Juice cleanses have gained popularity as a quick way to lose weight, detoxify the body, and improve overall health. These short-term diets involve consuming only fruit and vegetable juices for a period ranging from one day to a week. While proponents claim numerous benefits, it is important to understand the science behind juice cleanses and to consider the potential risks.
What is a Juice Cleanse?
A juice cleanse is a liquid-only diet where people consume only juices from vegetables and fruits. It involves drinking only juices or homemade concoctions with water, lemon, and added spices. Juice cleanses are often practiced with the hope of weight loss or clearing toxins from the body.
Purported Benefits of Juice Cleanses
Advocates claim that juice cleanses can offer several health benefits. However, it's crucial to approach these claims with a critical eye, as scientific evidence is often limited.
Weight Loss
Proponents of juice cleanses claim that they can aid weight loss. A juice cleanse may cause initial weight loss due to calorie restriction. However, a 2017 review found that they will lead to overall weight gain once a person resumes a full, healthful diet. The initial weight loss is usually due to the depletion of energy stores and water, not fat loss. They’re also not a sustainable solution for weight loss. Studies also show that weight loss from juice-based diets may be “physiologically harmful” to participants. Researchers have also observed links between liquid diet trends and eating disorders. Severe caloric restriction is not sustainable for most people and rarely leads to long-term weight loss. It may also increase a person’s risk of other complications. In most cases, a person will return to their starting weight quickly once caloric restriction ends.
Detoxification
Advocates of juice cleanses often claim that the programs can help remove toxins from a person’s system. Toxins are harmful substances, such as pollutants and synthetic chemicals. An increase in fluid consumption can help kidney function, and some nutritional compounds may help in the removal of non-organic waste products in the body. However, there is insufficient evidence to suggest that juice cleanses or other detoxification diets impact the ability to remove toxins. All you need to do to support these organs is maintain a well-balanced diet and be mindful of excess alcohol and added sugars."The liver and kidneys remove toxins and waste. The liver and kidneys remove toxins and waste. The concept of detoxing by eating or drinking certain diets is a myth.
Read also: Explore the pros and cons of fruit juice detoxes.
Gut Bacteria Changes
Proponents claim that juice cleanses can alter a person’s gut bacteria. However, research shows that juice-only diets have a limited effect on gut bacteria composition.
Juicing for health
Fruits and vegetables are high in various active compounds that benefit general health and help prevent chronic conditions. For example, they’re a good source of phenolic compounds. These have antioxidant, immune-supporting, and antibacterial properties. Fruit juices may also help lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels.
Juicing for skin health
However, these are both animal studies. More studies with humans are needed before any conclusions can be drawn.
Risks of Juice Cleanses
Despite the purported benefits, juice cleanses pose several potential health risks.
Lack of Essential Nutrients
Juices also lack other nutrients like protein, whole grains, and heart-healthy fats. “Juicing fruits and vegetables removes the fiber, so we miss out on its benefits, like helping to regulate blood sugar, manage cholesterol, and support gut health,” says Moran. A person on a juice cleanse may not consume enough proteins or fats. Both of these are crucial to physical health, healing, and brain function. Eliminating food groups for extended periods may also lead to malnourishment.
Read also: Juice Cleanse: Benefits and Risks
Low Blood Sugar
Consuming an insufficient number of calories can cause a person to experience symptoms relating to low blood sugar, including fainting, weakness, dehydration, headaches, and hunger.
Dehydration
If a juice cleanse includes laxatives or other methods of bowel stimulation, a person could lose too many nutrients in their stool. This can lead to dehydration and imbalanced electrolytes.
Kidney Health
Many fruits and vegetables are rich in nutrients that can assist in the good working of the kidneys. Increasing fluid consumption can also be beneficial for kidney function. However, some foods are high in oxalate, a compound that can increase a person’s risk of kidney problems when consumed in high quantities. Foods high in oxalate include spinach and beets. People living with chronic kidney disease may be at risk of oxalate nephropathy. In rare cases, healthy people may also be at risk of this. Oxalate nephropathy is a condition in which the body cannot excrete enough oxalate through urine, causing it to build up in kidney tissue. In rare cases, this can cause kidney failure. "Anyone with kidney disease should not undergo a juice cleanse," warns Beaver.
