Detox Beyond Juicing

We all have things those little things that get under our skin right? People chewing with their mouths open, unqualified politicians, drivers failing to use their turn signal. My personal pet peeve is juice detoxes. Specifically, juice detox programs that are available to anyone and everyone. The ones you have to take out a loan but are not required to share any health history to be apart of.

Don't get it confused. I'm all about the juice, I own a juicer and create yummy juices in home for myself and family. I admit, I indulge in a fancy juice once in awhile, but there's more to the story. Our bodies detoxification systems are complex and it takes more than a monthly juice detox (for only $899) to support your bodies natural healing process and often these fads cause more harm than good.

Here are just a few reasons I never recommend an extended juice cleanse to my clients:

-There is little scientific evidence to show that a juice cleanse effectively and sustainably rids your body of toxins.  

-Juice is not a meal replacement. Juice is wonderful adjacent to food, it can even be a way to increase your veggie intake on the go, but its lack of fiber and high level of sugar makes it a poor choice to replace your grassfed burger or garden salad.

- Juices can be full of sugar and potentially harmful for persons with any blood sugar disorder. (When adding juice into your daily diet, stick with 90% veggies and herbs 10% fruits. When I buy a cold pressed juice, I usually water it down or add collagen powder from Vital Proteins to diminish the spike in blood sugar).

- Juice detoxes can drain your energy.

- Most (not all buy most) owners and workers of juice bars have zero medical or nutritional background. Nutrition is a field that unfortunately everyone thinks that they are an expert after reading a blog post or listening to a podcast. This is unfair to customers who are hoping to do something good for their bodies and get seduced by convincing marketing schemes and empty promises. 

- Juice detoxifying can be release toxins into the bloodstream. Depending on your body, health history and current state of your digestive system, juice detoxing can trigger the body to release toxins before the body is ready to expel them. For example, our bodies store some toxins safely in our fat. If you are pulling those toxins from the body but your digestive system isn't functioning optimally, those toxins can reek havoc on the body and weaken your immune system.

The most effective way to detox your body is to shift your diet and lifestyle in a way that optimizes your bodies natural healing process and opens pathways of detoxification. In other words, you want to be moving your bowels 1-2 times a day, sweating regularly and urinating at least once every 2 hours (except at night of course)!

It's more complex than that, and each persons "bioindividuality" needs to be taken into account. I've found that learning this stuff takes more than one article or one recipe. Its a lifestyle change that is more likely to happen when people are enjoying the food they are eating and learning how to heal their own bodies day by day. To learn about how to detox your body in a sustainable, accessible way stop by my monthly detox workshops at Tarana Yoga. Please see my events page for more details.