Why I Don’t Believe in Juice Fasts
Photo: James Wojcik/ Trunk Archive
I drink green juice all the time. It has a ton of nutrients and always makes me feel great. But I don’t believe in juice fasts. Neither does actress Julianne Moore, who recently told NewBeauty, "I did a juice cleanse for the Golden Globes one year. I think I did it for three days. To be honest, the only weight I lost was in my brain.”
Juicing is a big trend right now for detoxing and losing weight, but I think it’s unhealthy to not eat solid food. If you really want to detox (for health reasons, not just as a quick fix), there are easier and better ways. Nutritionist Heather Bauer’s advice is to spend a few days drinking a ton of water, eating clean (little to no processed food), and incorporating as many fresh veggies as you can. After a few days or weeks of not eating well, this kind of routine really gets me back on track.
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There are so many ways to get in your veggies. Toss some spinach, mushrooms, peppers, or broccoli into an omelet for breakfast. Veggie wraps, stir-fries, or steamed vegetables paired with lean protein are delicious and easy to make. I find raw vegetables hard to digest, so I often turn them into soups or sauces. I recently added some fresh garlic, avocado oil, and a touch of salt and pepper to fresh kale from my garden and blended it in a Vitamix. The result was a kale pesto sauce that I could use like a dressing. I put it on whole grain bread for lunch, use it as a pasta sauce for dinner, or drizzle it on steamed veggies.
While drinking your veggies has its benefits, eating them is more important. Sometimes the best advice is pretty simple. “My approach to a healthy diet is having a healthy relationship with food,” says nutritionist Alyse Levine. After a few days of eating cleaner, you’ll feel great. No starving required. Don’t believe me? Read on for the real problems with juicing, according to Levine.
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Myth #1: Juicing makes you lose weight.
"You’re losing a lot of water weight," says Levine. " What people don’t realize is that your body is being starved and breaking down your muscle mass to get fuel. When you go back to eating normally, you have less muscle mass, making it harder to lose weight and maintain weight loss." Yes, your body begins to eat itself.
Myth #2: If you power through the first couple of days, you’ll be re-energized.
Without protein and healthy fats, your body is really just subsisting on carbs. The glucose from those fruits and vegetables is like a surge of insulin. “Once that’s out of your blood, you have a drop in blood sugar,” says Levine. “You’ll be low on energy and lightheaded until you get another dose.”
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Myth #3: Your skin and hair will flourish from green juice.
Your hair needs protein — and it’s not getting that from liquefied kale. “You’ll see shedding, or it might turn brittle and not as shiny,” Levine says. “I see absolutely no benefit.”
Myth #4: Your digestive system needs a rest.
Levine says most juice establishments put two whole apples into fresh-pressed green juice, which turns into hundreds of empty sugar calories. “You’re better off having the fiber of the apple,” she says. “You won’t feel as satiated from the juice as solid foods, so you may overconsume. If you like juices, add them to your current diet and cut out the junk.”
