Juice cleanses, a type of short-term detox diet, involve consuming only fruit and vegetable juices. Advocates suggest these cleanses can lead to weight loss, toxin removal, and improved skin. However, scientific evidence supporting these claims is limited, and juice cleanses may pose health risks. This article explores the potential benefits and downsides of juice cleanses, particularly the 7-day juice fast, and discusses alternative ways to support your health.
The Appeal of Juice Cleanses
With so many wonderful results promised, it’s no wonder that many people are researching a 7-day juice diet! The popularity of juicing continues to grow because, in an instant world, we want instant results. We don’t want to wait to see a difference in the scales or to feel better. When we want change, we want it fast. A juice diet is often called a detox or a cleanse. A primary goal is weight loss, but followers of a juice diet swear they feel cleaner and healthier after completing a week’s worth of juices.
Potential Benefits of Juicing
Fruits and vegetables are rich in active compounds that can benefit health and help prevent chronic conditions. They are a good source of phenolic compounds, which possess antioxidant, immune-supporting, and antibacterial properties. Fruit juices may also help lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels.
Juicing for Weight Loss
Juice cleanses may increase the number of healthy bacteria in your gut, which has been linked to weight loss. One study found that a 3-day juice-only diet altered the gut bacteria in participants, leading to substantial weight losses that lasted after the study ended. Researchers attributed this to changes in gut bacteria.
It’s important to note that the participants in this study consumed only 1,310 calories per day, which is below the recommended daily calorie intake for weight maintenance. As such, being in a calorie deficit could lead to rapid weight loss.
Read also: Explore the pros and cons of fruit juice detoxes.
Juicing for ‘Detox’
Some detox treatments have been shown to improve liver detoxification and remove environmental pollutants from the body. However, the evidence is limited, with some reviews suggesting significant flaws in methodology and low participant numbers in clinical studies. Much of the evidence also comes from animal research, which can’t necessarily be applied to humans.
Juicing for Skin Health
Some proponents suggest juicing can improve skin health. However, current evidence consists of animal studies, and more research with humans is needed before conclusions can be drawn.
Risks and Downsides of Juice Cleanses
Despite the potential benefits, juice cleanses carry several risks and downsides:
Insufficient Calorie Intake
Most people who do juice cleanses don’t eat enough solid food to meet their energy needs. This may lead to increased hunger and energy restrictions that could cause symptoms like tiredness, headaches, and irritability. Juice cleanses typically mean consuming very low calories, so ensure that you lighten your workload to accommodate this. A typical juice only provides about 100 calories per serving and certainly does not provide the body with enough protein.
Lack of Fiber
Juices have less dietary fiber than whole fruits and vegetables. While some research suggests that less fiber facilitates your body to process and absorb the juice’s nutrients, dietary fiber has many health benefits. It promotes blood sugar management, heart health, and gut health and is associated with a reduced risk of developing colorectal cancer.
Read also: Juice Cleanse: Benefits and Risks
Potential for Unhealthy Relationship with Food
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.
Unsustainable Weight Loss
Severe caloric restriction is not sustainable for most people and rarely leads to long-term weight loss. In most cases, a person will return to their starting weight quickly once caloric restriction ends.
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.
Malnutrition
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.
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.
Read also: Renal Diet Guide: Navigating Orange Juice Consumption
Kidney Health Risks
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.
Negative Impact on Gut Microbiome
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. One study suggests that juicing may have a negative impact on your microbiome.
High Sugar Content
The high sugar content in juice fuels harmful bacteria, disrupting your gut and mouth microbiome. For example, one medium-sized naval orange has about 66 calories and 12 grams of sugar. One serving (8 ounces) of fresh-squeezed orange juice has roughly 112 calories and 21 grams of sugar.
Weight Loss on a Juice Cleanse
It’s possible to lose weight on a juice cleanse. However, this is likely to be water weight, rather than fat. After a few days of juice cleansing, you may also start to lose muscle mass. Maintaining muscle mass during weight loss is very important for your general health. Yes, research shows that people can lose 1-2lbs of weight per day on a juice cleanse. Ultimately, this figure is influenced by your starting weight, metabolic rate, and activity levels.
Factors Influencing Weight Loss
How much weight can you lose on a 3-day juice cleanse? This may vary for every individual and will depend on several factors, such as:
- How much you weigh
- How active you are
- How many calories you’re consuming
One study found that participants lost up to 1.2kg after a 3-day juice cleanse.
Alternatives to Juice Cleanses
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 nutritious diet filled with whole foods is key for optimal health and disease prevention. Juices can complement your diet, but they shouldn’t replace solid food. Someone wishing to lose or maintain a healthy weight and support their body’s natural processes can try the following alternatives:
- 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. Try blending 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.
Practical Tips for a 7-Day Juice Cleanse (If You Choose to Proceed)
Ensure that your juice cleanse has been carefully designed ideally by a nutritionist or a naturopath. Drink nothing but the juices recommended. You are allowed to drink water and herbal teas along with the juices themselves. The combination of fruit and vegetables in your 7-day juice cleanse is very important.
Research shows that a diet high in fruits and vegetables contains plenty of health-boosting antioxidants, minerals, and vitamins. For this reason, make your own low sugar juices and ensure your juices are made with two parts veggie and only one part fruit.
Making sure that you have variety in your 7-day juice cleanse is a vital component for sticking to the programme.
Juicing Method
Wash all items thoroughly, do not remove the skin or the stalks, feed all items through your juicer, and drink immediately but slowly.
Post-Cleanse Eating
After completing a 7-day juice cleanse, food choices need to be light, wholesome, and not too taxing on the digestive system.
Important Considerations
Shop-bought juices, in particular, are often full of added sugars which can create havoc in the body.
Any diet that severely restricts calories and food choices will lead to nutrient deficiencies, and this will lead to cravings.
The Role of Fruits and Vegetables
The fact is that consuming more fruits and vegetables in any diet is no doubt a beneficial habit to practise. That doesn’t mean to say that all of your fruit and veggies need to be juiced before consumption. Could it supplement in part to a healthy diet? Yes absolutely.
The Detoxification Myth
Doctors note that the digestive system is self-cleaning and naturally removes toxins. “Consumers should keep in mind that most of the claims associated with juice fasts are not scientifically proven. In fact, the major claim of removing toxins from the body is overstated,”
Consulting a Professional
Speak with a healthcare professional or registered dietitian if you’re concerned about your diet. If you are trying to lose weight or just improve your health, your doctor can be a great partner during the process.