From daytime TV segments, to magazine ads, to “expert” blogs and pricey specialty products, you have surely all been engrossed with the latest and “greatest” in juice cleanse diets dogma. They have claimed to make you quickly drop pounds, cure digestion woes, improve energy and concentration, and rid the body of the so called “toxins” that supposedly lie within like some demons that need to an exorcism. But are cleanses really all they’re cracked up to be? Let me, a Registered Dietitian, lay down some science that might explain why I’m personally not so convinced.
Your Body is Not “Dirty”
I hate the rhetoric of cleansing that comes hand in hand with juice cleanse diets. The language and terms often used in the media suggests that our bodies are “dirty” or “impure”, assumedly due to the many “sins” we commit like drinking alcohol or eating high fat pastries. Instead of being angry with your body, why not treat it with compassion, love and nourishment. This step alone will make a huge difference in how you carry yourself and how you feel.
We Have a Liver for Good Reason
Our bodies are miraculous creatures of their own. They have been “detoxifying” themselves since the beginning of time, and there’s no reason why our generation would suddenly be in need of intervention like juice cleanse diets. I’ve done a lot of digging, and I haven’t found any solid scientific studies to suggest that your body needs to be cleansed, and that any product or regime on the market is a good means to do it. That’s because your liver removes waste from the bloodstream and transfers it to the kidneys for the disposal in the urine, while your large intestine reabsorbs water and minerals and passes out the waste. You can watch this process happen every day, just take a look in the toilet! If you’re not seeing enough “evidence”, the problem is likely that you’re just not getting enough fibre and water rather than some sign you need a strict liquid regime. Just try adding lots of additional whole fruit, vegetables, whole grains, beans and legumes to your diet, and getting in few extra cups of liquid and you’ll be good to go (heh- I made a bathroom pun.)
Why People Feel Good
So what’s all this about talk about how amazing people feel while doing one of these juice cleanse diets? Well, this really comes down to the context of the cleansing period. Let me give you an example to help illustrate what I mean. I have a friend who does a cleanse every once in a while and claims to feel amazing. I don’t doubt it at all. While on the cleanse, he doesn’t drink alcohol and because he’s not out partying late at night, he regularly makes it to his morning exercise class. In contrast, when he’s not “on” the cleanse, he drinks a fair bit of booze for a few nights a week and therefore is too hungover to make it to the gym. So what is it? The juice cleanse diet or the healthy habits that seem to be part and parcel of it? My tip is to skip the challenging juice cleanse diet and just get to the good stuff.
Big Industry is Big Trouble
Let’s not forget that the diet industry, including those that create juice cleans diets and products, is a marketing powerhouse. They make millions every year telling you that your body is full of toxins, and that their products are the route to all health. And while yes, fruits, vegetables, whole grain, low fat dairy and lean proteins have marketing boards too, the benefits of these food groups are well documented in research. With cleanses, they’re living off sexy advertisements, celebrity endorsements and claims alone. Next time you read a glowing testimonial of a juice cleanse diet, just take a minute to think about whose interest is being served and if a marketing board is behind the campaign.
The Not So Sexy Side-Effects of JUICE CLEANSE DIETS
1) The Weight Comes Back with Vengeance- Good news first- you probably will lose weight on a Juice Cleanse, simply because the daily caloric intake will be so much lower than your accustomed. But like most fad diets, the weight you will lose on these Juice Cleanse diets will predominantly be water and not fat loss. After a prolonged amount of time, you will start breaking down muscle stores as well, leaving you with a higher fat : lean tissue ratio then when you started. The result of that is that you’re metabolism will begin to slow due to reduced muscle mass, so the minute you start eating the way you previously had, you will gain all your weight back plus more. Probably not what you had in mind.
