Juice cleanse: Pros, cons and 5 healthy recipes

Juice fasts or juice cleanses are a popular fad for many, including celebrities. Are they really healthy and is one right for you? Here are five fresh recipes as well as tips on how to make a juice fast a part of your life.

Juicing and juice cleanses have become all the rage, especially with celebrities. These cleanses and fasts are often hot topics about who is right or wrong when it comes to how healthy and good these truly are. These cleanses can come in many forms that vary from drinking only fruit and vegetable juices for three days or more to those that include fresh juices as well as a light meal for dinner. While intriguing, are these fasts really healthy and really good for you?

Pros and cons

While some types of cleanses can be beneficial others may be viewed as too harsh and too low in calories, putting severe restrictions on food and calorie intake. If you are interested in trying a juice cleanse try these approaches to keep yourself as healthy as possible.

Strict juice fasts or cleanses can make weight loss happen quickly and can also be unhealthy. Common side effects of only drinking juice are headaches, body aches, extreme fatigue and moodiness. What are the pros and cons of juicing?

These types of fasts may not be a good idea for everyone

Why? People suffering from different cancers, kidney disease or even diabetes may not be good candidates for such extreme fasts. You many want to double check with your doctor first.

It can be time consuming

Juicing can be a bit time consuming since it’s best to drink these types of juices fresh and fairly quickly once they are made. Not everyone has the ability to juice whenever they feel like it or take a juicer to work. While you can make them ahead of time and store them, it’s generally best to drink them ASAP.

Is drinking only juice that much better for you?

While some claim yes others say no. Juicing removes the fiber from the fruit which can make you feel unsatisfied, make hunger worse and, in some cases, cause digestive problems. On the other hand many claim that fresh homemade fruit and vegetable juices skyrocket energy levels and quickly supply a large amount of nutrients into the body.

Is juicing cheaper than just eating fruit?

Not really and by juicing fruits and vegetables you may even find that it becomes more expensive. Since juicing extracts only the liquid from the fruit and vegetables that means using more produce. You are left with all of the “pulp.” Finding ways to use that can be difficult. Some choose to only use organic produce when juicing, which will raise the cost even more.

Do what’s right for you

Bottom line, you be the judge when it comes to juicing and juice fasting. Listen to your body and do what you feel comfortable doing. These simple tips may help inspire you to just add these juices to your lifestyle rather than just consuming only juices for extended periods of time.

• Replace your morning coffee with a fresh fruit or vegetable juice.
• Enjoy a large fruit smoothie including a variety of fruits for your breakfast.
• Try adding a fresh homemade juice into your daily midmorning or midafternoon snack routine.
• Got a sweet tooth? Drink a fresh juice. The sweetness from the fruit will help with your cravings.
• Reaching for a beer? Make it a big glass of fresh fruit juice instead.

5 fresh juice recipes to inspire you >>