Juice Cleanse - Ever done one? How did it work for you?

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  • billsica
    billsica Posts: 4,741 Member
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    Wikipedia is not exactly the "research" I was referring to.

    Can you just post a peer reviewed study and we can get over this? Looks really interesting what you are saying. Feel free to post the study, I'll read it!
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
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    Hi, I would just like to comment a different point of view and recommend you look up the alternative/ancient method of healing called Ayurveda, which supports doing cleanses so that your digestive system can have a break to clear out what it needs to. Ayurveda looks at our diets and health in a spiritual way and basically classes everyone under 3 different types of 'doshas', and some dosha types need more cleansing periods than others. Anyway I just wanted to mention this but feel free to do some research online about it. This method of healing has been used for thousands of years in India and China (and is STILL being used today) and it's a shame Western society tries to shun natural methods of healing such as these in favour of pharmaceuticals, which cover up the symptoms of a problem, but does not fix the underlying problem itself. Ayurveda works specifically to heal your mental, physical and spiritual imbalance by changing your diet and yes, doing liquid cleanses. Don't believe people who say "Cleanses are not needed" because chances are they just don't have the willpower to do them so they fool themselves into thinking cleanses are not helpful anyway. Or they have not done all their research because if they had, they would know that humans do not need to be gorging food every day and we can actually live off a lot less than we currently eat on a daily basis.

    So do some research if you are really interested in doing a cleanse (to start I would recommend no more than 24 hours and make sure you are drinking lots of water/herbal teas/juicing during the cleansing period) and hopefully the Ayurvedic way will give you the answers you are looking for. :)

    Just to be clear I am not recommending cleansing for weight loss, I am recommending cleansing as part of a healthy lifestyle and to give your digestive system a break from all the stuff we put into it every day.


    I would rather pay attention to these guys' recommendations:


    http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/detox-diets/AN01334

    http://thechart.blogs.cnn.com/2011/08/01/mayo-doctor-is-no-fan-of-cleanses/

    http://www.jfponline.com/pdf/6008/6008JFP_Article1.pdf

    http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/detox_overview.html

    http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/detox.html

    http://www.livescience.com/947-colon-cleansing-money-toilet.html

    http://www.skepdic.com/detox.html

    But that could just be me grasping as I have no willpower!
  • thecakelocker
    thecakelocker Posts: 407 Member
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    every cleanse thread

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  • charleneagilmore
    charleneagilmore Posts: 37 Member
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    Geez people. Can't we all just get along? Apparently not when it comes to juicing.
  • losingthetwintummy
    losingthetwintummy Posts: 7 Member
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    wow such a negative vibe here.. I my self just got into juicing and have been adding it to my day, usually juicing during the day and eating dinner at night. I think there are lots of benefits to doing a juice cleanse but do it for health always, not weight loss. Also there is no harm in adding raw vegetarian options to said cleanse. Strict juicing can be hard to follow through with and you need to be very aware of the nutrient content you are putting in the body.
  • Velum_cado
    Velum_cado Posts: 1,608 Member
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    I've read many books on spiritual healing methods so one on-line link that you post is not going to make me change my mind.

    What books? Written by whom? What qualifications do they have? Who funded their research?
  • losingthetwintummy
    losingthetwintummy Posts: 7 Member
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    I have experience doing juice cleanses. I usually do two, 14 day juice fasts a year. Fasting is actually quite good for your body. Our bodies are designed to withstand fasting and they can be very spiritual as well. Plus they give your Gi system incl. the liver a chance to rest & repair and clean itself out.

    I actually find it very easy. The trick is you need to drink a TON of juice and water. (At LEAST half your weight in ounces of liquid/day).

    The reason it can be hard in the beginning for some people is because alot of people eat crap all the time (processed foods, additives, preservatives, stimulants, sugar, alcohol, caffiene etc), so the first few days they feel miserable because they are actually detoxing from those things. If you eat relatively clean, it's not so bad.

    After 3-5 days I start to feel amazing. Super light and energized. Very aware of my body and breath. Meditation during this time can be very good too. I do not exercise much during a juice fast and try to keep my stress to a minimum as my body repairs itself.

    My juices are JAM packed with all kinds of nutrients and there isn't much I don't juice. For my basic everyday green juice I use lots of greens (kale, spinach, romaine, chard) parsley, cilantro, cucumbers, celery, green apples or pears, lemon & ginger.

    Then I will juice any or all of the following ingredients: beets, pineapple, strawberries, cabbage, blueberries, tomatoes, carrots, broccoli, mango etc. I don't seem to get bored and I feel great doing it. Plus it gives me a chance to ingest more fruit and veg than i could possibly eat in a day in a much more absorbable form.

