Will a juice cleanse make me skinny??!!

Read my top 5 juice cleanse myths

End of January and the hype of a super healthy 2018 seems to be on its way out already!!! Let’s be honest…we seem to be a nation of ‘having great intentions’ yet ‘we don’t want to have to put in the work’… so I’m here to tell you what you do not want to hear!!!! YES… that magic potion and pill you are looking for that will get you healthy and fit does not exist!!!

You may still want to buy it as psychologically it makes you think you are trying really hard but there is no replacement when it comes to proper real food as nature intended.

You might be wondering what has the little rant above got to do with juicing… well, let’s put it this way: the most common question I get on this website is ‘how many pounds will I lose on a juice cleanse?’. So below are just a few (of the many) myths about juice cleansing.

1. JUICE CLEANSING IS FOR WEIGHT LOSS

Don’t take me wrong… skinny sells (and it sells really well) and while many of our clients will lose anything between 1 -10 pounds during their cleanse, they are not intended for weight loss. I consider our juices a form of liquid nourishment intended to get high doses of nutrients to our bodies,who are overfed yet undernourished (beige food anyone?) .

The health benefits of doing a cleanse for me are far superior than losing a few pounds on the scales.

Brighter skin, not feeling bloated, having tones of energy, improved sleep, increased mental focus, awareness of how much we overeat and the rubbish we feed ourselves on a daily basis to name but a few.

2. I CAN’T EAT FOOD WHILE DOING A JUICE CLEANSE

Obviously having a take away at night might not be the best idea while doing a cleanse. You are trying to minimize digestion while getting high doses of nutrients, so starchy and processed foods will take away from it. However we do not want you to go hungry!! So eating the proper small snacks during your cleanse won’t take away from the benefits. We offer some suggestions on our cleanse guide and if you feel HANGRY, you know you can always reach us 🙂

3. I’VE HEARD THAT JUICE CLEANSING IS VERY DANGEROUS

Seriously? Was this by any chance in a newspaper that told us ‘you could die from eating kale? or the one that said ‘your blender is the most dangerous thing in your kitchen for your health? If filling my body with nutrients that truly make me feel good is a danger to my health, well I’m taking the risk lol!!!

I always find it amusing how I never read about the damage done to humans from eating crisps or bars of crappy chocolate on a daily basis, or how babies are affected by chemicals an many baby foods … yet I could die from drinking vegetable juice for a few days! I’ll let you reach the conclusion.

4. ONE CLEANSE AND MY HEALTH WILL BE RESTORED!

Nope… sorry…it does not work that way!!! I personally only do a cleanse once (maybe twice a year) when I feel my body is sluggish (this tends to happen after xmas and after my summer holidays). The rest of the year I simply drink 1 juice and 1 shot every single day… why? to supplement my already healthy varied diet. A cleanse is a great way to reset your body. If you are looking for a change, need to kickstart a healthier lifestyle, feel sluggish and don’t know where to start with your food, a juice cleanse can be a great to do it. Once done, your job is to maintain a healthier diet.

5. IM DOING A JUICE CLEANSE I HAVE A NUTRI BULLET

No, you are doing a smoothie cleanse!. A bullet, a ninja, a vitamix, blendtec… and many others are blenders…not juicers. A juice and a smoothie are two different things. One of the main ideas behind a juice cleanse is to minimize digestion so the micro-nutrients can be absorbed faster. The insoluble fibre is removed (soluble fibre is still present though) and micro-nutrients are absorbed usually within 15-20 minutes. When blending all the fibre stays present and as a result your gut still has to work and digest.

I believe every kitchen should have both a blender and a coldpressed juicer, but it is important to understand that the two are not interchangeable.