The ugly side to a juice cleanse – What they don’t tell you

I was always interested about juice cleanses (aka liquid-only diet) but was hesitant to try it because, legit, I thought I would die! 1-3 days without digesting solid foods is very hard for me to comprehend (lol). But I had the opportunity to try out a 3-day juice cleanse for 4 weeks – now I know this sounds super intense, especially because this was my first time trying out something like this but I do love a challenge.

Now, of course, I did some digging on the internet to see what I was getting myself into and found that some of the main effects of juicing include:

• Headaches
• Low energy
• A case of hangry-ness
• Constipation

I did experience all of the above and can admit the first and last day of juicing was the hardest. But, interestingly enough, the second day of juicing I felt I had more energy, no headaches and didn’t feel hungry at all.

[I’m going to be sharing my personal experience of completing a juice cleanse and EVERYTHING my body went through. I want to be open and honest about this in case you were thinking about trying it.]

My juice cleanse consisted of 6 juices per day:

• 3 green juices
• 2 lemonades
• 1 orange juice

During my 3-days of juicing, everything seemed normal. I was experiencing everything that I’ve read from others but then when I was done the juices, the following day I didn’t feel right…

Here’s what they don’t tell you about what your body goes through during and post juice cleanse:

• The day after my juice cleanse, when I could finally eat solid food, it was very hard to chew. I guess my mouth forgot how to do it? But I had to take small bites and chew very slowly (yes, it was a bit painful)
• I’m still not quite sure if it was the juices but I had an intense skin reaction on my face. It started off as lil red bumps all over my face and then turned into red/dry skin patches (it wasn’t cute)
• I was constipated for a few juice (understandable! I didn’t eat anything solid for 3 days!)
• I did feel weak a couple of days after juicing and had no appetite for food (but I forced myself to consume easy solids)

Ok, I want to focus on my face flare up because I wasn’t expecting a reaction like this at all. Along with the lil red bumps and dry patches was the itchiness of it all! It was so itchy! I can’t even begin to describe how itchy it was. Even took clartin, benedryl and nothing was preventing the itch.

I read a few articles on the “detox rash” and it mentioned that when you detox you should also sweat. Why? Well I’ll tell you… the juicing helps “activate” the detox but all the toxins needs somewhere to release and since you aren’t really going to the bathroom during the cleanse, it will try to seep our your pores. I was doing a 3-day juice cleanse so I didn’t think it was wise for me to workout at the same time (what if i faint?!?). Anyways, you can do a light workout while you cleanse and, I read, it is recommended. SO if I knew this from the beginning and had a little sweat session, maybe, the rash on my face wouldn’t have happened?

Well, I did take a visit to the Doctor’s office to discuss this “detox” rash. But he mentioned it could possible be an allergic reaction. To make sure he did advise I try the juices again to see if I get the same reaction. At least, this time around, I have the proper medication incase my face flares up again.

Aside from my personal side effects, I would recommend a juice cleanse! I believe that you should give your body a break and let it reset from certain foods (i.e. processed food), sugar and alcohol.

Great benefits include:

• All the fruit and vegetable intake – I felt healthy af!
• Juices are high in anti-inflammatory compounds so it may boost the immune system
• Assists in losing weight
• Improves digestion

I do feel 3-days is a bit excessive so if you’re a noob to a juice cleanse, perhaps try only a 1 day and then move your way up.