Cranberry Juice Cleanse?
AlyssaPetsDogs
Posts: 421 Member
After a summer long of eating so much garbage, I’m getting back on the horse. I’ve read about drinking a 100% cranberry juice and water mixture for a week to help cleanse your liver and flush out excess water weight.
Is this just one of those useless gimmicks or is there any benefit to doing something like this on occasion along with the caloric deficit?
Just to clarify I’m not considering this to “drop 10 pounds in a week” but looking at any benefits it might have to my system!
Is this just one of those useless gimmicks or is there any benefit to doing something like this on occasion along with the caloric deficit?
Just to clarify I’m not considering this to “drop 10 pounds in a week” but looking at any benefits it might have to my system!
48
Replies
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Useless gimmick.
If your liver needs detoxed, you need a doctor stat, not cranberry juice.38 -
Gimmick6
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No, just start eating at a calorie deficit. You can do a few things to manipulate water weight, but it's really pointless, because it's not fat loss.6
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Gimmick. Stick to the calorie deficit.6
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You flush things out of your system when you visit the toilet and then if you are considerate you flush them again.30
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Gimmick. I've heard that cranberry juice could help to prevent UTIs, but there's no benefit to "cleansing" with it.
(And even with UTI prevention, it's less of an established link than a "can't hurt, could help" thing: https://health.clevelandclinic.org/can-cranberry-juice-stop-uti/
)A 2012 Cochrane review concluded that cranberries did not significantly reduce the occurrence of symptomatic UTI, but cranberry juice may decrease the number of symptomatic UTIs over a 12-month period in women with recurrent UTIs.
Also, because supplements are not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), it is not known how much of the active ingredient each product contains. Therefore, many of the products may not have enough of the active ingredient to be effective in preventing bacteria from sticking to the bladder wall.
“The bottom line? Cranberry can’t hurt, and it may help,” Dr. Moore says. She says it may be worth trying if you struggle with UTIs as the risk in doing so is very low.2 -
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Gimmick. Stick to drinking water3
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I prefer my cranberry juice with champagne or vodka....make that liver stop slacking and get to work!28
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It certainly might make you poop your brains out. And I am not sure how drinking essentially pure sugar and miss out on essential nutrients (like protein, fats and fiber) is going to improve your system.13
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I will say that cranberry juice is good for some things. After surgery, while my insides were all finding new homes, I developed a mild UTI. Rather than go back to the doctor, pay another $150 office visit and get the news, I started drinking cranberry/blueberry juice and water three times a day. I relieved the symptoms in two days. Also if you get the 100% juice, you can water it down to limit calories. But I would not use it on it's own as a cleanse.0
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On what site/blog did you read about this?
Stop visiting that site.
This is a gimmick. Anyone who promotes it otherwise is full of woo and pseudoscience. Best to stay as far away from that information as possible because the site is likely filled with other nonsense.
I don't know what "garbage" you've been eating this summer but I can guarantee it isn't built up in you, doesn't need to be cleansed, unless you haven't gone to the bathroom all summer in which case you need a doctor not cranberry juice.
Set a reasonable calorie deficit for yourself. Buy a food scale and start using it if you don't already. Eat a variety of foods that provide nutrition, satiety, and enjoyment. Drink water (amongst other beverages you enjoy, doesn't need to be exclusively water). Exercise if you enjoy it. Be patient.
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It could be helpful if you get recurring urinary tract infections... otherwise save your money your liver and kidneys have been keeping up3
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Think about it - do you seriously think you could go an entire week without food?4
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I love cranberry juice, I have been drinking the 100% juice version, every day for years. Now I am mixing it with water to cut back on the sugar calories.
My liver hasn't said anything to me about it.
I think to improve liver function you just have to stop mixing it with vodka.17 -
+1 gimmick.
"Cleanses" and "detoxes" are scams. The only thing they "cleanse" is money from your wallet.13 -
Anytime the word 'cleanse' is used, it's a gimmick. Your body is designed to cleanse itself, the live and kidneys come in real handy for that. The best thing you can do at this point is just start eating healthier and sensible portions.8
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A week of under-nutrition cleanses nothing.
Just eat nutritious foods you enjoy at a sensible calorie level, and get some healthy exercise. Anything else is a gimmick.
Sensible calorie goal for weight management + reasonable macronutrient & veggie/fruit intake for nutrition + enjoyable physical activities for fitness = best odds of short- and long-term good health.6 -
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As long as your kidneys are functional, there is no reason for a "cleanse". If they are not functioning, you need a doctor.2
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I tried cleansing with cranberry juice once. It left all my countertops sticky.
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nutmegoreo wrote: »I tried cleansing with cranberry juice once. It left all my countertops sticky.
That second sentence is not where I thought you were going with that...
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quiksylver296 wrote: »nutmegoreo wrote: »I tried cleansing with cranberry juice once. It left all my countertops sticky.
That second sentence is not where I thought you were going with that...
Where did you go with it? :bigsmile:3 -
Guys! You forgot the astragulus and dandelion! Once you add that it, it's completely legit:
https://www.livestrong.com/article/114977-drink-cranberry-juice-detox/4 -
Sorry - I didn’t mean drinking just the cranberry juice and not eating. I just meant as a reset of incorporating that WITH a calorie deficit! Definitely was not just going to drink juice lol!
That being said, I think I don’t need to do it at all after reviewing these!8 -
alyssadanielle2493 wrote: »Sorry - I didn’t mean drinking just the cranberry juice and not eating. I just meant as a reset of incorporating that WITH a calorie deficit! Definitely was not just going to drink juice lol!
That being said, I think I don’t need to do it at all after reviewing these!
The problem is that a "reset" is more diet industry woo, just like cleanses and detoxes and "jump starts". We're not computers or bowling pins, we can't be "reset".
Seriously - the diet/weight loss industry is a multi-billion dollar juggernaut which gets rich off selling people things they don’t need and that don’t work. They’ve spent a lot of time and money to make their advertising as appealing and convincing as possible, but it doesn’t change the fact that 99.9% of what they sell is snake oil.15 -
You don't need a reset, a reboot, a restart, a jumpstart, a defrag, a reformat, a rebalance, a pressure wash, or whatever car, computer, or plumbing maintenance analogy the diet industry insists you need to spend your money on.16
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You don't need a reset, a reboot, a restart, a jumpstart, a defrag, a reformat, a rebalance, a pressure wash, or whatever car, computer, or plumbing maintenance analogy the diet industry insists you need to spend your money on.
I totally want a defrag now. You have no idea how much I think this would help me (not for diet, but for my brain).17
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