We have all heard of the infamous juice cleanse, something I’ve always meant to challenge myself to try — until I’m intercepted by that graceful plate of spaghetti bolognese that very quickly changes my mind. But speaking seriously; is the juice cleanse actually beneficial?
A juice cleanse is pretty self-explanatory. It is a diet that consists of consuming only the juice from fruit and vegetables in a way to detoxify the body and achieve weight loss. Your fruit and veg are filled with vitamins and minerals so drinking juice is believed to fill the body with healing nourishment whilst also getting rid of those toxins. On the other hand, some research suggests that any detoxification claims are lacking. Another concern is that short-term weight loss experienced from a juice cleanse may likely be regained once you resume normal eating habits.
So how does the cleanse work? For 3-5 days prior to the cleanse you will gradually get rid of certain foods such as coffee, refined sugar, meat, dairy products, alcohol and nicotine to reduce the chances of headaches, cravings or other side effects. The cleanse itself, depending on your preference, can last anywhere from 2-10 days. It is recommended you drink a juice every two hours, so you’d consume approximately 5-6 juices a day. On this note it is also recommended to listen to your body, don’t drink if you’re full! Great places to find your juices are your local Tank or any other juicery, otherwise you can whip them up yourself with your own juicer. It is recommended to stay away from the pulp and just consume the juice so using your juicer would be better than a nutribullet, but not essential! Once you’ve finished your fasting, eat lightly for the first few days and gradually add food back into your diet over the course of a few days.
In 2019, Jennifer Anniston professed her love for fasting, revealing that she doesn’t eat breakfast and only consumes liquids like coffee and celery juice in the mornings, leaving most of her eating to the end of the day. Kourtney Kardashian did the same, writing on her app that she “wouldn’t eat past 7pm at night and then I would wait to eat breakfast the next day until after my morning workout, which would be around 10:30am to 11am”.
Fasting is an extremely popular and well known ‘diet’ that’s taking the world by storm. It’s health benefits include boosting cognitive performance, protection from obesity and associated chronic diseases, reducing inflammation, supporting weight loss and improving overall fitness. There are a few different types of fasting, from the 5:2 diet, which is the most popular and includes eating normally for five days of the week (without calorie counting), and then with the remaining two days of the week eating 500 calories a day for women and 600 for men. Another popular version is the overnight fasting option, which is a great one to introduce if you’re trying fasting for the first time as it’s the easiest. This approach involves fasting for a 12-hour period each day, and usually is achieved by not eating between dinner and breakfast, so for example, stopping your food consumption after a 7pm dinner and not eating again until your 7am breakfast the following morning.
Although fasting is great for a majority of people, it is recommended to be avoided by pregnant or trying-to-become pregnant women, those taking diabetes medication, or people with previous eating disorders. Another very important thing to know is that intermittent fasting can come with side effects that usually happen in the first few weeks whilst your body adjusts, from crankiness (also known as being ‘hangry’), lower energy, bloating and cravings.
If you want to learn more, there is a plethora of information online, as well as the New York Times bestseller, Life in the Fasting Lane by Eve Mayer, Jason Fung, and Megan Ramos.
