Many a time, your body needs to flush out toxins that get accumulated from haphazard eating habits. Junk foods, sweets, and overdose of food that tastes good, but actually harms your body, can interfere with your body functions and make you feel lethargic or ill. A juice cleanse or juice fast program is an effective way to get rid of such toxins from your body. Also known as a reboot or detox regime, this program relies on a liquid only diet, primarily in the form of cold pressed juices.

A regular juice cleanse routine

Juice cleanse programs can extend over varying time periods. One of the simplest and most popular duration is the 3 day cleanse. The program involves a preparatory stage, the actual cleanse, and a follow up stage spread over different days. The preparatory stage, also known as pre-cleanse, primes your body for the cleanse regime. This phase involves cutting down on or removing sugar, meat, fish, alcohol, caffeine, processed foods, grains, and animal products from your diet. During this stage, you also need to drink plenty of water (about 6 to 8 glasses everyday) to flush out your system well and to get it accustomed to more fluids. This keeps your body hydrated and controls false hunger pangs. Consuming more fruits and vegetables in their raw form is also advisable as the enzymes present in these foods help in improving digestions and in maintaining energy levels.

During the 3 day juice cleanse Houston program, regular meals get replaced with cold pressed or masticated juices. Some light and healthy solid foods may also be incorporated into the cleanse program, depending on your body’s familiarity with detox, and the digestive system’s capability to survive solely on fluids. Organic fruits and vegetables, as well as gluten free varieties of nuts and seeds are different kinds of solid foods that are sometimes present in juice cleanse regimes. An important ritual in the reboot program is the consumption of warm lemon water on empty stomach in the morning. This is followed by consuming six to eight glasses of cold pressed juices, at intervals of two hours, in order to keep hunger pangs, and to prevent a drop in blood sugar levels. Some popular flavors of cold pressed juices include beetroot, kale, spinach, apple, lemon, and cucumber.

The third phase is that of post-cleanse, which gets you back onto solid foods over time, and in small quantities, without affecting your bowel functions. The first foods that are introduced back into your plate include fruits, light soups, as well as smoothies rich in protein. This is usually followed by a slow upgrading to eggs, brown rice, and yogurt. It is important to continue drinking plenty of water during this phase as well, as it keeps you away from false hunger pangs, and gives you the opportunity to not fall back into comfort or junk eating habits. The post- cleanse phase also lets you discover if your body is sensitive or allergic to certain food or its constituents like nuts, gluten etc.

Benefits of juice fast for your body

A short juice cleanse program such as the 3 day regime is something that you can try out comfortably on a weekend. They rely on masticated juices, which are pulpy beverages rich in nutrients than their centrifugally extracted counterparts. These juices are also high on fiber, vitamins, minerals, and enzymes, which help reduce your appetite to eat comfort food, and boost your daily energy levels.

The cleanse programs flush toxins out from your body, and keep you healthy and light. They also give your digestive system a much needed break from breaking down processed foods, excess caffeine and alcohol, and saturated fats that enter your system. Such detoxification programs are extremely helpful in eliminating vices like smoking, drinking alcohol, chewing tobacco etc. from your lifestyle. They also help you cut back on junk and comfort food, and let you practice healthier eating habits.