What Is A Juice Cleanse?
A juice cleanse is simply a program in which, for a given amount of time, you drink only fresh fruit and vegetable juices. Depending on your health goals, practitioners usually suggest juicing only for somewhere between 3 days and one month.
How it works: The idea behind juice cleansing is that you get most of your nutrients through ultra low calorie juices. This leaves the body with extra resources to heal itself since it is not required to digest heavy foods. For best results, most people recommend drinking juices made out of vegetables and fruits that are not sweet, such as cucumber. There are many recipes available on the internet.
What are the benefits?: Juice cleansing or juice fasting can have many benefits including:
- Quick and easy weight loss
- Relief of constipation and restoration of regularity
- Disappearing acne, rashes, dry skin, and eczema
- Relief of headaches – including migraines
- Reduced incidence of heartburn
- Relief of arthritis and joint pain
- Lower blood pressure and cholesterol
- Elimination of food cravings
- Relief of asthma symptoms
- Easier nutrient absorption
- Smoother digestion
- Clearer thinking and sharper mental focus
- More balanced emotions
- Greater motivation
What are the risks of juice cleansing?: After years of practice we’ve seen just a few risks involved with juice cleansing. First is the possibility of experiencing unpleasant detox symptoms such as headache, nausea, weakness, dizziness, loose bowels and upset stomach. This happens for pretty much anyone, but is usually worse in people who have had a diet that has included lots of meat products, sugar and processed food. It is very rare that these symptoms become severe enough to warrant a visit to the hospital, but it can happen on occasion. The second risk we’ve seen is that people lose muscle mass on a long juice cleanse. This can be dangerous not only but especially for the elderly who need to maintain as much muscle as possible. The third risk we’ve seen is that juice cleansing can promote the “yo-yo” effect in which you end up binging on food after the cleanse and undoing all of the great work you did during the cleanse.
An easier way to cleanse?: In our experience, an easier and, in the long term, more successful way to detox for the majority of people is to use a cleansing diet over a period of at least one month. This type of diet is much easier on the body than juice cleansing and because of that more people are able to stick with it. Yet, the benefits tend to be long lasting.
If you’re new to cleansing, check out “Natural Cleansing The Easy Way” by Mark Ament. It explains in detail how to cleanse while still enjoying foods.