2) Things Feel a Little Clogged Up or Are Coming Out Like Lava (sorry for the mental image)- So this here really depends on how your body responds to the abrupt dietary changes, and the exact contents of what you’re putting in. When you’re just drinking liquids all day, there is a good chance you’re not getting in enough dietary fibre, since fibre exists in the skins, pulp and pith of whole fruit and veg (most of which is extracted when you juice). The result is that you’re probably going to feel a wee-bit constipated after a few days. In contrast, some cleanses (like the notorious Master Cleanse) have ingredients that tend to irritate the bowel and send you rushing to the washroom in the middle of work outs, business meetings or sleep. Neither extreme sound ideal (or healthy) to me.
3) You Feel (and Look!) Lethargic & Exhausted- A lot of these juice cleanse diets are not nutritionally balanced, and specifically lack protein and fat. I know the media has demonized the heck out of fat, but without it, a lot of essential vitamins and minerals cannot be absorbed. Without adequate levels of dietary protein, fat, fat soluble vitamins, and the various other missing nutrients from a juice cleanse diet, you’ll likely feel exhausted. Usually when I’m exhausted because I haven’t had enough fuel, there’s no way I’m going to power through a 45 minute hard-core spin class. The result is you may actually end up regressing in your health habits while on the cleanse. Furthermore, after an extended period of time, your luscious hair will lose its shine, your skin will lose its elasticity and your immune system may decline. None of this sounds very sexy to me.
4) You Get Stuck in the Restrict-Binge-Repeat Cycle- Like most restrictive diets, a lot of people find that the second they “cheat” and eat something that’s not on these juice cleanse diets, they throw in the towel and binge on everything and anything they see. This is actually a fairly good coping mechanism that you shouldn’t feel guilty about. If you restrict yourself of something your body and mind both need (ie. calories and the comfort of eating), you start to get a little obsessive about food. You think about your next juice, or when you’re going to be “off” the cleanse, and dream about cakes, milkshakes and poutine. With that kind of stimulation, it’s nearly impossible not to have a massive binge the second you get your hands on something more appealing than sweet water. Unfortunately, this sets us up for the restrict- binge cycle, which wreaks havoc on our metabolisms and relationships with food.
5) Your Social Life Takes a Hit- Do you really want to be the one at the birthday celebration at the new trendy restaurant ordering water with lemon while you’re friends indulge in a celebratory cake? What about a cultural celebration with your family around food? Food is one of our biggest sources of culture, pleasure, social sharing. There is plenty of solid research to suggest that strict dietary patterns can be socially isolating, and interfere with personal relationships. To me, this is one of the biggest reasons why I wouldn’t personally get into something like these juice cleanse diets.
6) I’d Rather Spent my Money on Shoes- I mean, wouldn’t you? Most regimes are priced around the $100 a day mark, which is not exactly eating on a budget if you ask me. A pair of shoes per day or a case of kale juices? You know the answer to that.
Photo credit: Juice Dieting
In conclusion, I know I sound like a Negative Nancy here about juice, but it’s not all bad stuff. I actually think it’s a great idea to have a freshly squeezed vegetable and fruit juice every once in a while, and do so myself whenever I feel like sipping on something refreshing and light. Sure, I would always rather people eat the whole fruit and veg where there is fibre and you get the satisfaction of chewing, but ultimately, if juice is the only way you’re willing to get in your veg, then do it. Having said that, do I advise people to spend a hundred dollars a day on one of these juice cleanse diets in the hopes of losing a few pounds? Definitely not, the reasons for which are well documented above. As my key take away, I want you to consider this- any time anyone asks me my opinion on the fad diet du jour, I always ask, “can you do this for the rest of your life every day?” The answer is almost always no, and my follow up then, is “Okay, then don’t even start because any weight you lose you’ll regain and usually with a bit more.” Try asking yourself the same thing!
What are your thoughts on juice cleanse diets?
Have you tried any?
Any success? Let me know below!
Abbey Sharp is a Registered Dietitian (RD), regulated by the Ontario College of Dietitians. She is a mom, YouTuber, Blogger, award winning cookbook author, media coach specializing in food and nutrition influencers, and a frequent contributor to national publications like Healthline and on national broadcast TV shows.
