I’ve had a few clients ask me about juice cleanses recently so I wanted to touch base and explain why they really aren’t necessary. Last week, I discussed how wellness is all the rave in today’s society, and juicing is no exception to this. From juice cleanses, to detox ads, and everything in between, it’s easy to get wrapped up in what everyone is consuming to be “healthy” but juice cleanses aren’t all they are cracked up to be. They can actually cause more harm than good and though they may serve a purpose in some very specific situations, I definitely wouldn’t recommend them to the average person. Now, I’m not here to diss a good juice. I love juicing and consuming a fresh juice filled with fruits and veggies. I’m not telling you to never juice again. I’m solely against juice cleanses and detox teas. Why? Let’s chat about it…

What’s a Juice Cleanse?

Juice cleanses are generally 3-days to 3-weeks of solely consuming freshly juiced fruits and veggies. Juicing is when you separate the juice and the flesh/pulp of the produce. High-powered juicers are usually used and the juice should be consumed within a few hours of being made for the “best results”. The primary purpose of a juice cleanse is to lose weight. Some may try a cleanse to reset their metabolism, boost their immunity, detect allergins, release toxins, etc. Sounds great, right? Wrong. This is not the way to do any of the above things for your body. It actually causes more harm than good.

My Personal Experience

I love juicing, I’ll be the first to say that. Sometimes there’s nothing more refreshing than a fresh cold juice on a hot summer day. Years ago, I was trying to figure out how to lose weight and get healthy. With no true knowledge of health, I fell into the trap of false health and wellness. I, like many of you, was getting ads for detox teas and juice cleanses. My digestive system was out of whack, the way it had been my entire life. I would go weeks before having an actual bowel movement and I constantly lacked energy, had anxiety and hated my body. With no research and no thought, I decided I would do a juice cleanse the first week of the year. PSA: if you’re doing anything the first of the year, it probably isn’t sustainable and it’s something that’s a quick fix.

So, I decided to start easy and go for a 3-day juice cleanse. I got all of my fruits and veggies, scheduled out my juicing, and began. I had high hopes that this three-day stint would magically cure my digestive system for good and I would never have an issue again. Gosh, was I wrong. Within the three days, I got severely constipated with excruciating pain, I got incredibly dizzy, and I lacked the energy to do anything even remotely productive. I was beyond upset with the results and two years later committed an entire project in my graduate program to the subject to encourage others to do the research, listen to their bodies, and not fall for the trap of a juice cleanse and detox tea. Here’s why they don’t work…

What Juice Cleanses (Don’t) Do

The concept of a juice cleanse makes sense (which is why so many marketers get away with selling them). Consume juice and nothing else, detox the body, lose weight, and feel great. Sounds simple, right? Well, taking food out of your diet can actually do the reverse of everything that these marketing scams promote. People tend to do juice cleanses for weight loss and though it can cause short-term weight loss, it’s not sustainable or a healthy way to lose weight because it’s lacking important nutrients that the body requires. It can actually lead to more long-term weight gain. When you deprive the body of nutrients, it holds on to calories and fat for safety. If your stomach is unaware of when its next solid meal will be, it will absorb as much as it possibly can to try and make it last longer. This severely slows your metabolism down. So, though you may lose weight at the start of your juice cleanse, once you go back to consuming whole foods, your body will have a tough time adjusting.

A common argument for juice cleanses is that they can help reduce cravings. Juice cleanses actually stimulate greater hunger which alters your sense of reality and what your body is genuinely craving. It’s not uncommon to become ravenous for anything you can get your hands on during and after a juice cleanse. Eating a plethora of food after juice cleanses is really dangerous for the body because you don’t have the necessary bacteria in your gut to properly break down food. Juicing strips fruits and veggies of all the fiber, healthy fats, protein, and important vitamins like b12. When you juice, you’re losing the nutrient-dense parts of the produce. Juicing causes fatigue, headaches, and dizziness from low-calorie content and though it may “detox” the body, it’s detoxing you of all the important bacteria that you need for gut health. All of the fibrous parts of the products are what help you feel full longer, balances your blood sugar, and improve bowel movements. The term “detox” isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be, huh?

Our Bodies

Our bodies are naturally equipped with cleansing and detoxing systems, we have it built-in: our skin and lungs protect us from environmental toxins, our liver rids the body of toxins, our digestive tract rids us of waste that isn’t utilized, and our kidneys release our bodies of unnecessary fluids. Our bodies are designed to cleanse, detox, and protect us from anything that will cause harm to the body. Juice cleanses do more harm than good to these vital organs. When you try to unnaturally cleanse the body, these organs shut down as if they are on vacation because they think they don’t need to work that hard. So, when you go back to normal food and need them to work, they are slow and struggle to regulate the body. Similarly to when you go on vacation and struggle to get back into the swing of work.

Your body can and will naturally detox itself if and when needed. But what if you are doing an elimination diet to detect allergies or are having severe digestive issues? There are better ways to resolve these issues than a juice cleanse. You can still do an elimination diet without a juice cleanse for the sole purpose of detecting allergies. A juice cleanse is causing you more harm in this situation because it isn’t allowing your body to react to foods in their natural state. When digestion is an ongoing issue, you are likely deficient in certain vitamins and minerals, consuming foods you have an intolerance to, being impacted by stress and/or mental health, etc. There are many reasons why digestion can be an issue but a juice cleanse isn’t going to solve it. Talk to a health professional to determine what actions to take before jumping on the juice cleanse bandwagon.

Real Health

Society is filled with marketing ploys to sell you the latest detox tea and juice cleanse but it’s all just a money game. They will frame it like it’s all the rave and sell you on the “wellness” aspect but this is far from wellness. Detox teas and juice cleanses are designed to clear out your colon while depleting your energy source. It’s deceptive marketing to say that a juice cleanse or detox tea will actually “cleanse the body of toxins” because it hasn’t been tested, and can’t really be. I’ve never seen a detox tea or juice cleanse talk about what “toxins” are being removed. Have you? This marketing strategy is a sick way to prey on the vulnerable audiences of women that want a quick fix to weight loss. This is a multibillion-dollar industry that is far from real health.

You can still juice to enjoy but the purpose of a juice cleanse isn’t actually helping you, juices are healthy and do provide some benefits such as increased hydration, boosts immunity, and reduced inflammation in the body but solely relying on a juice cleanse is not helping you in any way. If you love juicing, keep doing it but don’t disregard the importance of consuming whole foods. ultimately, if you find a balanced diet that is nourishing and fulfilling, there won’t be a need for a juice cleanse or detox because your body will be properly equipped with all the necessary nutrients and vitamins needed to sustain health and naturally cleanse and detox, in a healthy and sustainable way.