Is juicing good for you? Joe Cross offers his take
An Australian wellness advocate talks about how juicing and a largely plant-based diet have changed his life
We're supposed to eat five servings of fruit and vegetables a day, according to doctors and health authorities. But how many of us actually accomplish that?
Yet when Joe Cross preaches about "rebooting" with a juice-only fast and embracing a plant-based diet, it seems to get people's attention.
The Australian's influence is apparent not only in his social media following (30,200 on Instagram and 219,000 on Facebook), but also in his latest documentary , Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead 2, which premiered in Hong Kong a fortnight ago.
The 90-minute film is interspersed with testimonials by people who were inspired to change their lifestyles after watching Cross' first film in 2010.
That tracked how a 41-year-old Cross - morbidly obese at 140 kilograms, suffering from chronic hives and dealt a warning of early death by his doctor - went on a 60-day juice fast. He eventually lost a third of his weight and got off medication he'd relied on for nearly a decade.
On the heels of the first movie's success, Cross, an entrepreneur and investor, started Reboot, a health and wellness company focusing on weight loss through juicing. These days, he lives out of a suitcase and preaches about juice worldwide.
In the sequel, we see Cross on the road in the US, Canada, Hamburg, Manila, Seoul, London, Adelaide, the south of France, and in China. He connects with fellow "Rebooters", many of whom thank Cross for saving their lives.