We are used to seeing our favourite stars pictured with a cup of the good stuff in hand as they run errands, meet with friends or hit the gym. So HELLO! Online was compelled to see for ourselves whether living the healthy lifestyle of regular juicing was everything it’s made up to be. Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Gwyneth Paltrow and Perrie Edwards all attribute their svelte physiques to the power of directly consuming just the liquid from fruits and vegetables and as we witness the phenomenon take off in the UK, more and more Brits are becoming fans. Yossi Erdman, Head of Brand at juicing machine retailer ao.com says: “Juicing is becoming more glamorous especially with celebrities such as Elle Macpherson and Nicole Richie becoming iconic juicers. You only have to look at a host of celeb magazines to find their pages filled with pictures of celebrities clutching their home-made health tonics.He added about the popularity of juicing in the media affecting sales: “ao.com first saw sales of juicers taking off when the film Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead aired.”
My Detox DietAlexandra Raw to Door (rawtodoor.com) – I did the Soup'n'Juice cleanse. Rating: 4/5 How long? 3 days How I felt: The first day was fine although towards the end of the day I felt very hungry. The second day my cravings kicked in. I found myself craving every kind of food imaginable and I was desperate to chew. The third day, however, I completely perked up. The hunger had subsided and I felt really good about juicing. It even spurred me on to eat healthily after – I ate only vegetables the day after the cleanse. I lost around four pounds and felt fantastic. Pros: For me, it was better to have the soup element that just pure juicing because I almost felt like I was having an evening meal – something that's very important to me! Cons: Hunger. I'm used to eating frequently so I found it really hard to not eat. Would I do it again? Absolutely. It's great for a kickstart – someone who has put on weight and needs to get on track with their diet. It would also be good for someone who had an important event coming up and wanted to shed a few pounds quickly.
Raw to Door - Claudia Schiffer and Daisy Lowe are fans
Ainhoa My Detox Diet (mydetoxdiet.co.uk) – I had a personalised diet plan Rating: 4/5 How long? 3 days How I felt: I really struggled on the first day of the detox, as I'd never tried a juicing plan before. I found that I got really hungry every couple of hours and the one juice just didn't fill me up so at the end of the first day I went to bed hungry and quite cranky.
When I woke up, I felt better though. I felt lighter and thought my stomach was slightly flatter, but again I did feel hungry throughout the whole day. It was easier to adjust to as the days went on and by the end I did feel good. However, because my drinks were mainly fruit based, they were quite sweet so I didn't feel like I'd done a proper detox, as you probably would if you drank vegetable-based ones. Pros: I loved being able to choose which ingredients I wanted (I specifically asked for more fruit juices over vegetable ones) and they were all really tasty. I especially loved the berry-flavoured ones. The only one I didn't enjoy was the Super Greens drink but I only had to drink two of those. I also loved having the little supplements each morning (morning alkaline boosters, acai berry tablets, kelp and nettle leaf tablets etc) as my body wouldn't normally digest them so I felt extra healthy taking in new nutrients. Cons: I thought the drinks were quite small in portion, having seen other juices from other plans, so I did feel very hungry on the first day. They were all quite watery too so I drank them too fast. I only had one slightly thicker drink in the whole three days, the Mango Oatis. Would I do it again? Yes. I felt juicing was not for me, but if I had to do another plan, I would do this one because of the fruit-based drinks.
Donna Air is a fan of The Juice Well
The Juice Well (opened in May @thejuicewellldn) – "Rainbow Cleanse" Rating: 4/5 Celebrity fans: Donna Air How I felt: Before juicing I felt quite apprehensive as I didn't like the sound of many of the drinks because they were mainly vegetable based. I found it really difficult to cut out caffeine too as I always start the day with a cup of tea, so the first day was a massive struggle in the morning. The first juice, Hunger Buster, had charcoal in it so was an unappealing black colour and very thick, but I actually liked it the best out of all the drinks as it was fruit-based and tasted of melon. I couldn't taste the charcoal at all. Throughout the three days, I found it quite hard to drink the juices because certain ingredients were very overpowering, such as red pepper in the Body Guard and celery in the Green and Lean. I did feel extremely healthy drinking the juices though and felt as if my body was getting a full detox and taking in nutrients I wouldn't usually have on a day-to-day basis.I couldn't finish some of the juices as they were really large portions and as I didn't like some of the flavours, it put me off drinking them so I found I was moving on to the next drink quite quickly.
The Juice Well recently opened in London
Pros: The juices were very, very healthy as they were vegetable based and I would totally recommend them for people who love their veggies. I did feel very clean afterwards. Each day ends with a Gazpacho drink so it's quite a nice change to just juice and feels like you're having a bit more of a meal. The package also comes with special, extra clean water to revitalise you so you feel extra pure! Cons: I didn't like many of the flavours and so found it hard to finish them all, but that's down to personal preference. I have a massive sweet tooth so found it difficult to not have any natural sugar throughout the three days. Another con – it doesn't provide much variety as you drink the same six juices a day.Would you do it again? No, because I really couldn't stomach the green-based drinks, but for veggie lovers it would be perfect so I would recommend it for hard-core juicers. If you're more of a fruit lover and have a sweet tooth, go for a different company.
