Do Juice Detoxes Work?

What is a juice cleanse?

On a juice treatment one drinks exclusively vegetable, fruit, or mixed juices 5-7 times on the day. Solid food is completely avoided. While detoxing it is also recommended to drink a lot of water or unsweetened teas so that the kidneys are well flushed. A juice cure can last from 3 to 21 days.

Generally, no more than three days are recommended at the start, as longer cures require you to give up too many important food groups. This can lead to energy and nutrient deficiencies that negatively affect our bodies. Beginners who want to give their body a break from processed foods should definitely follow the three-day rule. Toxins can be flushed out of the body this way.

Scientifically, it has not yet been proven how good a juice diet is for our bodies. Health experts have brought advantages and disadvantages forward, but in the end you should decide for yourself whether you want to try a detox juice cleanse or not. Normally, the liver is responsible for detoxifying the body, but a juice cure can make you feel "fresh" and "detoxified." For many, this fresh start gives them the incentive and motivation to start a healthy diet after and follow through.

Nevertheless, you should always consult a doctor first if you have a chronic illness and seek advice. People suffering from diabetes, kidney disease, or vitamin deficiency can mess up their body's insulin levels due to the unfamiliar sugar intake.

Before and after the juice cleanse

Before the juice cure, you should already pay attention to your diet for 1-2 days. It is best to avoid foods that contain a lot of caffeine, sugar, artificial, or animal ingredients and products. Food that does not weigh heavily on the digestive tract would be, for example, vegetables, fruits, brown rice, nuts, or legumes. Warm drinks such as teas are just as helpful in preparation as smaller portions of food.

After the juice cure, continue in a similar way: do not immediately stuff yourself with huge portions and go for healthy, balanced foods.

Weight loss and lack of nutrients

It is important to eat a healthy and balanced diet. With sports and a healthy diet, you can permanently reduce your weight and choose the much more effective way. Most trend diets bring the well-known yo-yo effect: firstly, it is not healthy to lose a lot of weight in a short time and secondly, you will not achieve long-term success with it. 

Since calories and protein are drastically reduced during a detox diet, the body can express deficiency symptoms. Instead of fat, muscle mass may be burned because you are not eating enough calories. As soon as you notice that the body is not well during the juice cure immediately intervene and listen to your body and stop the juice cure or take some solid food.

High costs with finished products and increased expenditure with self-production

There are many ready-made juice cures that can be ordered. The juices come numbered so that each time of day you take a different juice. Of course, you can also press your own juices, and you can find numerous recipes on the Internet. Both methods are not quite cheap and with self-production you have to plan a little ahead, but you are not bound to certain tastes. Depending on which way you choose, you need to go shopping regularly or order the juice cure in time on the Internet.