    If at any point during the juice fast I start to feel tired or like I don't have not enough energy I'll do super smoothies as boosters: ex: bananas, ground flax seed, avocado, blueberries etc.

    You can run the excess plant/fruit matter through the juicer a second time to help cut down on costs as juicing can be expensive. I use mostly organic when I juice except cucumbers, which i peel.

    I ill make a big batch in the morning and store the excess in mason jars in the fridge for later. I do try to drink it as soon as possible as I have a centrifugal juicer. The masticating juicers are a bit better for storing juices longer as they don't smash up the enzymes as much as the spinning ones do.

    It's a great way to clean out your body. Doing it twice a year reminds me to stay clean the rest of the year. My diet is vegan, organic and as nonGMO as possible.

    Check out Dr. Maxwell Gerson's studies & Kris Carr's experiences / accounts of juicing and you'll be hooked...

    Good luck to anyone who tries. Feel free to msg me for recipies etc.

    Peace
  • losingthetwintummy
    losingthetwintummy Posts: 7 Member
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    * great advice ^
  • Missjulesdid
    Missjulesdid Posts: 1,444 Member
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    I did a 30 day juice fast last summer and LOVED IT. I'll definitely do another in the future.

    It's definitely not for losing weight though.. any weight you lose you just gain back when you start eating real food.

    What it helped me with is to change my taste and make me look forward to real foods and fruits and vegetables. It also got me off of so much dependence on grains.

    I went through LOADS of beautiful fresh produce. I purposely waited until summer was in full swing so I could get the veggies at the farmer's market for a decent price. I drank three green juices a day and then maybe one carrot based juice. Each juice was about 24 ounces.. If I wanted more I drank more. I tried to use a variety of vegetables. I didn't use much fruit except for green apples and oranges.
  • BeachIron
    BeachIron Posts: 6,490 Member
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    I've read many books on spiritual healing methods so one on-line link that you post is not going to make me change my mind. I am not telling ANYONE that they need to do this in order to lose weight/be healthy, I was simply giving the girl who posted this topic a different point of view coming from someone who has the experience of doing a cleanse... which is what she asked for.

    But please, continue to bash the opinion of a RANDOM person on the internet.... your day is looking very productive indeed.

    "Spiritual healing?" This is a nutrition website, not a religious one.
  • mlcantwell
    mlcantwell Posts: 243 Member
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    Drinking juice is not a bad thing, especially when you add lots of variety in fruits and vegetables. I think one meal a day like breakfast is a good idea. All the time seems a bit excessive. I don't understand the elusive "toxins" people talk about. All the food we eat is broken down into the macronutrients; proteins, lipids, carbohydrates, and vitamins. The only thing I can think to really detox from would be a withdrawal from habits of stimulants, ex. nicotine or caffeine. I have taken many a anatomy & physiology, nutrition, and metabolic biochemistry course and I honestly have no idea how a "detox" has anything to do with being healthy. Just get your essential nutrients and eat enough to keep you going.
  • WinnerVictorious
    WinnerVictorious Posts: 4,735 Member
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    Drinking juice is not a bad thing, especially when you add lots of variety in fruits and vegetables. I think one meal a day like breakfast is a good idea. All the time seems a bit excessive. I don't understand the elusive "toxins" people talk about. All the food we eat is broken down into the macronutrients; proteins, lipids, carbohydrates, and vitamins. The only thing I can think to really detox from would be a withdrawal from habits of stimulants, ex. nicotine or caffeine. I have taken many a anatomy & physiology, nutrition, and metabolic biochemistry course and I honestly have no idea how a "detox" has anything to do with being healthy. Just get your essential nutrients and eat enough to keep you going.

    "toxins" is one of those current buzzwords that the diet industry scammers are using to fool gullible people into buying their "detox" products.
  • samlankford
    samlankford Posts: 334
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    I don't think doing ANY cleanse is a good idea if there is not healthy food involved... should at least be eating vegetables in my opinion...
  • meaningful99
    meaningful99 Posts: 174
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    I did a five-day juice fast last year. I meant to go longer but I was so weak and dizzy it was interfering with my work. Did it work for me? Depends. On the one hand, I lost about six pounds but gained it right back. So from a weight loss perspective, I would not calll it a succss. Also, juicing is really expensive. I was spending at least $25/day on produce, most of which ends up in the compost pile after you extract the juice. The one positive result -- and the only reason I would ever do it again -- is that the juice fast eliminated the bad headaches I had been getting, and they've never come back. I don't know why (toxins?), but that was a really great benefit. Whatever you do, good luck!
  • n3ver3nder
    n3ver3nder Posts: 155 Member
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    Unless you have kidney and liver failure your body is detoxing constantly, because that's how your body works. Unless your organs are damaged, they would be constantly filtering these unnamed 'toxins'.
    The only reason people see any benefit/weightloss on a juice fast is because suddenly they are consuming a lot of nutrients that they probably don't include in their normal diet. They see weightloss because a juice fast pretty much enforces a calorie deficit, and having no solids in your GI tract means there's less poop in your body - so you weigh less.

