How To Make Juicing Safe and Effective
Does cleansing from long-stored toxins and regaining child like energy sound appealing to 
you? Did you hear amazing reviews from friends and strangers about the miracle powers of a week-long juice cleanse? Are you considering investing in one sometime soon?
If you answered yes to any of the above questions, you will find this article very interesting.
Juice cleanses are everywhere! Every celebrity is doing them and every other deli claims to have a juice bar. There are companies even that will deliver a set juices to your door every morning if you decide to try a juice 
cleanse yourself. All the marketing, skinny hip-looking people publicly sipping green liquid, and a huge celebrity following probably make you wonder if drinking a green-monster concoction will set you free from extra baggage that stuck around from the holiday season and turn you into an energizer bunny while cleansing skin and preventing allergies.
Juice cleansing can sound like a panacea that requires just a little bit of will power (since most juice cleanse companies convince you that you won’t feel hunger at all) and some monetary investment.
Last summer I was an ardent juice cleanse supporter myself. 
Once a week throughout the summer I would have a liter of green juice with lemon and ginger (no apples, carrots, or beets – just vegetables) and nothing else. This was my way of letting my digestive system rest from solid food and detox or so I thought. In Augist 2010 I met Dr Vassant Lad and my pretty green world turned upside down. During a 2 day ayurvedic workshop on ayurvedic diagnostic techniques I simultaneously got unexpected explanations for my occasional digestion issues, fatigue, and constantly cold hands. When Dr Lad matter-of-factly noted that my weekly juices were to blame and offered me to boil my precious enzyme-rich vegetables before juicing I almost wanted to kick him! “How dare you say that the purest form of chlorophyll and raw enzymes are bad?!” It didn’t make any sense! So the research started… And still continues to this day. But here is what I found so far and how you can use it to get the most out of your juice cleanse if you decide to do it:
- Juice cleanse is not for everyone. All the advice in Ayurveda depends on “who” we are talking about. Body constitution, eating habits, current life style, and time of the year have to be considered before embarking on any kind of fasting. Fasting in general can be good because your stomach will have more time to digest left-over food. Potentially it can give more energy and lightness to body and mind. Different constitutions can benefit from different fasting methods. For example, eating light foods, eating just fruits, skipping one meal, skipping food for the entire day, going on juices for a day or drinking just water. Juice cleanses are not recommended for Vata type people because due to their weak digestive system raw juices will make them bloated and tired. If you are a pure Vata type or have been experiencing any digestive issues lately start by eating light meals at the regular times of the day. Pitta people can’t tolerate complete fasting because their metabolism is very strong. Juice fasting with cooling and blood purifying vegetables is a good option for Pitta types. While Kaphas are ideal people for fasting. They can skip one meal or go on a “no food for entire day” regimen. Kapha types will feel full of energy on juice cleanses.
- Juice is a super concentrated food. And it requires chewing! How long would it take you to eat 5 pounds of greens that went into a glass of juice? Often we gulp it down the same way as water without paying attention to taste. Sip your juice slowly and let your body process the taste and the effects of a super concentrated elixir. Chewing and tasting food is beneficial for digestion and lets your body recognize all the nutrients. Make juice drinking and exercise of minfulness!
- Juice doesn’t last for 3 days! (unless it is pasteurized). Juice loses it’s precious qualities pretty quickly. As soon as a fruit or vegetable is processed, the natural enzymes in the juice begin to break down the other nutrients. Because vegetables contain more enzymes than fruits, their nutrients are depleted faster. Once vegetable juices start to thicken, all that’s left are water, minerals and calories, says Dr. Bailey. It is best to drink your juice within 30 minutes. Otherwise, you might as well drink sweetened tea.
- Bloating and fatigue are to be expected in the first couple of days. As soon as you restrict food intake your body turns to other pressing responsibilities instead of digestion. Quite often it will cleansing out by-products and undigested food leftovers. This can leave you feeling tired and sleepy especially on the 2-3 day of a juice cleanse. If you decide to do a juice cleanse then choose a period of time when you can cut down on physical and mental activity and let your body restore.
- Be strategic about what goes into your juice. 
Different fruits and vegetables have different effects on our body. While some are stimulating the detoxification process on the cellular level, others are just pleasantly tasting fructose. Do your research and ask for a specific mixture at the juice bar. Great combo for Spring is beets, radish, cilantro, parsley, carrot, and celery. Beet juice is particularly effective at stimulating the liver. This allows the body to eliminate stored toxins caused by a poor diet and sometimes by prolonged use of antibiotics. While carrots help fight seasonal mood slump and brightens up the skin. Ayurveda also recommends adding some spices to boost the effects of juices and make them less Vata aggravating. Good juice additions are ginger, black pepper, aloe vera gel, and curcumin. Curcumin for example has been shown to prevent and/or cure cancer in laboratory tests. It is used to cleanse the liver, as an anti-inflammatory, to bolster the skin, heart and lungs, to purify the body and mind, and in the treatment of food poisoning, ease gallstones and indigestion. It helps balance cholesterol levels, boosts the immunity system, and modern research has found it beneficial in the treatment of Alzheimer’s. Try it in a carrot juice!
