Everyone is aware that fruit and vegetables are
beneficial for our health, therefore the idea of juicing/juice diets seem like
a great way to add our daily servings to our diet. However, consuming just
juice alone could lead to potential health problems. There are many different
varieties of juice diets or cleanses, some require one or two meals to be
replaced with a juice whilst others only permit liquids to be consumed.
One of the biggest claims of juice cleanses and
diets is that it helps to detoxify the body – believe it or not, this claim has
been bashed by medical experts who say that we don’t need any help in
detoxifying our body as our liver, intestines and kidneys are highly evolved
systems that rid our body of toxins and unwanted waste.
You’ve all heard of the positive attributes of
juicing, but what about the negatives?
1) Overall Weight Gain
Like most diets or fads it will be hard to keep any
weight lost off after the diet when you make the transition of from drastically
lowering your calories to consuming additional calories again.
When you start to consume more you will put weight
back on and possibly more – living on such low calories is not sustainable.
Even if you were to follow the plan for a long time
this could result in metabolic damage as your body will become used to
surviving on little calories and weight loss will stall.
2) Weakened immune system
Most juices contain no source of protein and very
little fat, yet we need protein to sustain and create new muscle tissue and
help keep our immune systems healthy. The body will eventually start to break
down muscle tissue if we starve it of protein for too long.
A lack of fat in your diet could also result in poor
condition of your skin and hair. If you do juice, try adding a handful of nuts
and half – to a full avocado to your juices as a source of plant protein and
healthy fats.
3) Poor digestive system
Juicing fruits and vegetables often removes the
fiber, a big claim of many juice diets is that by doing this it helps the body
because it gives the digestive system a break, and this is false as fiber is
extremely important in keeping our digestive systems healthy and working
correctly.
If you don’t consume enough fiber you may experience
stomach upset, bloating, gas and constipation. The fiber that is removed
through juicing also helps you to feel satisfied after eating.
4) Headaches, moods, dizziness
Juice cleanses or diets often result in weight loss
but this is because it drastically lowers your daily calories, with most diets
being less than 1000 calories.
This could lead to dizziness, feeling nauseous,
headaches, fatigue, moodiness and changes in bowel function.
5) Affect blood sugar levels
Because of the lack of fiber in some juices, the
body absorbs more fructose sugar readily – this can affect your blood sugar
levels, something which diabetics should be wary of. Symptoms of this include an increased thirst,
tiredness and a dry mouth.
Juicing should not be a substitute for eating real
food, eating frequently can stable your blood sugar levels. If you are anemic
it is especially important that you get enough iron in your diet, juices often
lack this vitamin so you could worsen your condition, making you feel more
lethargic and pale in color.
6) Affect Your Long Term eating Patterns
Living off juice alone can leave you with
nutritional gaps, you are unable to get all of your vitamins and minerals from
juice alone and lacking in essential nutrients can make you more vulnerable to
infections and sickness.
Juice is also not as satisfying as a whole meal,
you’re more likely to want to snack and this could lead to binge eating. These
kinds of diets can reinforce the notion that food is the enemy, we need to
promote a healthy lifestyle that involves fruits and vegetables along with
whole foods.
