The promise of a slim physique and toxin-free body may convince consumers to spend a pretty penny on pressed juices. Are juice cleanses and detoxes worth the money? There is no question the juicing industry has exploded recently and does not appear to be slowing down anytime soon. The cold pressed juice market is expected to grow globally to $845 million and domestically to $311 million in 2024. But do juice cleanses really provide the health benefits they claim to?
A juice cleanse regimen typically permits only juiced fruits and vegetables for a period ranging from a few days to a few weeks. Due to these restrictions, those who follow this regimen do not eat solid foods from other food groups. Juice cleanses provide very little fat and protein, which are two macronutrients needed for body function. Additionally, the process of making juice leaves fiber behind, a nutrient responsible for helping us properly digest food and feel full.
So, what does a juice cleanse provide? Over the course of a day, juices may provide a mere 1,000-1,200 calories since fruits and vegetables are not calorie dense. Restricting your caloric intake to this extent does not meet the average person’s needs of 2,000 calories. It is likely a juice cleanse could lead to temporary weight loss because it provides minimal calories, but it is not a suitable diet for weight loss. Lost weight will most likely be regained once a person returns to their usual diet pattern. In addition, a juice cleanse will not meet a person’s needs for fat and protein.
Bottom Line: Thanks to our kidneys and liver, our bodies naturally process and eliminate toxins on their own. A temporary juice cleanse will not magically “detoxify” or “cleanse the body of toxins.” The best type of diet for sustainable weight loss is a diet rich in whole fruits and vegetables, lean proteins and whole grains. Fuel your body with these nutrient-packed foods and skip the juice cleanse. Save money and opt for a more nourishing diet instead.
Written by: Melissa Kowalski, Wellness Workdays Dietetic Intern
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Without a doubt, exercise improves one’s overall health; however, when it comes to losing weight, recent research has shown that relying on exercise alone is not enough. Eating the right foods and consuming the right amount of calories, contribute more to weight control than exercise, according to the New York Times article “To lose weight, eating less is far more important than exercising more.”
As an example, if an overweight woman consumes 1,000 more calories per day than she is burning, the fact that she exercises for 30 minutes each day and burns 300 calories still leaves her with 700 extra calories per day – and 4,900 extra calories per week – which will lead to weight gain. Exercise consumes far fewer calories than many people think. Thirty minutes of jogging or swimming laps might burn 300 calories but many people, fat or fit, can’t maintain a strenuous 30-minute exercise regimen every day. They could, however, achieve a significant reduction in calories by eliminating two 16-ounce sodas each day.
While we firmly believe that exercise should remain a part of everyone’s day as it has been proven to lower blood pressure, reduce mental stress, and improve outcomes in musculoskeletal disorders, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, pulmonary diseases, neurological diseases and depression, for weight control, a nutritional focus on one’s diet is what works best. Dieting is often viewed as a drastic and rigid change to daily food consumption and has a high risk of putting the pounds back on. A more successful approach is gradual change to one’s daily diet, done in a more sustainable, nutritious way. The challenge is to make healthy, dietary changes versus simply adding more exercise once metabolism slows and the desire to eat more increases.
Wellness Workdays works with a number of employers to provide its Nutrition for a Lifetime program to employees. The program focuses on building a foundation of basic nutrition knowledge, developing healthy eating habits and making small changes that lead to sustainable weight loss. We have helped employees achieve weight loss and reductions in BMI while also reducing their health risks for medical conditions such as hypertension.
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