by Kate Monko
The mission: to rid the digestive system of “toxins.” When put this way, you bet I’d want to jump right on this bandwagon too. But before I race home to juice my kale, kiwis, and carrots, I want to sift through and analyze it a bit. Let me state it frankly: the entire mission of a juice cleanse is not even scientifically proven. Theses companies basically encompass an idea that might not even eliminate so-called poisonous toxin build-up. Spoiler alert: the body is pretty high-tech and doesn’t need to be on a juice fast to eliminate toxins.
Allow me to delve into other research that I have found. I would argue one of the reasons why you would eat a fruit or a vegetable was to reap its fibrous benefits. But once again, this detox fad strips away the roughage leaving you behind with a blender full of sugar. But I would agree, slightly, that it allows your digestive system to rest for a while by not having to metabolize fiber, and purely giving your body a shot of quick nutrients and vitamins. While there is some added value to this claim, I ask the question: why can’t we just eat wholesome fruits and vegetables in their natural state?
I am making an observation, judge or don’t judge. I realize that society, at least America, can take this whole diet-thing to both extremes on either end. To begin, we have our posse on one side subsisting on fast foods and relying on processed and packaged foods that make up the bulk of their daily diet.
On the other side of the spectrum, we have some extremists. I’m not judging these extremists; I’m solely making observations about them. They place all of their farmer’s market organic fruits into the juicer to concoct some wonky hue of green or red and call that a meal. Sure, go for it. But I still side on the idea of building up a food pyramid with a base of vegetables and fruits in their natural state while incorporating lean protein sources, and low-fat dairy, and whole grains. I would think that that is sufficient in maintaining a healthy body.
Does nausea, dizziness, or fatigue appeal to you? Well it sure doesn’t sit well with me, even if it delivers so-called detoxifying benefits. But wait, it’s not even scientifically proven that it rids the body of these harmful by-products! Claims, claims, claims.
Because the media advertises “the next big thing” and promotes these fads with apparent wondrous benefits, society will sway in any direction to keep up with the latest and greatest. They sometimes fail to research on their own to really understand if this is the best thing for the body to undergo. But they really don’t have to. With the plethora of information and research material out there, there is no excuse for going into a juice cleanse blindly–the facts and information are out there, but the choice is ultimately yours.