Juice Cleanses: The pros and cons of embarking on this detox diet

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Pro #1: Avoiding highly-processed food
You aren’t feeding your body junk food, keeping it strictly to fruits and vegetables. This means you aren’t getting the large amounts of caffeine you are used to, and you are eliminating almost every other food group. If done for a short-term, you will be able to eliminate the junk that has accumulated over time and you are able to get the unadulterated benefits of pure fruit and vegetables. Plus, you can also find out what you are allergic or sensitive to, with things like dairy and gluten out of your diet.
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Pro #2: Increase intake of fruits and vegetables
If you have never been fond of fruit and vegetables, this will up your intake significantly. The phytonutrients found in such fresh produce will provide a plethora of benefits that will be ultimately great for your body. While different fruits and vegetables have a different set of vitamins and nutrients, it can be generally agreed on that they are good for your body. This ranges from an improved immune system, improved heart health, and decrease in inflammation.
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Pro #3: Absorb nutrients
By gulping down blended fruit juices, your digestive tract gets a little breather, which makes it easier to absorb all the nutrients without much going to waste. The boost of vitamins and minerals will be good for your body, seeing as it’s all you are consuming. Vitamins Bs and Cs are water soluble vitamins, which means they get absorbed through the water, making juice cleanses perfect for getting an extra dose of them. Other vitamins are usually fat-soluble, which means it might be better to digest them instead.
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Pro #4: Healing of cells
While this may seem like a weird benefit that juice cleanses bring about, this is one of the more salient ones. More than just for juice cleanses, this is one of the benefits of a vegetarian and vegan diet, simply because you are reducing the amount of toxins in your body and allowing your cells to work to its fullest potential.
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Con #1: Expensive
Juice cleanses can add up to a lot. While prices vary from company to company, a one-day cleanse can go past $100, a three-day cleanse can go past $300, and it adds up accordingly. On average, it’s easy to spend about half that amount on food, which means you’re doubling your daily allowance for meals, on a few bottle of juices.
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Con #2: Low energy
The first few days are going to be hard, and it might persist throughout the entire cleanse. Because of the low amount of calories in your diet (a juice cleanse has about 900 calories while our daily intake with meals ranges around 1800), it is natural to feel lightheaded and low on energy. Others may get irritable and easily annoyed, simply because their body is not getting the energy it actually needs.
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Con #3: High sugar level
Yes, fruits are good for your body. But the amount of them needed to get a decent-sized bottle is more than you would think, which means that the juices might often be loaded with sugar instead. As such, you’re switching out high-sugar food for high-sugar drinks, which is definitely not too good for your body. Plus, you might even have a sugar crash. Opt for an all-natural juice cleanse to avoid this.
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Con #4: Weight gain
Weight loss is one of the more prominent reasons for going on these cleanses, so this might be disappointing to hear. While you might lose weight in the first few days, it is usually just water weight you are getting rid of, which will easily bounce back once you’ve stopped the cleanse. And then, your body is likely to gain weight even easier because of the loss of muscle to burn the calories and your body is craving solid food.
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Conclusion
Overall, juice cleanses aren’t inherently good or bad — but its effectiveness and usefulness is ultimately determined by what you are seeking for when you undertake this diet. If you’re seeking weight loss, adding in more protein in your diet and replacing the sugars may be a better option. However, if you are seeking to increase your intake of veggies, this may be more suitable. It’s a matter of what you want and what your body requires, and you should take that into consideration before going for it.

The list of celebrities who have embarked on juice cleanses and have been an advocate for them are plentiful – from Beyonce to Anne Hathaway, Megan Fox to Blake Lively. From weight loss to detoxification of your body, the list of benefits that these juice cleanses supposedly bring is seemingly endless. But, is going through a cleanse really worth it?

Juice cleanses are basically detoxifying diets that have risen in popularity recently. Instead of consuming the daily three meals to get energy, you substitute that with a blend of fruits and vegetables that you will drink throughout the day. On your first cleanse, starting out with a one-day or three-day program would be most favourable. After that, you may go on an extended plan that ranges from five to forty days (and possibly, even more) — but, of course, only if you and your body are ready for it. Before you do so, however, check out our gallery for a list of pros and cons that might help you decide if a juice cleanse is something you should be doing.

Lee Hui Bing

Photos: Getty Images

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