Juice cleanses: Juice cleanses are not mysterious; they are simply plant-based diets in liquid form. This diet eliminates common dietary mistakes, essentially functioning as an elimination diet where you primarily consume fresh fruits and vegetables in liquid form. The main benefit is that it excludes dietary mistakes, notably all processed foods. Another benefit of a juice cleanse is that it floods your body with clean sources of both macro and micronutrients, including carbohydrates, protein, and minimal fat.
Fiber and energy: In a juice cleanse, you receive trace amounts of fiber and energy from unrefined carbohydrates, which are essential and beneficial. Additionally, you are inundating your body with antioxidants and other micronutrients such as phytochemicals and flavonoids.
Minimal strain: This method of cleansing does not strain your body the way a regular diet might. There are no toxins to remove, you are not consuming excessive protein, and you avoid issues like gas and indigestion. Because you are consuming juice, which requires minimal effort to process, it quickly enters the bloodstream. This conservation of effort allows your body to use its energy for cleansing, healing, and recovery. Moreover, the quick absorption of nutrients and naturally occurring sugars helps to pull out toxic materials from cells and expel them through normal bodily channels.
Resting benefits: Juice cleanses are more effective if you make time to rest. Listening to gentle, non-stressful music, creating a positive environment, doing aromatherapy, taking massages, and engaging in light workouts can enhance the benefits of a juice cleanse. The goal is to rest your body, not to push it to its limits on a low-calorie diet. If you are overly active or anxious, your body may hold onto toxins as it does with a regular diet.
Healing mindset: By minimizing distractions and adopting a healing mindset—such as reading positive material, exercising gently, and meditating—you can fully experience the benefits of the cleanse. This type of diet can help reduce anxiety, which in turn improves overall well-being. Feeling better positively affects your body's chemistry, which is a key benefit of a cleanse.
Marketing term: The term "cleanse" is largely a marketing word. Any knowledgeable doctor would question what exactly you think you are cleansing. It is clear that cleansing happens naturally, just as it does during sleep or rest. While it may not reach the same level, when you sleep, your body undergoes detoxification processes that are crucial, especially during deep sleep. One could argue that in deep sleep, the body begins a form of dialysis. Any stress or burden might impede this natural process.
Metaphorical cleanse: Cleansing can also be a metaphor for the psychological process one undergoes when detaching from their normal diet. It provides an opportunity to gain a bird's-eye view of one's relationship with food while still receiving nutrients, unlike the more challenging dry fasts or the somewhat milder but still demanding water fasts. One reason juice cleanses are feasible for amateurs is that they still provide enough calories to function. For instance, if you consume around 1,000 calories daily, you shouldn’t expect to sustain intense physical activities like going to the gym twice a day; that would be more of a crash diet intended for rapid weight loss, primarily water weight.
Crash diet: Crash diets can lead to rapid dehydration, making you look gaunt, with prominent veins and visible skeletal structures. You might feel extremely weak. The goal of a juice cleanse is not to strip your body down to the bone but to promote health and wellness.
Business issues: In the business of juice cleanses, it is crucial to consider issues related to anxiety and addiction. A juice cleanse should not feed vanity-based, neurotic, or chronic anxiety. Though social media and other media outlets often popularize such cleanses, they should be approached more like a yoga retreat. The longer you cleanse, the closer you get to a state of mindfulness, akin to being in the Himalayas with meditation masters.
Personal experience: Juice cleanses have always been safe in my experience. I have completed countless juice cleanses with ease and without interruption. The company I sold in 2019 was responsible for approximately 100,000 juice cleanses over eight or nine years, spread across 85 stores. (We calculated this number based on average sales from 2011 to 2016.)
Commodity cleanse: The cleanse became a regular commodity item. Unexpectedly, people would come into the store, say they wanted to do a three-day juice cleanse, and leave with 18 juices in two or three plastic bags. However, the commercial juice business was not sustainable because it was expensive. Additionally, some people believed that a juice fast was the easiest way to lose weight. Between 2010 and around 2014, many viewed a juice cleanse as a miracle diet, expecting it to transform their bodies instantly. While some did achieve quick results, such as losing five or six pounds to reveal a six-pack or enhance muscle definition, most people eventually returned to their regular dietary habits.
Breaking patterns: People tend to fall back into patterns: consuming dairy, eating large meals late at night, miscombining foods, eating too much animal protein, consuming processed foods, drinking alcohol, and dealing with stress. My goal is to help you see that a juice cleanse can break these patterns without extreme measures.
