14 DAY TRIAL // One of the hottest dieting fads right now is the juice cleanse (or juice detox or simply juicing). Its benefits in the short-term have already been confirmed but, should you consider sticking to it for weeks or even days in a row, a heads up.
The idea of a juice cleanse is that it helps your body “reboot” by providing it with all the necessary nutrients without putting it through the pain of digesting everything.
It also helps the organism detox with a combination of fruit and veggies juiced together.
In the long run, juicing leads to weight loss, but be advised that it's neither healthy nor sustainable, Natalie Jones, a spokesperson for the British Dietetic Association says in an interview with the Daily Mail.
“Juice fasts are simply not sustainable. So if you’re doing it for health reasons, there’s simply no point,” Jones says.
“Any weight you lose, you’ll put straight back on again, possibly with extra because short-term, low-calorie crash diets like this mess around with your metabolism,” she explains.
The weight you'll put back on the moment you return to your regular diet is the least of your concerns, the expert goes on to explain: there are also health issues to be considered.
Exhaustion, constipation, stomach aches, hair loss, dry skin and even rotting teeth will also occur if you stay on the cleanse for longer: weeks in a row, for instance.
“You might be getting a quick sugar rush, but you’re not consuming any carbohydrates, so exercising, or even normal daily life is going to be almost impossible. You’ll feel light-headed and exhausted,” Jones says.
“Vitamin C is, of course, good for you, but beyond a certain point, more isn’t any better for you. And, if you’re only drinking veg and fruit juices, you’re missing out on a lot of other nutrients such as calcium, protein, vitamin D, essential fats and so on,” the expert adds, arguing that there can be too much of a good thing.
In the end, Jones points out, juicing is ok only if done in moderation but it can't – and should never – replace a normal, healthy diet.
“By all means have a juice as one of your five a day. But any more than that simply won’t give you extra benefits, and could actually end up doing you more harm than good,” Jones says.