Feeling sluggish, battling cravings, or just needing a health reboot? Juice cleanses may hold the solution to all of these, in addition to unlocking a number of other benefits. From detoxification to gut health, we’ll explore the most common scientifically-backed benefits of juice cleanses, and how they can impact your life for the better. Ready to transform your health and wellness? Let’s get to it.
10 Benefits of a Juice Cleanse
Juice cleanses are well regarded for their various benefits like weight loss, energy boosts, and improved digestion. But those only scratch the surface of what you’ll experience. These are the most common, scientifically-backed benefits of a juice cleanse.
1. Activates Ancient Survival Mechanisms
Within 24-48 hours of the juice fast, your body will enter a biological phase known as autophagy. It’s triggered by acute caloric restriction, and forces your body’s cells to make the most of the nutrients & energy they currently have available.
Think of it as your body’s built-in recycling system – it breaks down junk it doesn’t need from unhealthy fats & toxins. Then, it discards the useless components and repurposes the functional nutrients to fuel your body’s natural processes.
At this stage, your cells operate in their most efficient form – a true testament to how powerful your body is, even without food. And despite the complexity of this cellular process, several studies have shown that autophagy may yield a number of benefits when activated safely, such as slowing the development of cancer cells and protecting the liver from drug & alcohol-related stress.
2. Detox from Ultra-Processed Foods
The average western diet consists of pre-packaged foods, processed animal products, refined grains, and sugary drinks. Even worse, these foods are consumed in large quantities, with the average American eating over 3600 calories per day. If that sounds high, that’s because it is – the USDA recommends an average of just 2000 calories/day and 2500 calories/day for men & women, respectively.
The foods we eat are bad, but the cooking methods we use are arguably worse. Practically every western meal is cooked with high & dry heat via grilling, baking, deep-frying, or pan-frying. All of these cooking methods reach temperatures in excess of 300°F, the point at which compounds known as advanced glycation end products (AGEs) form in foods. Proteins & fats combine with sugar during a process called glycation. And while low levels of AGEs can be easily managed by your body, high levels have been linked to oxidative stress, obesity, diabetes, and chronic diseases.
During a 2 to 3-day juice cleanse, your body flushes the surplus of AGEs in your bloodstream and enables you to kickstart a healthy, low-AGE diet once the cleanse ends.
3. Helps Break Unhealthy Eating Habits
As unhealthy as our modern-day eating habits may be compared to our ancestors, they are nothing more than a habit. And habits are meant to be broken. You may think that you eat the same foods every day because it’s what you’ve “always done,” but at a chemical level, your body craves certain foods because of hormonal imbalances & daily stressors.
Juice cleansing provides you with an opportunity to break unhealthy eating habits and enable you to mindfully create sustainable diet & exercise habits that help manage cravings and improve your lifestyle.
4. Supports Healthy Weight Loss
Changing your dietary habits may seem like a challenging task, but after you lose a few pounds, you’ll quickly gain the confidence to keep going. Our Signature Juice Cleanse contains about 600 calories per day, far less than the average person consumes in a single day. Given the steep reduction in caloric intake, it’s likely that you’ll lose a few pounds during the cleanse.
The initial few pounds will primarily be “water weight,” as your body adjusts to lower sodium levels from the absence of overly-processed foods. But if you continue to eat a healthy diet after your cleanse, you’ll be well on your way to losing more than just a few pounds.
5. Stabilizes Gut & Digestive Health
On top of excess weight gain, constant cravings, and disease-causing AGEs, modern diets can cause a number of gut health issues. Compared to traditional hunter-gatherers, our diets lack key microbiota that are linked to a number of diseases and gut health problems that are all too common. In fact, modern foods are the leading cause of the increase in conditions like constipation, bloating, and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).
These issues are more than just the occasional “stomach ache.” The gut is our body’s “second brain,’” and is responsible for regulating digestive health, controlling immune responses, and supporting our mental well-being. And while we may miss out on pre & probiotics, fiber, and antioxidants in standard diets, the fruits & vegetables in a juice cleanse are full of those essential nutrients. If you don’t normally consume enough fruits & veggies and suffer from gut-related issues, a juice cleanse may offer some reprieve in a convenient, concentrated bottle.
6. Improves Mental Clarity
With cell phones, social media, and other “cheap” sources of dopamine, it’s never been easier for humans to get what they want exactly when they want it. And even though instant gratification may seem like a good thing, it often results in addictions & impulsive behavior. And whether you can’t stop checking your phone or struggle to put your favorite food down, these addictions can quickly spiral if left unchecked.