- Juice is not enough to cleanse. Actually, it can easily cause bloating and irregularity. Traditionally, an important part of juice cleanse was the use of laxatives or enemas to cleanse the lower digestive tract because the juice will not supply enough fiber to keep the bowels moving. Since the removal of wastes is essential to prevent the toxins in the digestive tract from being reabsorbed into the bloodstream juice therapists recommend mixtures of slippery elm or other herbs to cleanse the bowels while on the juice-only fast.
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Juice doesn’t substitute whole vegetables, especially the commonly lacking in the Western diet fiber! So drink your juice all you want but make sure to eat fresh vegetables and grains to keep your body clean throughout the whole year.
What are your thoughts on juice cleansing? How you done a juice cleanse? What did you feel like? Let me know in the comments section! If you want to learn more about ayurveda and health, don’t forget to subscribe to my blog (top right of the page)! You will get a weekly update on all new posts and will never miss out on great diet tips anymore!
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Happy Cleansing!
Thank you so much for posting this! I have been incorporating juices and “juice days” into my diet routine and was wondering how that effected my doshas and fiber/protein intake. I now drink juice in the mornings and also eat raw veggies throughout the day, most nights I am sure to eat a meal with protein and fiber. It seems to have balanced my vata/kapha temperaments. I am going to add curcumin now too. Shanti.
Hey Meg! Your food regimen sounds right for Vata/Kapha type. I would just switch to slightly cooked veggies at night to keep Vata at bay. You increase raw vegetable in the Summer when it gets warm! Let me know how you like curcumin!
It’s true that with all the media attention to trendy juice cleanses, people overlook the traditional, scientific wisdom of Ayurveda. Isn’t it interesting when one thing makes sense until we hear a different take on it from a true master? Dr. Lad has always been that kind of eye-opener for me. Thanks for posting this so that people might recognize that each of us is unique, and we need to tailor everything, even a cleanse, to our particular situation!
Thanks Dr Sharada for commenting! Your website has a lot of useful information! I will add it to my blogroll! Let’s keep in touch!
Well-written article. All this and more is covered in Diet chapter of my book NATURE CURE AND YOGA THERAPY available in English and Turkish languages. English edition soon to go into 4th edition due to popular demand. You may also browse through my website: http://www.healthwisdom.org and feel free to contact
Hi Dr Leo, thank you for sharing your website! I will check it out!
I’ve led Ayurvedic juice cleanses (and traditional cleanse options) for the last 5 (and 10) years.
All of the principles of Ayurveda can hold true as you adapt your cleanse, whether it’s traditional or living foods.
The deep benefits of liquid fasting can be enjoyed by all bodytypes, if you attune them to the individual and encourage the Dina Charya and nourishing space for the process.
Dr. Cousens who practices both Ayurveda and Western medicine discourages from shocking the body with a one-day a week fast, and encourages more gradual changes to build the agni. Another Ayurvedic expert on living foods and cleansing is Dr. Shantree Kacera.
While Dr. Lad (who I’ve also spend time in India studying with) advocates cooking most foods, I’m not sure he has the personal experience with living foods to really be an expert on the subject.
Most of my Vata clients do better with warmed juice (to 115′), with typical vata pacifying foods (fennel bulb, ginger, lemon, etc).
Glad to have the conversation,
Cate
Cate, thank you for a great comment!
I just spent some time with Dr Lad and got to talk to him about juicing. He seems to okay it as long as people use the right fruits/vegetables that are appropriate for their dosha. He advises mango pulp juice for Vatas
. Sounds yummy but I would much rather eat my mango whole. My article and advise was mostly targeted to juice cleanses available for delivery (we have a ton in NYC area!). Often in these cleanses juices are stored for 3 days in the fridge, made purely based on taste characteristics and don’t offer any variability for different constitutions. While some people will feel great of dark green juice, others will feel fatigued and bloated if doing it without preparing the body and especially if drinking it cold.
I love the taste of kale/spinach/celery/parsley/lemon/ginger juice and used to drink 4 large glasses of it 1 day a week and then have a light dinner at night. Even though it sounds healthy, it brought major imbalance to my already very vata constitution. Now I am more careful and slowly work towards including more gently raw foods. My favorites right now are coconut pulp/coconut water with papaya or coconut milk (home-made) with chia seeds/cardamom/saffron and on a rare occasion a small green juice.
Does Dr Cousens have any articles on his methods of cleansing? I would love to read them!
Thanks!
Grateful for your article and experience, and for everyone’s comments and good thinking on this subject. Interested in juicing but curious how to keep my vata/pitta self balanced and in aligment– this is a great conversation for me to start thinking more about all this. Blessings.
Hi Joanne, start slowly with juicing and observe how your body responds. I am also Vata/pitta and notice that I do better on juices that contain a little beet and carrot. They are both warming and go well with greens. Also start with small portions not huge glasses. If you notice bloating, than try adding turmeric, ginger, and lemon and sipping it very slowly. One of the mistakes that people tend to make is gulping the juice down like water. It is a super-concentrated form of food and needs to be swallowed mindfully. Drink your food and chew your juice
. Let me know if you have any questions. I’ll be happy to help, if I can!
