The 9 to 5 Foodie’s Guide To Health and Wellbeing – Juice Cleanse: Fact or Fad?
You probably struggled to make it through January without hearing the word ‘cleanse' at least once. With the beginning of a new year comes a new detox, and 2016 has been all about the juice cleanse.
Sadly, these cleanses are very rarely as straightforward as they seem. One day we’re being told they’re pointless and the next they’re life changing! So, how do you know if it’s actually worth doing and right for you?
That’s where we come in! Each week we’ll be investigating the latest health trends and diet detoxes doing the rounds. The 9 to 5 Foodie’s Guide To Health and Wellbeing will tell you what it’s all about, if it’s worth doing and where to start.
Let’s start with this juice cleanse everyone’s been raving about, shall we?
Trend: Juice Cleanse AKA Juice Detox
What Is A Juice Cleanse?
The idea behind cleansing originates from historic religious rituals, but has recently become a more widespread craze amongst the health conscious. Juice cleansing is designed to replace all food consumption with raw fruit and vegetable juices for a set period of time
This cleanse is thought to detox your body of all those unwanted toxins that have built up over time. Some people commit to a juice cleanse for weeks or even months, but the most common time frame is approximately 3 days.
Is Juice Cleansing Worth It?
Juicing has very quickly become the go to ‘quick fix’ diet and there is no denying that you will lose weight, and sometimes a pretty substantial amount! The bad news is this isn’t real weight loss.
As much as we’d love a quick juice cleanse to be the solution to all of our last minute weight loss woes, the drop in dress size is actually due to a loss of water in the body. Once you start eating normally again, your body’s water mass returns to normal and sadly so does your weight.
Unfortunately, the concept of detoxing also offers little substance. Our bodies are already finely tuned to continuously detox and cleanse, so swapping food for juice isn’t going to suddenly kick-start this process. The phantom weight loss and the fact that we are already constantly in a state of detox might make you think that a juice cleanse is pretty pointless, but they do play one pretty important role!
Juice cleanses give your body a bit of a break. Our digestive system and liver are constantly working to digest food and detoxify what we eat. So, when we go on a cleanse these organs are given a bit of a rest and instead they get to focus on absorbing all of the natural nutrients from the juice - which can only be a good thing!
Most of our poor food choices are down to our misjudged relationship with foods (think irrational and desperate chocolate cravings) and this is where cleansing can really help. Focusing on just consuming juice naturally weans you off foods that put your body under strain, such as caffeine, refined sugars and processed foods. Just spending as little as 3 days without these foods to comfort or perk you up will really help to combat and free you from those constant cravings.
Shall I Do A Juice Cleanse?
If you’re looking for a long-term weight loss or to cleanse your body of that family sized bar of Galaxy you scoffed the other night, then I’m afraid a juice cleanse isn’t for you.
The best detox you can give your body is to eat natural, whole foods free from refined sugars and processed ingredients. That said, if you need a little ‘kick start’ and want to help to break away from your unhealthy food cravings, then a 3 day juice cleanse can do exactly that.
If you are going to do a juice cleanse then make sure you research it! You want to have about 5 predominately vegetable based juices a day. Think Press are a great UK company which will allow you to tailor your cleanse and have it delivered straight to your door, saving you time and effort.
If you want to save some pennies and already have a juicer, then why not try making your own? There are so many different juice cleanse recipes online so try not to be overwhelmed, just pick one that you like the sound of and get juicing!