Detox Diets!
There are a growing number of people who get sucked into the so-called “detox diets”. The concept of detox diets is to remove toxins by following a prescribed method in a period of a few days/weeks. There are a number of procedures that can be followed, for example following a diet regime, eating specific herbs and herb supplements, chelation to name a few. Juice fasting is also considered by many as an excellent method of detoxing the body of its impurities and enable the body to return to its original state!
Juice Fasting – The positives
Juice fasting is a novel idea which would work for people who have an addiction towards alcohol, smoking and substance abuse, caffeine, etc. People who feast on chocolates and ice cream, and even people who have a very unhealthy eating pattern and lifestyle can give this a try. The idea of juice fasting is that during the fasting period, the person is allowed to drink only fruit juices of around 1 – 2 litres a day and is not allowed to eat anything solid. People who advocate this idea claim that this reduces the burden on the digestive system, as fruit / vegetable juice is digested much more easily, thereby reducing strain on the digestive system and diverting that extra energy to other parts of the body.
A juice fast would probably help addicts to get rid of their habit – purely because they mentally believe in it. But considering juice fasting as an alternate therapy to get rid of all toxins that we have built for a year, in a few days/weeks is tough. It is more likely that people who have a very bad lifestyle and eating style, will be interested in detoxing their body using such quick fix detoxing methods. And, these people are more likely to return to their original ways after the detox period is over!
Juice Fasting – The negatives
Juice fasting fails in many areas. Fruit juices are naturally very high in sugar and by drinking up to 2 litres of fruit juice a day, one might take in far more sugar than what the body can cope, putting heavy strain on the pancreas to release insulin. Since our daily diets nowadays is fat and carbohydrate rich, juice fasting stresses the system and potentially increases the risk of getting diabetes.
The other disadvantage of juice fasting is the lack of vitamins and minerals. Not all vitamins and minerals are found in fruit juices and by just drinking fruit juices for days, our body can run out of essential vitamins and minerals easily. Fibre is yet another important ingredient for bowel movement and is found in raw fruits. The process of extracting the juice, gets rid of fibre completely thereby getting rid of the benefits as well.
Further problems associated with prolonged juice fasting include calcium and protein deficiency. Some people could develop kidney problems and other temporary symptoms like vomiting, diarrhea, dehydration, dizziness and low blood pressure.
What critics say!
Many critics argue that our body is designed to detox itself automatically, for example, when we sleep and there is no real need to detox the body using external means. Some physicists call detox diet as a marketing gimmick, which uses the hastiness of people to lose weight and to be fit in few days!
Any better alternates?
A better alternate to juice fasting is water fasting for 18-24 hours once every month! The carbohydrate reserve is utilised in this case and that helps the body to start rebuilding the reserves again. By stopping food, the digestive system takes rest while the other parts get more energy. There is no stress on any particular organ during a water fast and at the same time doesn’t overload the body with sugar. Water helps flush toxins through urine, which is very similar to what fruit juices would do! With juice fasting, there may be hunger, but not weakness, as the body still gets enough energy. Remember – A litre of juice can provide 500 calories of energy and having 2 litres a day is around 1000 calories per day – all from sugar and carbohydrates!!
The Bottom Line:
The only point favour of juice fasting is that we could potentially end up taking in less calories per day, which would then translate to weight loss over a period of time. But if juice fasting is tried for a few days only, then that benefit cannot be seen either. A water fast, on the other hand, for a shorter period of time is a much better alternate to juice fasting for a week. One might lose weight due to the lower calories intake per day by resorting to a juice fast, but remember all the calories taken in are completely made up of sugar.
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