probably because your body is burdened with toxicity. When our body becomes internally overloaded with toxins from eating too many processed foods and from daily exposure to chemicals and pollutants in the world around us, we develop a lot of unpleasant physical side effects. These can be overcome by doing a juice cleanse. This is a powerfully effective means of flushing poisons out of the system naturally, safely, and easily. All that is needed to undertake a juice cleanse is fresh, raw fruit and vegetables (preferably organic), a juice extractor and the desire to start feeling better! And if you are coming off drugs (legal or otherwise), tobacco or alcohol, a juice cleanse can be a great help toward getting those substances and their residual toxins out of your body.

In case you don't already know, homemade fruit and vegetable juices, in any combination, taste absolutely wonderful. Store bought packaged juices can't begin to compare, either in taste or in nutritional value, to fresh juice you make yourself. Even people who are not fond of vegetables will find them quite palatable when mixed with and camouflaged by the flavor of fruits. The very rich aroma, flavor and nutrient density of homemade juice is something you owe it to yourself to experience.

There are two ways to undertake a juice cleanse. The first way is to add three servings of homemade juice to your daily diet (a juice cleanse). There is something about the juice that will start a clearing out of the digestive tract. This form of juice cleanse can be continued for as many days as you wish. You will find your cravings for foods that are not good for you will subside as your body becomes unburdened of accumulated waste and nourished by the high levels of vitamins, minerals and enzymes contained in the juice. The second way is to do a juice fast. Don't eat any foods. Drink only homemade juices (and plenty of water) for one day up to three days. Drink more than three glasses of juice a day if you need to. When you get hungry or feel weak, drink more juice. This will give your digestive organs a much needed rest from processing heavy foods while still providing your body with all the nutrition it needs, as built up toxins and waste are eliminated.

Equal amounts of fruits versus vegetables should be used in a juice fast (or cleanse). Mixing fruit with vegetables will make everything taste sweeter. To get the full spectrum of vitamins and minerals needed, your juice combinations should consist of equal parts from the five color groups: red, green, yellow, orange, purple. Not every glass of juice needs to have everything in it, but over the course of the day try to get something from all the color groups and have the fruit/vegetable ratio balance out. Below are listed some ideas to help get you started.

Red: tomato, red bell pepper, red apple, red chiles, watermelon, cherry, raspberry. radish, red grape, strawberry

Green: cucumber, Italian squash, celery, green cabbage, green bell pepper, green apple,green grape, pear, kiwi, honeydew melon, lime, spinach, turnip, collard, kale, mustard, dandelion, cilantro, parsley, lettuces, wheat grass

(Spinach is mild in flavor but some of the other leafy greens can be rather intense. Buffer these with carrot and apple.)

Yellow: banana, lemon, yellow squash, yellow pepper, yellow bell pepper, golden delicious apple, yellow flesh melon, yellow tomato, turnip, parsnip

Orange: orange, blood orange, cantaloupe, grapefruit, orange bell pepper, carrot, peach, apricot, nectarine, papaya, mango

Purple: red cabbage, rhubarb, eggplant, blueberry, boysenberry, plum, black grape

(Spinach is mild in flavor but some of the other leafy greens can be rather intense. Buffer these with carrot and apple.)

If you want to feel lighter, cleaner, invigorated, energized, nourished, optimistic, positive, and renewed -- try a juice cleanse or a juice fast. To continue to provide your body with all the vitamins, minerals and enzymes it needs daily, and to prevent toxins from accumulating internally, continue drinking homemade juice daily. You'll be amazed at what it will do for you.