Anybody else do "green drinks" and/or raw diets? Help!

So, I’ve been doing the “green drink” diet on and off for a few years now. Juicing about a gallon and drinking it about one week out of the month. Now, I’m saturating myself with it about 2 quarts a week.

Anybody actually feeling any positive effects from raw diet or “green drinks”? I honestly am not. I’ve seen regimens that call for drinking up to a quart a day down to a juice glass every now and then.
I still believe in this diet wholeheartedly and am not trying to call it into question.

With that said, I am not really experiencing any of the supposed benefits of doing “green drinks”. Granted, I am not on a total raw diet. I’d say about 65% of my diet is raw. I still do eat pastas and basmati rice occasionally, but not in absurd quantities like I used to. I avoid most starchy grains and breads. Admittedly, I do love papas fritas every now and again too. Likewise, it’s only an occasional indulgence. My cholesterol and glucose panels are textbook (I hoped they would be as I’m not that old)!

But here’s the thing, I have a massive history of chemotherapy treatments. In about 2 years I was treated with no fewer than 8 or 9 high-dose chemo regimens that included a very dangerous bone marrow transplant which involved massive amounts of high-dose chemo for about a week straight. I also have a neurological sleeping disorder (see my ATS name), and several other health issues. I have non-genetic hemochromatosis (cause unknown; cure=phlebotomy every 2 weeks). My doctor has said my iron levels in the blood are dangerously high and that this cannot be caused by diet alone, but some other physiological malfunction (perhaps through absorption processes).

And here’s the thing..I also have had a partial duodenum-ectomy ( I don’t remember the actual medical term) with my cancer treatment, so my absorption is probably less than ideal to begin with.
Other problems I have include avascular necrosis in both femoral/ hip joints (a result of chemo and steroids--prednisone, I’m looking right at you)! I also have dermatomyositis, which is an auto-immune muscular disorder similar to lupus. And now it’s come to my attention I have an underactive thyroid.

Phew! So, with all of these things, I jumped on the “green drink” diet pretty quickly. I still keep my eating habits nearly the same; just smarter choices and smaller portions. In other words, I still have a dinner of pasta or a hamburger every now and then. A significant portion of my diet is green, raw, or at least smarter than it used to be. I drink nothing but water and black tea (which is supposed to be good for reducing iron absorption). My intake of snack, junk, and processed foods is also extremely rare. I drink no sodas and 90% of my groceries are organic. All produce I use to make the green drinks is organic or cleansed in vinegar water if not organic.

Now, I’m not asking for a diagnosis or advice or anything (although I will still consider any tips or advice with appreciation). I am just curious if anybody is benefitting in an appreciable way from green or raw diets—or not.

I read amazing testimonials about this diet. I’m talking about regrowth of hair, remission of diseases, etc. etc. just by adding green drinks into the mix. I also exercise somewhat regularly. It is difficult to develop a standard routine what with my muscles flaking out on me and the inflammation flaring up sometimes. My narcolepsy leaves me pretty fatigued and tired most of the time too. I still find ways to stay active and even walk 9 holes of golf or play some pickup inline hockey when I’m feeling up to it.

I would say I’ve been saturating myself with green juice all summer—so for a couple of months now. And I’m still fatigued and lethargic and losing hair etc. I seem to still be gaining weight even though I’m eating less and moving about more (my thyroid might be playing a part in this). And my hips joints don’t seem to be rebuilding the cartilage as I’ve read about. In fact, they’re still pretty sore and stiff. I still believe in the green drink and raw diet—but why doesn’t it believe in me?

It has been posited to me that the amount of toxicity I’ve been exposed to will take a lot of time to reverse and detox. I’ve had about half a dozen hydrocolonoscopy treatments (the tech said that 3-4 would totally detox me). Still never felt any improvement after doing those either. I did these things in conjunction with switching to green drinks. I’ve also heard from a few doctors that I may not be feeling the effects of things like green drink because my narcolepsy will prevent my brain from registering that I have more energy. Huh, this makes sense to me because I never feel awake no matter what. This is the nature of narcolepsy. The neuron pool that helps regulate wake/ sleep cycles is damaged. I’ve also been told that my muscles might not properly break down and utilize sugars and therefore no additional energy may be felt.

So, what gives here? Anybody digging green/ raw diets? Anybody else having less than successful experiences with them?

I think my recipe is sound. I juice a head of romaine, a bunch of spinach, and a bunch of kale. Maybe I add in a few things like parsley, dandelion greens, or wheatgrass— just something for a unique kick. I add one whole cucumber, an apple or two, a banana, and two handfuls of strawberries. I add about 2 cups of water--all organic produce, folks. This measures out to about 8-16 ounces a day for 3 days with about 3 days that I don’t drink any.

I wonder if maybe I am not drinking it often enough. But still, shouldn’t I be feeling “something”?! I still feel like a lazy, useless pile sometimes. Guidelines I have read give a wide range. Some say I need a quart a day; still others call for maybe 3 leaves of kale whereas I use the whole bunch with other bunches of greens! I have also gone months at a time without eating any meat—the only animal products would have been ghee (clarified butter). Still can’t say I ever felt any noticeable effects. I eat meat maybe in 1-2 meals a week to this present day.

So, whatever you have to say about this, thanks for reading and thanks for your comments. I just want to be healthy again—like when I was 13 haha.

Edit: Forgot to mention that I drink TONS of water to help with these water-soluble vitamins that are supposed to be loaded in these green drinks. My kidneys are in poor health so water is essential anyway.

My wife went on a green drink kick, was kinda cool.

The only advantages I saw was Digestive in nature...

If you know what I mean...

Healthwise I didn't notice much. Becareful on volume of greens, as it could cause constipation.

reply to post by benrl


Yeah, thanks for your post. Better digestion/ bowel movements is about all I've noticed too. I was kind of hoping for all those nutrients and vitamins and 180 turn of health that I was promised!

reply to post by NarcolepticBuddha


Well I just ran across this cleanse the other night because I was looking for a good one for my family.......I'm gonna try this one and perhaps you might consider it as well heres the link

If you try it out before be sure to telll me how it goes and I will do the same.

Absinthe....
The only green drink I would recommend for
Well-being...,
Although I wouldn't recommend a gallon every
2 weeks....

That's just greedy

reply to post by truetrigger


If I had a vote I would say this was off-topic. Please don't derail my thread because I am seeking honest answers pertaining to this particular lifestyle choice. If you want to make jokes--go to the youtube comments section.