Customizing cleanses: You can customize your juice cleanse in various ways, choosing a duration that suits you—10 days, 20 days, or another period. During this time, drink juice, supplement with water, and engage in breathing exercises. It's best to do a juice cleanse in warm weather because your body won't have to work as hard to maintain its temperature. Doing a juice fast in freezing weather is challenging.
Healing with nutrition: If you have an illness and turn to nutrition for healing, that's commendable. Few people use nutrition to help their bodies heal. For most people, a juice cleanse is manageable, as by the second or third day, you won't be consuming much else. The naturally occurring sugars in fruit juices are generally sufficient. I rarely recommend only vegetable juices because they contain only 60 to 100 calories per serving. Drinking seven vegetable juices a day would result in too large a calorie deficit to sustain energy for healing and daily activities.
Energy impact: The lack of energy during a juice cleanse may affect your emotional experiences and bodily sensations, potentially leading to an unpleasant experience. You might feel anxious, which can impede healing processes. If you are healing from something, my recommendation is to first discuss it with your doctor. If your doctor is not supportive, consider finding a new doctor. However, if you prefer to stay with your current doctor, explain what you are doing and why, and ask for their blessing and supervision.
Medication effects: If you are on certain medications, be aware that their effects may intensify as your body cleanses and your calorie intake drops. Ensure that your doctor monitors you closely, as you might need to adjust your dosage. Additionally, have a lifeline for support, such as a person to talk to or a book to follow, in case you experience strong feelings of anxiety.
No commercial interest: I no longer have a commercial interest in pushing cleanses, although I do sell juice. I am happy to help people do a juice fast/cleanse. I grew tired of trying to explain to people the obvious and substantial benefits. Instead, I write essays and articles on the goodsugar website to help people find their path. As you experiment and gain more experience, you will learn more about your body. Juice cleanses are essentially "elimination" diets; they help you stop following your old, unhealthy diet, even if you thought it was relatively clean.
Special mindset: Juice cleanses can be beneficial, but they require a special mindset and careful management to avoid deficiencies, depending on the juices consumed. I know people who have done 60-day cleanses. For instance, my close friend and business partner completed one with my help. He drank an almond milk banana smoothie in the morning to get the necessary calories and then consumed straight juice for the rest of the day.
Weight loss: Each individual loses weight differently, so it's hard to predict if you'll achieve your desired weight loss with just a three-day juice cleanse. That's why I recommend starting with a three-day juice cleanse or at least two days, then switching to a diet of salads, fresh fruits, some juices, and smoothies for a couple of months. The key to this diet is to avoid processed foods or ingredients entirely. The focus is not on calorie restriction but on eating clean, natural foods.
Staying active: You should aim to stay reasonably active, perhaps 25% less than your usual activity level. During your juice cleanse, set objectives such as reading specific books, personal journaling, covering certain subjects, and practicing breathing exercises. It's crucial to achieve positive results from this practice.
Post-cleanse diet: On the last day of your cleanse, you can end with a big salad without any animal protein—you don't need it. The morning after your juice cleanse, you could have a whole or half a cantaloupe or a combination of cantaloupe and watermelon. If you don't like cantaloupe, skip it and eat something else. For breakfast, you could have two apples and a nectarine, or a ripe banana with nuts.
Daily check-in: The most important thing is to check in with yourself daily. Ask, "How do I feel today?" and "Where do I feel different in my body?" Assess any pain or anxiety. If you're experiencing anxiety, try to identify its cause. Sometimes anxiety isn't specific and can be about various aspects of life. If there's a particular event causing worry, practice breathing exercises to help you relax.
Overall lifestyle: Can you look at your overall lifestyle and say, "I’m getting enough sleep, I’m relaxing"? If you’re falling back into old patterns that you’re trying to escape, ask yourself what's going on right now. Become aware of any fatigue or mental strain.
Service to others: Service to others, along with these practices, is mood-altering. Over time, you will become more aware and conscious of anxiety's presence and how it affects your consciousness. In that state, you might fall into negative patterns and addictions, losing control. Can you use a juice cleanse to regain control? Absolutely, but as part of a healing practice, not as part of a weight loss gimmick.
Not a quick-fix:The most important takeaway here is that a juice cleanse is not a quick-fix, cheat diet. It’s more technical than that. You need to take a deep breath and determine if you’re drawn to this practice because of an obsession with losing weight. If you discover that this is your truth, you might need to work with someone more experienced to gain honest insights. Change your intention, make a commitment to breathe, and do the work necessary to heal emotionally. This work includes journaling, talking, reading, breathing exercises, and self-care. It can also extend to serving others because service is uplifting.