Juice Cleanse Weigh-in

Throughout the years, I've tried different cleanses: Candida cleanses, juice cleanses, the Clean cleanse, etc.   I tried a "Juice Cleanse" for a week and more than anything felt it was a will power exercise. I didn't look or feel much different after it, perhaps because my eating habits are already relatively healthy.  My personal take-aways during that week:

* Fluctuations in energy: either had more energy or no energy
* Mindfulness about what I was putting in my mouth
* "Clean-slate" mentality
* Dizzy
* Feeling of superiority (I don't need solids!) LOL
* Lazy digestion after resuming eating (ahem)
* A glow to your skin that could be attributed to eating nutrients or a glow that maybe a certain hunger madness produces, who knows?
* Mental difficulty in restarting solid food

My conclusion was that it is not for me. My body responds and looks the best when I eat good food including some juices; the kale based green juices, beet/apple, etc.  I'm very sensitive to sugar so when I just pour sugar in my system in fruit/vegtable juice form (or otherwise) I don't feel good. My body doesn't like extremes and my performance suffers including my stamina, muscle tone and weight if I go there. On the other hand, some people thrive on juice cleanses. Are you one of those?

Here are 2 opposing views on juice cleanses. I love learning from 2 very different viewpoints, and this can maybe help you make up your mind on where you stand.

AGAINST
This is a smart article I found in Women's Health magazine:
http://www.womenshealthmag.com/weight-loss/detox-diet-side-effects

Thinking of signing up for a fruit juice cleanse? You might first consider how your body reacts to a week with no protein or fat and fewer than 1,000 calories a day.

After the first sip
Your brain's hunger signals are answered with a dump of pure fruit-juice sugar. And don't get any ideas—veggie-based cleanses aren't any healthier.

The sweet stuff prompts the pancreas to squirt out insulin, which moves sugar—now in your blood in the form of glucose—into your cells.
After 30 minutes
As your cells suck up the glucose, your blood sugar level can start to plummet and you may feel dizzy.
Meanwhile, lacking enough calories, your body is operating off its supply of glycogen, a form of short-term energy stored in the liver and muscles.
After two days
With each shot of juice, your insulin levels skyrocket, then crash. Your glycogen stores are pretty much gone, leaving your tank on empty—and you feeling weak and listless.
Since you're getting only about half the calories you need, your body draws on two long-term power sources: triglycerides, a type of energy stored in fat cells (woo-hoo!), and protein, taken straight from your muscles (oops). You begin to lose muscle mass, even if you're still exercising every day.
After three days
Your brain is not happy. It enters into semi-starvation mode and gobbles ketones, fuel that comes from the breakdown of fat. Ketones work, but they're like low-grade gasoline; as a result, you may feel unfocused or irritable. (Any "mental clarity" is likely due to a strong placebo effect.)
Sans a fresh protein infusion, your brain is also lacking amino acids, the raw materials that neurotransmitters need to maintain your mood. If you're prone to depression, you may start feeling blue.
The proteins in your shrinking muscles break down into ammonia and uric acid, unwelcome chemicals that invade your bloodstream. Now your kidneys are busy detoxing your detox.
Stay near the bathroom: The juice's high carbohydrate load causes a surfeit of water to enter the intestines. That extra H2O in your gut means you're apt to get diarrhea.
After four days
With no food to digest, your small intestine feels ignored. Its villi—the rows of tiny fibers that move food elements into the blood—start to atrophy. Your diarrhea may get worse, leading to dehydration... and there goes your rosy glow.

On the eighth day
Solid food! But uh-oh—you've lost muscle. Even if you go back to your regular eating habits, you now have less muscle mass to burn those calories; instead, the calories are more likely to be turned into fat. (Hence, one reason yo-yo dieting makes it harder to lose weight: Your reduced muscle-to-fat ratio messes up your metabolism and makes calories much harder to work off.)

