What Really Happens During a Juice Cleanse

Diet fads come and go but juice cleanses are still going strong. If you’ve tried it, you know how challenging it can be. Here are some of the things that your body goes through during a juice cleanse and why.

You Get Hungry

Well obviously. Most juice cleanses cut out the solid food completely, and the very nature of juicing something takes out all of the fiber and other bulk that fills you up when you normally consume fruits and vegetables. Fiber not only makes you feel full as you eat but it also helps moderate the blood sugar levels.

You Get Lots of Vitamins

You do however get easy access to tons of vitamins and minerals in concentrated amounts when you drink straight juice. Keep in mind that this is cold pressed juice, not the orange juice they sell at the supermarket. Drinking nothing but that would be the opposite of cleansing out your body since it’s loaded with sugar and not much else.

You Get Tired

When you forgo food for juice you’re not only going to be consuming fewer calories, but you’re also going to be missing out on energizing carbs and the amino acids you usually get from your protein consumption. When the body doesn’t get enough fuel, it tends to get slow down a bit in an effort to consume calories, which equals you feeling tired.

Those amino acids you usually get from protein also have another job…to work as neurotransmitters that help maintain your mood. Feeling a bit grumpy on a juice cleanse is not uncommon for all of these reasons. Plus, depending on how long you do a cleanse, if your brain thinks you’re entering starvation mode it will start breaking down ketones which is fuel that comes out of fat. It’s like a back up options that isn’t that great, so it often doesn’t feel great. (The same thing happens with ketones when people cut out all carbohydrates from any diet, since those are a great source of easy energy.)

You Will Lose Weight

If you follow any proper juice cleanse you will most certainly lose weight, because you are generally cutting your calories quite dramatically. But often times a lot of that weight is water weight, and when you start eating your normal calories again it can come back on. Juice cleanses might not be the answer to fat loss, but they can be a good way to clean the slate and get ready to embark on a healthier diet altogether.

You Will Sort of Cleanse

You can get rid of toxins on a juice cleanse…but your body is actually pretty efficient about doing that all the time. Thanks liver, kidneys, and intestines! One of the big differences about a juice cleanse is that in addition to cutting out solid foods, you also cut out processed foods, caffeine, and alcohol for the duration. So in reality you might be better off doing your own version of a “cleanse” where you cut those things out for a couple days, but instead of juice just eat whole foods in their natural, healthy state.