Juices detoxes seem to be the new magical health trend. But have you ever thought about how does a 3-day juice detox works? So let’s learn more about juice detoxes and their various aspects.
So how does a 3-day juice detox work? It aids the body in flush out all the unhealthy aspects of food that we consume on a day-to-day basis. Juices help you nourish your body while eradicating the wastes and toxins that have accumulated in the body. It helps us stay away from caffeine, refined foods, sugar, etc for 3 days resulting in the betterment of our overall physical and mental health. It does cause a little bit of temporary, short-termed weight loss which is great if you were looking for a kick start towards your weight loss journey. But keep in mind that you will gain back this weight as soon as you go back to your normal eating habits.
There are various types of juice detoxes. Talk to your doctor and do your research to find out which one is the best option for you. Make sure to not go too overboard with the detox; 3 days are more than enough. There are a few health risks associated with juices detoxes. One can face severe kidney issues, especially people who are pregnant, are old-aged, or are kids. It is important to consult your doctor and get their opinion on what you should do and what not, for one wrong step and you may have to face major consequences.
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Health Benefits Of Juice Detox
While having a lot of benefits from juice detox, there’s actually very limited research into even backing the facts. However, if your intake of fresh veggies and fruits is high it is considered healthy despite the lack of evidence, the health benefits of a juice detox may include:
Elimination Of Toxins
A juice detox is considered a very effective way to flush out toxins from the body, even though we lack any scientific evidence.
Improved Health
Fresh fruits and vegetables are a great source of antioxidants and are rich in nutrients, with a fresh glass of juice you are getting a lot of vitamins and minerals with other anti-inflammatory compounds that boost your immunity and overall health while boosting your immunity.
Improved Digestion
Fresh raw juice is full of enzymes that may help improve your digestion, in this case, there is research to show that juice-based diets can help alter intestinal microbiota which helps in weight loss and detox in as fast as three days.
What Health Benefits Fruits And Vegetables Give In A Juice Detox
| Fruit/Vegetable | Benefits |
| Lemon | Best way to help with the bitterness of greens and also a great cleansing agent |
| Turmeric | High in anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties |
| Ginger | Supports the immune system and aids in digestion |
| Oranges | Low in calories and high in vitamin C, helps boost your immune system |
| Kale | High in anti-inflammatory properties and a powerful antioxidant |
| Celery | Good source of dietary fiber and Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin K |
| Cucumber | Helps with kidney and liver function and is also a great detoxifier |
| Apples | Helps to fight inflammation and keeps the heart-healthy. |
| Beets | Helps fight inflammation and is a great detoxifier |
| Spinach | Packed with vitamins and anticancer properties |
What Changes Do You See During A 3 Day Juice Detox?
Things To Consider Before A Juice Detox
There are certain things that you may like to know before venturing out on this 72hour detox. A few of them being that you may and probably will get a lot of cravings in the initial hours and giving in to them is not a good idea. You should also know that we all have different kinds of bodies and the detox will work differently on every one of us. So just because someone you know got certain benefits from it doesn’t mean that you will get the same ones.
Your benefits may vary, but that doesn’t mean that they are inferior in any shape or form. Also, make sure to consult with your doctor to ensure your safety and health during and after the detox.
How Each Day Affects You
Day 1
Day 1 can be a bit challenging for everyone with cravings – which is all of us. You may catch yourself daydreaming about all the food that you could be eating instead. This happens because we are habituated to eating every single day for our entire lives. Chewing and swallowing have become a part of our daily routine and a habit over the course of time. Not being able to actually chew our food can cause our bodies to get confused, leading to us not feeling satisfied with what we consume. Although, the cravings should go away as the day comes to an end.
People who consume a low-carb diet on a regular basis can encounter hypoglycemia-which means that the blood pressure is lower than normal. This can happen because your body isn’t habituated to all the sugar that you will consume along with the juices. This requires more insulin to break down the sugar, but if more than the necessary amount of insulin is released, the body may react to it and cause hypoglycemia.
At the end of every day of the juice detox, you would have consumed somewhere around 800 to 1100 calories which is lesser than 1600 to 2100 which you get by eating food. This will cause a significant drop in glucose amounts reaching the brain. This may put you in a lethargic and grumpy mood. This will be especially difficult to deal with if you are someone who enjoys physical activities, like working out or playing a sport for fitness or recreational purposes, later in the day.
