SINGAPORE - Bank executive Yap Jun Teck and his wife Katharine Kum stumbled upon the idea of juice cleansing earlier this year at their regular chiropractic clinic, which was having a tie-up with The Syndicate Juice Co.
Thinking it would be a good way to detox their systems, the couple decided to try the juice company's three-day vegetable cleanse in May this year.
For a three-day cleanse, the bottles were delivered twice - once on the first day (six bottles a person) and another delivery on the second day.
They paid about $300 for each round of cleansing. They drank juices consisting of vegetables such as parsley, cucumber, romaine lettuce and spinach.
In the days leading up to their juice cleanse, Ms Kum, 40, recalls getting her husband to stop eating meat and dairy products.
An executive in a private developer firm, she says: "I figured we should make those dietary adjustments since we would be taking only juices during the cleanse and I wanted us to enjoy the full effects of it.
"So, for example, if he were to order a sandwich for lunch, it had to be without meat, cheese or mayonnaise dressing."
While Mr Yap, 40, was prepared to make those sacrifices, he could not help feeling hungry on the first day of the cleanse after his juice lunch.
He says: "I ended up taking some fruits to supplement what I drank for lunch."
On the two subsequent days of cleansing, however, he had no hunger pangs.
He recalls feeling "more alert and healthy" after the cleansing, while his wife says she felt that her stomach was "really clean".
She adds: "It's quite amazing how light an emptied-out stomach feels. It's something I've never felt before."
The couple say doing the cleansing together made the experience even more enjoyable.
She says: "We were both at work but we sent texts to each other on our progress through the various bottles.
"I did not like the taste of one particular juice but he finished it in 20 minutes. Hearing that gave me the motivation to finish it, although it took me 1½ hours to do so."
The couple's three-day cleanse caught the attention of their colleagues.
Mr Yap says his female colleagues were intrigued as they watched him "drinking green stuff" throughout the day and one of them ended up trying the cleanse too.
Because the couple liked their first juice cleanse experience, they did another round of the same cleanse earlier this month - and had similarly feel-good results.
"I think we'll be doing this every few months," says Ms Kum, adding that the entire family has started eating more healthily. They have two sons, Cheng Hoe, eight, and Cheng Kwee, four.
She adds: "We figured it would be good to keep to a healthy diet."
Mr Yap no longer eats store-bought beehoon with luncheon meat, fried eggs and oily cabbage for breakfast. In its place are an apple, a pear, two slices of bread and a bottle of water with lemon slices to go, lovingly prepared by his wife at home each morning. Her sons have the same combination of food items for breakfast.
She says: "My kids are too young to have a juice cleanse but hopefully, this will teach them what it means to be health conscious."
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