What's the Stir About?
Get the "juicy" details when juice cleansing for your holiday hangover.
In New Orleans, holiday celebrations often lead to overindulgence in food and drink, as many of us embrace the "eat, drink, and be merry" tradition. While there's no quick fix for a holiday hangover, many people turn to juice cleanses to detox and restore their digestive systems.
Juice cleansing or fasting is a type of diet consuming only juices from fruit and vegetables for a specific period of time. This diet can be a popular remedy for holiday hangovers, offering both benefits and drawbacks. On the positive side, juice cleanses can help rehydrate the body, provide essential vitamins and minerals, as well as give the digestive system a break from fatty foods. However, the downsides include potential nutrient imbalances from low protein and fiber, which can lead to fatigue. It's important to weigh these factors and opt for a balanced approach to recovery.
"Our juice cleanses are designed to aid in removing toxins from the organs, which results in a reset for your gut health and decreases inflammation in the body," said Stephanie Kern, owner of the Green Fork, which is a juice and smoothie bar located at 1400 Prytania St. in New Orleans. "Juice cleanses are like an IV of nutrients for the body."
Regarded as a nutrient boost, juice cleansing can provide a concentrated dose of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. Many juice cleanses can last one day or up to two weeks, involving exclusively the consumption of juice.
"Basically, you drink juice for one, two, three, or more days and take a break from anything to chew," said Erin Buran, co-owner of The Antidote Juice at 734 Union St. "We recommend a juice cleanse to get a healthier lifestyle and use them to cleanse the digestive system."
Although juicing can play a role in a balanced diet, it can also give the gastrointestinal system a rest from digesting fiber. This may help those individuals who have certain health conditions or who receive certain medical treatments.
Danielle Paciera, a licensed, registered, board-certified integrative nutritionist, highlighted both the advantages and disadvantages of using juice cleanses. "With a juice cleanse, a person can get high concentrated doses of phytochemicals and nutrients. This is a way to pound these nutrients into the body, especially for individuals like cancer patients, people with inflammatory bowel disease, or similar conditions. But when you juice something, you strip away the fiber. So these juice cleanses need to be custom-tailored to the individual needs."
Personalized juice cleanses are sold at the Green Fork and the Antidote Juice. For example, a three-day juice cleanse at the Green Fork is about $175, plus tax. For a three-day cleanse at the Antidote Juice, Buran prepares 15 juices at a cost of $52 per day. This cleanse encompasses five juices per day, including a wellness shot of ginger, two ounces of lemon juice, and a shot of apple cider vinegar.
"Everything we sell here has no added sugar," said Buran, who has a master's degree in public health from Tulane University. "We can curate a cleanse for someone if they give us a call ahead. Some people lose weight by lessening their calories, but it is better to start a healthier lifestyle and set your mind right. With a juice cleanse, you can adjust your palate and your mind."
Sometimes seen as a dietary fad, some people use juice cleanses for quick weight loss. "Some of my customers cleanse for weight loss as a main goal," said India Evans, RSW, CJT, AC, owner and founder of Natural Drinks Health Foods. "Some customers consider cleansing to detox from alcohol and sugar. It has been proven that supplementing our meals with raw vegetables and fruits juices is the quickest and most permanent way to replenish the body with elements it lacks."
According to Evans, who's also the author of The Juice Fasting Bible: How to make Juice Fasting a Lifestyle, juice cleansing may not be suitable for everyone. "Juice cleansing is not recommended for those who are pregnant, nursing, young children, as well as those who have severe underlying health issues," Evans said. "But I would recommend a juice cleanse to individuals who are interested in improving their overall health." Evans suggested cleansing four times per year at the start of each season for a max of 14 days.
Although juice cleanses can be helpful for people who have trouble eating fruits and vegetables, eliminating food groups for long periods of time can lead to several health risks. As a take-home message, Blythe Peters, a registered dietitian/nutritionist and owner of Competitive Nutrition Education, LLC, stressed the importance of sticking to a well-balanced diet containing a variety of fruits and vegetables.
"You need to know what you are buying," Peters said. "When using a juice cleanse as a meal replacement or in weight loss, variety is very important. If you plan to juice for more than a day, you should contact your doctor and consult with a registered dietitian/nutritionist."
Whether you are considering a juice cleanse as a way to lose weight or detoxify your body, it's important to weigh the pros and cons of this short but restrictive diet. Juice cleanses can be useful to reset your mind and body as you start a new health journey.
Nevertheless, Peters suggested that juice cleanses can be utilized as a supplementation to your daily meals. She added, "Juice cleanses are helpful as a convenient way to add the recommended daily intake of fruits and vegetables to attain a balanced approach to nutrition."
