Juice fasting is a type of short-term detoxification diet that focuses on consuming highly nutritious fruit and vegetable juices while abstaining from solid foods, especially meats, grains and dairy. Juice fasting is not seen as beneficial or necessary in any way by conventional medicine and is largely regarded as a marketing myth. Juice fasting while pregnant is highly controversial, due to the concern of negatively impacting the health of your growing fetus. Health and safety concerns ultimately depend on the length of the fast and the types and amounts of juices consumed. Consult with your obstetrician before implementing dramatic dietary changes.
Reasons for Juice Fasting
Fasting, particularly going for days or weeks with nothing but water, has a long cultural and religious tradition that is meant to purify and make one more spiritual in some capacity. However, the modern medical establishment views fasting as unnecessary and potentially dangerous to your health. Juice fasting is done less for religious reasons and more for specific health reasons, such as detoxification, weight loss, immunity boosting and combating certain diseases. Many people who juice regularly view modern foods as full of preservatives and other additives that are toxic and damaging to their bodies. By juicing with fresh fruits and vegetables high in nutrients, they believe they are healing their bodies and allowing their digestive system to recuperate. Juice fasting prior to attempting conception is not uncommon, but fasting while pregnant is still considered very controversial.
Common Juices
Juices commonly used for juice fasting include carrot, beet, celery, cucumber, parsley, apples, dark grapes, lemon and wheatgrass juice, often in different combinations, according to the book “Contemporary Nutrition: Functional Approach.” These juices are exceptionally high in nutrients including vitamins, minerals and antioxidants and some, such as wheatgrass juice, are considered super-foods because they also contain amino acids and enzymes. Juicing requires a juicer, or even a specialized extractor as is the case for wheatgrass, in order to derive juice without any pulp.
Potential Benefits
Getting lots of nutrients into your body is an obvious benefit of consuming the natural juices, but that also depends on how much you drink each day. Most people aim for eight to 10 glasses of fresh juice daily. If you are pregnant, your goal should not be to lose weight, because gaining weight as your baby grows is natural and healthy. Your baby needs you to ingest more calories than normal in order to grow properly. Juicing limits the amount of preservatives and toxic additives consumed, but eating well-cleaned and fresh organic foods accomplishes the same goal, according to “Public Health Nutrition: From Principles to Practice.”
Potential Concerns
You and your baby need more than just vitamins, minerals and antioxidants to thrive. Protein, or at least all the essential amino acids, and fat are essential to every healthy diet also, especially during pregnancy when your caloric requirement might increase by 50 percent. Fatty acids, in particular, are needed for the formation of the central nervous system in a developing fetus. Further, juices are quickly digested carbohydrates that can cause bloating and insulin spikes in your bloodstream.
Ultimately though, it depends on the length of the juice fast as to whether or not any danger exists to your baby. If the fast is less than three days and you are keeping yourself well hydrated, then there probably isn’t any harm. If it is for much more than a week, then you should consult with your primary care physician and get checked out. It is important to ensure that you and your baby are healthy enough before you opt to juice fast.
References
- Contemporary Nutrition: Functional Approach; Gordon M. Wardlaw, et al.
- Public Health Nutrition: From Principles to Practice; Mark Lawrence, Tony Worsley
