WHY SHOULD I TAKE A JUICE DIET?
A juice cure is a special form of fasting in which you only consume high-quality, cold-pressed fruit and vegetable juices over a set period of time (usually 3, 5 or 7 days).
We explain to you
- What a juice cure includes.
- What fasting means.
- What a juice cure does.
- Whether you will lose weight on a juice diet.
What is a juice cure?
A juice diet is a special form of fasting in which you only consume high-quality, cold-pressed fruit and vegetable juices for a set period of time (usually 3, 5 or 7 days). In addition, you may, or even should, drink plenty of water, unsweetened teas and broth. During these days, you should completely avoid solid foods as well as stimulants such as coffee, alcohol and nicotine.
To preserve the valuable vitamins and nutrients in the juices, it is essential that all juices are cold-pressed, not pasteurized, during the fasting period. This preserves enzymes, which are important for the fasting processes as biocatalysts and can only be preserved using the HPP process and without pasteurization.
3 steps of the juice cure
A juice fast usually consists of 3 steps: The preparation or so-called "relief phase", the juice fasting phase itself and finally the "breaking of the fast".
During the relief phase, you should eat more consciously and avoid heavy and fatty foods, sugar, dairy products, white flour, salt and coffee. Smoking should also be stopped. Reduced portions and light meals help the body to get used to the lower calorie intake during the juice cure.
During the juice cure, only cold-pressed juices are consumed instead of the usual meals; with the DALUMA juice cure, this means 4 juices a day, one juice every 3-4 hours (click here for the 3-day juice cure). To kick off the juice cure, DALUMA also recommends a Burning Man Shot the evening before, which can initiate the detox process overnight with ginger, cayenne and oregano oil.
When you "break your fast", you gradually get your body used to solid food again and this is also initiated by DALUMA at the end of the juice cure by supporting the probiotic build-up of your intestines with active Kombucha cultures.
The aim of juice fasting is to give your body and mind an intensive break, you could also say to press a kind of "reset button". This reset allows the body to recover from everyday bad habits in order to restore its balance and recharge its batteries.
What does fasting mean?
Fasting has been practiced in various religions in different ways for centuries. For example, traditional fasting weeks, days or periods are observed in which food is only consumed at specific times of the day. Nowadays, modern dietary trends promote a plethora of fasting methods such as juice fasting, intermittent fasting, water fasting, therapeutic fasting (e.g. according to Buchinger), green fasting and others.
We know from medical studies that fasting leads to so-called ketogenesis (transition from carbohydrate to fat metabolism). It also promotes positive changes in metabolic and cellular processes such as lipolysis and autophagy. According to the latest findings, it can even reduce oxidative damage and inflammation, optimize energy metabolism and strengthen the body's own cell protection¹.
What is the effect of a juice cure?
A juice cleanse is a holistic reset for your body and mind. A juice cleanse allows your gut to take a break from solid food.
As has now been scientifically proven, the gut, psyche and skin are linked via the so-called "Gut-Brain-Skin Axis"²,³ and therefore poor concentration, listlessness/tiredness and skin problems can often be the result of a poor diet⁵-¹².
The break from solid food and a high-sugar diet in combination with the prebiotic effect of polyphenols, oligosaccharides, fiber and nitrates from cold-pressed fruit and vegetable juices support the positive cultivation of microorganisms in your biome to build up intact intestinal flora and promote holistic bodily functions⁴. The result is improved gut health, which has a significant positive impact on your entire body, your state of health and your well-being.
Depending on the length of the juice diet, there are positive changes in metabolic and cellular processes such as ketogenesis, lipolysis and autophagy. This can lead to more energy, an increased ability to concentrate, improved sleep patterns and even a reduction in inflammatory processes in the body⁵-¹². However, the effects of the juice diet are very individual and everyone has to find out for themselves what positive effects their body experiences when fasting. The type of juice diet also has an effect on the result.
Can I lose weight on a juice diet?
Weight loss is often a side effect of juice fasting, but should never be the primary goal! Due to the reduced calorie intake, the body initially loses water. In the longer term, fat is also lost. Both have an effect on body weight.
In addition, a juice fast allows you to take a closer look at your own body and its needs as well as your own eating habits. A sustainably healthier diet and an improved lifestyle are often triggered by a juice diet.
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- Stokes JH, Pillsbury DM. The effect on the skin of emotional and nervous states III. Theoretical and practical consideration of a gastro-intestinal mechanism. AMA Arch Derm Syphilol 1930;22:962-993.
- Mann EA, Bae E, Kostyuchek D, Chung HJ, McGee JS. The Gut Microbiome: Human Health and Inflammatory Skin Diseases [published correction appears in Ann Dermatol. 2020 Oct;32(5):440]. Ann Dermatol. 2020;32(4):265-272. doi:10.5021/ad.2020.32.4.265
- Henning SM, Yang J, Shao P, et al. Health benefit of vegetable/fruit juice-based diet: Role of microbiome. Sci Rep. 2017;7(1):2167. published 2017 May 19. doi:10.1038/s41598-017-02200-6
- Wilhelmi de Toledo F, Grundler F, Sirtori CR, Ruscica M. Unraveling the health effects of fasting: a long road from obesity treatment to healthy life span increase and improved cognition. Ann Med. 2020 Aug;52(5):147-161. doi: 10.1080/07853890.2020.1770849. Epub 2020 Jun 10. PMID: 32519900; PMCID: PMC7877980.
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