From avid health nuts to your average joe, juice cleansing has become the go-to health reset, and for good reason! Juice cleanses have amazing benefits, like aiding in healthy digestion, boosting your immune system, lowering inflammation, flushing out toxins, and flooding your body with critical micronutrients.
But juice cleanses can either elevate or devastate your health journey. Today, you’ll get the truth about juice—why it’s beneficial, what products to use, what to expect during your fast, and how to survive it.
Your body has the ability to cleanse itself. If it didn’t, none of us would be alive to read this post. But juicing gives you the opportunity to flood your body with powerful micronutrients and microorganisms without overloading your digestive system with fiber.
More than just cleansing, a day of juice will:
What Products to Use During Your Juice Cleanse
When completing a day of juice, it’s very important to look for three things before you start shopping:
If the juices you’re drinking aren’t certified organic, you’d be better off just drinking water.
Consuming the pesticide load in non-organic celery and leafy greens (two prominent ingredients in green juices) is like taking a highly concentrated dose of chemicals within 24 hours. That is not what we’re going for during a juice cleanse.
Think about this: Over 3 pounds of produce goes into each veggie juice. Juice cleanses usually consist of 6 bottles of juice a day—that comes to 18 pounds of produce. You better believe the pesticide, insecticide, and germicide load of all that non-organic produce is dangerous to consume. Don’t complete a juice cleanse unless each ingredient is certified organic.
2. Do it veggie-centric, or don’t do it at all.
If your “green” juice has 15 oz of apple and one piece of kale, it’ll look green. But this juice will cause a big insulin response, something we want to avoid in our health journeys.
Don’t sabotage your fasting day with a sugar bomb of fruit juice. Look for juices that are made with only veggies or ones that have green apple or citrus fruit listed near the bottom of the ingredient list.
3. Do it fresh, or don’t do it at all.
Skip the grocery store juices. While they might be organic, grocery store juices can sit on the shelves for 30 to 45 days before they end up in your fridge. By this point, you’re drinking dead juice. Most of the hundreds of thousands of beneficial spores and microorganisms that once lived in that juice died on day 6. All that’s left is expensive, funky-flavored, green water.
What to Expect During Your First Juice Cleanse
Juice cleanses can be difficult. You’re strictly saying no to your body’s cravings. Juice cleanses rip off the bandaid of unhealthy eating habits. Some first-time cleansers can feel headaches, fatigue, or even nausea as their body adjusts.
Your body also requires a greater internal workload as it purges toxins, leading to some sleepy side effects. These effects can also be due to caffeine withdrawal, too little water during the cleanse, or too few calories.
To skip the bad side effects, try out my tips in the next section.
How to Survive Your First Juice Cleanse
Fasting is powerful, but if you can’t imagine going 6 hours (let alone 24) without something to chew on, try out these tips:
Think Juice Ritual, Not Juice Cleanse
A day of just juice should be a day that is incredibly elevating for your health journey. It’s the IV power punch for your health journey. Run on nature’s perfect fuel for one day and see how much better you feel.
While you have a leg up on your health, take a big step forward! Sign up for LEAN, my 7-week program that will transform your body, inside and out.
Looks healthy 🙂