Life

Jason Vale’s 17 a Day juice packs in way more than the UK’s five a day guideline, matching Japan’s recommended portions. I tried the recipe after feeling under the weather.

To replace my usual glass of red wine, I made a juice from apples, beetroot, blackcurrants, blueberries, cherries and red grapes, a tasty alcohol free alternative.

I used my year without beer to reboot my health, after regaining weight in 2011. A juice detox at the start of the year helped me lose 12 pounds in a week.

Thirty seven days into my year off alcohol, I rounded up what I’d learned so far, from the UK’s 15 billion pound drink spend to a Dutch study on apples and stroke risk.

World Cancer Day fell on day 35 of my year without beer. I shared some of the global cancer statistics and thought about losing my dad to cancer in 1998.

After cutting back on sugary coffee I switched to green tea, and found studies linking it to a stronger immune system, lower cholesterol and even weight loss.

I finished the first month of my year without beer, marking it with a mineral water while my colleagues each enjoyed a celebratory Heineken instead.

A month into my year off alcohol, I turned down a free bar at a Heathrow hotel for the gym instead, then relaxed with a juice while watching Top Gear.

At a curry night, a party, Wagamama and a pan Asian restaurant I turned down Kingfisher, Kirin Ichiban, Tsing Tao and Singha, swapping them for tea and mineral water instead.

I compared Morgan Spurlock’s 30 days of McDonald’s in Super Size Me with Phil Staples’ juice fast in Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead, and what each did to their health.

I followed Jason Vale’s 7lbs in 7 days juice detox and lost 12lbs, while my wife lost 9lbs, leaving me lighter, leaner and full of energy for 2012.

A Dutch study found that eating more white fruit and veg, mainly apples and pears, cuts stroke risk by 9 percent, which I noticed after getting through 76 apples in four days on my juice detox.