Dr Oz: Juice Cleansing & Juicerexia
The juice cleansing trend has been sweeping the country, but are some women taking things too far? Dr Oz sounded the alert about Juicerexia. Cleanses are available in supermarkets and stores, plus you can do it at home using online resources.
Dr Oz: Juicerexia Definition
How long do you think you could stick to a juice cleanse, drinking only fruit and vegetable drinks for days or weeks at a time? Juicerexia is the newest eating disorder, where people become addicted to the rapid weight loss results of juicing.
Someone in the audience said she tried a juice cleanse, but she would not want to do this for more than about three days. Those in the audience said that they have lost weight when trying a cleanse. Dr Oz recalled that he has recommended a juice cleanse on his show in the past, but there is a right way and a wrong way to do them.
Dr Oz: Juice Cleanse Side Effects
The goal of a juice cleanse is to rid your body of stored toxins, helping you look and feel better. But Dr Oz said if you do your juice cleanse the wrong way or keep going for too long, there can be side effects:
Dr Oz and Dr Brenda Wade discussed juicing addiction, or Juicerexia, on his show, and explained physical and emotional concerns about compulsive juicing.
- Water Loss
- Muscle Loss
- Shrinking Fat Cells
You may not be losing fat at all during most of the process, but you could be losing needed muscle.
Dr Oz: Four-Month Juice Cleanse?
Could you imagine sticking to a juice cleanse for 126 days? That’s what a woman named Kai did, and she lost 90 pounds during her four-month journey. She did her cleanse in the summer of 2011.
Kai kept an online diary of her progress, and she kept going for months, tracking her progress and saying that she really got into the swing of juicing. She said her appetite went away and her energy levels were high.
Within one year, she had gained back all the weight she lost. In 2013, she decided to try a seven-month juice fast, attempting to lose 120 pounds. In the studio, Kai said she has been juicing off and on for 10 years.
Dr Oz: Juicing Yo-Yo Diet
She has always struggled with her weight, and she is a mother of three. Kai cannot seem to manage her weight, even though she has tried various diets. One of her most extreme low calorie diets got her down to a stunningly thin weight, when she was even a bodybuilder.
When she does a juice cleanse, Kai said that she is yo-yo dieting, switching back to juicing when she wants to lose some extra weight.
The heart is the body’s most powerful muscle, Dr Oz said, and it can also lose muscle mass when you are doing an extreme juice fast. He said that it can shrink and disintegrate from a lack of nourishment.
Dr Oz: Juicerexia Eating Disorder
Dr Brenda Wade, a psychologist, joined the conversation with Dr Oz and Kai to talk about Juicerexia, a growing concern in eating disorders. Wade said that it has become popular in recent years, and it seems very healthy.
Wade said that cases like Kai’s can become another addiction, and this behavior is a form of crash dieting. Dr Oz wondered why that same will power cannot be applied to portion control or a typical diet.
Dr Wade said that it’s about mental power and satisfaction. Her definition of addiction is “something that stops your life because you focus all of your time and your energy and your attention” on a single thing.
Dr Oz: Emotional Eating & Food Addicts Anonymous
Kai admitted that she is afraid to stop juicing because she will gain weight. She is not sure what to do, and she and Dr Wade agreed that she needs to find a new solution that will help her get to the root of her emotional eating.
Dr Brenda Wade said that Kai needs some emotional nourishment to help her move forward and get satisfaction in her life. “Behind it is something deeper,” Wade said. Kai is successful in many areas of life, and she felt this is one area where she falls short.
Here is the mantra Dr Wade shared with Kai:
I’m worthy, and I’m deserving, and I’m worth taking care of in a healthy way.
Dr Wade agreed to offer Kai an intensive treatment through a six-week online course that would address the root cause of Kai’s emotions surrounding food. She suggested that Kai would need to become part of Food Addicts Anonymous.
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