Potential for Muscle and Bone Loss
It may lead to muscle and bone loss.
Undesirable Side Effects
It causes undesirable side effects.
Read also: Renal Diet Guide: Navigating Orange Juice Consumption
Increased Risk of Eating Disorders
Juicing may increase the risk of eating disorders For example, an obsessive preoccupation with health-promoting foods and an avoidance of foods considered “less healthy” can lead to orthorexia nervosa.
Negative Impact on Gut Microbiome
The study suggests that juicing, which strips the dietary fiber from whole foods, may have a negative impact on your microbiome. Your microbiome is the community of bacteria, fungi and viruses that naturally live in and on your body. “Most people think of juicing as a healthy cleanse, but this study offers a reality check,” says Melinda R. One of the biggest issues with juicing is the removal of fiber and its nutritional content. Fiber is important for your digestive health, helps regulate blood sugar and cholesterol, and contributes to feelings of fullness. Fiber also fuels good gut bacteria that fight inflammation. A balance of fiber and sugar is important to your health. Without fiber, sugar-loving bacteria can multiply, and juice has a high concentration of sugar per serving. The high sugar content in juice fuels harmful bacteria, disrupting your gut and mouth microbiome.
Not Sustainable for Long-Term Weight Loss
"Not only is rapid weight loss unhealthy, but it doesn't last," says Beaver. Beaver says that the weight loss you may see is mostly due to the lack of food in your GI tract and the loss of muscle experienced during a juice cleanse.
Alternatives to Juice Cleanses
Instead of relying on juice cleanses, consider these sustainable and evidence-based approaches to support your health:
- Balanced Diet: Eating a balanced diet and staying adequately hydrated are the best ways to maintain a healthy weight and support the body’s removal of toxins.
- Plant-Based Diets: Based on minimally processed foods, these diets are naturally rich in fruit and vegetables and are associated with reduced body weight. With good planning, a plant-based diet can provide all the nutrients necessary for good health.
- Intermittent Fasting: This involves abstaining from eating for limited periods and eating a regular diet at other times. Reviews have linked intermittent fasting with weight loss and improvements in insulin sensitivity.
- Smoothies: "One delicious way to get the potential benefits of juicing, plus the natural fiber from these foods, is to enjoy fruits and veggies in smoothie form," explains Beaver. Beaver recommends trying to blend your favorite fruits and veggies with some Greek yogurt or soy milk for protein. For a green smoothie, pair kale or spinach with a frozen banana. When you blend fruits and vegetables, you break down the whole fruit into a drinkable format.
- Whole Fruits and Vegetables: If you are looking for high-fiber foods, whole fruits and vegetables are among the highest.
Juicing as Part of a Balanced Diet
Juicing can play a role in a balanced diet. Juicing also can give the digestive system a rest from digesting fiber. This may help some people who have certain health conditions or who receive certain medical treatments. Do not cut back on fiber unless a health care professional recommends it. In general, think about making juice with a blender instead of with a juicing machine. If you try juicing, make only as much juice as you can drink at once. Harmful bacteria can grow quickly in freshly made juice.
The Verdict
Juice cleanses are controversial in the medical community because they do not usually offer long-term weight loss or wellness solutions. Most experts will recommend a balanced, healthful diet instead. The evidence to support the possible benefits of juicing tends to be anecdotal. While juices themselves can be healthy, they're not nutritionally balanced and shouldn't be used as meal replacements. There is a lack of scientific evidence to support the effectiveness of juice cleanses. They’re also not suitable for everyone, and they might lead to an unhealthy relationship with food or to eating disorders. A person should only adhere to juice cleanses or restricted liquid diets under medical supervision. A person should also be wary of pre-packaged juice cleanses that promise significant results, such as reversing diseases or providing dramatic health benefits. There is usually a lack of research to support these claims.