    Maybe instead of fad diets, you could sort you macros and take a decent multi? Probably a bit more filling, too...
  • Zomoniac
    Zomoniac Posts: 1,169 Member
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    I'm curious actually, we should do a poll to see what percentage of the people who have become genuinely fit and healthy on this site did it through a structured and balanced diet and a well planned training routine versus those that achieved it through regular detoxes, cleansing, spirituality and daily sacrifices to the Juice Gods.
  • fjrandol
    fjrandol Posts: 437 Member
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    There are a few juice bars in my area, and I'm thinking about trying a 3 day juice cleanse. If you've done it - Was it good? Did you have a lot of energy during it? How expencive was it? How much weight did you lose on it? Would you recommend someone doing it - Would you do it again?


    TIA!!!
    I actually just did a 3-day juice. :smile: The one I did was from www.jointhereboot.com, which is the juicing website from "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead". Since I hadn't prepped myself ahead of time, I had MASSIVE caffeine issues from going cold turkey. The second day was definitely the worst, but the first and third were definitely okay. I only felt weak on day 2, and was a-ok on days 1 & 3, but I wasn't trying to work out at the same time.

    I only went for it because I'd been in urgent care doubled over in pain the week prior, and while the pain meds and treatment had helped I still wasn't feeling 100%. After juicing I definitely felt way better hydrated than I have in forever, and my guts aren't hollering at me anymore. I already owned a juicer and buy organic veggies and fruits to juice regularly, so it wasn't a huge change for me, but I was definitely ready to eat like a properly-toothed person by the end of it!
  • cityjaneLondon
    cityjaneLondon Posts: 12,330 Member
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    Science is good. Spiritual nonsense is just that - nonsense. Science has moved on from ancient so called wisdom. It wasn't wisdom it was superstition.
    Listen to people. If you like drinking juice, and why not, do so, I like it, but it is not a detox or any other b××××××t.
    Sorry , but this makes me do angry. MOVE ON! We are not living in the dark ages, thank goodness. Science has made progress for a reason. A juicing diet is just navel gazing self preening.
  • fayeonherway
    fayeonherway Posts: 204
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    I'm curious actually, we should do a poll to see what percentage of the people who have become genuinely fit and healthy on this site did it through a structured and balanced diet and a well planned training routine versus those that achieved it through regular detoxes, cleansing, spirituality and daily sacrifices to the Juice Gods.

    Juice Gods....:laugh:

    If one wants to add more fruits and vegetables to a balanced diet, sure add some juice to your daily calorie intake. Things get a little crazy when that's your only calorie intake. How are you going to learn to maintain better lifestyle choices from a X day juice fast?

    People are always looking for instant gratification and quick fixes. Those who say they lost X amount of weight from a juice fast are unable to discern if they lost actual fat/muscle OR a crap load of water weight.

    If you need to 'detox' then please seek medical advice because the human body has two organs whose wonderful job includes 'detoxing': the liver and the kidneys. If they aren't working you need a doctor not juice. A good doctor.
  • brower47
    brower47 Posts: 16,356 Member
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    I'm curious actually, we should do a poll to see what percentage of the people who have become genuinely fit and healthy on this site did it through a structured and balanced diet and a well planned training routine versus those that achieved it through regular detoxes, cleansing, spirituality and daily sacrifices to the Juice Gods.

    Juice Gods....:laugh:

    If one wants to add more fruits and vegetables to a balanced diet, sure add some juice to your daily calorie intake. Things get a little crazy when that's your only calorie intake. How are you going to learn to maintain better lifestyle choices from a X day juice fast?

    People are always looking for instant gratification and quick fixes. Those who say they lost X amount of weight from a juice fast are unable to discern if they lost actual fat/muscle OR a crap load of water weight.

    If you need to 'detox' then please seek medical advice because the human body has two organs whose wonderful job includes 'detoxing': the liver and the kidneys. If they aren't working you need a doctor not juice. A good doctor.

    I don't know, maybe there is something to the juice 'detoxing' and doctors can use juice in leu of dialysis machines. I bet it would be a great alternative for kidney failure patients. Yes, this was just sarcastic silliness.

    Silliness aside, juicing machines are not superior to the liver and kidneys. As many others have stated, drinking juice is fine, only drinking juice is not.

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