Before beginning your SpaJuiceBar raw juice cleanse, we recommend preparing with a pre-cleanse. The more time you can dedicate to this preparation phase, the better your cleanse experience will be. Ideally, a month is the optimum time to prepare, but we understand that may not fit everyone’s schedule—and that’s okay! Whether you have a month, a week, or even three days to prepare, it’s all about doing what works best for you.

A pre-cleanse focuses on consuming primarily raw foods like salads, fruits, smoothies, and cold-pressed fresh juices while drinking plenty of water. As part of your preparation, aim to drink half your body weight in ounces of water daily, which we recommend during the cleanse. In addition, focus on alkaline-promoting foods such as fresh fruits, raw vegetables, salad greens, sprouts, dates, dried apricots, figs, melons, raisins, and lentils.

For the best results, avoid heavy proteins, processed foods, coffee, alcohol, and soft drinks. Staying hydrated and choosing these nourishing foods will help ease your body into the raw juice cleanse process. We also suggest incorporating a Liver Flush for four days before your cleanse.

As Michael Tierra, L.Ac., O.M.D., AHG, says:

“The liver is responsible for facilitating digestion and elimination, and filtering potentially toxic waste products from the blood. Liver detoxification is especially important today due to the increasing prevalence of chemical pollutants in our environment.”

From Michael Tierra’s Liver Flush Recipe:  

To do a liver flush, take 8 ounces of distilled water with 8 ounces of apple juice, which is blended with 1-4 cloves of garlic, a hunk of fresh ginger, and 1-4 tablespoons of olive oil. Take this each morning on an empty stomach for four days in a row. Follow with a cup of tea made with fennel seed and dandelion root.

It is a good idea to accompany a liver cleansing program with plenty of green vegetables or a warm apple juice cleanse made by dissolving a teaspoon of agar agar flakes per glass of warm apple juice. Cayenne pepper should be taken in capsule form or stirred into a little water at least three times daily. Begin with two 00 sized cayenne capsules or a half teaspoon of cayenne powder.

The best times to do a liver flush are in the spring or summer. It is invaluable for dredging and removing stored toxins and fat accumulated from a sluggish liver stored throughout the body during colder, less active months. For many, it has been effective for safely expelling gallstones, but you should check with your herbalist, doctor, or another qualified health practitioner before undergoing such a program.