Fad or Fact: Juice Cleanse
We’ve all heard of it. Juice cleanse. But what does this really mean, and does it really work? Nowadays people are searching for anything to get fast results when it comes to being healthy and weight loss. I am here to help sort this out.
What is a juice cleanse? A juice cleanse is meant to be a liquid only, short term diet from one day to one week, that is claimed to help aid in weight loss, clearing toxins from the body, and improve digestion. Juicing involves extracting all the nutrients from fruits and vegetables, leaving the pulp behind.
Pros:
By juicing, you are likely to get many vitamins and minerals that you may have been missing out on before if you have a diet that already lacks fruits and vegetables. By getting these vitamins and minerals it can help improve your energy level, especially if you are someone that has a diet already high in processed foods.
You may notice weight loss with a juice cleanse if you are doing it it for more than a couple days. Although weight loss may occur, it is not a sustainable weight loss plan and is mostly water weight and other depletion stores you are losing in the first few days.
Antioxidants. Fruits and vegetables are full of antioxidants which can help decrease risk of heart disease, improve immune function, protect against cell damage.
Hydration! Yes, fruits and vegetables can hydrate you. Even though they contain water, you need to be mindful of drinking enough additional water throughout the day.
Cons:
Do you absorb nutrients better? No. With juicing, since it is an all liquid diet, it is very likely that these nutrients will go through you quicker. Although you will be getting nutrients from the fruits and vegetables, a lot of the times you are missing out on the fiber from the skins of these foods. Fiber actually helps slow down digestion to help your body absorb nutrients when passing through the intestines. Fiber is very beneficial in aiding with digestion to help regulate bowels and support a healthy gut microbiome. It can also help aid in weight loss by making you feel fuller for longer and slowing digestion.
By juicing, you are also missing out on other important vitamins and minerals that you get from protein, fat, and whole grain sources, which our bodies need to help fuel itself and carry out daily functions.
You may likely feel more tired and irritable due to lacking vitamins and minerals from other sources in your diet. You may also experience headaches and dizziness if you are in an extreme caloric deficit from these cleanses. Electrolyte imbalances, low blood pressure, and low blood sugars are also side effects.
Please be mindful that many of the juices you buy in the store can be very high in added sugars and therefore, lose most of its important benefits. Added sugars in excess can lead to weight gain, tooth decay, diabetes, and other health complications.
So, fad or fact? Fad it is. There is no strong scientific research that points to juicing being better than eating whole fruits and vegetables. For every pro, there is a con to go along. If you are someone who has difficulty with consuming fruit and vegetables in your daily diet, then having a fruit and vegetable juice can be beneficial for you in combination with other foods throughout the day. You can even add fruits and vegetables to your smoothies instead of doing just a juice. This is not a long term diet, and therefore, many who may experience weight loss while doing a juice cleanse, they may also gain the weight back once they are done depending on old dietary ways.
