Juice cleanse: Trying out the new diet on the block

 

It was just juice; how special could it be?

My stomach started growling on cue. It was 7 p.m. and I was sitting in one of Manila’s finest traffic jams. I was on my way home from East Capitol Drive where I picked up my first batch of detox drinks.

The stall, called Rawlicious, is a spare operation buried deep inside an organic skincare store. I left the store a little confused and light-headed, but then again I was hungry and stuck in traffic—a feeling I deduced would be my persistent sentiment as I pursued this new diet. I twisted the cap open and took the first swig of my week-long detox regimen.

To be perfectly honest, if you asked for my thoughts on the detox craze, I would have rolled my eyes. Like the frozen yogurt, milk tea and cronut that preceded it, I felt like the detox drink was another fad here for the hipsters.

Until my own mother took out a red Detoxify Bar bottle during one of our lunches.

Obviously, there’s something bigger going on here and it’s traversing beyond the mainstream, so I decided to find out.

Setting the record straight

I spoke to Paola Blanco, a certified dietitian currently with Gold’s Gym, and unearthed the mystery of juice cleanses.

Most people approach a detox confident that they’re getting a substitute for solid food. They aren't. “The common misconception is that detox juices have the nutritional equivalence of the meals you eat,” she says.

According to Paola, these juices are low in calories and contain carbohydrates found in sugars from fruits and vegetables, but lack the protein and fiber your muscles need.

So do you get the benefits you would receive from eating the right solid foods? No, but if you’re a fast-food junkie, then juices are a good way to incorporate some health into your diet, especially if they’re made so accessible to us normal folk.

Most detox or juice cleansing companies encourage the meal replacement method as a sustainable liquid diet. This way, you get the perks of the juice and the proper nutrients from solid food. In fact, both Detoxify Bar and Juju Cleanse have healthy eats in their menus as a salubrious balance.

Whole-day cleansing advocates insist on doing this primarily for weight-loss, which for sure works. That’s the case when you don’t eat, of course. However, there are those who undertake cleanses as a springboard to a lifestyle change. Many use a three-day cleanse as a prelude to healthy eating habits. Kudos to you if you are.

But the million-dollar question remains: as far as detoxes go, how much of the purging is really caused by the juices?

“The body is a sophisticated machine that has its own effective detox system,” Paola says.

We detox regularly through the liver and through sweat. Changing your awful eating habits and replacing them with healthier supplements, whether it be in the form of food or juice, is a cleanse in itself.

So what’s with all the detox hype then? The truth is, a healthier lifestyle is no walk in the park. The strict discipline married to a juice cleanse bars you from eating junk, so in that way, it’s helping you become a healthier member of society. Plus, the health factor in every bottle doesn’t hurt.

The juicy details

Different juicers have different concoctions.

Rawlicious, for instance, prefers to blend organic greens, organic herbs and all-natural fruits together instead of juicing them. “It has a shake-like consistency instead of your typical liquid juice. Our beverages are more filling because it contains fiber, which juicing doesn’t have,” says Rawlicious owner Angela Lichauco.

Juju Cleanse uses fresh organic produce and processes it using Norwalk hydraulic juicers, “which yield the highest quality of juice, keeping the nutritional integrity of the juice intact for up to three days after extraction,” says Kat Azanza, who also owns Juju Eats and The Farm at San Benito.

Detoxify Bar also uses pesticide-free, purely organic ingredients. A tried and tested tasty formula is also one of their selling points.

Like the three brands above, most juice suppliers market their bottles per need. Juju Cleanse’s Green Bomb drink gives a shot of alkaline thus giving you a stream of good clean energy to burn. Detoxify Bar’s Minty Berry Detox promotes better focus for the workaholic while eliminating free radicals. Rawlicious bottles up fruits and veggies loaded with vitamins A and C, and amino acids for your burst of nutrients in varying ingredients per serving.

Choosing your beverage is a mere matter of taste and budget. You can take your pick by trying out their juices yourself. Cleanse providers have unique formulas that make the detox plunge quite palatable and endurable. Prices range from P500 to P1,350 per detox day.

Despite the many options up for choosing, most have one common thrust, and that’s a healthier and sustainable lifestyle for everyone. In fact, JIY (juicing-it-yourself) is not seen as competition. “We actually welcome the idea that they do it themselves. This means that they have changed and adapted a greener lifestyle!”says Angela.

Although, “to make sure that they are receiving a cleanse that is nutritionally balanced and safe, leaving it up to the experts is a plus,” Kat cautions.

Surviving the cleanse

At the time of this writing, a week after that day in traffic with my old jalopy, I was able to lose three pounds.

For the first three days of the cleanse, I replaced my dinner meals with 1-2 detox bottles (I was recommended to consume a liter per meal). Once I got the rhythm of the meal replacements, I felt brave enough to go a whole day.

The dizziness was relentless. I felt it around 3 p.m. and the hunger mixed with craving was a monster. But as soon as I drank another bottle of juice, I felt calmer.

A detox or a juice cleanse, as I realized, is more a matter of discipline and a challenge for the mind. The easier you make it for yourself, the more successful your effort will be. I avoided going out and I made sure I had crackers on me when the hunger was too much to bear.

I do have to admit: I expected to be lethargic the whole day, but on the contrary, I was more focused and managed to be efficient and productive. For that reason alone, I wouldn’t mind doing the cleanse all over again. It’s a difficult trek for sure, but if it means feeling this healthy, good and clean, then it’s well worth the challenge. — BM, GMA News