Natalie Browne says
I love this post!! As with all fad diets, the results are temporary, at best and could be detrimental down the road (as with so many fad diets). Personally, I couldn’t survive on a juice diet. I love food too much and am far to active. Balanced eating and active living are the best way to maintain your health.
Abbey Sharp says
I’m totally with ya Natalie. Definitely not sustainable
Tanya says
Have you ever actually experienced a juice cleanse? I do 2-4 a year, not to lose weight but for IBS. I do them because I feel amazing afterwards and you can feel the extra nutrients working immediately…. If you make your own juice adding healthy fats (avacado, nut butter) and plant protein powder. I recently ordered a 3 day juice cleanse (due to moving my juicer is packed away). I would not recommend buying ready prepared juice as they don’t contain any of the fats or protein needed. I find this article very disappointing, and see little benefit in eating dairy. Jason Vale the Juice Master explains all the benefits of juicing, you should check him out you may learn a thing or two. Juicing is not a fad diet, there are many advocates out there and I am one.
Abbey Sharp says
I’m glad its something that works for you!
Annaliesa Rose 🌹 says
Can I just say please, your liver while it already does what it’s doing, and yes everyone detoxifies mostly always the reason people have been juicing since for a long time, even back thousands of years there is evidence of juicing and enemas and they obviously made wine and oil so they could press these fruits, but original point is juice fasting or more juice feasting is not new and the reason you would use it is because instead of a water fast you feel like eating something while tricking the body into believing you haven’t due to less fibre however you are getting all the nutrients from the food juiced and the juices don’t detox the body, they just have a break by fasting either from sleeping (dry fasting) or water fasting or juice cleanses. Juicing is not for people to lose weight but to detox from autoimmune or cancer or other issues to help you reset the body and also get more nutrients than you can from eating that amount of produce. So when you have chronic health conditions and Drs fob everyone off and just say there’s nothing they can do, the body CAN reset itself if given the right tools and our organs regenerate themselves over time and doing these helps heal damage (when not scar tissue damage). As for the liver and juice cleanses it is the liver being given an easier workload that makes the body heal itself and the liver detoxify the juice is just so you don’t feel empty as on a water fast at first.
As for nutrients being missing, this shouldn’t be the case. You would be juicing all the foods a person should be eating and since humans are supposed to live on a diet of fruits as our primary source of energy along with vegetables especially greens and nuts and seeds as in the first place we would have been gatherer hunters and not the other way around and therefore would have grazed on grapes and berries a lot of times we certainly were not meant to be eating animal products like we are now due to factory farming and manipulation of these animals to get bigger quicker and produce way more eggs than they were naturally meant to in their lifetime and that’s not even touching on Monsanto and GMOs.
So basically we don’t “live” on a juice cleanse, that’s why it’s a cleanse, a reset so you can reset your mind to make healthier choices and stick to a raw vegan of whole foods plantbased diet.
Cierra says
A few of the gals at my job were all doing a juice cleanse together and I got a little too curious and decided to join(curiosity killed the cat) I ordered a three day cleanse that was pretty expensive but I ordered it because I found it highly discounted on Groupon. First day (also only and last day) I felt fine at first I drank 3 of the drinks while at work. Near the end of the day I felt like I was ran down like I was catching the flu exhausted and had the worst migraine ever that wouldn’t go away with medicine I chalked it up to “i am starving myself what else should I expect. Long story short I gave in and attempted to eat food about three bites in my stomach felt crazy I started having cramps and my mouth began to water and next came to exorcist vomit and the migraine lasted till the next day .. never again
Abbey Sharp says
That sounds like an awful experience. Thanks for sharing with us 🙂
tara @ a daily dose of fit says
I could never survive on a cleanse. 1) I love food. 2) I live an active lifestyle and would struggle with the low calories. This post is great!