FOR:
I found the opposing view in this article by MindBodyGreen.com:
http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-4160/3-Reasons-Why-Juice-Cleanses-Are-Awesome.html

3 Reasons Why Juice Cleanses are Awesome
Today I concluded a 6 day juice detox. I just had my first meal since Sunday night and no, I don't think it’s that crazy. I'm clearly not qualified to give medical or nutritional advice, but I'm feeling motivated to share my candid thoughts on juice cleanses.

My first liquid fast started at a juice fest in Miami 2 years ago. It was OK (a bit heavy on getting in touch with the goddess in me for my taste) but it kept me busy and gave me a few hundred hungry people with whom I could commiserate. After the 2 days, I kept going, and never looked back.

Over the past few years, I’ve done the juicing thing entirely on my own on maybe 4 occasions, and I get more out of it it more every time. This week, I really needed to cleanse my body (last weekend was Wine and Food Festival), but more so I needed to hit refresh on my mind and spirit (yep, 2012 has been one of those years). That’s the part that people don’t realize…how abstaining from food for several days sharpens your mind and increases your clarity at least 2x. It’s like Aderol, but much cleaner (and oh ya, much better for you).

My reasoning as to why this happens is pretty simple. Since we use 60-80% of the energy from what we eat on actual digestion, when we have nothing to digest we get a 60-80% energy bonus to use. There’s no loss of fuel as you would initially think–our bodies easily turn fat, toxins, and other stuff into energy when they have to, and there is enough junk in each of us to last longer than we would believe. As long as we have nutrients, which I’ve been getting from juices, our bodies and minds function totally fine, and operate at an even higher level. We feel not only amazing, but focused, alert, and well…high. It’s not an accident that guys (prophets, avatars, guru-types) since the beginning of recorded history have been fasting to connect with God, or go into the desert and come back with big big ideas. That’s how it works, and that’s how it happens.

Now, I’m not going to mislead you. The first few days royally suck. Day 1 (and Day 2), I’m dying of hunger. My body addresses me and says “Bro, this isn’t our deal. This is not OK. If you’re not gonna feed me, I’m going to make it hard on you.” On Day 2 (and beginning of Day 3), my body decides to play dead like Ferris Bueller playing hookie from school, cold clammy hands and all. Total rebellion. But having made it through the hard part, now I know these tricks, and I know that if I make it to Day 3, something changes. My body finally accepts my decision to fast, and the hunger/tiredness softly evaporates. What’s left is this alertness. This mental and sensory acuity. It’s fantastic and from Day 3 or 4 I begin to wonder why I even eat food. How is it that when I eat a steak or burrito, I need to take a nap, and when I’m on day 4 of starving myself, I’m flying from one task to another? It’s remarkable.

So here are my unqualified and somewhat unexpected results and takeaways from juicing:

1. Productivity through the roof – You wake up energized, you go to bed energized. You don’t complain about extra work and you don’t daydream. You’re in the flow. (btw, I’m writing this post in one 60 minute sitting. not normal.) Obviously, since you don’t need a lunch or dinner break, and your friends avoid you, you have more useable hours in the day. All this is true.

2. Difficult decisions become less complicated – When your brain works better, you have more resources with which to solve problems. Also, not eating takes you out of the social game, and gives you space to be with yourself to deal with the real issues. Alone time can be painful, but the benefits it yields are undeniable. You sort your shit out.

3. Your body is a well-tuned instrument – You would think that you would be lethargic, sleepy, and weak. No such thing. Maybe it’s life after the toxins leave your system, maybe is the fat being burned off your abdomen, but your body starts feeling “better.” Healthier. And when you start eating again, you get somewhat of a fresh start.

I’ve always stopped at Day 5 or 6, so I can’t speak for going any further on this. At some point, I’m pretty sure it becomes unhealthy to continue starving yourself, no matter how good it feels. I’ve always been at the top of my detox “high” when at the point where I resume eating…and I think it’s fine. It keeps me excited about the next time I decide to do it.

I hope this honest and somewhat acerbic reflection gives you a fresh perspective on juicing. Clearly, I'm a believer but I'm highly interested to hear if anyone has something to add or has a different experience with the process. Looking forward to replies...

Fascinating right? Such different perspectives, neither is right or wrong! Thoughts?

-Zi