🥕 When Doctors Say “Juice This”: Can We Actually Do It?

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about something that feels simple on the surface but gets complicated fast: what happens when a doctor, nutritionist, or naturopath tells someone to start juicing?

Not just “eat more veggies,” but something specific — like “drink celery juice every morning” or “blend carrots and apples to help your immune system.” These aren’t just wellness trends. They’re real directives, often given to people who are healing, recovering, or trying to manage chronic conditions.

And here in Central Oregon, I keep wondering: can people actually follow through?

🏥 What Local Clinics Are Seeing

I’ve spoken with folks at Mosaic Community Health and St. Charles Health System, and they’re seeing the same thing: patients want to follow their provider’s advice, but the reality is tough. Juicing takes time, money, energy, and access — and those are exactly the things many people don’t have when they’re sick, overwhelmed, or stretched thin.

Even the High Desert Food & Farm Alliance (HDFFA), which runs Veggie Rx programs in the region, admits that while they’re making progress with produce prescriptions, juicing-specific support is still missing.

🍏 The Real-Life Gap

Think about it. A mom going through cancer treatment while raising kids. An 80-year-old in La Pine who can’t drive to the store. A young adult with chronic illness who’s motivated but exhausted. A busy professional who barely has time to cook, let alone juice.

They’re all being told to nourish their bodies in very specific ways — but how do they actually do it?

🤔 So What Now?

I’m not here to offer solutions (yet). I’m here to ask questions. To open a conversation. Because this isn’t just about nutrition — it’s about access, equity, and the real-world gap between good advice and doable action.

So I’m asking you:

• Have you ever been told to start juicing or follow a produce-heavy regimen?
• Were you able to do it?
• What helped — or what made it hard?

Let’s talk about it. Let’s listen to each other. Because healing shouldn’t depend on whether you own a juicer or live near a farmers market.

And maybe, just maybe, the answers will come from us — the people living it.

Would you like to add a comment or a quote from a local patient or provider to deepen the connection even further?