Liquid Diet Detox Methods

Fasting with a liquid diet has long been the most common form of body detoxification. The lemon detox diet has become a very well known liquid diet for detoxification and cleansing. Because it is not highly nutritive, the lemon detox diet should not be used for long periods.

For those who want to fast for weeks or even months on a liquid diet — for cleansing or weight loss or both — a long-term juice diet using the fresh juice of fruits and vegetables supplemented with a green protien like chlorella or spirulina is a healthy approach.

Long-term liquid diets should always be undertaken with the supervision of a health care professional.





Liquid Diet Fasting Tips


  • For optimal results from your juice fast, elect a wide variety of vegetables and fruits.

  • Be mindful of the healing properties of the vegetables and fruits you select. Here is a list of healing properties of juices, categorized by ailment.

  • Proponents of juice fasting suggest fasting only during the warmer months of the year. Spring is thought to be the best time of the year for juice fasting.

  • Seven or more days before the fast, alcohol, nicotine, caffeine, sugar, dairy, wheat, animal meat, fish, and eggs are typically reduced or eliminated from the diet. This preparation diet often consists mainly of organic fruits, vegetables, and beans.

  • Between 32 and 64 ounces of juice is usually recommended per day during the fast. The juice is sipped throughout the day. Typical fruits and vegetables include celery, carrot, kale, cabbage, apple, pineapple, cranberry, spinach, beet, and greens. Citrus fruits are often avoided.

  • Approximately 6 glasses of room temperature or warm filtered water is often recommended in addition to the juice.

  • Organic fruits and vegetables are usually recommended. If organic produce isn't available, practitioners suggest peeling the skin off fruits and vegetables or washing vegetables with a non-toxic produce cleaner, usually available at health food stores.
  • Freshly juiced fruits and vegetables are preferred, but if unavailable, practitioners suggest buying it from the health food store or juice bar as fresh as possible.

  • Green vegetables and sprouts contain the pigment chlorophyll, which juice proponents believe are especially beneficial during a juice fast.

  • A combination of fruits and vegetables is recommended.

  • Variations on the strict juice fast include eating one meal a day in addition to the juice.

  • Certain fruits and vegetables and their parts should not be juiced, such as the pits of peaches, apricots, cherries, and other fruits, apple seeds, citrus peels, carrot and rhubarb tops, tough skins (such as kiwi, pineapple, mangoes), and bananas and avocados.






Liquid Diet Contraindications


  • Pregnant or nursing women or children should NEVER attempt a juice fast.

  • People with diabetes, low blood sugar, eating disorders, kidney disease, liver disease, malnutrition, addictions, underweight, anemia, impaired immune function, infection, nutritional deficiency, low blood pressure, ulcerative colitis, cancer, terminal illness, epilepsy, or other chronic conditions shouldn't try a juice fast or should do so only under strict medical supervision.

  • People shouldn't try a juice fast before or after surgical procedures.

  • A juice fasting can reduce blood proteins and change the way prescription drugs react in the body. People taking prescription medications should consult a health professional skilled in detoxification before trying a juice fast, and should never discontinue or reduce their medications on their own.


Liquid Diet Health Warnings

Fasters must take care to maintain their intake of vitamins and nutrients. However, there are no specific side effects associated exclusively with juice fasting, though certain medical conditions such as diabetes may be aggravated by excessive intake of certain juices. It's also possible for a juice such as grapefruit to interact badly with certain prescription drugs. Additionally, the juices from highly acidic fruits such as tomato and citrus juices can conceivably upset the body's natural acid-base (pH) balance.

Some individuals should be careful before attempting juice fasting or even performing excessive juice fasting without the consultation from medical practitioners. These include the malnourished and underweight, pregnant or lactating mothers, advanced cancer patients, poor immunity individuals, individuals who have recently undergone surgery, individuals who suffer from stomach ulcers, low blood pressure, excessive fatigue, and children.