Dan says
Number one – if you are doing a juice cleanse to simply lose weight then you are not doing your body any favors and you will fail miserably in the first place.
I’ve done a pure juice cleanse making the juices myself at home and drinking 4-6 32oz jars a day. Buying juices online or from a store is not going to guarantee you are providing your body true juice unless you see it made in front of you. Cleanses should be for people who intend to rid their body of bad habits which include bad eating. I’ve lost weight during the cleanse simply because it naturally happens. But my goal was doing it to cleanse my sugar/sweets addiction, caffeine addiction, and force myself to set my mind free of cravings. Yes juice cleanses are sometimes intense with side effects but that’s the point.
On my cleanses I’ve felt incredible after a few days, I’ve had the best sleep I’ve had in years. If you do it for the right reasons and do it right it is a great way to improve your mind and body.
Matt says
Nailed it Dan!
Sophie says
Yes, I agree, Dan, I do this for the same reason.
Jill Conyers says
I do a cleanse/reboot after every marathon training cycle. not trying to lose WEIGht but giving my body a break from what I eat to fuel training.
Abbey Sharp says
that’s fair.
Cassandra @ powered by bling says
I’m in total agreement with you! I’ve never understood the juice cleanse thing. i love drinking fresh juice from time to time, but you are spot on in your example that really the benefit comes from the other healthy behavioral changes people make when they decide to do a cleanse.
Abbey Sharp says
Exactly!
KAYLA @ BLONDES HAVE MORE RUN says
YES, YES, YES, YES AND YES! Thank you!! I agree 100% with everything in this post.
Abbey Sharp says
soooo glad you’re on board girl
Liz @ I Heart Vegetables says
I’ve tried a “cleanse” before and it made me feel awful! I didn’t even make it a whole day! haha Clearly our bodies are made for food!
Abbey Sharp says
lol yep for sure
glenneth says
i have never tried a juice cleanse but have always thought maybe a day or two every quarter could work. i agree though – i would much rather have a new pair of shoes!
Abbey Sharp says
lol yep
Kristin says
Great points! OUr bodies know how to do their job. I don’t like the term, “cleanse” either. 🙂
I’ve definitely ended up in that cycle more often than I’d care to admit. The quick weight loss is nice, but it doesn’t last…
Abbey Sharp says
yep, exactly.
Ilka says
I think it’s really good to give your digestive system a break once in a while by only drinking fresh squeezed juices.
I don’t think weight loss results from fasting are sustainable though.
Abbey Sharp says
no definitely not.
Deborah @ Confessions of a mother runner says
i consider juice cleanses like fad diets and as you say it all comes back. Good info!
Abbey Sharp says
yep!
Kerri McGrail says
Love how honest you were in your review! i dont know that i could ever do a sole juice cleanse- maybe like one juice and day, but i would definitely be dragging!
Abbey Sharp says
yes!! lol
Sarah- A Whisk and Two Wands says
I love juice and do cleanses but not in the sense of just juice and i make sure I’m getting plenty of calories. It isn’t for weight loss or detoxing in that fashion as I have a clean eating lifestyle and don’t ever have any cleansing side effects. I do believe there are people out there that do them for the wrong reasons and even then don’t look at the juices they are putting in their body.
Abbey Sharp says
absolutely
Angela @marathonsandmotivation.com says
This is a great post & so true! I did a juice cleanse once & yup, the weight all came back!!
Abbey Sharp says
lol yep exactly
Carmy says
I have a problem with people CONSISTENTLY pushing juice cleanses – especially using the whole “oh it will detox your body for you.” we have organs for that feature!
Abbey Sharp says
exactly love- i LOVE my liver
Cattus says
Thank you for speaking truth to power. Whenever I hear a friend or acquaintance talk about their ‘cleanse’ I want to grab their shoulders and shake sense into them. Instead, I generally keep quiet and roll my eyes. They don’t want the truth, they want the ‘miracle’.