Excellent article! I have a primarily vata constitution and have done juice fasts for the past 3 years in the spring and fall. I have found that if I use vata pacifying foods in my juices and keep up with a nourishing daily routine all is well. In the fall notice that warm pureed soup or warm juice feels better.
Thanks for noting that juices don’t last for three days! I love hearing that reinforced in a time when so many cleansing “services” are popping up. Perhaps it is still a move in the right direction in the larger scheme of things, though. Cheers!
Ashley, thanks for stopping by and commenting! I read your article on MBG today! Great job! I completely agree that it is possible to make juicing work even during the colder months. I used to be against sweet juices but now I am ok with beets or a carrot
Also ginger helps to make juices vata-friendly. Warm soup is the new juice for the fall haha!
I have also noticed that my body craves juices in the middle of the day during Pitta times not in the AM as it happens in the summer.
I love it – warm soup is the new juice for fall! It’s great to be able to evolve this conversation as a community. Thanks for creating the space and sharing what is working for you. P.S. thanks for checking out my article on MBG
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Can someone give me some thoughts on Kapha/Pitta and juicing? I think Kapha is supposed to be okay with it? I’m doing the green lemonade as talked about above with no fruit…just a little stevia. I’m having trouble losing the last 10 from pregnancy (my youngest is 4 years). I rarely eat gluten or grains of any kind. Lots of raw salads, little light meat/fish. I drink the green juice in the AM. I find I am hungry at night and not losing any weight despite very restricted diet. Thoughts?
@Kathy, Pitta do the best on raw foods and juices. Spicy green juices with ginger, cayenne, arugula, grapefruit should be good for Kapha. Do you exercise? Kaphas need the most physical activity out of all doshas. Also light spicy broths can help improve digestion and circulation which is very important if there is tendency to feel sluggish. If you keep a food log for a week and email it to me at nadyaand @ gmail . com I would be able to give more specific recommendations, it is difficult to know what’s preventing further weight loss without considering all the variables! Best of luck!
Interesting article, thank you. I had been planning on doing a juice only cleanse until a friend sent me here and I realised that I am mainly Vata (not that I’m super familiar with ayurveda ideas). How would you suggest a Vata do a cleanse? I already eat light meals at regularly time, so was perhaps thinking of a vegetable juice for breakfast and then salads for lunch and dinner (no booze, dairy or wheat) for about a week. What do you think? Are there particular fruits and vegetables you’d recommend?
@Ambiej, as a Vata type you might experience more bloating and fatigue during a raw food/juice cleanse, especially if doing it in the Winter. If you are not pressed on time, wait until Spring to do the cleanse, since it is a natural season for purification and detox. If you are committed to do it right now, make sure you add juices of root vegetables such as carrots, beets, ginger and some warm home-made almond milk spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg, and a date or 2. I also find that as a Vata type, I experience less bloating from juices if I add some warming spices to them or a splash of aloe vera juice. If fatigue is severe, you can do warm raw sweet potato or squash soups for dinner instead of a salad. As long as it is not heated past 108F, it will still be LIVE. Hope that helps:)
Hi, I found this article as I was searching about juices and ayurveda. I am interested in doing juices, not as an extreme cleanse, rather as a way of not eating after 6pm, but still putting something nutritious in my body. I am mainly vata and then kapha dosha, but my imbalance in a vata/pitta as of the past year when I was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism. As of this week, my bloodwork shows I am just in the minimal limits of a normal thyroid for which I am very grateful, but realize I am not out of the woods yet. I also have gerd as of last year. My question: What would be the best veggies/fruits/herbs for this imbalance to drink after 6pm, so that I can sleep thru the night? Hyperthyroidism really consumes alot in the body nutritionally, and because of the gerd my digestion has suffered due to inflamation. I have a Vitamix that I want to use to do this. Thank you very much.
Mari, your situation seems to be very particular and since I am not a doctor, I cannot advise comfortably. I can share my opinion but I would encourage you to check with your doctor or a holistic endocrinologist who is familiar with juicing.
Usually, people with Vata imbalance do well on fruit juices, lemon, ginger, and spiced almond milk. A lot depends on your body, however. It is best to try things and observe your body’s feedback. If you notice that you have anxiety, bloating, or insomnia, a warm almond milk, a light smoothie, or a clear veggie broth might be a better option.
I’m relatively new to juicing, but I’ve loved reading and learning about my tummy by creating my own morning routine! I start cold water on my face and with warm lemon water to drink, which pacifies morning grumbles and eases my AM B.M., and then start each morning with a green smoothie (kale, cucumber, celery, green apple, flax seeds, coconut oil, and cardamom). I owe my strong digestive fire to dominant Pitta, but I am curious now reading about juicing with cooked vegetables, whether I am correct in taking advantage of my stomach or whether I should make its job a little easier from time to time by blanching or cooking some of the vegetables sometimes.
Never felt better! Keep reading and learning!
The great thing about curcumin is that it helps the immune system and also hastens the healing ability of the body.;
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