Can I eat while on a juice cleanse?

 

If this is your first time on a juice cleanse you may find you’ll need to supplement with whole foods. Seasoned cleansers will be fine without eating. If you are feeling that you need to eat, consider eating a raw almonds, avocado, or drinking juice until dinner and add a salad to your last juice of the day.

 

Can I exercise during my juice cleanse?

 

It is perfectly acceptable to engage in moderate physical activity during your cleanse. Rigorous exercise however is not ideal as it strains the body and takes away energy that it would otherwise use to process and rid itself of toxins.

 

If you wish to engage in physical activity we would recommend walking or yoga. It is essential that you listen to your body; if you feel weak, take that as a sign that you need to give your body some rest.

 

Can I drink coffee or alcohol on my cleanse?

 

We don’t recommend it. Coffee and alcohol dehydrate your body and may interfere with the absorption of certain key nutrients required for your cleanse.

 

What are detox symptoms? Will I get them?

 

When engaging in a juice cleanse, you are suddenly ingesting massive quantities of nutrients. A juicing program will gently rid your body of toxins, impurities and will gradually regain an alkaline balance and normalize digestion and metabolism.

 

However, a cleanse can stir up detox symptoms that can be intense for some individuals – this is sometimes referred to a “healing crisis” or the "Herxheimer Reaction". This reaction occurs when the body tries to eliminate toxins at a faster rate than they can be properly disposed of. The more toxic one's bodily systems are, the more severe the detoxification, or healing crisis. It is characterized by a temporary increase in symptoms during the cleansing or detox process which may be mild or severe. You may feel worse and therefore conclude that the treatment is not working – but in fact, it is a sign that the juice cleanse is working and that your body is going through the process of cleaning itself of impurities, toxins and imbalances.

 

Such reactions are temporary and symptoms usually pass within 1-3 days. There are a wide variety of reactions that may manifest during a healing crisis, the most common are: increased joint or muscle pain, diarrhea, fatigue, cramps, headaches, arthritic flair up, insomnia, nausea, sinus congestion, cold/flu symptoms, anxiety and mood swings. If your symptoms persist for longer than 3-5 days, you may want to consider notifying your health care practitioner.

 

How do I get through a healing crisis?

 

Drink your juice, plenty of fresh pure filtered water, and herbal teas to flush the body of toxins. If you are feeling fatigued, or sleepy, your body is telling you to rest. Be kind to yourself, and get the rest that you need.

 

Important: If you have a high fever or are feeling extremely ill, don't assume that you are in a healing crisis. We advise that you seek medical attention as some symptoms could be indicative of a health problem.