Day 2
The 2nd and the 3rd days are when your body is starting to get used to the detox feeling of being on a juice detox. You will feel lighter because your body isn’t filled with solid food that is constantly getting digested. The body’s digestion system is doing much less and hence preserving the little energy that the juices provide you with; which also results in you feeling more energized and enthusiastic.
This diet focuses largely on fruits and veggies and rejects a big part of other foods. This may cause a decrease or increase in different kinds of allergies and intolerances. It may be undiagnosed and hence cause you to feel slightly uncomfortable. If going on a juice detox has made you feel better within the first 2 days, it means that something that you usually eat but have decided to quit is causing you and your body some issues. And if this happens, we encourage you to look further into it.
Caffeine can be very stimulating to the central nervous system. And if you happen to be someone who loves their daily dosage of caffeine, not consuming it will result in you having to face some withdrawal symptoms like headaches, mood swings, always tired and fatigued, etc. If you do face these symptoms, then you should know that you are dependent on caffeine- meaning you are a caffeine addict, which is not something to be proud of considering the word addict is an unhealthy dependence on any substance. Juice detox will give you a chance to rid yourself of this dependence for it requires you to quit coffee, tea, energy drinks, sodas, etc.
During this time you won’t be consuming any fiber and hence you can expect to go to the bathroom a few extra times. Consuming all that fluid will make your bowel movements softer, loser, and more often. This is basically cleansing your body or so it feels. You may also have a disrupted sleep schedule due to being hungry from consuming fewer calories than normal.
Day 3
The third day is usually the most fun for you to feel elevated from the second day. And you also will find yourself feeling excited about all the foods you will be able to eat the next day.
You may feel like you are getting a lot of nutrients during a juice detox, but you end up missing out on protein, fat, etc which help the body function just as much as any other nutrients. And due to this, it is advised to not do this detox for more than 3 days for it will start affecting your body, and not in a good way. If it’s done for more than 3 days, then you will start seeing the decreased function of the brain, muscle loss, hormonal functions getting imbalanced, etc.
Although, by the end of a juice detox you will find yourself with a higher libido. A juice detox helps with bloating, which lowers your sex drive. You will see a decrease in your bloating to a great extent by the end of the 3rd and final day of the detox. This will not only boost your confidence in bed but outside the bedroom as well.
You may have heard about juice cleanses helping with speeding up or slowing down your metabolism; but since you are still consuming calories, your metabolism won’t budge. Your digestive system is the only one that will slow down for there will be far less to digest and will be back to normal when you are finished with the cleansing and start earring normally.
Learning More About How Does A 3 Day Juice Detox Work
A juice detox expert claims that nutrients and antioxidants are better absorbed in liquid form by our body. The trick here is to drink your juice sip by sip slowly instead of gulping it down at once.
In a juice detox, it is recommended to consume juices in an interval of a couple of hours, to understand the detox process better here is a schedule to help:
- When you wake up: Lukewarm water with a tablespoon of lemon juice
- 7 am – 8 am: A fresh green juice or juice
- 10 am – 11 am: A smoothie or juice
- 1 pm – 2 pm: A smoothie or juice
- 3 pm – 4 pm: Thick juice like apple, carrot, beet
- 5 pm – 6 pm: A smoothie or juice
- 7 pm – 8 pm: A smoothie or juice
- 10 pm – 11 pm: Heavy Smoothie or nut milk
This juice detox is said to improve your health but it may not feel great following the detox.
To Feel Better During A Juice Detox You May Also
Try A Massage
Book a massage therapy like lymphatic drainage, deep tissue massage, Thai massage, or Swedish massage
Practice Light Physical Activity
While it is good to give your best in the gym, not while a juice detox. Stick to light exercise or better stick with cardio as simple it may look but it will help to boost blood circulation.
Is A Juice Detox Healthy For You
A juice detox is a great way to kick-start your journey towards better health, but it is just that. It is not good to be on a juice diet for longer than 3 days. Although it helps lose a bit of the initial weight, it won’t help you with long-term healthy eating habits.
It is always advised that one eats a healthy diet in order to be healthy while losing weight. A rough estimate of 1500 calories is needed by a person to lose weight. But this number will be different depending on the person’s weight, sex, age, etc.