During a cleanse, however, you can begin the process of resetting your dopamine levels to healthy levels. You’ll have time to reflect on your current lifestyle and set healthy goals for the future that align with your values & ambitions.
But you won’t just have time to reflect because you aren’t eating, your body will undergo substantial chemical changes that result in a clearer mind. Once the hunger pangs & headaches end, you’ll experience clearer thoughts, improved memory, and sharper senses as your body flushes toxins from your bloodstream.
7. Boosts Your Energy & Performance Levels
You may not imagine fruits & vegetables as the choice of food of your hunter-gatherer ancestors. But during dry seasons, they relied on them to fuel their hunts and traverse thousands of miles by foot. Towards the end of your first cleanse day, your body will activate its mammalian response, optimizing your metabolic energy levels to create clean, lasting energy.
Free from unhealthy foods & instant gratification, your body will begin operating like the finely-tuned machine that it is. You won’t feel the highs & lows of energy spikes induced by caffeine, but instead enhanced energy & performance levels similar to a “flow state.”
8. Beautifies Your Skin, Hair, and Nails
Fruits & vegetables contain essential vitamins & minerals that play a major role in skin, hair, and nail health. Specifically, beta-carotene, which is found in colorful, leafy fruits & veggies, stimulates collagen production, reduces lines & wrinkles, and improves overall skin quality. It also helps combat hair thinning & nail breakage, undoing years of damage done by foods like dairy, sugar, and alcohol. If you’re looking for beauty-specific benefits from your juice cleanse, check out our G3 Live – it’s loaded with beta-carotene-rich foods like cucumber, celery, kale, spinach, and romaine.
Even though you’ll be consuming a liquid-only diet for a few days, you still need to drink plenty of water to stay hydrated. And combined with the water content of the cleanse ingredients, your skin, hair, and nails will be glowing by the end of your cleanse once your body flushes out excess oils & toxins.
9. Enhances Nutrient Absorption
You may be wondering if there’s a difference between juice cleanses and a steady diet of fruits & vegetables…well, there is. Compared to their natural form, juices are more bioavailable. And at Raw Juicery, we cold-press each of our ingredients to minimize the amount of energy your body must expend to break down entire foods. As a result, the nutrients are better absorbed and yield greater energy, immune, and detoxification benefits. Plus, if you don’t like eating fresh produce, these juices offer a tasty alternative.
10. Instills Confidence to Take on New Challenges
Fasting is a challenging task, especially in the first 24 hours. But after you break through the initial hunger pangs and complete your first juice cleanse, you’ll enter a state of heightened motivation & optimism, ready to tackle more challenges. Physically, you’ll feel lighter, sharper, and stronger, reinforcing those feelings that you can take on anything and succeed.
How Your Benefits Will Vary by Cleanse Length
You will experience a greater number & quality of benefits the longer that you engage in a juice cleanse. And whether you want to get back on track after overindulging during holiday seasons or vacations, or begin a new health journey, your goals will vary from someone else. If you’re unsure which cleanse length is right for you, here are the most prominent benefits you can expect.
1-Day Cleanse
A 24 hour juice fast will provide a quick detox, energy & hydration boost, and much-needed supplement of vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients.
2-Day Cleanse
After a 2-day fast, you’ll likely have lost a few pounds and noticed an improvement in your digestion. The high concentration of fiber & water will give your digestive system a break from typical eating habits while promoting healthy, frequent bowel movements.
Most people begin to feel mentally stronger at the start of day 2, meaning you’ll be well equipped to fight off cravings and pursue healthy habits long after the cleanse is over.
3-Day Cleanse
Our 3-day cleanses are the most popular options, and for good reason. They offer a deeper detox from processed foods & harmful chemicals, while also replacing them with essential vitamins and minerals. Most people notice a significant reduction in inflammation and bloating as well. And upon completion, your body’s natural energy levels will be powered by vitamins, minerals, and enzymes, rather than sugar, coffee, and energy drinks. It’s hard to explain, but your body will likely feel like an endless source of clean energy.
Juice cleanses offer a number of benefits, from activating primal instincts to giving you the energy & confidence to tackle new fitness challenges. They can help you address health issues that you’re currently facing and set you on the path to success. Ready to give them a shot? Dive into the world of raw, cold-pressed, and HPP juices for yourself and discover exactly what these cleanses can do for you.