Purifyne
Rebecca Purifyne - (purifynecleanse.com)Rating: 3/5 Celebrity fans: Suki Waterhouse, Nancy Dell’Ollio How I felt: Before the plan I was hoping that a juice cleanse would be the kick-start I needed to get myself back on track to losing weight. On Purifyne there are four juices a day; a morning juice (carrot, beetroot and ginger) and then it is left up to you which order you drink your remaining bottles although it is recommended that you leave the celery drink for before bed. The morning juice was the tastiest, and with this one you also take a colosan powder supplement which “when taken with lemon juice or lime juice, oxygen is released inside the digestive tract, producing powerful detoxifying effects.” This basically means, be near a toilet at all times. Other supplements on this plan include a fatty acid tablet which increases metabolism and spirulina tablets which provide protein and amino acids. During the first day I felt an overpowering hunger, but I was determined to see the cleanse through, and the second day was better in terms of the hunger as it became a background feeling. I didn’t feel tired or grumpy as many people often say can happen during a cleanse - which was lucky as I work an evening shift. There is a recommended plan for you to follow for the days after the cleanse ends, but I didn’t follow it. I will add however that my body only craved healthy nutrients – I didn’t eat for the first few hours I was awake, and then started with a smoothie and later a salad. Cons: The morning juice was my favourite but the others weren’t enjoyable – and at times I found myself holding my nose and downing half a bottle to get it over with. Pros: I lost 6lbs, and in the following week while sticking to a diet plan I only gained 2lbs. There was a hugely visible difference in the look of my stomach – although a juice cleanse obviously won’t tone your muscles, it does decrease bloating – and the dry brushing which is recommended improved the look of cellulite. My skin improved, and most surprisingly, the juice cleanse has, so far, improved a health issue I suffered from. Would I do it again? Yes. I’ve already forgotten how tough the cleanse was and can only think about the results. I would recommend this juice cleanse as a kick-start to a weight loss programme, or even as a pre-holiday cleanse to boost body confidence.
Imbibery
MelissaImbibery 3 Day Cleanse (ImbiberyLondon.com) Rating: 4/5 How I felt: I was really excited and raring to go for my cleanse, the first day didn't feel difficult at all and I definitely felt I was doing my body a lot of good. The second and third days were harder because I was having the same series of juices and while there were more than enough (six per day), I wasn't looking forward to them as much as I'd had them before. At times it felt like there was too much of one thing, even of the ones I really liked such as the Green juice and the Exotic juice, and I wasn't always able to finish them.Afterwards I felt lighter and healthier which was great. I'm trying to keep up having lemon juice and water in the mornings as it's a nice way to start the day. Pros: The biggest pro for me was losing 6.5lbs in just three days but another pro of the cleanse was that it's well thought out and timetabled so I didn't really feel hungry at any point. Cons: The main con for me was having to have the same six juices each day as although they were nice and it was easy to follow the order, I didn't always enjoy having that volume of the same juices over the three days. Would I do it again? Yes, although it would be good not to have the same series of juices every day.
Roots and Bulbs
Leah Roots and Bulbs (rootsandbulbs.com)How long? 2 days Rating: 4/5 Celebrity fans: Millie Mackintosh How I felt: I felt very clean internally throughout this plan as it was vegetable based. I’m not a fan of almond milk but still drink it from time to time as I know it’s very good for me. I kept that in mind as a small bottle of this is included each day as well as a small portion of nuts with some of the juices.There’s no way I would be able to cram all of these nutrients into my day from eating food, let alone my day, so using this as part of a 5:2 plan is great way to banish the guilt of perhaps being naughty in the week.Pros: It’s great that there are small portions of snacks along the way as I think most people are put of detoxes because they don’t get to eat anything.
Cons: I wish there were more fruits involved and some of the bottles tasted a bit too green for my liking.Would you do it again? Yes. For the right event and definitely during the summer when I’m less concerned with chowing downing down on warm carb-filled meals!
Roots and Bulbs counts Millie Mackintosh as a celebrity fan
Juice Master: Jason Vale’s 5lbs in 5 days (juicemaster.com)How long? 5 days Rating: 5/5 Celebrity fans: TV presenters Angellica Bell and Michael Underwood How I felt: I was so excited to do this. My body was in serious need of a cleanse following an indulgent Easter season. So as soon as my box arrived I couldn’t wait to get started and pack the rest into my freezer to be defrosted in the fridge the night before each new day began.After the first day I dropped 3lbs, presumably just de-bloating. Then I dropped a 1lb each day after, so the plan for me really does what it says on the tin. An allergy-busting apple and ginger shot kick-off my days, a beverage I found rather refreshing and great for me as a hay fever sufferer. There are four juices to drink per day at 420ml (two are always the same) and I loved that they were full of flavour and thick.Some of the drinks were blended with avocado or included berries and nuts so really gave me something to chew and ensured I didn’t miss the action of eating. Afterwards my stomach was much flatter and I was full of energy thanks to my body not having to work too hard to digest.
Juice in a Bar
Pros: Emergency Juice in a Bar packets were included for the one time in the day I just had to bite on something (mainly when my colleagues were eating lunch). Cons: It would be great if I could have chosen what ingredients were involved as apparently I am intolerant to celery! However I understand that the plan has been carefully devised and it certainly helped in terms of ridding my body of toxins. Would I do it again? Yes and for longer for bigger and better results!
Juice Master by Jason Vale
