Why Juice Cleanses and Detoxes Don't Work

A juice cleanse is a quick trick that over promises. Many celebrities and influencers are raving about brands like Pressed Juicery, Lulitonix, and Urban Remedy, and other seemingly "detoxing" cleanses.. Juice cleanses or juice fasting, is a fad diet where a person only consumes fruit and vegetable juices while abstaining from solid food. Many people use it for a "detoxification" after a few nights of drinking and binge eating or to simply feel lighter for a few days. The idea of it is to rid your body of any toxins, pollution, pesticides, synthetic chemicals or processed foods. But because your body is always in a state of cleansing, there is no need to try to cleanse or detoxify it more. The body is always performing the process of detoxification: the liver, lungs and kidneys work to remove harmful substances.

While many of these drinks are great for the body, when they aren't full of sugars, they are not dependable meals and are doing more harm than good. The human body simply cannot sustain itself off of such small amounts of vegetables and fruit.

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Up to 90% of the antioxidants in plants are naturally bound to fibers and are lost when the whole fruits are juiced.

When fruits and vegetables are juiced, the resting liquid contains all of the vitamins and minerals but all of the fiber that makes you feel full all day is extracted.

When soluble and insoluble fiber are chewed together, they form a type of gel in the digestive tract that prevents sugar from slipping into your blood stream and overloading your liver. But when you blend or juice fruits it gets rid of any insoluble fiber and bombards your liver with sugar.

Many fruits and vegetables contain large amounts of water, for example celery has a water content of 95 percent per cup. Of all foods, vegetables contain the most water and while this is very beneficial when paired with proper proteins and carbs, it is not sustainable.

Juice cleanses range from 500-1,200 calories per day

Most juice cleanses last from between 3-14 days and are usually in a caloric range of 500-1,200 calories which is low for almost anyone. Because of such a low-calorie intake, the body begins to go into starvation mode and it will try to conserve energy by slowing down your metabolism. The most weight actually lost ends up actually being water weight and is most likely gained back several days after the cleanse. Many fruits and vegetables contain large amounts of water, for example celery has a water content of 95 percent per cup. Of all foods, vegetables contain the most water and while this is very beneficial it is not enough to go by each day on.

Low protein

Protein is necessary not only to build muscle but to build healthy immune cells and make enzymes and hormones and it is found nowhere in these juices. According to a study done by the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. those who increased their dietary protein from 15% to 30% saw a decrease in their caloric consumption of about 477 calories. By simply increasing the protein amount, not the calories, you could drop more than a pound of weight in a week.

High Fructose Levels

Blending or juicing fruits and vegetables makes it easy to consume a surplus of fructose and glucose. Barry Popkin, a professor of nutrition at the University of North Carolina, says “If you drink a glass of orange juice, you could be drinking the amount of sugar in four to six oranges—or more than a Coke—and you don’t feel full afterward.”

Fructose, found in fruits, processed foods and sugary drinks, can only be used by liver cells while glucose can be used by every single cell in the body. Because glucose can be used very quickly, only 20% of it falls on the liver while the other 80% is used by the rest of the body. But when fructose is metabolized in the liver, it is turned into free fatty acids and triglycerides, which get stored as fat. These triglycerides can lead to fat accumulation in the belly around the liver. Also, fructose activates glycerol which is lipophilic meaning it is attracted to fats, the more glycerol you have the more fat you store. A study conducted by the University of Illinois at Alabama concentrated on two groups of mice, all were fed the same amount of calories but one group of mice were fed a diet in which 18% of the calories came from fructose and another group of mice was fed a diet consisting of 18% of calories from glucose. The mice fed fructose, saw a 20% increase in their liver mass, gained weight and became sedentary. Not only does a surplus of fructose increase the risk for obesity, and chronic diseases but it actually depletes the body of the vitamins and minerals you think you are getting in these juices.

For example:

1 whole apple has 70 g calories, 19 g carbohydrates, 3 g fiber, 14 g sugar

1 cup homemade apple juice has 120 calories, 30 g carbohydrates, 0 g fiber, and 28 g sugar

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There is no scientific evidence that juice cleanses are a better approach to health. The digestive system works everyday to digest food and doesn't need to rest, as much as many people believe.

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