Reset & Rebalance: Juice Cleansing Tips with MD Daniel Spayne

Daniel Spayne, Managing Director at Equinox Kombucha, will be kick-starting the new year with an organic juice cleanse. We caught up with Daniel to find out more about his experience with juice cleanses, how they make him feel and what advice he’d give someone thinking about starting a juice cleanse too.

Three days only drinking green juice

A juice cleanse can mean different things for different people. For me, it simply means going at least three days only drinking juice. That means no consuming solid foods, just liquid fruits and vegetables, and distilled water. Normally, I do one every couple months however I would ideally like to do a juice cleanse more regularly, perhaps once a month.

I choose to drink juice that contains only minimal amounts of sugar so my juices mainly consist of celery and cucumber, which have high water content, and then I add ingredients like Spinach, Kale, Ginger, Cos Lettuce and Lemon, for added nutrients and flavour. I find that the Lemon and Ginger make the juice taste less ‘green’ which is something that usually puts a lot of people off the idea of drinking their greens. 

Another reason I stick to green, low sugar juice is because they have been shown to contain high concentrations of Cell Salts. I believe that Cell Salts are the building blocks of cells in your body and stimulate the body’s natural healing mechanisms.

The juicing marathon

At the beginning of the cleanse, I take out my cold press juicer and make my juice in bulk, I store them in mason jars and they last up to two days in the fridge. I admit it is a lot of work initially but it does save you time in the long-run, giving you more time to relax and take care of yourself during the cleanse.

I think it is important to have a cold press juicer because juices made in a centrifugal juicer are not best for keeping in the fridge as the nutrients oxidise in a short period of time. 

I go through approximately four litres of juice a day which is quite a lot; it’s crazy amounts of vegetables! I have a little juicing marathon where I make 10-12 litres in one go which can take three hours but spread over three days, it’s not a lot of time to prep for nine meals.

Emotions do flare up but you’ll soon feel like you’re glowing

I think the start is always the hardest. Coming off the food can be really challenging, especially on the first day however less so as the days go on; the cravings for food just seem to disappear the longer you do it for. 

Naturally, you’ll have lower energy levels than normal so it isn’t wise to do exercise or anything too exhausting. Some people can’t even manage working whilst on a cleanse!

Emotionally, everything will feel quite tense and your emotions will flare up. However, this will all pass and you’ll come out of the cleanse feeling energised, energetic, your skin will be a lot better and you’ll feel like you’re glowing. Then, a few days after the cleanse, when you’ve reintroduced some nutritious foods, you’ll feel the best you’ve ever felt. Well, that’s what it feels like for me and that’s why I juice cleanse!

Take it slow and do what is best for you

It’s crucial to start slowly and train your body, your cells and your gut because going on a juice cleanse is a huge change for your body, and takes some getting used to.

From my experience, I find it is a good idea to eat healthily for the few days running up to the cleanse. It’s all about getting your body into the ‘mode of health’ before your begin and easing your way into the fast. That means no Big Mac supersize meals or alcohol! 

When it comes to the length of your juice cleanse, it depends and, again, should be something you do slowly. For example, I started doing a two day juice cleanse, then built up to three days and now I’m aiming for a five day cleanse.

Kombucha and cleansing 

As much as I love Kombucha, it should not be drunk during a juice cleanse. However, it can be introduced before and after the cleanse for rehydration and a source of good bacteria to the gut, the part of the body you’ve just cleansed.