Juice cleanses are said to be a way to detoxify the body, as the participant drinks nothing but juice for a few days, allowing their internal system to reset.
However, healthy diets like this are often misconceived and replaced with fads or trends that do the participant more harm than good.
John Parlow is co-owner of Pulp and Press, a franchise on Central ave. in London that sells raw and organic juices. He says there’s a huge difference between his juices and one’s bought in other stores.
“When you go to a grocery store, if it says ‘pasteurized’ or ‘flash pasteurized,’ you’re essentially drinking dead juice. What we make is raw, unpasteurized juice. Raw is where you get all your nutrients, it’s like the difference between cooking a vegetable and steaming it or boiling it, and eating it raw.”
Another issue with juice cleanses or any fad diet is that participants tend to do them at home without any instruction or expertise.
As blenders and juicers produce heat an oxygen, they tend to break down your food’s essential nutrients. Juicers also tend to remove the skin from fruits and vegetables, stripping away a huge portion of these nutrients, especially fiber.
This is how Parlow’s juices differ from store bought ones and at-home remedies, as the foods his franchise use are cold pressed.
“We take organic produce. It get’s grounded into a pulp, and then it gets pressed between two stainless steel plates. And the juice runs and flows from that.”
Kim Laecy is a Registered Dietician with the Middlesex London Health Unit. She advises to stay away from fad diets as they tend to focus on one specific thing.
“If it’s a one food fix we’re not talking about overall health, because no one food makes or breaks your overall diet, it’s the whole pattern of foods.”
While adding vegetable or fruit juices to your diet may help with nutrient supplements, there are precautions to take with any diet change, especially one that involves drinking only liquids.
Laecy also adds our liver and kidney’s naturally rid our bodies of toxins, so there’s no need to worry.
