So I’m against juice cleanses, and detoxes. Yes fruit is good for you, yes juice can be good for you, however…. My number one rule is MODERATION. Is drinking 6 juices drinks a day as your only meals moderation?? No, it’s not. It’s definitely not healthy either. I know people that do juice cleanses believe they are detoxifying their bodies, but they are sadly misinformed. Your liver and colon do most of your detoxifying… if you wanted to “cleanse” your body a better plan would be to lay off the booze, caffeine and eat nutritionally balanced meals. Add more veggies and fruits to your meals, and I’m talking real fruit, not the juice of the fruit. Not only does juicing fruit create a higher sugar content because it’s more concentrated but you also lose a valuable nutrient: FIBER! Fiber helps you feel full and aides your digestion (aka keeps things moving if you catch my drift). People usually feel awful when they do a juice cleanse, because they are loading their digestive system with sugary carbs with no fiber. Some research I’ve read also shows that drinking juice in large amounts can lead to diabetes or metabolic disease. Then when they are done with the cleanse they claim to feel amazing… well duh, you starting giving your body real food again, of course you’re going to feel great.
Also… putting your body into this type of starvation and not eating real food only messes up your metabolism and any weight you lose while fasting you will surely gain back when you go back to your regular diet. Doing a detox or a cleanse isn’t sustainable for the long term- it’s much better to make small and gradual, diet and lifestyle changes to obtain a healthier outcome. For long term success you need a maintainable diet. These types of fads create unbalanced thoughts, poor nutrition, and can create obsessive eating habits or patterns.
That being said I can get behind a little bit of juicing, more veggies than fruits or combining the two. But I would be a much larger advocate for eating your nutrients in food not pulverizing them to juice. Roast those veggies with some olive oil, herbs, and garlic powder-trust me they usually come out delicious. If you don’t like eating certain fruits or veggies but still want to get them into your diet I would recommend going the smoothie route. When making your smoothie use a balance of fruits and veggies and definitely add in some protein to help yourself stay full. Juicing as a supplement can provide beneficial nutrients when done correctly and not as an entire meal but I would still push for the consumption of the entire fruit or vegetable.