Recently a few of you have asked me about juice cleanses for weight loss and detoxification. I haven’t tried it myself, this is what I found in researching it.
Yes, short term it will help you lose weight, but juice cleanses won’t work for long-term weight loss. Juice cleanses works similarly to a calorie restriction or intermittent fasting diet, in that they’re generally lower in calories than your normal diet. Also, it requires you to cut out eating food like pizza, cookies, and doughnuts so this will help you lose weight too. It’s not the juice that helps you lose weight, it’s everything you’re taking out of your diet.
For most people, the answer is no. The reason to consider it is if you think it will help kickstart you into eating healthier. If you think it will help you take unhealthy food out of your diet long term, it may be worth trying a juice cleanse short term like for 3 days. You should also always consult with your doctor first before starting a new diet.
Although it may seem like it’s healthy for you when you drink fruit and vegetable juices, you don’t absorb vitamins and minerals the same as if you ate the same fruits and vegetables. Also, juices don’t have as much fiber as actually eating fruits and vegetables. So you don’t get all the health benefits of having fruits and vegetables.
The other thing to watch out for is feeling dizzy or lightheaded and having low blood pressure if you’re doing a juice cleanse. This is because juices don’t generally have as much sodium (salt) as your normal diet and in some people, this will cause you to have a lower blood pressure. This is why you’re advised to drink a lot of water with a juice cleanse, to keep your blood pressure from getting too low.
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