Juice Cleanse Exacerbating Symptoms

Have you ever experienced a juice cleanse that exacerbated your symptoms?

Were you surprised, disappointed and feeling a little let down?

Well – that’s how Robert (see case study) felt too!  After decades of trying various gut healing strategies like juicing, only to actually be causing more irritation, flare-ups (ulcerative colitis) and increased symptoms.

All, that research, effort, time and energy going into sourcing, making, drinking and sticking to the juice cleanse – that is theoretically supposed to work and heal the gut or improve wellbeing on some level!

[Juice Cleansing: “It is used for detoxification, an alternative medicine treatment, and is often part of detox diets. The diet can typically last for two to seven days and involve a number of fruits and vegetables and even spices that are not among the juices typically sold or consumed in the average Western diet” Wiki]

But – what’s the bigger picture here?

Is there a balance of information on juicing?  Advantages and disadvantages.

Is it really that odd that juicing could actually cause such challenges?

Well, in a word – No!

Juice Cleanse Disadvantages

There are a multitude of reasons why juice cleanses just might not work for you.  Here’s just a few:

• Disruption to blood sugar management.
• Consequently the impact on other hormonal levels and balance.
• The potentially high levels of oxalates from certain vegetables/fruits, which could even be one of the main pieces of the puzzle causing the health challenge in the first place!
• There could be several anti-metabolic and hypothyroid ingredients. 

The physiological mechanisms that are influenced when ‘juicing’ may be real.  But they may not actually be advantageous or benefitting our health and vitality.  You may lose body fat.  But that might not transfer to actual enhanced functional wellbeing. 

It’s also essential to highlight that some of the disadvantages of juice cleansing are due to ‘what is not included’.  For example, the lack of protein and fat macronutrients, which have a myriad of roles (too long for this post).

Potentially the most important and often overlooked aspect here is to ask the question ‘Why’?  Anyone could do a juice cleanse, but does that mean they should or that it is wise? 

At the Functional Health Clinic with our Global and In-Clinic clients the focus is on identifying what the priority and primary area is to focus on.

If there are 10 things that someone could potentially do, then how do you prioritise and identify which one, two or three steps are the most valuable. 

Juice Cleanses Are Rarely in Pole-Position

The reality is that ‘Juice Cleansing’ is rarely in pole-position. It just doesn’t pass the interview. It’s rarely required as a strategy to achieve the given goals.

 It often falls down on the premise of creating a ‘safe and effective’ process, which is essential if you want to get off the merry-go-round and pin-ball-machine of bouncing from strategy to strategy with chaotic results and symptoms.

What we value here at the Functional Health Clinic is the ability to assess for individual needs and put a priority-based process in place.

In some cases, juice cleansing can be of value.  However, the take-home point is that in many others, it is not and it’s important to put yourself in a position of strength before you decide to embark. 

This was just one of the pieces of the puzzle for Robert – take a look at his whole case study here: https://functionalhealthclinic.co.uk/case-study-ulcerative-colitis/

If you have a chronic health challenge – Work with us. Take the steps that Robert and our clients have taken. Consider your next step here.

If you have any questions do not hesitate to reach out.

Contact me here

Jack