Five Reasons No One Does Juice Cleanses Anymore

Five years ago, in January 2013, I published an article on Mindbodygreen entitled Why I Don’t Juice Cleanse and the next day woke up to a barrage of comments – some readers agreed but most vehemently disagreed- and a few were really unkind (in case you’re wondering, the comments are no longer there as the website more recently turned off comments on all articles). It was a hard truth to swallow that I had taken a stand against something that was celebrated in wellness circles and trendy in pop culture. But it was my truth. Juice cleanses never felt right or healthy to me, so I trusted my gut and just ate healthy.

That article led to similar others like this one on Levo, this one in the New York Daily News and another one in Glamour. To say I strongly believed in my message of teaching women how to trust themselves to make slimming, nutritious and energizing choices without fad diets – or all-juice cleanses- is an understatement.

Almost five years later to the day I published my own anti-juice cleanse manifest, this article was published last month in The New York Post examining why no one does juice cleanses anymore. The experts claimed that it’s for many of the reasons I swore off of them in the first place – a high sugar content and lack of efficacy – all good reasons.

As a Health Coach, I can’t help but think there’s more to it. This is what I think happened to the juice cleanse and why no one does juice cleanses anymore.

One // We’re more educated: As a society, we know more about our food choices than ever before and therefore demand more from our food. We’re making healthier, higher-quality choices.

Two // Our relationship with food is changing: We’re treating food as fuel rather than something to fear.

Three // Been there, done that: Most of us at some point or another have tried a juice cleanse and realized there is no quick-fix for being healthy and feeling good. I have yet to meet someone who has embarked on a juice cleanse to see life-changing and long-lasting results. Sometimes we learn best by doing.

Four // There’s a new wellness mindset around balance: In my own experience – and I think for many others – wellness used to be an all-or-nothing mindset. You either ate healthy or you didn’t. Thus, a week of eating too many unhealthy foods would be followed by the feeling of needing to “undo” it all – usually with a juice cleanse. Now, many people are taking a more balanced approach with the understanding that wellness is a lifestyle and a french fry or glass of wine here or there won’t ruin an overall healthy diet. Everything has its place.

Five // Other fad diets came on the scene: Sadly, fads replace fads and other “diets” and detoxes bumped juice cleanses out of favor. Luckily, many of the current detoxes and diets include real food, but in my opinion are completely unnecessary for cultivating a healthy lifestyle.

Any fad diet offers a set of guidelines for how to eat in the absence of knowing how to do so yourself, but making your healthy eating habits sustainable as a lifestyle is the only long-term strategy. If you don’t yet trust yourself to make slimming, nutritious and energizing choices without fad dieting, let’s chat. Set up your complimentary nutrition mini-session with me right here.

Five years later, I’m glad my message had some impact on the fall of the juice cleanse, but we still have a long way to go.

What do you think? Why have juice cleanses fallen out of favor? Do you still do juice cleanses?