Buying guide for best juice cleanses

Weight gain, cravings, fatigue, acne, and trouble sleeping can all be signs of a diet gone wrong. Sometimes, all it takes to get back on track is to hit the reset button with a juice cleanse. If you don't have the time, experience, or appliances needed to create healthy fruit and vegetable beverages from scratch, you'll want to purchase a juice cleanse to get started on your journey.

It is imperative that you do a juice cleanse properly. Otherwise, it could cause more harm than good. This article will touch upon the pros and cons of juice cleansing and provide you with information you need to make the healthiest choices for your dietary needs.

Fiber is an important dietary component that can help you feel satisfied longer. For a successful cleanse, look for products with added fiber.

What is juice cleansing?

Juice cleansing could also be called “juice fasting.” It is a short-term diet that involves abstaining from solid foods and ingesting all your nourishment through fruit and vegetable juices. Since a juice cleanse can be rather rough on the uninitiated, it's best to start with a one-day cleanse. Then, over the course of a year, build up to a three-day cleanse (if your body is agreeable). Most people cleanse every three months, but some cleanse one day each week to help permanently eradicate unhealthy habits.

What to look for in a juice cleanse

Finding the best juice cleanse can take a little time and research. Here are some key terms you need to know to find the juice cleanse that's right for you.

Cold-pressed: Because cold pressing involves no substantial heat, cold-pressed juice has more nutrients than fruits and vegetables that were juiced via other methods.

Low sugar: Juice that has been made through cold pressing can be high in sugar and calories. Look for juice cleanses that have a lower sugar and calorie content.

Fiber: Fiber is an important dietary material that is lost when juice is cold pressed. A juice cleanse with added fiber is a desirable option.

Organic: When looking for the healthiest choices, always pick food that has been certified organic. Organic is the most highly regulated food label because it means all the ingredients have been grown or raised according to the USDA's strict organic standards.

Raw: Raw food has not been altered from its original form, so all the vitamins, minerals, enzymes, and amino acids have the best chance of remaining in the food. However, raw food has not been pasteurized, so there are some health concerns that accompany ingesting raw foods.

Pasteurized: Unless a juice has been pasteurized using high-pressure processing (HPP), it will have been heated to kill bacteria. Unfortunately, heat also destroys many juice nutrients as well. Note: HPP also involves slightly raising a food's temperature, but the nutrition loss is comparatively minor.

Juice cleanse prices

For as low as $3, you can get fruit and vegetable beverages that help ease you into an organic, cold-pressed juice option. These are training wheels, however, that are better suited for a pre-cleanse than an actual cleanse. As you move into the $20 to $40 region, you'll start seeing organic powders that can be mixed into water to give you more of the vitamins you'd need during an actual cleanse. Multi-day programs cost significantly more than these other options; prices begin around $100. These kits have all the juice you need to take you through a cleanse that lasts several days.

In general, the higher up you move in price, the more nutrient-dense the juice cleanse will be. Additionally, these options will likely have added fiber and other beneficial phytonutrients. That said, you should always read the label for complete nutritional information.

Possible juice cleanse side effects

A juice cleanse can be a drastic shock to your system, especially if you've never done one before. Following is a list of things that may happen to you during a juice cleanse.

• You may gain weight. Cutting too many calories for too long can put your body in starvation mode, which slows your calorie burn.
• You may feel weak or apathetic. The reduced calorie intake could leave you feeling sluggish.
• You may experience headaches, anxiety, and depression. If you are a coffee drinker, these are just some of the symptoms that may occur with withdrawal from caffeine.
• You may feel dizzy. Typically, a cleanse delivers high amounts of sugar. To compensate, your body may begin producing insulin faster, which could result in feeling dizzy.
• You may change your eating habits. The decreased volume of food that you consume during a cleanse may be enough to retrain you to be satisfied with smaller portions.
• You may experience dental problems. During a cleanse, the acid in the fruit may damage the enamel of your teeth, making them sensitive.
• You may lose muscle mass. During a cleanse, your body will not be getting what it needs to maintain muscle mass, so you might experience a slight decrease.
• You may have urgent dashes to the bathroom. Since fluids do not stay with the body like solids do, they will be flushed out of your system rapidly, which may necessitate frequent trips to the bathroom.

Other products we considered

If you think that your body is ready for more than a day or two of cleansing, you might want to try a juice cleanse designed to be used over several days. The following bundles provide all the nutrients your body needs while you are on your liquid diet. RAW Fountain Juice's 3-Day Juice Cleanse provides your body with a quick reboot to put you back on a healthier track. If you want to go a little more hardcore, Raw Generation has two options for you: a 5-day protein cleanse and a 7-day protein cleanse. Any of these options would be like hitting a reset button to help you get back on track for healthier eating.

The main benefit of a juice cleanse is not to detox your system. Instead, think of a juice cleanse as a reset button — an effective way to purge bad habits rather than weight and toxins.

FAQ

Q. What are the benefits of juice cleansing?
A. Believe it or not, detoxing is not really a benefit of juice cleansing; that's what your liver and kidneys are for. When you complete a cleanse, however, you have a feeling of accomplishment. You get your recommended daily allotment of fruits and vegetables. Finally, you may find it easier to break free of unhealthy cravings and poor eating habits.

Q. Do I need to prepare for a juice cleanse?
A. Yes. A juice cleanse is a radical change to the diet. The longer you intend to sustain the cleanse, the more prepared you need to be. Before you begin, gradually eliminate items like caffeine, refined sugar, meat, alcohol, nicotine, and anything else that might create withdrawal symptoms. It will also help if you increase your intake of fruits, vegetables, and fluids before embarking on your journey.

After you've finished your juice cleanse, you will need to gradually re-introduce solids because your digestive system will be in a delicate state.

Q. Is a juice cleanse safe?
A. There can be many undesirable side effects that occur as a result of a juice cleanse. If you approach it intelligently, not dropping your calories too low and watching your sugars, you should be fine. However, before putting your body through anything new, it's always best to consult with your healthcare provider to be sure that this strategy is right for you.

Q. Is a juice cleanse good for losing weight?
A. Although you will likely lose weight during a cleanse, that weight will probably come back as soon as you finish. Losing weight permanently is a lifestyle choice. You can't experience long-term benefits from short-term approaches.