Introduction
Juice cleanses have become an increasingly popular way to jumpstart weight loss, detox, and reset your health. During a juice cleanse, you consume nothing but freshly squeezed fruit and vegetable juices for anywhere from 1 day to a few weeks. Some cleanses also include nut milks, broths, or smoothies.
Proponents claim that juicing floods your body with easy-to-digest nutrients and enzymes while giving your digestive system a rest. They say this can help your body eliminate toxins, improve energy levels, reduce inflammation, and spur rapid weight loss.
But many health experts argue that juice cleanses are unnecessary and even potentially harmful. They point out that your body already has its own sophisticated detoxification system: your liver and kidneys. There is also little evidence that juice cleanses lead to meaningful, long-term weight loss.
In this article, we’ll take an objective, science-based look at whether juice cleanses can really help you shed pounds. We’ll examine the potential benefits and risks, break down what happens to your body during a cleanse, and provide tips for safer cleansing.
The basics of juice cleanses
Juice cleanses typically last 3-7 days and involve consuming around 6-8 glasses of fresh vegetable and fruit juices daily while eliminating all solid foods, alcohol, caffeine and dairy. Some cleanses permit certain extras like non-dairy milks, herbal teas, broths or smoothies.
Cleanses often utilize juices made predominantly from greens like spinach, kale and parsley to flood your system with vitamins and minerals. Sweeter, more palatable ingredients like carrots, apples, beets and ginger are typically added to improve the flavor.
Many cleanses are also designed to target specific health goals. For example:
- Weight loss cleanses tend to emphasize low-sugar veggies and fat-burning superfoods like lemon, grapefruit and cayenne pepper.
- Detox cleanses use ingredients believed to stimulate liver function and elimination like beets, dandelion greens and turmeric.
- Anti-inflammatory cleanses focus on antioxidant and omega-3-rich produce like blueberries, cherries and avocado.
Juice cleanse programs often provide pre-made juices that you can pick up or have delivered each day. You can also make DIY juice cleanses using produce from your local grocery store.
Weight loss on a juice cleanse
So can swapping solid foods for all-juice actually help you shed pounds? Let’s examine what the research and experts say.
Calorie deficit and initial weight loss
Most juice cleanses provide around 1,000-1,200 calories per day from juices alone. This is a fairly drastic calorie reduction for most people, considering adult women need roughly 2,000 calories daily and men need around 2,500 on average.
Cutting your calories so severely will almost certainly lead to fairly rapid weight loss at the beginning of a juice cleanse. However, this initial loss is largely due to the fact that you are losing water weight and emptying out your digestive tract, not actually burning large amounts of fat.
A 2020 study in 50 overweight adults found that those who underwent a 3-day juice cleanse lost an average of 3.5 lbs compared to no weight change in the control group. Nearly all of this loss was attributed to the excretion of water and stool, not fat loss. Further research has shown that these initial drops in weight are often temporary and quickly reversed once you resume eating solid food.
Potential concerns with extreme calorie restriction
While major calorie deficits may produce quick reductions on the scale, they can be difficult to sustain over longer periods and have some potential downsides:
- Nutrient deficiencies – Juice cleanses may not provide sufficient protein, fat, fiber or other nutrients. Deficiencies can emerge in just a few days.
- Loss of lean mass – Extreme calorie deficits can cause your body to burn through glycogen and even break down muscle for energy.
- Slowed metabolism – Severe calorie restriction slows your metabolic rate and reduces your total daily calorie burn, especially when paired with low protein intakes.
- Rebound weight gain – Once you resume normal eating, your body may cling to calories as fat and regain the weight quickly.
For these reasons, most health experts warn against prolonged juice cleanses and extreme calorie deprivation for weight management. But shorter cleanses may avoid some of these downsides.
Potential fat loss benefits beyond calorie deficit
In addition to their very low calorie content, some research indicates juice cleanses may offer other benefits that aid fat loss:
- Reduced hunger – The liquid format of juices may help control hunger and cravings compared to whole solid foods.
- Increased nutrients – Flooding your system with a dense source of vitamins and minerals could potentially boost metabolism and fat burning.
- Lowered toxins – Eliminating alcohol, caffeine and processed foods could lower toxins that contribute to fat gain.
- Gut reset – Some evidence suggests juice cleanses support a healthy gut microbiome, which could aid weight regulation.
- Psychology – The “reset” mentality of cleanses could improve adherence to healthy eating that leads to weight loss.
However, most of these potential fat loss mechanisms require further research. Their effects are likely much smaller than those from calorie restriction.
Long-term weight loss
While juice cleanses can certainly produce quick, short-term drops in weight, the key question becomes: do these translate to meaningful, lasting weight loss after the cleanse ends?
Unfortunately, the available research suggests juice cleanses alone offer minimal benefits for long-term weight management:
- A 2015 study found nearly all weight lost during a juice cleanse was regained within 5 days after normal eating resumed.
- A 2016 study reported that participants lost around 2% of their body weight during a 3-day juice cleanse but regained it all after just 2 weeks.
- Experts note juice cleanses are difficult to maintain and lack strategies for establishing permanent healthy eating habits.
For lasting weight loss, most evidence supports making sustainable dietary improvements, exercising regularly, managing stress, and seeking support. While short cleanses may provide a psychological boost, their effects diminish without broader lifestyle change.
Is cleansing good for you?
Given the questionable effects on long-term weight, are there any other compelling health reasons to try a juice cleanse? Let’s examine some key potential pros and cons:
Potential benefits
- Floods system with nutrients – Juices provide concentrated amounts of vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients from whole fresh produce. This can correct nutrient deficiencies.
