Why Juice Fasting Is Bad For Your Bowel

Juice fasting is a type of weight loss regime in which you deliberately limit your daily food intake to juice only. This works for many people, and it may work for you. While you may have reasons to smile when looking at the mirror, you bowels may give you reasons to grimace in pain. The fact is you need fiber to keep your bowel moving, and unfortunately a strictly juice diet puts a severe limit to that. The result: spells of constipation. Therefore, you should consult with you doctor before adopting juice fasting as a weight loss measure.

Why Juice Fasting Leads to Constipation

Juice fasting requires you to stick to a daily diet of your fruit or vegetable juice – either homemade or off the rack, whichever you prefer. As this diet deprives your body of adequate amounts of protein, fat and other ingredients essential for survival, it should not be followed for a prolonged period of time. This diet plan should be temporary and not exceed 14 days as it may cause serious damage to your system. If you have less than three bowel movements in a week, you should recognize it as a sign of constipation, according to the National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse. The constipation should go away once you resume normal diet, but in case it doesn't you may have to resort to over-the-counter medications. While constipation could be an issue with juice fasting, the juice only diet flushes the harmful toxins and chemicals out of your system, claim its proponents.

Juicing removes insoluble fiber

Food contains two types of fibers: soluble and insoluble. Our body needs adequate quantities of both of these. Insoluble fiber has an important role to play. It helps move food through the digestive tract, creating stools along the way. This keeps your system in good order. Fruits and vegetables contain this type of fiber in their skins and fibrous parts. Juicing removes the insoluble fiber and consequently you may have constipation.

Juicing removes soluble fiber as well

Juicing also removes soluble fiber from fruits and vegetables. This type of fiber is found in the soft parts of the fruits and vegetables. It absorbs water and helps solidify stool, which can move easily through the digestive tract. In the absence of soluble fiber, the waste may just sit in the bowel. Consequently, you may have constipation. According to Mayo Clinic's website, men need a daily dose of 30 to 38 grams of soluble fiber and women need 21 to 25 grams for healthy bowel movement.

Juice fasting decreases your food intake

Besides providing proteins, fats and other nutrients, food keeps the bowels moving. Lack of food in the digestive tract slows down or stops bowel movement, which leads to constipation. To maintain a healthy bowel movement so as to avoid constipation and also to remain healthy, it is essential to eat three regular meals every day. Therefore, juice should be taken as a supplement to food, and not as a replacement for food.