Juice fasting facts for kids
Juice fasting, also known as juice cleansing, is a special kind of diet where a person drinks only fruit and vegetable juices. They do not eat any solid food during this time. People often try juice fasting because they believe it will "detox" their bodies. This means they think it will remove harmful substances. Juice fasting is often part of other "detox diets."
This diet usually lasts from one to seven days. It can include many different fruits, vegetables, and even spices. Some of these are not usually found in everyday juices. People who promote juice fasting sometimes make claims about its health benefits. However, these claims are often not proven by science.
How Juice Fasting Became Popular
Juice fasting became very popular in the United States. Two important people, Norman W. Walker and Jay Kordich, helped make it a diet trend.
Norman W. Walker is seen as one of the first people to start the juice cleanse idea. He helped create new ways to make juice. He also promoted eating mostly raw foods. In 1936, Walker designed the first mechanical juicer. He called it the NorWalk. A newer version of his juicer, the Norwalk 280, is still sold today for a high price. Walker also wrote many cookbooks. These books encouraged a raw, mostly liquid diet.
Jay Kordich became famous with his book, The Juiceman’s Power of Juicing. This book became a best-seller. In the 1990s, Kordich was a TV spokesman. He talked about the health benefits of a juice diet. He also appeared in TV commercials for his "Juiceman Juicer." Kordich said his juicer made over US$300 million in sales. Walker and Kordich helped make juice fasting what it is today.
Why People Still Juice Fast
In recent years, juice fasting has stayed popular. Many people still believe that drinking only juice for a short time can clean their bodies. Celebrities and other people often share their juice diets online. This has also made the lifestyle more popular.
Reports show that a lot of fruit juice is consumed worldwide. In 2018, people drank 45.4 billion liters of fruit juice. This number is expected to grow to 50.6 billion liters by 2024. The market for fruit and vegetable juice is worth a lot of money. In 2020, it was valued at US$154.1 billion. This value is expected to increase to US$257.17 billion by 2025. The success of the juice market shows that many people continue to use juice for "cleansing."
Why Some People Criticize Juice Fasting
Many health experts have concerns about juice fasting. They say that the health claims made about it are not supported by scientific evidence.
Catherine Collins is a chief dietician at St George's Hospital Medical School in London. She says that the idea of "detox" is mostly a marketing idea. It is not a real medical process. She also states that drinking many vitamins and minerals for a few days does not give long-lasting health benefits.
Detox diets, like juice fasting, can be risky. They can cause health problems. For example, you might lose muscle. After the diet, you might gain back fat in an unhealthy way.
The Gale Encyclopedia of Diets also points out possible dangers of juice fasting:
Juice fasts can cause problems for people with undiagnosed diabetes. They can also cause dizziness or fainting because blood pressure might drop suddenly. Diarrhea can lead to dehydration and an imbalance of important body salts. If done for a long time without a doctor's help, juice fasts can also lead to not getting enough protein or calcium.
Also, some juice mixes contain grapefruit juice. This can cause problems if you are taking certain prescription medicines. It is always important to talk to a doctor before starting any new diet.
