By
Joe Cross
To
heal himself Joe Cross embarks on a juice fast, but not just any juice fast. He
fasts for 60 days, consuming nothing but raw fruit and vegetable juices and
water. For the first 30 days he plants himself in New York City, and for the
final 30 he travels across country. Throughout his voyage he meets hundreds of
people and talks with them about the benefits of diet and nutrition, specifically
the importance of consuming raw fruits and veggies. Some are moved by his story
and compelled to make changes in their own lives. Others are not so convinced,
and have no problem with living an unhealthy lifestyle until their number is
up.
Cross
does indeed lose the weight, clears up his disease and is able to quit his
medication. After his 60-day juice fast he switches to a whole-food plant-based
diet, and alludes that he enjoys other foods in moderation. By the end of the
film, some ten months later, Cross is running along the beach and enjoying a
fit and active lifestyle, something he obviously could not have done at the
onset of the story.
Cross’s
tale is an amazing testimony to the power of food as medicine, but the saga
doesn’t end there. Along his trail to health and wellness Cross had met a
trucker named Phil Staples. Staples suffered from the same autoimmune disease
as Cross, but his weight issue is far more serious. When eventually weighed,
Staples tops the scale at 429 pounds. Before parting ways Cross offers to help
Staples, should he ever need it. Not long after Cross’s juice fast is finished,
he gets the phone call from Staples.
Motivated
by Cross, Staples quits his job and sets off on his own journey of fitness and
fasting. By the end of the film Staples has lost a massive amount of weight,
cut down on many of his meds and become an inspiration to others. Where once he
could barely walk across a truck stop parking lot, Staples is shown running and
playing with his son.
Emotional
aspects aside, here are two documented cases where juice fasting has had
tremendous health benefits, not only for weight loss but for clearing up
disease symptoms. It’s easy to understand the weight loss part; when people eat
fewer calories, especially overweight men, the weight is going to come off
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