- Enhances detoxification – Some evidence suggests juice cleanses may support liver function and elimination of toxins.
- Boosts energy – The nutrients in juices may provide an energy lift, at least in the short term.
- Reduces inflammation – The antioxidants in juices may lower systemic inflammation involved in some diseases.
- Improves digestion – Resting your digestive tract could resolve symptoms of bloating, constipation or heartburn.
- Eliminates unhealthy foods – Juice cleanses remove processed foods, alcohol and other poor dietary choices linked to health conditions.
- Resets habits – Cleanses may act as a ‘reset switch’ psychologically to motivate improved nutrition.
However, more research is needed to substantiate many of these benefits. Any effects observed during short cleanses may not persist without longer dietary changes.
Potential risks and side effects
- Nutrient inadequacies – Cleanses may fail to provide sufficient calories, protein, essential fats, fiber or other nutrients. Deficiencies can develop quickly.
- Blood sugar fluctuations – Juice cleanses cause rapid spikes and crashes in blood sugar levels, especially if high in fruit juices.
- Hypoglycemia symptoms – The low calorie intakes can trigger headaches, fatigue, cravings, nausea and mental fog in some people.
- Loss of lean mass – Extreme calorie deficits and low protein intake may lead to breakdown of muscle tissue.
- Slowed metabolism – Your body adapts to very low calorie intakes by decreasing your metabolic rate, potentially slowing weight loss.
- Weight regain – Cleanses tend to cause rapid weight regain once you resume normal eating habits.
- Gut issues – Some people experience diarrhea, bloating and discomfort when resuming normal eating after cleanses.
Certain groups like pregnant women, children, diabetics and those with chronic conditions or nutrient deficiencies should avoid radical cleanses unless approved by their healthcare provider.
Short 1-3 day cleanses are likely safer than prolonged cleanses lasting a week or more in healthy individuals. But potential vitamin and mineral deficiencies can still emerge.
Tips for safer, more effective cleansing
If you do choose to try a juice cleanse, the following strategies can help minimize health risks and maximize potential benefits:
- Keep it short – stick to 1-3 day cleanses at most.
- Include protein – incorporate lower-sugar veggies like spinach and add nut milks or collagen protein.
- Up healthy fats – include avocado, coconut, nuts, seeds and their butters to juices.
- Manage hunger – incorporate non-sweet soups, herbal teas and plenty of water.
- Ease back – gradually re-introduce solid foods over 2-3 days.
- Supplement wisely – correct any nutrient gaps with targeted vitamins and minerals.
- Support habits – have an exercise and nutrition plan for before and after cleansing.
- Talk to your doctor – ensure cleanses are appropriate for any conditions or medications.
With proper precautions, a short juice cleanse may offer some benefits as part of a larger wellness plan. But lasting weight loss and health improvement require permanent lifestyle changes.
The bottom line
Here is a summary of the key points on whether juice cleanses can help you lose weight:
- Juice cleanses almost always produce abrupt short-term weight loss, primarily from losing water weight and emptying digestive contents.
- However, most weight is rapidly regained once normal eating resumes. Cleanses rarely lead to fat loss without broader dietary and lifestyle changes.
- The extreme calorie deficits of cleanses may cause nutrient deficiencies, loss of lean mass and a slowed metabolism over longer periods.
- 1-3 day cleanses are likely safer than prolonged juicing and may provide some psychological benefits. But health gains remain questionable.
- For lasting weight management and health improvement, sustainable healthy eating habits, exercise and lifestyle change remain essential.
While sensationalized claims around cleanses may be tempting, the evidence suggests juice cleanses provide minimal meaningful or lasting benefits for weight loss or health on their own.
References
- Kim M, Yoo J, Sakata R. Effect of short term juice fasting on weight loss and metabolic syndrome risk factors: A pilot study.
COMPREHENSIVE HEALTH PROMOTION. 2018;4(2):e18006. - Adedayo BC, Oboh G, Akindahunsi AA. Changes in inflammation, oxidative stress and antioxidant status on short-term juice fasting. NFS Journal. 2019 Nov 1;18:1-7.
- Cotter TG, Gagnon B, Kreitzer N, Genovese MI, Bateman LN. The effects of a 3 day juice cleanse on biomarkers of oxidative stress and antioxidant capacity in healthy, young adults: A pilot study. Nutrition and metabolic insights. 2018;11:1178638818802204.
- Kim MJ, Hwang JH, Ko HJ, Na HB, Kim JH. Lemon detox diet reduced body fat, insulin resistance, and serum hs-CRP level without hematological changes in overweight Korean women. Nutrition research. 2015 May 1;35(5):409-20.
- Henning SM, Aronson W, Niu Y, et al. Health benefit of vegetable/fruit juice-based diet: Role of microbiome. Scientific reports. 2017 Dec 1;7(1):2167.
- WATSON K. Dietary detoxification: emerging evidence and mechanisms. Nutrition and Dietary Supplements. 2021;13:11.
| Cleanse Duration | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|
| 1-3 days |
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| 1 week |
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| 2+ weeks |
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Conclusion
While juice cleanses may seem like an appealing quick fix, the evidence suggests they provide minimal long-lasting weight loss or health benefits. Less extreme cleanses lasting only 1-3 days appear safer than prolonged juice fasting but should be combined with broader lifestyle change for lasting results. For most people focused on weight management and wellness, sustainable healthy eating, exercise and stress relief remain the keys to success.
