What Are The Benefits?

There’s no doubt how good you feel after juice cleansing. Three days in and you’ll be sharing all of the health benefits that you’re feeling. Better energy, great sleep, glowing skin, no more sugar cravings...the list goes on. Juice Cleanses and fasts are of course, nothing new. Cleanses and fasts may be more branded and packaged, but have been around for thousands of years.

Despite the history, we love reading new research that backs our juice cleanse experience with data and science.

Emerging studies are showing that juice cleansing is a powerful and effective way to keep the body’s systems in check. UCLA recently published a body of work on the health benefits of a three-day juice cleanse. Their research illustrated that juice cleanses increase beneficial gut bacteria, promote weight loss and improve general well-being.

Intermittent fasting has been all the buzz in the health world this year. The idea of intermittent fasting is simple: Some days you eat what you want (though we always recommend a plant based diet) and on some days you fast. There are many ways to approach this; it could be that on ‘fast’ days, you’re taking in no calories or reducing your intake to about 20 percent of what your normal diet would be (around 300 to 400 calories). You can also fast for 12-16 hours a day, which gives your body a regular break. Our favourite mode is using fresh, cold pressed juices during our fasting periods. This can provide healthy trace amounts of fiber and vitamins while you’re limiting your calories.

The UCLA study found that a three-day juice cleanse reduced body weight and decreased lipid per-oxidation, while increasing nitric oxide, both of which are associated with heart health.

Other MD’s have recently weighed in on the benefits of juice cleansing. In his new book, The Detox Prescription, Dr. Woodson Merrell sites the juice cleanse as the most accessible detox method out there.  Dr. Mark Hyman considers juice cleanses a “roadmap for breakthrough well-being.”

We’ve put together a breakdown of how a juice cleanse can benefit your health.

Give your Digestive System a Rest 

Bloated? Irritated bowels? Sensitive stomach? A juice cleanse can help reset your gut.  When you drink only cold pressed, raw fruit and vegetable juice, you’re greatly reducing the amount of input and stress that your gut experiences. This gives your body the time to heal and recharge, while also taking in essential vitamins and phytonutrients. Adding prebiotics and probiotics to your cleanse will help you get back to feeling how you want to.

Boost Your Energy 

Within the first two days you’ll start to feel a wave of difference in your energy. Juice cleansing floods your body with nutrients in their natural state creating a lasting, clean energy; not the ups and downs and crashes we can get from coffee and sugar. With cold pressed juice, the enzymes and nutrients are liberated from fibre allowing them to be quickly assimilated into your body. Give it 15-20 minutes and you should be feeling a nice boost after each juice.

Goodbye Inflammation 

Studies have shown that juice cleanses followed by a plant based diet can greatly reduce inflammation in your body. We’re living in a time of chronic inflammation; from the air we breathe, from meat, dairy, alcohol and the processed foods that we eat, to the products that we use. Your body responds to all of these toxins with inflammation. When you clean things up and cut out those outside toxins, while at the same time adding the beneficial nutrients readily available in cold pressed juice, you’re allowing your body optimal toxin removal and cell repair. Eating a plant based diet can greatly reduce allergies, arthritis, IBS and even cardiovascular and autoimmune diseases. Plus, look for juices with ginger, turmeric and cayenne to further boost the anti inflammatory benefits.

Healthy Weight Loss 

Juice cleanses can be a gateway to a more balance diet. A kickstart to your healthy habits. When you remove harmful, toxic, and processed foods, saturated fats and empty refined carbs, and replace these foods with vegetable and fruit juices and plant based foods you’ll naturally lose weight. Part of this is water retention, but if you can maintain a plant based diet following your cleanse you will see a sustained weight loss.

Hydration 

More than 50% of people are dehydrated – consuming less than the recommended daily 5-6 glasses of non-caffeinated, beverages. Drinking adequate fluids like water and low sugar, cold pressed juice helps the body function more efficiently, improves energy, and helps remove toxins more effectively. Drinking water throughout the day, even while on your juice cleanse helps keep everything moving. Hydration also makes your skin glow. Regular hydration, helps remove toxins while juicing helps bring your cells healing nutrients that can transform how you feel and look. Get ready for that Juice Cleanse glow!

For further reading check out this study on Juice Cleanses by UCLA.