Health Risks Involved
A juice detox is a short-term fast which restricts many solid foods and restricts calories. This could lead to disordered eating which may pose some health risks.
Due to its low-calorie nature, juice detoxes can cause more cravings to arise. This is accompanied by fatigue and dizziness. If you decide to go for more than 3 days, as recommended by most, then it may start affecting your muscles and bones, deteriorating them. This happens due to the low protein content.
If you intend to lose weight via this method and diet, then know that although you will see some initial results, they won’t be long-lasting and will do much more harm than good in the long run.
Juice detox glorifies low-calorie and restrictive eating habits. They can seem like a good idea initially and may as well work to an extent. But in a world where social media is already pitting us against each other, one may easily fall into the mindset of being restrictive about their diet all the time in order to control their weight. And this is when people usually lose the concept of being healthy versus being thin. And where they feel that they are doing themselves a favor, they, in turn, start harming their own health. This causes many people to fall prey to the clutches of eating disorders like anorexia and bulimia.
Kidney Stones
If juices are made of dark, leafy, greens or beets, which are high in oxalate, this may cause kidney stones and many other health problems.
Low Blood Sugar
These juice detoxes are low in calories which may cause low blood sugar, this can be very dangerous for people with hypoglycemia and diabetes. Low blood sugar can also cause weakness, dizziness, headaches, and hunger.
Bacterial Infections
Some people may get sick because of drinking unpasteurized juice which was not treated to kill bacteria. This can be a serious problem for people with chronic illness or elderly people and young children. If you make your own juice, make sure to wash your fruits and vegetables before juicing, store your unused juice in a tightly sealed container preferably in a refrigerator, and consume within 24-30 hours
Recipes To Help You Detox Better
Green Detox Juice
Ingredients
- 2-3 Celery stalks without leaves
- 1 Green Apple
- 1 Cucumber
- 2 tablespoon Lemon Juice
- 1 cube fresh Ginger
- 10-12 Mint Leaves
Method
- Wash all ingredients well
- Cut fruits and vegetables in small chunks
- Put all ingredients in the juicer
- Blend well and serve fresh
Green Lemonade
Ingredients
- 2 Apples
- 1 cup Spinach
- 1 Ginger cube
- 1 Lemon
- 2-3 stalks Celery
- 3-5 Kale leaves
- 1 tablespoon Honey
Method
- Wash all ingredients well
- Cut fruits and vegetables into small chunks
- Put all ingredients in the juicer
- Blend well and serve fresh
Zinger Breakfast Juice
Ingredients
- 2 Apples
- 2 Beets
- 2 Carrots
- 2 Lemons
Method
- Wash all ingredients well
- Cut fruits and vegetables into small chunks
- Put all ingredients in the juicer
- Blend well and serve fresh
Zesty Apple Juice
Ingredients
- 4-5 Apples
- 2 Cucumber
- 1 cup Coconut water
- 2 Lemons
Method
- Wash all ingredients well
- Cut fruits and vegetables into small chunks
- Put all ingredients in the juicer
- Blend well and serve fresh
Orange Pears Detox Juice
Ingredients
- 2 Apples
- 1 Orange
- 3 stalks celery
- 2 Pears
Method
- Wash all ingredients well
- Cut fruits and vegetables into small chunks
- Put all ingredients in the juicer
- Blend well and serve fresh
Green Ginger Weight Loss Juice
Ingredients
- 2-3 Apples
- 1 cup spinach
- 3 stalks celery
- 2 cucumber
- 1 Lemon
- 1 Ginger cube
Method
- Wash all ingredients well
- Cut fruits and vegetables into small chunks
- Put all ingredients in the juicer
- Blend well and serve fresh
Green Booster Detox Juice
Ingredients
- 1 Apple
- 1 Lemon
- 1 Ginger cube
- 1 Cucumber
- 1 cup Pineapple
- 1 cup grapes
- 10-12 mint leaves
Method
- Wash all ingredients well
- Cut fruits and vegetables into small chunks
- Put all ingredients in the juicer
- Blend well and serve fresh
Caution
A juice detox is not to be avoided by those who are pregnant or recovering, children or people with chronic liver, kidney issues, gallbladder problems, or diabetes.
