Woman drinking detox juice.

Is The Juice Cleanse Worth It?

Honestly, there has to be an alternative method for losing weight, right? Sure, cardiovascular activity, lifting weights, counting calories and increasing our water intake works, but it’s so dreadfully monotonous. Rather than feeling like we’re micromanaging every aspect of our lives, what if there were a means of becoming healthy, feeling our best and shedding unwanted pounds? Are you ready for the good news? There’s a solution!

Juice cleanse strategies strip our bodies of excess waste, toxins and accumulated yuckiness that clogs up our digestive systems year after year. If you think this wellness method sounds too good to be true, here are the ins and outs of a DIY juice cleanse.

 

What Is It?

From a general overview, juice cleanse techniques aim to help practitioners filter unwanted accumulations from their bodies. As a result of this process, individuals commonly report shrinking problematic areas, increasing their cognition, improving their energy levels and experiencing mildly euphoric sensations.

Did you know the average adult has a 6-foot large intestine, a 22-foot small intestine and 1-pound of waste material inside their body? Now that we’ve thoroughly grossed you out, here’s the good news: we can strip this buildup utilizing a DIY juice cleanse. With the abundance of vitamins, nutrients and fibre in one’s body, going to the bathroom, also known as “making a number two,” becomes easy. Over time, this contributes to our well-being and happiness.

 

What Are the Potential Benefits?

First and foremost: weight loss! Losing weight is, without question, a domain that millions struggle with every year. Whether it’s the New Year well-doers who want to get into shape for bikini season or the individuals who are tired of rebounding after a stint in the gym, losing unwanted pounds is a universal goal. However, traditional methods leave a bad taste in our mouths, but what are we to do?

Now that you’re going to the bathroom frequently, let’s check the scale. You’ll soon notice that your weight has dropped by a few pounds, and those clothes you tuck into the back of your closet fit perfectly. In combination with optimizing your digestive system, here’s what you can expect:

  • Improved focus
  • Better sleep
  • Clearer skin
  • Elevated mood and emotional regulation
  • Increased libido
  • Inflammation reduction
  • Appetite control
  • Optimum hydration

Simply put, the answer to “what is a juice cleanse?” is that it’s an alternative solution to common ailments that plague the global population.

Detox smoothies.

 

What Are the Potential Risks?

Before we’ve sold you on the idea of using a DIY juice cleanse, let’s clear the air: the idea of using fruits and vegetables as a cure-all is an unrealistic fantasy. Like most things in life — including traditional medicines and remedies — nothing comes without risk. Instead, let’s explore the potential side effects that a small subset of the juicing population experiences.

A red flag surrounding a juice cleanse is the amount of sugar ingested while going through a cleansing period. Similar to candy and sodas, fruits contain enamel-eroding sugar within their composition. Although apples, oranges and bananas are far superior to their snickerdoodle and milk-chocolate-infused counterparts, too much of a good thing proves detrimental.

On average, a piece of fruit contains between 15g and 20g of sugar. This amount of sugar is equivalent to half of your standard fizzy beverage or sweet treat. And it doesn’t stop there: acidity is a death sentence for your teeth, too.

The acidic nature of fruits and vegetables tends to deteriorate and destroy the delicate sheaths surrounding each of your teeth, also known as enamel. Enamel is a protective layer between the outside world and the delicate underpinnings of your roots and gums. The acid contained in fruits and vegetables slowly eats away at this barrier, revealing sensitive tissue and bone. If these symptoms sound familiar, reconsider a DIY juice cleanse:

  • Sensitivity to heat and cold
  • Tooth decay
  • Foul-smelling breath
  • Chronic dental issues
  • Easily-chipped teeth
  • Red and swollen gums

As always, consult with a professional before using a cleanse. Otherwise, the use of fruits and vegetables may exacerbate your symptoms and create additional dental problems.

 

Will I Lose Weight?

Nothing in life is certain, but most individuals who abide by a juice cleanse while exercising lose weight. Not only do they lose weight, but they lose a substantial amount of weight.

As a rule of thumb, individuals who partake in a rigorous diet and fitness framework drop roughly 1.5 to 2 pounds per week. And individuals who need to lose excess weight, or those participants who feel loaded with toxins, can lose upwards of 4.5 to 5 pounds every seven to eight days.

While these numbers vary from person to person, it’s easy to see how efficient cleansing your system can be. Imagine a world, perhaps months from now or in the upcoming year, where you no longer shy away from your reflection in the mirror. Instead, you look at your results and progress with newfound pride and confidence, knowing you can achieve your goals when you put your best foot forward.

Man making healthy juice drink.

 

What Are the Alternatives to a Juice Cleanse?

If the thought of radically shifting your diet overnight doesn’t make you jump for joy, join the club! Instead, we can introduce gentle lifestyle choices to ease into the transition of clean eating while cleansing built-up toxins in our system.

For starters, fibre must become part of our daily meals. Paying attention to macronutrients like protein, fat and carbohydrates is fun, but many of us skim over the fibre content contained in our favourite foods and additives.

Fibre is, in a simplistic sense, the ingredient in our food that assists our bodies in the process of making a stool. If waste fails to pass through our system, we start experiencing life-changing side effects like bloating, constipation, heartburn, weight gain, nausea, and, in some cases, vomiting.

Alternatively, we can experience cleanse-like benefits by upping our hydration and dropping sugary drinks and alcohol. A key element behind a successful juice cleanse comes from the water contained within fruits and vegetables. When we introduce adequate water intake into a dehydrated system, weight melts off the body, and positive side effects arise quickly.

 

Is Juicing the Best Way to Consume My Fruits and Veggies?

The beauty of cleansing is that it’s quick and easy — within a few minutes, you have a tasty beverage that satiates your hunger and helps you achieve your weight-loss goals. However, juicing isn’t the only way practitioners gain health benefits.

If you don’t have time to juice up a batch of produce, or, similarly, you can’t be bothered to clean your tools, eat it raw! Our stomach produces strong acids that break down what we ingest, condensing liquids and solids into a digestible form. In a way, all nutrition that we consume abides by a cleanse protocol because, in the end, it turns to liquid regardless.

However, to reap the full effects of a juice cleanse, it’s advised to consume well-timed beverages throughout the day. These drinks pass through the system faster than whole foods, and they remove toxins in a timely fashion.