Have you ever done a juice cleanse? Well I have, and I’m just now learning that apparently they aren’t all what they are hyped up to be. I used it more of a detox, I thought it made my skin clear up and almost felt like hitting a reset button on my diet. According to this article, they have been used for a quick way to slim down. Are they effective to the body? Theoretically, yes they should be. Full of nutrients, 100% juice, no heavy carbs, sounds amazing right? But is there any scientific evidence behind this? As a person who has juiced before, I have to confess I never actually researched if it was a hoax or actually had health benefits, I was sucked into the fad of believing it was a good idea. I didn’t know there could actually be some potential health risks to be mindful of.
Caroline Cederquist who is a physician specializing in nutrition brings up the point that juice cleanses can severely restrict calorie intake. She even goes so far to state that they are neither effective nor safe. That’s quite the statement. Cleanses may appear to work in the short term because you are heavily restricting calorie intake for a designated time length. The issue comes when once people are done with the cleanse, they tend to put weight right back on. That negates the whole juice cleanse, right? But when you really think about it, it makes sense. A person does a 4-day juice cleanse full of natural sugars, natural calories, and nutrients and then revert right back to all the foods that were eaten before the cleanse. Cleanses are also not full of protein, and so if a person is an avid “juicer”, cleanses can actually cause a loss of muscle and not fat.
So with all the research out there, and articles titled “6 Potential Dangers of Juice Cleanses and Liquid Diets” why do people still do them? Is it just because of the short term “feel good” results? Maybe, but it could also be a good way to clean out the GI system, but my opinion is to just “cleanse” your diet. I believe a person will see better results that actually stick.
I believe everyone is constantly looking for a “fast, quick-fix” way to lose weight, so that is what is so tempting about the juice cleanses. I remember watching a documentary about them, and they promise all of these benefits of losing weight quickly and improving many clinical markers. However, many people do not realize that (1) our body is already equipped with a liver, which is perfectly capable of detoxing our bodies, (2) there are so many dangers associated with consuming such a low calorie diet, (3) when we juice different fruits and vegetables we are removing fiber and potentially other nutrients, (4) natural sugar and table sugar react in the body completely the same and (5) losing weight that quickly is unsafe and not sustainable. I believe we as health professional definitely have a responsibility of addressing these fad diets, as they can be very dangerous.
I believe a juice cleanse is the most deceptive marketing scheme around. Typically weight loss diets are talked about as what they are, and it is known that you can yo-yo back to the weight you started at. Instead, cleanses are looked at for cleaning out the body. Overall though, they really lack protein, which is essential for building muscle, and they thoroughly reduce calories, which is not at all sustainable for long-term. Because of this it bothers me the way that cleanses are looked at and held in such high regard in so many circles. Because of this, one question that truly stands out to me is how do change public perception of cleanses? How can we make people realize what these really are, and is there a way to change people’s minds with these cleanses? Literature is starting to come around to it, but we need to truly show people they are not what they are, and make sure that they understand that.