Nutrition Concerns For a 7 Day Juice Cleanse

by Toni A.
(Aliso Viejo, CA)

Q: Hi! I love your website and would like to ask for assistance as some of my friends and I will be doing a 7-day juice fast/cleansing, starting on April 30.

We have been doing a lot of reading as we prepare for this but all we find is general information on the topic, tips, and recipes. What we are most interested in is coming up with a comprehensive 7-day regimen to include ALL necessary nutrients from the vegetables and/or fruits we will be using for our juices.

Many recipes sound delicious but we do not know if we will be depriving our bodies if important vitamins and nutrients. Does a regimen exist anywhere with recipes already combined to take this into consideration?

Thank you for any help you can provide!

Warm regards,
Toni A.

A: Hi Toni! Awesome that you are doing a juice cleanse with friends! (It's always better when you have company for fun and support).

This is really a good and common question. My opinion on this issue is that you don't have to worry about this too much. In reality, most people are getting much more nutrition during a juice cleanse then they do on an everyday basis. I have witnessed many juice fasts and this has never been an issue when some wise guidelines are followed.

I often think that we don't give much thought when eating our regular diets to say "Did I get enough nutrients today?" but as soon we juice fast we worry, when in fact we are getting WAY more then normal because juicing a few glasses a day is a lot of nutrients.

Eating a pound of carrots is hard but juicing a pound and drinking it is not so hard. It's way more then the typical person would get. Just something to think about.

Fruits and vegetables have a broad spectrum of vitamins, minerals and trace nutrients that your body will absorb, expel what it doesn't need and in some cases store them for later. The only way I could see a problem is if you juiced the same thing constantly. Just switch up your produce daily.

Everyone has different needs, so for this I should say if you want a detailed plan just for your body, it's best to work with a nutritionist to build one for you. Also, keep in mind that many people have a different view of what our body needs for the day.

Don't forget that the point of a cleanse is to let your body heal and focus on cleansing. It's about getting pure nutrients into our body in an easily assimilated fashion. It's about giving our body time to rest from digesting so that it can clean the junk out.

Some general tips to make you feel more at ease:

Have at least 3-4 glasses of juice a day.

Make sure you limit your fruit only juices to 1 a day (unless you are doing smoothies too, then more fruit is fine).

Make most of the juices vegetable based, and always include at least one green juice a day. Green juice does have protein (for the best source, use romaine lettuce or kale).

The Detoxifying Juices book does include a 3 day juice plan as well as a 7 day juice diet (but this includes raw foods with juices and smoothies) that will help guide you if you think this is helpful.

Here is a 3 day juice fast menu plan I put together that will put you on the right track...

I hope you have a great cleanse! Have fun with your recipes and include a wide range of vegetables, fruits and greens for balance and you'll be just fine!

P.S.- If you really feel like you need a detailed plan beyond what I suggest, definitely meet with a nutritionist to create a plan for you.