Who Shouldn’t Juice Fast?

Folks, respect the power of juice fasting, fasting in general and the intense detox process that can ensue whenever you deeply engage your body’s natural capacity for self-healing.

I firmly believe that the juice diet is one of the absolute best ways *almost* anyone can use to cleanse, reset and recharge from the wear and tear of modern life.

However, there are some groups of people that simply shouldn’t juice fast. Are you in one of the following categories?

• Are you a pregnant woman?
• Are you a child or young person under 20?
• Are you an elderly person with various niggling health concerns?
• Are you currently ill with a serious disease?
• Are you recovering from a serious medical procedure like surgery, chemo or the like?
• Are you clinically depressed or do you currently take a regular dosage of psychiatric medicine?

If your answer to any of those questions was yes, then you shouldn’t undertake any type of juice fast (or any other type of cleanse for that matter) without first consulting the best physician you can find.

The Dangers of Juice Fasting

Let’s go through these categories one-by-one and look at them in more detail.

Now, nothing I say here should prevent you from getting a physician’s wise counsel. However, I do want to help you understand what a juice fast means and why you should be very careful before starting one.

Basically, if you’re in solid health, you’re not pregnant and you’re an adult, then you can likely juice fast to great effect. But even if you’re in good health, exercise extreme caution when it comes to any type of cleanse or detox.

Cleansing is uber-powerful. Respect it. Approach it with care. Never leap into a cleanse without carefully surveying the terrain and taking everything that’s been going on with your health into account.

Dive into a juice fast the same way you would dive into a body of water: LOOK BEFORE YOU LEAP.

With that stated clearly, let’s look at why it’s not advisable for each of the above categories of people to juice fast.

Pregnant Women

This one should be pretty obvious: when you’re pregnant, you need every ounce of nutrition and energy for the new life growing inside you.

The last thing you need to be doing while pregnant is trying to limit your nutritional intake. Stay very far away from any cleansing regimen–you can save all your cleansing work ’til after you’ve given birth and fully nursed your baby.

Children and Teens

Children are definitely out when it comes to cleansing. Besides, they’re so new to the world that cleansing doesn’t even make sense for them.

Let ‘em get to know the world and all its toxins before making them obsess about inner cleansing. Not that children shouldn’t be aware of what they put in their bodies, of course. But cleansing isn’t what they need; they need the freshest and cleanest nutrition available.

Teenagers are a little different. I would advise most teens against doing a juice fast because you’re still growing and you should simply prioritize super healthy food and water intake over fasting.

However, some teens may feel called to juice fasting for the spiritual aspects that come with a solid fast. For them, I’d only recommend small juice fasts starting with just one day. Also, I’d keep them very infrequent–no more than twice a year until they’re through their teens and at least into college.

Elderly Folks

With the elderly, the issue is a lifetime of accumulated toxins and a body that has born worn down by time, toxins and habit.

Imagine the cleansing reactions that might ensue for someone if they do their first juice fast as a 75 year old. Things could get very hairy for them.

Although juice fasting might be a very nice option for an elderly person, I would definitely recommend the supervision of a doctor who understands the many aspects of cleansing and fasting.

I’m of the opinion that almost anyone can go on just juice for a day. However, for anything longer than that, make sure you exercise extreme caution and work directly with a health care professional.

On the other hand, everyone is unique and different. If you are an elderly person and you feel drawn to juice fasting, start with that one day and then see how you feel.

Go step by step, but always err on the side of caution.

Someone Who’s Currently Ill

This is a tricky one. There are so many different situations, illnesses and levels of health.

The rule of thumb for juice fasting when it comes to someone who has a disease is that it might well be very helpful, but you need to be even more cautious with someone who is working with a disease.

Again, consult your physician if you’re ill before beginning any cleanse or fast.

With all that being said, someone who is sick is the most in need of deep cleansing and detoxing. The only problem is that they’re also obviously dealing with increased levels of toxicity (which is why their system was susceptible to the sickness in the first place).

Consult an expert if you’re sick, but also recognize that many health care professionals view fasting, cleansing and detoxing with skepticism or outright mistrust. Find one who sees the value in these practices for helping the body regain its natural healing capacity.

People Recovering from Surgery or Other Health Procedures

If you’ve recently been very ill and went through surgery, chemo, radiation therapy or another serious medical procedure, then you’ll want to give you body proper rest and nutrition.

That means juice fasting is out for you. Sorry.

However, there are plenty of diets–like the Body Ecology Diet or a predominantly raw food diet–that you can do to cleanse while still feeding your body solid nutrition.

People Who Are Feeling Depressed or Who Are Taking Psychiatric Medications

Again, each of these categories includes a huge array of potential cases. It’s almost impossible to speak in blanket fashion about do’s and don’ts that will apply to every single possible circumstance.

However, here’s the thing to keep in mind if you’re feeling depressed or are currently taking psychiatric medication: juice fasting will most certainly bring up all kinds of emotions for you.

No matter who you are, there will likely be moments on a juice cleanse when you suddenly feel very sad or angry or depressed (or happy, excited, bright and ecstatic). Are you in a state of mind and health to handle the big swings that can come through the cleansing process?

There are lots of natural approaches to working with depression. Juice fasting can be very effective indeed depending on your situation.

However, be very careful with your brain chemistry. Cleanse under the supervision of a skilled and knowledgable doctor who can assist you with the ups and downs of a cleanse.

Definitely don’t do a juice fast if you’re worried about being overwhelmed by strong feelings. There are gentler ways to get those feelings out and start working with them.

Use Common Sense and Err on the Side of Caution

When it comes to juice fasting, it makes sense to proceed with caution and err always on the side of common sense.

Don’t get in over your head. If you’re in one of those borderline cases where it’s tough to say whether you should or shouldn’t cleanse, start small with just one day. Then, build slowly. Maybe do a day and a half or two days in a month or so.

Remember: your health is your most precious asset. Everything you do in your life rests on the foundation of your health. Take care of yourself and respect the helpful power of the cleansing process.

Cleansing and Fasting