Juicing Book

Can juicing everyday, a mix of fruit and vegetables cause constipation and hemorrhoids?

Absolutely, juicing can cause constipation and hemorrhoids.

Depending on what fruits and/or vegetables you are juicing, definitely, juicing can cause constipation and it can also have the opposite affect, diarrhea or loose bowel movements.

Certain fruits and vegetables contain more yang energy. This essentially means they add more heat or fire to the body. Any food that adds yang energy to the body will eventually lead to constipation and hemorrhoids.

Yang energy (or fire) essentially burns up all of the moisture in the body. Now, in order for your bowels to work properly, there must be moisture in the bowels. Too much moisture in the bowels leads to loose stools and/or diarrhea.

When there is too much heat though, constipation (and also hemorrhoids) is one of the earliest signs that you must begin to cool the body. After constipation, too much heat can then begin to cause a sore throat, tooth pain, mouth ulcers (canker sores) and of course, a fever.

The beauty of your question is that it goes beyond just juicing. It's a lifestyle question ultimately. There are many things that can lead to excessive yang (fire) energy in the body.

When you go to sleep after 10 PM, as an example, then your adrenals (and hormones)begin to work harder to keep you awake. This creates more yang energy in the body too. Once you start going to sleep closer to midnight, more and more yang energy is created. Going to sleep after midnight, well, that's even worse.

When one understands the principles of yin (cool) and yang (heat), then one can begin to not only know what foods to eat and when, but also, how to live a healthier lifestyle.

Essentially nighttime is yin (cool) and daytime is yang (heat). It's a constant revolution. So in the morning, we want to begin to awaken the body and at night, we want to begin to calm the body. But it must all be done in balance. Too much yin or too much yang leads to health problems.

When it comes to juicing, vegetables like garlic especially add heat to the body. On the other hand, fruits like watermelon (and other melons) have a profound cooling effect on the body.

When reading my Juicing Book and reviewing each vegetable or fruit, look to see which fruit or vegetable has yang qualities (warm or hot). These fruits and vegetables will lead to constipation and hemorrhoids when taken in excess while those with yin qualities (cold or cool) will reverse it.

Other things that can lead to constipation include alcohol. As you may or may not know, alcohol dehydrates the body thus robbing the bowels of moisture. Alcohol has a strong yang quality yet one bottle of beer can have a cooling effect on the body (thus the reason why many like to drink beer on hot days). However, more than 1 bottle of beer will begin to add too much alcohol to the body leading to a yang effect.

Taking all of the above into account, one can use both juicing and lifestyle in reversing the constipation and hemorrhoids.

First, one must make sure they get to sleep early enough so the adrenals and hormones can relax. Next, drinking copious amounts of water is crucial and upon arising in the morning, make sure you drink a cup of water before anything else. It's also helpful to drink some water at night before sleeping (although not too much for obvious reasons). Avoid alcohol, foods like garlic, egg plant, deep fried foods, spicy foods, black pepper, bell peppers and a host of other foods which all have a yang (warming) effect on the body.

At night, especially, when the body is naturally meant to begin to cool, you want to ensure you are eating more yin (cooling) foods. This can include things like bamboo shoots, mung bean sprouts, carrots, corn, zucchini, tofu (tofu contains gypsum salt which has a cooling effect on the body) and other foods that help to cool the body. Consider eating more steamed or poached foods too. Eat fruits, especially melons, to help reduce the heat. But other fruits can also be beneficial. In fact, consider eating an apple about an hour before sleeping. Apples have a wonderful yet gentle cooling effect on the body.

While excess heat in the body can lead to constipation and hemorrhoids, it can also cause people to be sleepless too. Understanding the yin and yang cycles can have a profound effect on one's overall health and well–being.

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Unlike flow yoga, each pose in pure or traditional hatha yoga is held for a few minutes. While holding the pose, you focus the mind on the stretch. When you focus the mind, that's when you find silence.

Jesse is not flexible — never has been and probably never will be flexible like others. But it doesn't matter. In pure hatha yoga, how flexible you are makes no difference. It's all about loving the pose and focussing the mind on the stretch.

If you want to learn pure hatha yoga, now you can by following Jesse on a series of hatha yoga routines.

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